WHAT IS A NATURAL AREA?

Much of Missouri's original landscape no longer exists. But thanks to the Missouri Natural Areas System some examples of it are being preserved and protected. Natural areas are important benchmarks to evaluate environmental change and serve as reservoirs of the state biological diversity. Additionally, natural areas provide opportunities for scientific study as well as educational, cultural, and recreational uses. Through protection from development and by managing to preserve the natural characteristics of the areas, the best examples of natural communities are preserved. Natural areas often provide essential habitat for rare and endangered plants and animals.

The Missouri Natural Areas Committee is an interagency committee, consisting of representatives of the Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, USDA Forest Service, and the National Park Service which coordinate the classification, inventory, designation, and stewardship of natural areas in Missouri. Natural areas are owned by a variety of public agencies as well as private concerns.

The Mark Twain National Forest has a wide selection of natural areas, representing fens, sinkhole ponds, glades, forests and aquatic communities.

GRASSHOPPER HOLLOW NATURAL AREA

Grasshopper Hollow was designated a natural area because of its unique complex of fen communities. There are four types of fens in the area: seep, deep muck, prairie, and forested. A fen is a rare natural community where soils are saturated from the upwelling of mineral-rich groundwater, creating spring rivulets and ooze areas. Fens support a distinct group of plants, and at Grasshopper Hollow several rare or endangered plant and animal species continue to survive.

SEEP FEN

A seep fen is a bog-like area characterized by shallow, wet mucky soil. It is dominated by sedges, rushes, and grasses that form tussocks. (A tussock is a small mound of solid vegetation.) This is the most common fen found in the Ozarks and may be located on steep, narrow valley slopes, in ravines, on rock ledges, on glades, on rocky terraces, or at the base of a bluff. There are four seep fens at Grasshopper Hollow where you may find a variety of sedges, rushes, grasses, as well as marsh coneflower, fen goldenrod, and the endangered harebell.

DEEP MUCK FEN

A deep muck fen is a bog-like area characterized by 15-40 inches or more of deep mucky soil and pools of standing water. Walking across a deep muck fen can be difficult; they are sometimes called the "quicksand" of the Ozarks. Deep muck fens are dominated by sedges and shrubs. At Grasshopper Hollow the dominant species, found in 10 different locations, are various sedges and grasses, royal fern, marsh fern, leafy bulrush, and swamp aster, among alder and willow shrubs.

PRAIRIE FEN

The soil is shallow and gravelly, and the ground water seepage is usually not seen on a prairie fen. A mixture of fen and prairie plants grows here creating a unique and diverse community. At Grasshopper Hollow various sedges and marsh coneflower are common in the wettest areas. The mesic zones contain an assortment of plants including prairie cord grass, prairie dock, big bluestem, western ironweed and common mountain mint. The drier sections are dominated by tall goldenrod and broom sedge. The 10-acre prairie fen at Grasshopper Hollow is the largest prairie fen known in the unglaciated regions of North America.

FORESTED FEN

The soil of a forested fen is somewhat poorly drained and seasonally saturated from the seeping mineral-rich groundwater and rainwater. Small hummocks are sometimes created around tree clumps. (Hummocks are raised, drier mounds of humus found in a swamp, upon which grow a variety of plants.) The canopy is closed and composed of trees usually found in a bottomland forest. The forested fen at Grasshopper Hollow was heavily cut in the past, but is being restored to its natural quality. Chestnut oak, red maple, hornbeam, green ash, and red elm are the dominant canopy trees with spicebush in the understory. The ground flora, which is concentrated on moss and sedge dominated hummocks, includes swamp agrimony, jewelweed, panic grass, leafy bullrush, golden ragwort, and fen goldenrod.

WILDLIFE AT GRASSHOPPER HOLLOW

Grasshopper Hollow's remarkable diversity makes it especially good for bird watching. In the spring listen for turkey gobbles and the musical songs of migrating birds. The prothonotary warbler, red-winged blackbird, and the common yellowthroat, attracted by the abundance of seeds and insects, become summer residents. Visiting wood ducks may also use the resources here. If you are especially lucky, you may see the little blue heron, a rare Missouri species, taking frogs or crayfish for its dinner.

The fen provides important habitat for crayfish and snapping turtles. Look for the ridged back of these turtles protruding from the mucky soil at the edge of the pools. Muskrats find abundant vegetation to use in the construction of their houses and feeding huts. Beavers are active creating dams below the deep muck fens. Grasshopper Hollow is also home to the wood frog and the four-toed salamander, rare species in Missouri.

SPECIAL REGULATIONS

Hunting, trapping, fishing, and camping are prohibited on the privately owned portion. The collection of plants or animals and vehicular traffic (except on the main access road) are prohibited in all sections of the natural area. Enjoy all other recreational activities normally allowed on the National Forest.

OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

There is a cooperative effort by USDA Forest Service, Mark Twain National Forest, the Doe Run Mineral Corporation, and The Nature Conservancy. The Doe Run Mineral Corporation leases its portion of the natural area to The Nature Conservancy who jointly manage the area with the Missouri Department of Conservation and the USDA Forest Service.

ADDITONAL NATURAL AREAS

You may wish to visit nearby natural areas on the same day. Listed below are Mark Twain National Forest, Department of Natural Resources, and Missouri Department of Conservation natural areas. For more information on a particular site, check ownership and contact the Forest Service District Ranger office, Superintendent, Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, or the Department of Conservation Wildlife District Supervisor in the town listed.

Blair Creek Raised Fen---------------------------------USFS-----------Salem, MO
Lily Pond--------------------------------------------------TNC/MDC-----Piedmont, MO
Johnson's Shut-Ins, Fen, and Dolomite Glade------DNR-----------Middlebrook, MO
Hughes Mountain-----------------------------------------MDC----------Washington, MO

SIZE, LOCATION, AND ACCESS

Five hundred ninety-three acres in Reynolds County. Portions of sections 30. &31, T32N, R1W, and a portion of section 25, T32N, R2W, in Corridon 7.5 topographical quadrangle. From Bunker take state highway 72 east to forest road 860. Forest road 860 is 1.0 miles past the intersection of 72 and TT. Turn left on 860 and travel 0.6 miles to an old saw mill for parking. Walk the old road to the Grasshopper Hollow Natural Area sign.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Forest Supervisor
401 Fairgrounds Road
Rolla, MO 65401
(314 364-4621 TTY

Salem Ranger District
P.O. Box 460
Salem, MO 65560
(314) 729-6656 TTY