MISSOURIresources

Fall 2008 • Volume 25 • Number 3

In August, the Missouri Departmentof Natural Resources’ ombudsmen

reached an important milestone: theymade 6,000 contacts in the program’sfirst three years.

Through these visits, the ombuds-men have spread the word about sev-eral environmental initiatives. Theombudsmen helped promote the de-partment’s Tire Dump Roundup Pro-gram, which allows private propertyowners to self-report tire dumps ontheir properties and have themcleaned up for free. Ombudsmen alsovisited 177 salvage operations to en-courage participation in the End ofLife Vehicle Solution Program, orELVS. To encourage participation in acooperative designed to recycle wall-mounted mercury thermostats, om-budsmen met with 102 heating, venti-lating and air conditioningcontractors and wholesalers. Ombuds-men also visited 158 communitiesthroughout Missouri to remind themthat they had received training vouch-ers for their drinking water systemsoperators; these vouchers were aboutto expire, so encouraging communitiesto use them was critical. The ombuds-men and I have also held more than108 town hall meetings with more than1,670 Missourians across the state.

The ombudsmen also proac-tively seek out those who mightneed assistance from the depart-ment, then put them in touch withthe appropriate staff. This hasincluded business owners whoare struggling to bring their op-erations back into compliancewith regulations, builders look-ing for information on minimiz-ing their environmental foot-prints and communities in needof financial help in upgradinginfrastructure. Nearly a quarterof the ombudsmen’s visits resultin follow-up assistance from staffin the programs or regional of-fices. In the course of makingthese 6,000 visits, the ombuds-men report that they’ve heardmore than a thousand positivecomments about our departmentand our staff.

What our ombudsmen have seen,time after time, is that Missourianscare about their natural resources.Whether it’s a school working to pro-vide a quality education to its stu-dents or a community trying to keeppace with its growth, our ombudsmenshow Missourians how they can ac-complish these goals while also pro-tecting Missouri’s natural resources.

An ombudsman is located at eachof the department’s five regional of-fices and the department’s Division ofGeology and Land Survey Office inRolla. To find out how to contact theombudsman in your region, visit thedepartment’s Web site at[www.dnr.mo.gov/ombudsman.htm] orcall us at 1-800-361-4827.

Doyle ChildersMissouri Department of Natural Resources

Fall 2008Volume 25 • Number 3

State of MissouriGovernor

Matt Blunt

Director, Missouri Department of Natural Resources Doyle Childers

Deputy Director, OperationsJeff Staake

Deputy Director, PolicyFloyd Gilzow

Deputy Director, Water ResourcesMike Wells

Director, Division of State ParksDoug Eiken

Director, Division of Geology and Land SurveyJoe Gillman

Director, Division of Field ServicesJim Macy

Director, Division of Environmental QualityDan Schuette

Director, Environmental Improvement and Energy Resources Authority

Tom Welch

EditorStuart Westmoreland

Assistant EditorPhilip J. Tremblay

Design DirectorBelinda Hughes

DesignerRuby Wells

PhotographerScott Myers

CirculationJessica Buschjost

Luke Petree

Editorial BoardLarry Archer

Stacy BandelierHylan BeydlerKerry CordrayKathy DetersByron Murray

Connie PattersonKenneth Seeney

Stuart Westmoreland

Mission StatementThe mission of the Missouri Department of Natural

Resources is to protect, preserve and enhanceMissouri’s natural, cultural and energy resources.

MISSOURI RESOURCESis published three times per year by the Missouri

Department of Natural Resources to inform readersabout important natural resource issues and how theyare being addressed. Any correspondence should be

directed to the editor at the Department of NaturalResources, Publications, PO Box 176, Jefferson City,

MO 65102-0176, or call 1-800-361-4827. E-mail address: moresdnr@dnr.mo.govMoDNR home page: www.dnr.mo.govTo subscribe or unsubscribe online:

www.dnr.mo.gov/magazine/subscription.htm

MISSOURI RESOURCESis available in alternative formats.

As a recipient of federal funds, the Department ofNatural Resources cannot discriminate against any-

one on the basis of race, color, national origin,religion, age, sex, or disability.

If anyone believes he or she has been subjected todiscrimination for any of these reasons, he or she mayfile a complaint with either the Department of NaturalResources or the Office of Equal Opportunity, U.S.

Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C., 20240.

Missouri Resources is printed with soy ink onrecycled paper at RR Donnelley,

Liberty, Missouri.

printed on recycled paper

Director’s Comment

table of contentsM i s s o u r i D e p a r t m e n t o f N a t u r a l R e s o u r c e s

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Above right: A broad beech fern grows at the base of acid seeps at Morris State Park in Dunklin County.Above: Sunset at Lake Wappapello in Wayne County.FRONT COVER: Now part of the new Current River State Park, the buildings of the Alton Club are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. BACK COVER: A portion of the new park, scheduled to open in 2010, is within the scenic easement of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.Cover photo by Scott Myers.

page 2Nature and Historyby Bonnie StepenoffThe creative work of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the1930s is still giving camping groups of modern-day Missouri ataste of history and lasting craftsmanship.

page 6Exporting Greenby Kathy DetersMissouri businesses are offering environmentally friendly –green – products and services to national and world markets.That cash is recycled right into the state’s economy.

page 9A Historied Creekby Loring BullardJordan Creek, Springfield’s historic downtown waterway, is againemerging as the city’s “founding waters” and an anchor to ongoingcommunity revitalization efforts.

page 12Historic Celebrationby Kris ZapalacAfter 40 years of protecting history and 10 years of state tax credits for his-toric rehabilitation work, the State Historic Preservation Office is gainingnational recognition and local gratitude.

14 • News Briefs 23 • Career ConnectionE-Notes, Letters, Stream Team Notebook Danny Jaco: The Best JobTime Exposures, Resource Honor Roll in Law Enforcement

20 • Resources to Explore 25 • One Last WordMorris State Park Planning a New State Park

2 Missouri Resources

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parks, CCC enrollees built group camps forurban youngsters.

Between 1933 and 1942, more than threemillion men signed up for the CCC. Most en-rollees were between 17 and 25 years old,but some were older veterans of the FirstWorld War. African-American enrolleesserved in segregated units. The governmentsent the men to work camps, where theyearned $30 a month. Local men taught skillslike driving trucks, repairing machinery,hewing timber and cutting the stone for parkand recreation structures.

(Opposite page, clockwise from upper left) Inthe 1930s, CCC enrollees cut timber for parkstructures at Cuivre River RDA. Girls preparefor a play at Cuivre River’s Camp Sherwood,ca. 1940s. A camper learns woodworking atCuivre River’s Camp Derricotte, ca. 1940.Campers prepare food in the outdoor kitchenat Lake of the Ozarks group camp in the 1940s.CCC Co. 1713 enrollees and locally employedworkers pose in front of the barracks at Roar-ing River State Park in 1933. Camp Fire Girls infront of the Hand Craft Lodge at MontserratRDA’s (now Knob Noster State Park) CampShawnee, 1954. Play time at Camp Derricotte,ca. 1940.

Camp counselors JeremySieg and Aaron Schwartzdemonstrate how to dealwith live obstacles on theconfidence course at CampClover Point.

Nature and Historyby Bonnie Stepenoff

The Group Camp Experience

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What is the best thing about the organ-ized group camps in Missouri stateparks? Floyd Lee, facility manager

at Lake of the Ozarks State Park, says it is“the ability to resurrect your childhood andreunite with yourself and your family.” AtDr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial, Crowder,Cuivre River, Knob Noster, Lake of theOzarks, Mark Twain and Roaring Riverstate parks, the Missouri Department ofNatural Resources has preserved groupcamps that also give visitors the chance toconnect with history.

These camping facilities originated in the1930s, when Franklin D. Roosevelt’s NewDeal aimed to lift the United States from theGreat Depression. Seventy-five years ago,the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) mo-bilized hundreds of thousands of joblessmen to work in forests and parks, plantingtrees and building recreational facilities. In1934, the federal government began buyingworn-out farmland for Recreational Demon-stration Areas. The National Park Servicestipulated that these RDAs should be closeto cities. Missouri’s RDAs included Lake ofthe Ozarks near the new Bagnell Dam nearKaiser, Montserrat (now Knob Noster StatePark) near Kansas City, and Cuivre Rivernear Troy, 50 miles northwest of St. Louis.In each of these areas and in several state

4 Missouri Resources

New Dealers hoped that working in parkswould give young men a new respect for thebeauty and promise of America. Before join-ing the CCC, many of the men were underfedand lacking in hope for the future. Educa-tional programs allowed enrollees to com-plete high school or college courses. Whenthey left the CCC, many men had gainedweight, acquired useful skills and experi-enced a closer connection to nature.

Many people believed that living close tonature, even for a short time, could buildcharacter. In the early 20th century, numer-ous private camps attempted to rekindle thepioneer spirit. When hard times erodedAmerican optimism, camp administratorstried to renew people’s faith in hard workand ingenuity. Supporters of camping pro-grams hoped that young people who ate,slept, worked and played together in a natu-ral setting would learn firsthand the meaningof democracy.

During the Depression, National ParkService architects designed rustic camps nes-tled in wooded landscapes. Camp SherwoodForest in Cuivre River RDA exemplified theNational Park Service ideal of the decentral-ized camp with clusters of small cabins in se-cluded units. About 20 campers shared eachunit, preparing meals in communal kitchensand gathering in cozy lodges. Campers fromall four units could come together in the cen-tral dining and recreation halls.

After World War II, Missouri’s three RDAsbecame state parks, and the group camps con-tinued to serve children and adults from near-by cities. The Missouri State Park Board be-lieved that the group camping experiencecombined democratic ideals with a reverence

for nature. In a 1960 promotional film, thepark board asserted that children in groupcamps developed a “feeling of belonging,”along with “attitudes and understandings fun-damental to the American way of life.”

Group camp usage for all seven stateparks with group camps peaked at 140,000campers in 1969 and then began to decline.John Balkenbush, a capital improvementsspecialist with the department’s Division ofState Parks, recently noted that there weresharp drops in 1979 and again in 1987, whenthe number of campers hit an all-time low ofless than 60,000.

Since 1987, the camps have had their upsand downs, but the trend has been gener-

ally upward. By the year 2000, the numberof campers climbed back up to more than100,000. There was another downturn after2001, but from 2003 through 2007, thenumbers leveled off at about 80,000campers per year.

A 1991 study revealed that more than 60percent of campers were children and ado-lescents, and youth groups have remainedthe primary users. In recent years, the campshave housed growing numbers of churchoutings, family reunions and wedding recep-tions. Because of these new users, RandyBecknell, facility manager at Cuivre RiverState Park, reports a steady increase ingroup camp visitors at his park from 2002through 2007.

According to Lee, the Depression-eragroup camps have had to buck a nationaltrend toward modernization of camp sites.The department recognizes that preservingthe historic integrity of the buildings limits

Campers gather at thedining lodge at Camp

Sherwood Forest inCuivre River State Park.

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the level of modernization upgrades that canbe made.

After decades of programming at CampPin Oak in Lake of the Ozarks State Park, theGirl Scouts recently opted to move to moremodern facilities. The Girl Scouts left, butother groups have come. The Future Farmersof America overflowed from Camp RisingSun and used the facilities at Camp Pin Oak.Camp Clover Point houses 4-H groups, civicgroups and a college camping program.Camp Redbud, the smallest group camp atLake of the Ozarks State Park, works wellfor church groups and family reunions.

Lee says park administrators are “lookingfor methods to revive the natural campingexperience.” Recent developments such asthe Outpost camper cabins, which have noelectricity or water, have been very popular.Summer heat is a problem without air condi-tioning, but these cabins are popular in falland winter, Lee says. “People like the soli-tude, the peacefulness.”

As if to illustrate his point, on a briskday last February, a fire burned in one of thestoves at the Outpost. On that same day, agroup of bicyclists headed out of Camp PinOak for a ride on a winding road throughthe woods.

Keith Petersen, facility manager at KnobNoster State Park, reports similar challenges.At Camp Shawnee, the department upgradedthe facilities with electricity. Still, manygroups look for more modern amenities, in-cluding air conditioning. The primary usersof Camp Shawnee are Reorganized Churchof Latter Day Saints youth groups from theKansas City area.

Petersen believes that organized groupcamps “provide an environment for groupsto present their own camping programs for areasonable price.” Visitors can also take ad-vantage of programming provided by the“excellent interpretive staff here at the park.”

Becknell believes the group camps canplay an important role in environmental edu-cation. For the past 30 years, the FortZumwalt School District has conducted aprogram at Camp Sherwood Forest for fifth-grade students. Teachers bring their studentsin groups for a five-day program that offershiking, caving and other outdoor experiences.

In Becknell’s opinion, there always willbe people who want an affordable experienceand people who are environmentally con-scious who will want to use the group camps.The best thing about the group camp experi-ence, he says, is that “the primitive character

of the camps brings people closer to nature.”Lee emphatically agrees. “You’re going to aplace,” he says, “with no Wi-Fi, no TV, soyou have to exercise. You have to play.”

Seventy-five years ago, young men inbrown CCC uniforms did the hard work of

hewing timber and laying stone for the rusticstructures and the group camping facilities.The workers’ devotion is evident in archedbridges, massive stone chimneys, cozywooden cabins, carefully planned hikingtrails and graceful shelters that blend withthe landscape. Many of these structures havebeen listed in the National Register of His-toric Places, and the Department of NaturalResources has carefully preserved them.

The best thing about the group camps maybe that they give people the chance to con-nect with both nature and history.

For more information on group camps inMissouri state parks, contact the Departmentof Natural Resources at 1-800-334-6946 orvisit the Web site at[www.mostateparks.com].

Bonnie Stepenoff, Ph.D., is a professor ofhistory at Southeast Missouri State Uni-versity, and author. From 1984-1992, shewas a cultural resource preservationist forthe Department of Natural Resources. Hermost recent book, From French Communi-ty to Missouri Town: Ste. Genevieve inthe Nineteenth Century, is availablethrough the University of Missouri Pressby calling 1-800-828-1894.

Fall 2008 5

(Below) Rustic cabins atCamp Sherwood Forest, inCuivre River State Park,provide a comfortable linkto the past and vary in sizeto accommodate groupcampers or families.(Bottom) Pictured is therustic camp infirmary atCamp Sherwood.

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EExxppoorrttiinngg

GreenN

umerous Missouri businesses are ex-porting green – environmentallyfriendly products, goods and services

– and in exchange, bringing cold, hard,green cash into the state.

If you’ve ever cared enough to send thevery best, you’re already familiar with oneof Missouri’s leading green exporters.Kansas City-based Hallmark Cards Inc., hasused recycled paper in products and packag-ing since the 1970s and now recycles29,000 tons annually. In the early 1990s, thecompany began using water-based inks.

Hallmark also donates surplus productsto educational and human service organiza-tions. Through a program called Kaleido-scope, scraps from the company’s manufac-

turing processes go to school-aged children,who turn them into their own personal mas-terpieces. Efforts like these have allowedHallmark to cut its solid waste by 70 per-cent and hazardous waste by 90 percent.

Businesses like these prove that ingenu-ity plus environmental stewardship canequal a bigger bottom line. At Hallmark, anenergy reduction program started in 1995now saves the company $1 million annually.

“It’s just good business sense to take careof the world around us and to protect our re-sources for future generations,” said KristiErnsting, a spokesperson for Hallmark.

Many Missouri businesses have imple-mented a “waste not, want not” philosophy.In 2007, waste and scrap accounted for

by Kathy Deters

(Above) Employees help in-stall a rain garden on the

grounds of Hallmark’sheadquarters as part of

Kansas City’s “10,000 Rain Gardens” initiative.

6 Missouri Resources

$131 million of Missouri’s exports. Thanksto recovery efforts, waste that would haveended up in Missouri landfills is insteadfinding a second life in a variety of goodsthat are then sold around the globe. The En-vironmental Improvement and Energy Re-source Authority, a financial arm of theMissouri Department of Natural Resources,often provides financial and technical sup-port to assist these efforts. This programpromotes the development of markets forrecovered materials and recycled-contentproducts throughout Missouri.

Have you ever wondered what happensto your newspaper after you drop it in therecycling bin? Thanks to one Missouri oper-ation, it may be helping to keep familieswarm in Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois andKansas. The Missouri branch of Cell Pakand Johnson Products, located in Columbia,recycles 25 to 28 tons of newspaper per day,five days a week, turning the usednewsprint into cellulose insulation. Much oftheir newspaper is purchased from commu-nity recycling programs.

Cell Pak and Johnson Products, which areowned by Service Partners in Virginia, em-ploy 13 employees and sell approximately$13 million annually. According to Jim Her-lein, the Missouri branch manager, they’veseen a 60 percent increase in the past year,which he attributes to a better understandingof energy efficiency and a growing desire tobe green. Good customer service doesn’thurt, either. Many participants in Missouri’sLow-Income Weatherization Program,which is administered by the Department ofNatural Resources’ Energy Center, havebenefited from this product.

For those looking for the safest way todispose of electronic devices, Springfield-based Computer Recycling Center providesanother valuable service. This company ac-cepts and recycles more than 44 tons of e-scrap each month. The center providesrecycling services to several clients in Mis-souri, as well as Arkansas, Oklahoma,Kansas, Michigan and Alabama.

This business de-manufactures all wastein-house, which helps to ensure that sensi-tive data is destroyed completely and thateach item is truly recycled. Computer Re-cycling Center was the first State of Mis-souri Certified Resource Recovery Facilityfor e-scrap. Computer Recycling Centercurrently recycles 98 percent of the scrap itreceives, and hopes to reach its goal of 100percent in the near future.

The Department of Natural Resources es-tablished e-cycle Missouri, a partner-

ship made up of recyclers, federal, state andlocal governments, manufacturers, environ-mental groups and retail organizations, toassist businesses like this. E-cycle Missouriprovides best management practices andhelps those with e-scrap find recyclers.

“[The Department of Natural Resources]has been instrumental in laying the founda-tion for what is acceptable and not accept-able in the state of Missouri,” said KenReiss, president of Computer RecyclingCenter. “Through education, [the depart-ment] has helped bring the e-waste problemto the attention … of Missouri.”

Numerous Missouri businesses and op-erations have benefited from state initia-tives to encourage green practices. KansasCity Ford auto plant workers are buildingcombination hybrid and renewable fuel ve-hicles that are being sold and driventhroughout the United States. To encouragethe growing market for alternative fuelsand vehicles, Gov. Matt Blunt enacted a 10percent ethanol standard for the state. Thenew standard is also helping protect Mis-souri’s environment. Ethanol is a cleaner-burning alternative to petroleum-basedgasoline and contains more oxygen, whichresults in better combustion and fewer car-bon dioxide, carbon monoxide and carcino-genic emissions.

Gov. Blunt supports proactive solutionsto save energy. The governor’s leadershiphas led to innovative programs within state

(Below) Hallmark sponsorse-waste collection eventsfor employees so they canresponsibly dispose ofelectronics, such as com-puters, monitors, televi-sions and cell phones.(Bottom) The proposedTorre Aristos project in SanSalvador, an office buildingand hotel, is expected to bethe first LEED-certifiedbuilding in Central America.

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Fall 2008 7

government that, oncefully implemented, willboth reduce energy useand save taxpayers near-ly $16 million in energycosts every year. Theseinitiatives include arange of projects fromcentralizing and moni-toring statewide energyconsumption to utilizinglandfill gases as a heat-ing source.

Blunt also issued anexecutive order requir-ing that at least 70 per-cent of new vehiclespurchased by the Officeof Administration beflexible fuel vehicles.

“Missouri’s entrepre-neurs are innovators,and our state’s beautifullandscapes and naturalresources inspire a de-

sire to protect these resources for futuregenerations to enjoy,” Blunt said. “Mergingthe value of protecting the environmentwith new technologies and innovations cre-ated by entrepreneurs has resulted in a bur-geoning green industry in Missouri that notonly boosts our economy but protects ourstate’s environment.”

This year, the legislature approved Gov.Blunt’s plan to create a Show-Me Green TaxHoliday, forgiving state sales tax on Ener-gy-Star certified appliances for one weekevery year. Missouri is only the fourth statein the country to enact this environmentallyfriendly tax holiday.

“Improving energy efficiency saves re-sources, makes our environment healthierand saves money for Missouri families,”Blunt said. “The Show-Me Green Tax Holi-day will encourage Missourians to makemore environmentally responsible choicesby providing additional incentives to buyenergy-efficient products.”

Even as construction has taken a down-turn recently, green building and green col-lar jobs continue to see growth, accordingto Ralph Bicknese, a principal with St.Louis-based Hellmuth + Bicknese Archi-tects LLC.

“I’m not sure the word is out yet butwithin green circles, our largest metropoli-tan areas, the St. Louis and Kansas City re-gions, are becoming known as green leaders

nationally,” Bicknese said. “St. Louis andKansas City are hotbeds of green activityand other parts of the state are starting tojoin in, too.”

Hellmuth + Bicknese Architects providesarchitectural, consulting and planning

services, all with a focus on sustainability.The firm boasts numerous out-of-state suc-cesses, including several projects in the LasVegas area, such as a laboratory for the Ne-vada Cancer Institute. The firm is assistingthese clients to achieve LEED® (Leadershipin Energy and Environmental Design) certi-fication. The company also helped leadersin DeKalb, Ill. develop a sustainable rede-velopment plan to rescue a deterioratingcorridor in the city that included severalschools. Hellmuth + Bicknese Architects’latest venture is Torre Aristos, a proposedoffice building and hotel in El Salvador.The project is the first to pursue LEED cer-tification in Central America.

Hellmuth + Bicknese Architects has seena 75 to 90 percent reduction in constructionwaste at its projects, and energy and waterreductions from 25 to more than 50 percent.Designers with this firm are taking sustain-able development a few steps further.

Bicknese hopes Missouri leaders willcontinue this momentum by supportingpolicies that encourage energy efficiencyand environmental improvements in schoolsand state-owned buildings. The firm recent-ly developed sustainable design standardsfor the national Head Start program andhelped several Missouri schools with ener-gy-efficiency upgrades that were financed,in part, through grants and loans providedby the department’s Energy Center. ForBicknese, providing a quality education inMissouri is critical to green industry.

“Intelligent people make more intelligentdecisions and we need more intelligent de-cisions,” Bicknese said.

Missouri boasts numerous green-mindedbusinesses. A listing of businesses that sup-port renewable energy is available at[www.dnr.mo.gov/pubs/pub1292.pdf]. Visit[www.dnr.mo.gov/env/hwp/computerlist.htm] for a list of other elec-tronic recycling businesses. Businesses thatuse recycled materials are available at[www.dnr.mo.gov/eiera/mmdp-recycled-products-directory.htm].

Kathy Deters is a public information coor-dinator for the department.

An interior view of Green-spun Media Group Tenant

Improvement offices, aLEED commercial interiors

project by Hellmuth + Bick-nese Architects. The spaceis in the American Nevada

Co. Corporate Center VIbuilding near Las Vegas,

Nev. The office space andbuilding are submitted for

LEED gold certification.

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8 Missouri Resources

by Loring Bullard

Springfield, Mo. was founded along JordanCreek, a small stream that still flowsthrough the heart of the city. The city’s

founding father, John Polk Campbell, moved hisfamily there in 1830, raising corn where theSpringfield Square is today. Other settlers,mostly from Tennessee at first, soon followed.These early inhabitants referred to the littlestream as “Campbell’s Creek.”

(Above inset) This view of the creek was takenin 1932, from the Benton viaduct, before thestream was directed underground. Today, Jordan Creek remains confined by aconcrete flume or enclosed in a tunnel throughdowntown Springfield. As this confinementcrumbles or is removed as part of city plan-ning, the community will be reintroduced tothe beauty and demands of an open stream.DNR photo by Scott Myers

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A round the timeof the Civil

War, when the set-tlement had grownto a few thousandresidents, thestream acquired anew name, or nick-name: JordanCreek. Accountsvary as to why thecreek was sonamed. By thattime, the small but

steadily expanding community had alreadybegun to corrupt its founding waters.

The story of Jordan Creek is one that hasbeen repeated in urban areas across Americaand around the world. As cities expanded,urban streams became drainage ditches,flushing the filth of the city. Cities straight-ened, armored streambanks with rock andeven buried the offending waterways.

R.L. Innis, Springfield’s city engineer in1883, touted the idea of a large “stormsewer” to convey the frequently floodedstream through the middle of town. A high-capacity flume seemed to be the only solu-tion to a vexing urban problem. But by then,

flooding wasn’t the onlyissue. Industries dumpedwastes of all sorts directlyinto the creek. Innis notedthat the stream had be-come a “death-breedingcesspool,” flowing fromtown “reeking in poisons.”Springfield’s mayor, JohnMcGregor, complainedthat the “low, ill-smellingvalley of the historiedcreek” was an impedimentto progress.

That same year – 1883– Springfield got its firstpublic water system. Soonafterward, sanitary sewerswere needed to flush awayhuman wastes, made fluidby newly installed hy-drants and water closets.Prominent citizensclaimed that the lack ofsewers stifled growth anddiscouraged new business.Finally, in the 1890s, bricksewers were installed inthe Jordan Valley. The

main outlet emptied downstream of the city,spilling raw sewage into Jordan Creek. In1898, Drury College professor EdwardShepard remarked that sewage had renderedthe stream “very impure and turbid.”

Not surprisingly, people living down-stream of the sewer outlet complained andpetitions and lawsuits soon followed. In1912, “septic tanks” began to improvewater quality downstream of the city. In theupper section of Jordan Creek, however, in-dustrial discharges and polluted runoff con-tinued to create problems, as did flooding.

Large-scale channel straightening andbank stabilization projects got underway inthe 1920s, but it wasn’t enough to preventflood damage. In 1927, Jordan Valley prop-erty owners, uniting under the Jordan ValleyImprovement Association, got a fundingmeasure for a large storm drain placed onthe ballot, along with viaducts to carry ve-hicular traffic high over the Jordan Valley.As if on cue, the stream flooded the day be-fore the election, delaying trains and closingbusinesses. The next day, April Fool’s Day,the measure passed overwhelmingly.

With funding from the bond measure andsubsequent Public Works Administrationmoney obtained during the Depression, thecentral part of Jordan Creek was placed in aconcrete tunnel nearly two-thirds of a milelong, conveying floodwaters directly underdowntown streets and buildings. But the“out of sight, out of mind” mentality hid thecreek’s other problems from a citizenry whogenerally didn’t care to look.

By the late 1930s, newspaper reportersfrom the Springfield Leader and Press

exploring the Jordan noted that once-flow-ing springs were gone and the waterwaywas buried. “Not only is its presence beingconcealed, but it is losing its identity.” It“no longer displays any disposition to actup. In fact, it seems to have just about lostinterest in life altogether.”

Jordan Creek had, in fact, reached a lowpoint in its existence. Trash and junk linedits banks, and its toxic waters were nearlydevoid of life. As it became trashed and pol-luted, it lost even more value in residents’eyes, leading to even more abuse.

A few vocal citizens in the 1930s sound-ed the alarm about the deplorable condi-tions in Jordan Creek. But the rehabilitationof Jordan Creek would have to wait.

For the most part, real progress didn’toccur until after World War II. Basic health

(Above) Early Springfieldresident, Jonathan

Fairbanks, stands on thebank of Jordan Creek. (Below) Jordan Creek

emerges from its tunnel atMain Street.

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10 Missouri Resources

protection and anti-pol-lution laws were finallypassed that preventedindustries from dump-ing poisonous chemi-cals directly into thecreek. Routine trashcollection and designat-ed dump sites alleviatedsome of the problems.Cleanup events focusedon blighted areas andeyesores. Outhousesand septic systems wereremoved as homes andbusinesses connected tocity sewer.

As a result of theseinitiatives, water qualityin the creek slowly im-proved. Some fish andaquatic life reappeared,even though habitat remained poor in theconcrete-lined sections of the stream.Springs began to discharge cleaner water asleaking outhouses and septic tanks were re-moved from recharge zones.

Today, Carrie Lamb, who monitors Jordan Creek for Springfield’s Depart-

ment of Public Works, says that in spite ofthe progress, the Jordan still suffers. “Muchof the development is old and drains direct-ly into the creek, with little or no flood orwater quality controls,” Lamb said. The re-sult is “flashy” hydrology, meaning thestream rises quickly after even moderaterains and runoff pollution continues.

Still, water quality in Jordan Creek ismuch better than in years past. With the as-sistance of the Missouri Department of Nat-ural Resources, through the municipalstorm water permitting program, this trendshould continue. The stage has been set forthe next steps in renewal. Springfield’s pub-lic officials have taken note that a restoredstream corridor can provide an anchor fordowntown revitalization. The stream formsa central feature of Jordan Valley Park, arecreation and economic engine conceivedduring a community visioning process.

Some steps toward rehabilitation havebegun. A section of upper Jordan Creek hasbeen taken out of its underground tunnel.Todd Wagner, head of Springfield’s StormWater Division said this work was undertak-en because “an open stream is more attrac-tive than a large, enclosed concrete system,

and will become a neighborhood amenity.”Wagner says that section was chosen firstbecause it connects two historic parks by anew linear park and recreational trail.

The public has been invited back to ex-perience the founding waters. As people re-turn to walk, explore and recreate along theold stream, a constituency for further re-newal will be created. The long-awaited up-ward spiral, a stepwise ascendance in value,can begin.

With the taste of a rejuvenated JordanCreek, the public will demand even morerestoration. Someday, the Jordan may onceagain embody those valuesthat attracted city founder,John Polk Campbell, and gen-erations of Springfieldiens tothe banks of this resilient and“historied creek.”

Loring Bullard, of Springfield,is executive director of theWatershed Committee of theOzarks, a citizen-based organ-ization dedicated to the pro-tection of public drinkingwater sources for the city ofSpringfield and Greene Coun-ty. The committee’s offices arelocated on the banks of JordanCreek. Bullard is the author of“Jordan Creek: Story of anUrban Stream,” available for$5. Copies can be ordered at[www.watershedcenter.org].

(Above) The confluence ofthe north and south branches of Jordan Creek remains confined in con-crete channels, awaiting the next steps toward rejuvenation.(Below) Signs of the futureof Jordan Creek are an ac-tive Adopt-A-Stream pro-gram and the SpringfieldDepartment of Public Works’ plans to protect theurban waterway.

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(Above) Rehabbing a building is“green” by definition, but the Se-curity Building in St. Louis is thefirst historic tax credit project inthe state to receive LEED® (Lead-ership in Energy and Environ-mental Design) certification atthe silver level.(Left) Lobby of the refurbishedSecurity Building.

T his year, 2008, marks the 40thanniversary of the Missouri De-partment of Natural Resources’

State Historic Preservation Office and the10th anniversary of Missouri’s State His-toric Rehabilitation Tax Credit program.

In 1966, Congress passed the NationalHistoric Preservation Act, which declaredthat the preservation of historic propertieswas “in the public interest so that its vitallegacy of cultural, educational, aesthetic,inspirational, economic, and energy bene-fits will be maintained and enriched forfuture generations of Americans.”

Established in 1968 as a result of thatact, the State Historic Preservation Officehas partnered with the U.S. Department ofthe Interior’s National Park Service andlocal governments to implement Congress’vision. In 1976, when Congress created a20 percent historic rehabilitation tax cred-it, the State Historic Preservation Officeand National Park Service began review-ing the applications for what has becomethe federal government’s most effectivemeans of promoting urban and rural revi-talization through private investment in therehabilitation of historic buildings.

In response to the decline in invest-ment in Missouri’s underutilized historicbuildings that followed a change in thefederal tax code, the Missouri GeneralAssembly created the 25 percent state re-habilitation tax credit in 1998. As is thecase with the federal program, the StateHistoric Tax Credit Program is a partner-ship. The Missouri Department of Eco-nomic Development administers and au-dits the program, and the State HistoricPreservation Office reviews the buildingsand projects following the standards usedfor federal projects.

Like its federal predecessor, the statetax credit has proved enormously suc-cessful in creating jobs and restoring un-derutilized property to productive use. Itdoes so in a manner that helps fulfill themission of the Department of Natural Re-sources. Department Director DoyleChilders stresses the fact that “rehabbinga historic building conserves energy,helps reduce the amount of constructiondebris that goes into our landfills andtakes advantage of already existing utili-ties and infrastructure.”

The success of the state program isrecognized nationally as the reason forMissouri’s standing in the federal pro-gram – number one in projects completedand in dollars of private investment lever-

by Kris Zapalac

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aged in both fiscal years 2004 and 2007.But numbers don’t tell the whole story.

Revitalization projects begin with peo-ple – the people who first built, lived andworked in the buildings, those who reha-bilitate them and those who live and workin them today. Toney Aid, who lives andworks in a building he has rehabbed, isresponsible for the four National Registerof Historic Places listings in HowellCounty. Aid’s first tax credit projectsadded 9,000 square feet to the leasablecommercial space in West Plains andbrought 25 jobs into the town square.

According to Aid, “The additionalsales and income taxes repaid the state’sinvestment within the first five years –they still add to the coffers.” But hisfocus is local: “Not only has the countygained increased property taxes, but WestPlains’ Main Street has seen more than $2million in additional investment since theprojects’ completion.”

Halfway across the state, similar suc-cesses and tax credits helped officials inExcelsior Springs, a Certified Local Gov-ernment and a Downtown Revitalizationand Economic Assistance for Missouri(DREAM) community, lure a developerto town to rehabilitate the long-vacantSnapp’s Hotel into vibrant and affordablesenior apartments.

These success stories are repeated inArcadia, Boonville, Butler, California,Cape Girardeau, Carthage, Chesterfield,Chillicothe, Clarksville, Columbia,Danville, Farmington, Florissant, Fulton,Hannibal, Hartsburg, Hermann, Inde-pendence, Jefferson City, Joplin, KansasCity, King City, Kirkwood, Lexington,Louisiana, Manchester, Maplewood,Neosho, Nevada, New Haven, NewMelle, North Kansas City, Osceola, PilotGrove, Rocheport, Sedalia, St. Charles,St. Joseph, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve,Springfield, Trenton, University City and Wildwood.

It is in communities like these that wecelebrate the seeds planted by Congress’recognition that preserving historic struc-tures would bring not only “cultural, edu-cational, aesthetic and inspirational” ben-efits, but also “economic and energybenefits” for future generations.

Kris Zapalac is a historic tax credit re-viewer for the State Historic PreservationOffice in the department’s Division of State Parks.

Use of State and Federal HistoricTax Credits (HTC) in the Rehabili-tation of Underutilized Propertiesin Missouri

FY1998-2007Mo. state HTC

No. of projects 1,162total investment $3,264,685,253allowable costs $2,614,344,817credits issued $652,885,052

Mo. use of federal HTC

No. of projects 688total investment $2,042,064,310

Fall 2008 13

(Above) Historic tax creditsput people and buildings towork in towns across thestate, often in Main Streetstorefront buildings, butalso in hotels that sprangup next to railroad depotsor highways of yesteryear.(Inset) Founded to take ad-vantage of “curative” springs,Excelsior Springs (pop.10,847) had more hotels thanmost. As in other towns, his-toric tax credits made it pos-sible to convert the Snapp’sHotel into apartments.

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E. coli colonies per 100 milliliters ofwater during the entire recreationalseason of April 1 to Oct. 31. However,a single sample result does not meanthat an area fails to meet the standard.Multiple test results are required dur-ing the period.

The Department of Natural Re-sources, in partnership with the De-partment of Conservation, AmerenUEand the Lake of the Ozarks WatershedAlliance, will continue to test covesfrom the Community Toll Bridge tomile marker 30 through October.

E. coli is a bacteria found in the in-testinal tract of warm-blooded ani-mals. Frequently associated withfaulty septic tanks or sewer systems,E. coli can cause gastrointestinal ill-ness. For more information on E. coliand the testing program, including2007 results, visit the department’sWeb site at [www.dnr.mo.gov/pubs/pub2239.pdf].

Water sample test result data arealso online at [www.lmvp.org/LOWA/ecoli.htm]. A link to the data can alsobe accessed through the Lake of theOzarks Watershed Alliance’s Web site,[www.soslowa.org].

New Standards Affect WastewaterTreatment Permits

Due to implemen-tation of federalwaterqualitystan-dards,wastewater treatment facilitiesthroughout Missouri will begin see-ing tougher requirements whenseeking to renew their operating per-mits. These standards may requirecostly facility upgrades.

Wastewater treatment facilities,which operate under permits issuedby the Department of Natural Re-sources, must renew their permitsevery five years. In a facility’s nextpermit cycle, its permit may containnew or revised limits and a timeline formeeting those new limits. These newrequirements include limits for bacte-

New Satellite Officesin Northeast Region

The MissouriDepartment of Nat-ural Resources held

grand opening celebrationsfor three new satellite offices

in Boonville, Hannibal andKirksville in June 2008. All are to bemanaged by the department’s North-east Regional Office in Macon.

The Boonville Satellite Office, is lo-cated in the Katy Trail Depot, 320 FirstSt. and will provide field services inCooper and nearby counties.

The Hannibal Satellite Office is lo-cated at the Missouri Department ofTransportation District 3 Office, 1711South Highway 61. The site will focusprimarily on water pollution issues innortheast Missouri counties that bor-der the Mississippi River.

The Kirksville Satellite Office is locat-ed on the campus of Truman State Uni-versity. In addition to providing servicein Adair and nearby counties, staff atthis location will also work with the uni-versity on several cooperative projects.

The department’s Field ServicesDivision oversees five regional officesand 17 satellite offices. A map of re-gional offices and satellites is avail-able online at [www.dnr.mo.gov/regions/regions.htm].

Lake of the Ozarks E. Coli Tests Continue

The second year ofmonthly water testingfor the E. coli bacteriaat the Lake of theOzarks has seen sam-

pling of targeted coves that began inMay and continues through October.

Through July, the latest time periodfor which test results were available,163 water samples were taken be-tween the Lake of the Ozarks Commu-nity Toll Bridge and mile marker 30.Eight of these samples revealed E.coli present in levels above 126colonies per 100 milliliters.

The state water quality standard forwaters with whole body contact forrecreation is a geometric mean of 126

ria, ammonia and metals. New or ex-panding facilities will also have toconduct an antidegradation review.

While most of the costs will ulti-mately be borne by the facilities andtheir customers, the department offersfinancial assistance to help communi-ties through the State Revolving LoanFund. The fund provides low-interestloans to municipalities, water andsewer districts, saving them 60 to 70percent of the interest cost of a con-ventional loan.

In addition, to alleviate the strainof meeting the new standards, Gov.Matt Blunt approved the sale of $50million in Water Pollution ControlBonds in 2007 for public drinkingwater and wastewater infrastructuregrants statewide.

For more information on what serv-ices the department provides, visit ourcommunity assistance Web page at[www.dnr.mo.gov/assistance].

Water SavingTips Offered

The MissouriDepartment ofNatural Re-sources offerssome tips to consumers to help con-serve water to observe Drinking WaterWeek. Conserving water will save con-sumers’ money and help ensure thesustainability of public water supplies.

The following 10 tips will help con-serve water this week and all year long:• Take short showers and draw less

water for baths.• Turn off the water while brushing

teeth and shaving.• Keep drinking water in the refriger-

ator rather than run the tap. • Compost food scraps rather than

using the garbage disposal.• Check your toilet for leaks by plac-

ing a little food coloring in the tankand seeing if it leaks into the bowl.

• Water lawns in the evening or earlymorning to minimize evaporation.

• Position sprinklers so the waterreaches the lawn, not paved areas.

• Use a broom to clean sidewalksand driveways, not a hose.

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14 Missouri Resources

• Wash your car less often.• Cut grass at least 3 inches high to

shade the roots, making it moredrought tolerant.Drinking Water Week recognizes

Missouri’s public drinking water sys-tems for providing Missourians withsafe drinking water. A safe, reliablewater supply is critical to the successof any community.

Initiative Funds NewDrinking Water Grants

The Missouri Department of NaturalResources will commit approximately$2.8 million to eight northwest com-munities for drinking water treatmentand distribution improvements. Thegrant funds are part of the governor’sClean Water Initiative.

The Atchison County WholesaleWater Commission, consisting ofAtchison County Public Water SupplyDistrict No.1 and the communities ofCraig, Fairfax, Rock Port and Tarkio,will use the grants in combination withother funds to construct a new watertreatment facility to produce water ona regional scale, to provide water stor-age and distribution to deliver safeand adequate water to wholesale cus-tomers and to upgrade individual dis-tribution systems to accept water fromthe regional supplier. This is part of along-term regional plan involving 12counties in northwest Missouri.

The cities of Burlington Junction,Clearmont and Hopkins in NodawayCounty will use their grant funds fortheir drinking water projects.

In June 2007, Gov. Blunt an-nounced that the state would issue$50 million in bonds to assist Missouricommunities facing problems relatedto drinking water and wastewatertreatment. The loans and grants fromthe Clean Water Initiative are adminis-tered by the department’s Water Pro-tection Program and are limited tocounties, municipalities and water orsewer districts.

In August, 2008, four grants total-ing $1.1 million were also awarded tothe communities of Arcadia, FairGrove, Ste. Genevieve and Platts-

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Fall 2008 15

environmental notes

For too many years, Missouri landowners – includinglocal governments and businesses – used sinkholes asconvenient places to dump trash, pour used oil or an-tifreeze or to dispose of junk cars, old concrete or treetrunks. Perhaps, for just as many years, people havemisunderstood what sinkholes are and how they shouldbe managed to protect natural resources.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has inter-est in sinkholes within the Division of Geology and Land Survey,the Solid and Hazardous Waste Management programs and Water Protection Pro-grams of the Division of Environmental Quality and the Water Resources Center.

Sinkholes are characteristic of a geologic condition known as karst topography.Other geologically related karst features include losing streams (streams that losetheir flow to the subsurface), springs, caves and valleys formed by collapsed caves.

A sinkhole (also called a doline) is a depressed area usually formed by themovement or collapse of soil into a cave system formed in dolomite or limestonebedrock below the surface. Sinkholes range in size from several square yards tohundreds of acres. They may be shallow or may extend hundreds of feet deep.Sinkholes are places where there is rapid recharge or replenishing of groundwaterfrom the surface so they are areas of potential groundwater contamination. Thiswould more likely show up in springs rather than properly cased wells. However,managing surface water quality and waste disposal practices in sinkhole-proneareas are important to maintaining reliable groundwater sources.

Missouri’s water protection regulations are designed to protect the groundwa-ter resources because groundwater is widely used for drinking water in some partsof the state. Injection of hazardous wastes such as industrial fluids, service stationfluids or radioactive wastes into groundwater through wells or sinkholes is prohibit-ed. Permits (licenses) are required in order to drill almost any type of well in thestate, including water and monitoring wells, ground source heat pump systems,and mining exploration test holes. Permits are also required for constructing andoperating public water supplies.

The land application of manure from concentrated animal feeding operations isrestricted to no closer than 300 feet from losing streams, sinkholes, caves, wells,abandoned wells, water supply structures or impoundments and any other con-nection between surface and groundwater.

Solid waste disposal regulations prohibit the use of sinkholes as landfills oreven as emergency burial sites for construction and demolition waste or stormdebris. This is not only to protect groundwater, but deep beneath the surface,where cave-dwelling fish and animals exist, decaying wastes can deprive them oflife-giving oxygen.

Dead animal burial and composting efforts are not allowed near sinkholes andmust be kept 100 feet from surface water such as ponds, streams and lakes. Theseactivities also are banned 300 feet from springs, losing streams, and wells – usedor abandoned – or from neighboring residences, surface drinking water intakesand public water supply lakes.

Proper sinkhole management is critical to the long-term protection of Missouri’snatural resources.

Managed Sinkholes Protect Water

Non-profit organizations includingschools, day care centers and parksmay apply for grant funds. The depart-ment has awarded almost $1.6 millionto 279 organizations since the grantsbecame available in 1994.

Funding for the grant program is a5 percent portion of the 50-cent-per-tire fee collected during the sale ofnew tires in Missouri. It also financescleanup of illegal scrap tire dumps, in-spection and enforcement. The fee isset to expire on Jan. 1, 2010, unless itis renewed by the legislature.

For more information on the ScrapTire Material Grants or the depart-ment’s Solid Waste Management Pro-gram, call 573-751-5401 or 800-361-4827 or visit the Web at[www.dnr.mo.gov/env/swmp].

burg for water infrastructure improve-ments through the governor’s CleanWater Initiative.

Department Awards Playground Grants

The MissouriDepartment ofNatural Resourceshas awarded 10grants totaling$95,000 from thefiscal year 2008Scrap Tire Play-ground Surfacing

Material Grant cycle.These grants promote the use of

recycled scrap tires for playgroundcover or surfacing material for runningtracks, trails or other projects.

Missouri Leads NationIn Historic Preservation

Missouri once again leads the na-tion in private investment in historicbuildings in town squares, rural farm-steads and larger urban areas acrossthe state. Developers invested almost$535 million in the rehabilitation ofMissouri buildings certified for federalhistoric preservation tax credits.

According to fiscal year 2007 sta-tistics released by the National ParkService, Missouri ranked No. 1 in allthree of the following categories:$534,854,460 in up-front investmentby developers; 174 projects receivedpreliminary approval; and 189 proj-ects received final approval.

Missouri’s consistently high federalstanding is attributed to the State His-

LettersI was reading your article in the Winter 2008 issue on water

testing at the Lake of the Ozarks. Of the 57 samples taken, allwere within the E. coli standard for swimming and whole bodycontact recreation. I live on the Big Niangua arm above thebridge at about the 5- or 6-mile marker. As far as water color isconcerned, I don’t see why anyone might even swim in thelake. People live on the hillside overlooking the lake withstate-approved septic systems – I have one myself. Years ago,my water tested positive for E. coli. After I had an ultravioletwater purification system put in, it checked out fine. Backthen, on the Ha Ha Tonka side, you could drink from the lake,and the water tasted good. During your next scheduled test-ing, I wonder if your testers would lean out of the boat andtake a drink of this so-called pure water. Fall is a busy time onthe lake, why don’t you give the water a test on the Big Nian-gua arm?

Wallace RoofenerCamdenton

Editor’s Note:The Field Services Division, which is handling the depart-

ment’s part of the testing, reminds us that the recreational useof today’s Lake of the Ozarks is far greater than previousdecades. That impact requires that we focus our efforts onwhat is safe for swimming, which is a much lower standard tomeet. Testing continued this spring and runs through October.Eventually, all of the lake will be tested. If we do not get to theNiangua arm this year, rest assured we will at some point dur-ing the testing project.

I enjoyed J.D. Balkenbush’s article on his experience rid-ing the KATY trail. I recently organized a group of friends toride the trail as a memorial to my sister, Debbie Fink. Shedied 10 years ago on March 25th. We rode from Clinton toSt. Charles in March this year. She loved to ride bikes andwe utilized her memorial funds to purchase several benchesalong the trail, I have visited the two benches in St. Charles,but had never been to the one near Treloar. I also didn’t com-plete the whole trail, but the majority, as J. D. did. We (JeffJohnson, Stew Monnier, John, Becky and Dan Porter) didn’thave nearly the company, only saw two other groups, and itsnowed on us. The support vehicle was my husband, whohelped navigate the course and even managed to get myelderly parents close enough to Treloar to walk 1 mile to thebench. Thank you to the tree farm near Treloar who gavethem a ride back to his truck. We thoroughly enjoyed our tripand the towns we stayed overnight in – Sedalia, JeffersonCity, Boonville and Hermann. What a great ride. Pain truly isthe path to joy!

Diana DickeyKansas City

Letters intended for publication should be addressed to “Letters,” Missouri Resources, PO Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176 or faxed to(573) 522-6262, attention: “Letters.” Please include your name, address and daytime phone number. Space may require us to edit your letter.You also can e-mail Missouri Resources staff at moresdnr@dnr.mo.gov

16 Missouri Resources

News Briefs

toric Rehabilitation Tax Credit Programcreated by the General Assembly in1997. Since that time, hundreds of un-derutilized historic buildings havebeen reclaimed throughout the state.

The department’s State HistoricPreservation Office oversees the fed-eral projects at the local level.

Parkway North OnEnvirothon Roll

ParkwayNorth HighSchool won theMissouri Envi-rothon competi-tion for the thirdstraight year

and then placed second in the na-tional contest. The school is part ofthe Parkway School District in St.Louis County.

The team competed at the 2008Canon Envirothon in Flagstaff, Ariz.,July 28 to Aug. 3, and scored 606.7out of a possible 700 points to winsecond place. Each team member willreceive a $4,000 scholarship.

The Canon Envirothon is NorthAmerica’s largest high school naturalresources competition, with more than54 teams from 46 states and eightCanadian provinces competing at thenational level. The state event at Lakeof the Ozarks State Park featured thetop three teams from each of Mis-souri’s seven regional competitions.

The Envirothon consists of stu-dents competing at five outdoor test-ing stations – aquatic ecology,forestry, soils and land use, wildlifeand recreational impacts on naturalresources. Each team also gives anoral presentation to a panel of judges.

Parkway North’s Russell Bartonhas coached the team for the pastfive years.

Sponsors for the Missouri Envi-rothon include the Missouri Depart-ment of Natural Resources, the Mis-souri Association of Soil and WaterConservation Districts, local soil andwater conservation districts, the Mis-souri Department of Conservation, theMissouri Soil and Water Conservation

Fall 2008 17

The Reeds SpringHigh School StreamTeam 432, formed in1993, is possibly the onlyStream Team to have metthe President of the Unit-ed States. President Bushpresented the team with a2007 President’s Environ-mental Youth Award inApril 2008. The team waschosen as the winner bythe U.S. EPA’s Region 7,which comprises thestates of Iowa, Kansas,Nebraska and Missouri.

The Stream Team be-came involved in thiswater stewardship proj-ect after its membersstudied environmental is-sues that affect streamsin their community. In thespring of 2007, team members researched and designed a project on water moni-toring. In September, the team collected and analyzed water samples at specificsites along a local stream. The data they gathered was analyzed and sent to theDepartment of Natural Resources to be included in a statewide water qualitydatabase. The team also floated the James River to pick up litter, sample streaminvertebrates, test water acidity and take water samples back to the laboratory forbacterial analysis.

Stream Team members prepared maps, graphs and spreadsheets of data to il-lustrate the results of water testing. They also gave presentations to school staffand organizations to inform the community about protecting its streams and howindividuals can become involved in improving the quality of Missouri’s streams.Team members researched environmental regulations and local impacts onstream quality. They also traveled to Jefferson City to discuss local water qualityissues with the Missouri General Assembly.

The Reeds Spring High School Stream Team 432’s dedication and efforts toteach the public about environmental issues and how individuals can become in-volved in this project are making a difference in their community.

The Stream Team Program is a cooperative effortbetween the Missouri Department of Natural Re-sources, the Missouri Department of Conservation andthe Conservation Federation of Missouri. For informa-tion about the Stream Team Program, visit[www.dnr.mo.gov/env/wpp/VWQM.htm] or[www.mostreamteam.org].

The Reeds Spring Stream Team visited MissouriDepartment of Natural Resources Director DoyleChilders on their way to the Missouri State Capi-tol for Lobbying Day.

First row, left: Brooke Morey, Robin Langton,Molly Riddle, Ashleaha Farley. Second row:Priscilla Stotts, Julia Pope, Mike Collins, DanielSeiler, Ryan Lear, Doyle Childers, Ross Carter,April Van Haitsma, Mikal Farley and Tonya Lewis.

Stream Team Meets President

Stream Team Notebook

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ences and seek opportunities to con-tribute to the growth and enrichmentof families and youth in the urbanareas. The office will be modeledafter a similar office that has been es-tablished by the division in the St.Louis area.

“Many times, residents in theurban areas are not aware of all theopportunities available in Missouristate parks and historic sites. Theseurban offices are one way we canreach out to these audiences and letthem know all we have to offer,” saidDoug Eiken, director of the depart-ment’s Division of State Parks.

Staff at the Kansas City Area Officewill develop an urban outreach planthat best complements and supports

Districts Employee Association, theU.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conser-vation Service, the University of Mis-souri Extension and the Show-MeChapter of the Soil and Water Conser-vation Society.

New Parks OfficeIn Kansas City

The department’sDivision of StateParks is establish-ing an urban officeat the Anita B. Gor-man ConservationDiscovery Center in

Kansas City. The officeis intended to elevate the visibilityand programs offered to urban audi-

other community efforts. Staff will beresponsible for developing specialprograms and events that targeturban audiences. These efforts will in-clude teaching them basic outdoorskills and providing information aboutrecreational opportunities.

The Kansas City Area Office, locat-ed at 4750 Troost Ave., is expected tobe fully operational by fall 2008.

18 Missouri Resources

Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1713 posed for this photo in June 1933, while they were working on projects atRoaring River State Park, in Barry County. Some of the buildings that make up Camp Smokey, the park’s organized groupcamp, were constructed by the CCC. The photo provided a reason for everyone, including the cooks and officers, to relaxand look sharp. See pages 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this issue for stories and photos of other CCC group camps that are now part ofMissouri’s natural resources.

Send your photo to “Time Exposures,” c/o Missouri Resources, PO Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176. All pictures will be returned via insuredmail. Pre-1970 environmental and natural resource photos from Missouri will be considered. Please try to include the date and location of thepicture, a brief description and any related historic details that might be of interest to our readers.

Time Exposures

News Briefs

For news releases on the Web, visit

[www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel/index.html]. For a

complete listing of the department’s upcoming

meetings, hearings and events, visit the depart-

ment’s online calendar at [www.dnr.mo.gov/

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Wendell Hall, an environmental specialist with the Division ofField Services, Environmental Services Program, South-

west Regional Office, Springfield, was named the Missouri StateEmployee of the Month for April 2008. He was also named Em-ployee of the Month for March 2008 by the Missouri Department ofNatural Resources.

On Jan. 8, 2008, heavy rain caused flow through the city of Noelwastewater lift station to increase from the normal rate of 140,000gallons per day to approximately one million gallons per day. Cityemployees soon observed that no flow was entering the treatmentfacility from the lift station pipeline. They determined that the pipecrossing the Elk River was either broken or swept downstream.This caused a continuous release of untreated wastewater into theElk River. However, due to the increased flow of the river and infil-tration of rainwater into the sewer system, the raw sewage washighly diluted. This minimized the immediate potential for environ-mental damage, but the spill continued.

On Jan. 10, SWRO staff, Wendell Hall and Randall Willoughby,ESP on-site coordinators, met with city of Noel officials to discussthe situation. Hall took the lead in managing the morning meetingand later discussion at the lift station between department staff andthe city’s wastewater operator and mayor, to evaluate the situationand determine possible solutions. In the afternoon, city officials,SWRO staff and engineers representing the city of Noel, met to dis-cuss a three-pronged approach to dealing with the broken waste-water main. Once again, Hall stepped in, took the lead in manag-

The Missouri State Highway Patrol warehouse staff were recog-nized by the Office of Administration, Missouri State Recycling

Program, with the 2007 annual recycling award for a state agency.According to Rob Didrickson, coordinator of the state recycling

program, the efforts of agencies statewide resulted in a combinedtotal of 4,532 tons of materials recycled in 2007. If this amount ofmaterial had been sent to landfills, it is estimated the State of Mis-souri would have paid at least $163,922 in disposal costs.

MSHP Supply Manager Chris Terry said that the history of thepatrol’s recycle program started about five years ago with the recy-cling of paper goods through MRS Recycling Services, JeffersonCity. Three years ago, Darrell Taube, the warehouse manager atthat time, inquired about recycling rechargeable portable radio bat-teries, which MSHP generated in large quantities. This led to astatewide solution to battery recycling for all state agencies,through the recycling company RBRC, Tampa, Fla.

The warehouse developed a system whereby supplies andgoods are not only distributed statewide from Jefferson City, butalso many items that can be recycled are returned to the ware-house for recycling. Items include office paper, catalogs, phonebooks, shredded materials and ink toner cartridges. The patrol re-alized that many of their supply trucks were returning to the Jeffer-son City warehouse empty and it made sense to offer recyclingservices to other offices.

Terry and Taube next looked into ways of recycling scrap metalsgenerated by the highway patrol. Galamba Metals Group, HoltsSummit, soon had a dumpster in place. Metal car parts from thepatrol’s Motor Equipment Division, along with old file cabinets,chair parts, desks and basically any metal junk that could befound, went to recycling instead of landfills. Money collected frommetal recycling is sent to OA’s Missouri State Recycling Program.

In 2006, the patrolwarehouse purchased abaler so they could crushand bale old cardboard.The patrol also made itsemployees aware thatthey could bring recycla-ble items to the ware-house. The Motor Equip-ment Division, incooperation with the De-partment of Corrections,shreds and recycles used tires. The division also burns used oilfrom patrol vehicles to heat a mechanic’s garage. They also re-cycle lead batteries and antifreeze from patrol vehicles. The de-partment also recycles the daily cooking oil from its kitchen atthe Jefferson City training academy. A total of 780 pounds ofused cooking oil has been recycled.

In 2007, the patrol took bids and recycled 8,600 pounds ofspent brass casing from ammunition training. T&T Pallets, Jef-ferson City, now gathers and refurbishes all wooden pallets andboards that MSHP discards.

To date, the agency has recycled 46.5 tons (92,635 pounds)of loose paper; 2.5 tons (4,800 pounds) of shredded paper; 12tons (24,000 pounds) of cardboard; 150,000 pounds of scrapmetal; 1,000 rechargeable batteries; 670 wooden pallets; and1,200 tires.

“The patrol continues to find other ways to improve the envi-ronment by recycling other goods such as plastic water andsoda bottles,” said Terry. “And, of course, our purchasing de-partment is always looking to buy recycled goods, if available.”

Leading Recyclers Missouri State Highway Patrol

Darrell Taube and Chris Terry

ing the discussion and provided themedia with explanations and updates.

On Jan. 11, Hall made another tripto Noel to assist the city and its engi-neers in achieving a timely, environ-mentally safe and efficient solution tothis emergency. On Saturday, Jan.12,he returned to oversee the implemen-tation of the emergency responseplan. City officials hired a contractorthat used three tanker trucks to shuttlewastewater one-half mile from the liftstation to the city’s wastewater treatment plant, bypassing thebreak in the line. The flow of wastewater into the Elk River wascompletely stopped and once again the water quality of the ElkRiver was protected.

In nominating Hall, Brian Allen, chief, Environmental EmergencyResponse / Field Services, Jefferson City, said, “Without Wendell’sexpertise and leadership, the situation would not have been resolvedas quickly and efficiently. He is always very professional, knowledge-able and a true credit to the department. He is extremely capable atorganizing and dealing with a variety of situations and people.”

Hall began working for the department in November 1993. Helives in Nixa with his wife and two children. They enjoy outdoor ac-tivities such as canoeing, camping, hiking and biking in theirOzarks surroundings.

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Taking Charge Wendell Hall

Wendell Hall

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Resource Honor Roll

Emerging out of the low, flat, alluvial lands of southeast Mis-souri is a long, narrow band of ancient loess-capped hillscalled Crowley’s Ridge. This series of hills exposes Mis-

souri’s geologic past in a manner unseen anywhere else in NorthAmerica. For visitors wanting to explore this ancient landscape, they

can do so at Morris State Park in Dunklin County, Missouri’s onlystate park on Crowley’s Ridge.

What visitors see today began forming millions of years ago when melt waters from retreating gla-ciers carved out miles of broad, flat floodplains now associated with the southeast lowlands. As theMississippi and Ohio rivers moved to their present location, they left a high ridge between them thatcollected windblown silt, called loess, and sediments for millions of years. Based on ancient bedrockand topped with loess, Crowley’s Ridge rises 200 to 500 feet above the Mississippi floodplain.

Resources to Explore

by Allison Vaughn and Sue Holst

20 Missouri Resources

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Named after early land surveyor and Warof 1812 veteran Benjamin Crowley, Crow-ley’s Ridge stretches for 200 miles fromCommerce, Mo., to Helena, Ark., and is oneof the few wooded tracts of land remainingin southeast Missouri.

In 2000, Springfield businessman Jim D.Morris donated this part of Crowley’s Ridgeto the Missouri Department of Natural Re-sources. Morris grew up in the area aroundthe property and wanted to ensure that thisland would be preserved for future genera-tions to enjoy. The property was likely thelargest tract of intact Crowley’s Ridgewoodlands in private ownership.

Characterized by old-growth beech trees,acid seeps, a rich understory layer of fernsand sedges and a small remnant of the his-torical Malden Prairie, the 161-acre parkoccupies the eastern slope of the ridge fromcrest to floodplain. Surrounded by a land-scape largely converted to agriculture, Mor-ris State Park preserves ancient plants andanimals that some botanists believe mayhave once covered most of Missouri beforethe glacial retreat of the last ice age. Sandwoodlands and forests dominated by cher-rybark oak, willow oak, southern red oak

and devil’s walking stick prevail here andare the only place in Missouri where thesespecies occur together. Similar sand com-munities are, however, common to thesoutheastern United States.

More than 326 plant species have beenidentified at the park, many of which are re-stricted in Missouri to the acidic, gravellysoils on Crowley’s Ridge. Several of thesespecies, like American beech, tulip poplarand American holly, are of distinctly eastern

and northeastern distributions. Crowley’sRidge represents the western edge of therange for these and other plants, like thesmall woodland sunflower and locally rareorchids such as large whorled pogonia.

Small acid seeps occur at the base ofslopes where they continuously tricklewater through sands and gravels depositedroughly 95 to 70 million years ago. Thesesmall wetlands harbor sedges and ferns andcan be found scattered throughout MorrisState Park. The low-growing vine partridgeberry grows on moist sandstone outcrop-pings associated with acid seeps. Animalssuch as Mississippi mud turtles, spottedsalamanders and five species of frogs (in-cluding the green tree frog, an animalwhose habitat is restricted in Missouri tothe southeast) live in these specialized andunique areas.

B efore European settlement, the sprawl-ing Malden Prairie stretched from

Stoddard County through Malden and southinto northern Arkansas. This gently undulat-ing alluvial sand plain rested at the base ofCrowley’s Ridge. Historically, fire sweptacross the vast Malden Prairie, invigorating

warm season grasses while keeping trees atbay. As fire moved across the prairie, it tra-ditionally crept up the steep slopes of Crow-ley’s Ridge, consuming leaf litter and en-couraging a rich herbaceous layer in thewoodlands.

While agriculture claimed most of theloamy prairie soils by the early 1900s, asmall remnant of the prairie still exists inMorris State Park. Within the past 50 years,fire suppression allowed trees and brush to

(Opposite page) Old-growthbeech trees, found only inMissouri’s southeasterncounties, thrive in MorrisState Park’s sandy soils.(Above) A variety of fernsand wildflowers decorate thewoodland floor at the 161-acre state park on Crowley’s Ridge.DNR photo by Scott Myers

Fall 2008 21

move into the remnantprairie. Park staff have re-moved trees from the areaand used managed fire toencourage the growth ofnative prairie vegetation.The prairie has the onlyknown population of giantsugarcane plumegrass inMissouri, and this manage-ment also has encouragedthe spread of the grass intoits historic range.

In the 1950s, due to log-ging pressure and naturalerosion, part of a steephillside on the eastern sideof the park collapsed, ex-posing geologic layers de-posited between 85 millionand 10,000 years ago. Atthe top of the cliff, thickloess layers deposited nearthe end of the ice age posesharp contrast to the redclay and sandstone layersseen at the base.

The cliff, which dropsroughly 100 feet into amoist wooded valley, is de-void of vegetation.

(Above, top) Victoria Jackson and Delois Ellis,New Madrid, take a paved walkway to an over-look with views of Morris State Park’s forests.

(Above) This cliff exposes layers of soil deposit-ed between 10,000 and 85 million years ago.

Morris State Park is a great place to ob-serve birds because of its location on theMississippi Flyway, a migratory route fol-lowed by millions of birds every fall andspring. As songbirds travel between theirwintering grounds in South and CentralAmerica to their breeding grounds in NorthAmerica, they locate undisturbed parcels ofland in which to feed and rest before contin-uing their journey. The woodlands andforests of Morris State Park offer protectionfrom the elements, food and water in a land-scape largely dominated by agriculture.During migration, bird lovers can findchestnut-sided warblers, bay breasted war-blers and black-throated blue warblers.

To emphasize and preserve the natu-ral integrity of the area, the Depart-

ment of Natural Resources has decided toallow only minimal development at thepark. A short accessible walkway leads to acovered hillside overlook nestled in thetrees. Information provided along the trailprofiles the formation and natural featuresof the park and Crowley’s Ridge. The two-mile Trail of the Beach Trees is a good wayto explore the park and take a closer look atits features. The trail enables park visitorsto hike the steep hill to the top of Crowley’sRidge, traversing through sand forests,woodlands and, in the lower reaches of thepark, small intermittent streams.

Spring ushers in the blooming period ofthe red buckeye, a common understoryshrub restricted to the southeast in Mis-souri. Bristly sunflowers and Devils’ walk-ing stick bloom in the summer months,inviting a suite of pollinators deep into thewoods. The white oaks, American beechand red maples dazzle park visitors in thefall with showy red and yellow leaves.

To the casual observer, Morris State Parkis a welcoming shady island in a sea of agri-culture. By looking deeper, they will dis-cover rich woodlands, remnant prairie andsand forests that represent a rare erosionallandscape that only remains in North Amer-ica within the confines of 200 miles.

Morris State Park is located five milesnorth of Campbell on Route YY in DunklinCounty. For more information about thestate park, visit [www.mostateparks.com].

Allison Vaughn is a natural resource stew-ard and Sue Holst is the public informationofficer for the Department of Natural Re-sources’ Division of State Parks.

22 Missouri Resources

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Danny Jaco

The Best Job inLaw Enforcement

Career Connection

Growing up nearLake Wappa-

pello, Danny Jaco de-veloped a strong inter-est in the area. Today,he holds what he calls“the best job in law en-forcement.” Jaco servesas a state park ranger atLake Wappapello StatePark. With his interestin law enforcement andthe outdoors, a law en-forcement job in arecreational settingproved to be a perfectmatch for him.

“Compared to otherjobs in law enforce-ment, I work in afriendlier atmosphere,even though peoplearen’t always happy tosee me. It is more inter-esting because of thevariety of things that Ienforce, ranging fromwildlife laws to narcotics,” said Jaco.

A typical summer day for Jaco starts witha short meeting with park staff to get an up-date of what’s going on in the park and tosee if any concerns had arisen overnight.Then, it’s off to patrol the campground, par-ticularly to check up on problems from theevening before. Along the way, visitors askhim a variety of questions pertaining to thepark or other local attractions.

The day-use area is his next destinationto make sure park visitors are complyingwith park rules, like staying within thebuoys in the swimming area and keepingtheir dogs on a leash. Talking to park visi-

tors, traffic control and issuing citations forvarious violations fills the day.

As it started, the day ends in the camp-ground. A very important part of the job re-quires an evening walk or bicycle patrol ofthe campground, going from site to site en-forcing quiet hours. In the fall and winter,when there are fewer campers and picnick-ers, Jaco concentrates on patrolling thepark’s trails. There is plenty of paperworkto be done, as well.

“It’s very rewarding knowing that I makethe park a safe, family-friendly place. Par-ents don’t have to worry about letting theirkids ride their bikes in the campground. By

by Jennifer Siegphotographs by Scott Myers

Career Connection

State Park Ranger Danny Jaco talks with Lake Wappapello State Park camp host Dennis Parish. Parishand his wife Peggy are full-time “RVers” from Texas, currently based in South Dakota.

Fall 2008 23

enforcing the park rules, I feel that I make abig difference in visitors having a positiveexperience,” said Jaco.

There are two different entry-level posi-tions for anyone wishing to become a parkranger. The park ranger recruit position re-quires an individual to have 60 semesterhours of credit from an accredited collegeor university. Fifteen of those must be inlaw enforcement, criminal justice, sociolo-gy, psychology or a closely related behav-ioral science. The park ranger position re-quires an individual to be a graduate of aMissouri Peace Officers Standards andTraining Commission approved law en-forcement academy.

Both positions require applicants to passa physical performance test and an intensive

background investigation, appear before anoral interview board, have or be able to at-tain a valid Missouri driver’s license, be age21 or older and successfully complete apsychological evaluation and a medicalexam that includes drug screening. Appli-cants must be eligible to be certified as apeace officer in the state of Missouri. Toapply for either of these two positions, indi-viduals must complete a Missouri MeritSystem application, which can be complet-ed online at [www.ease.mo.gov].

In addition, Jaco says that good commu-nications skills are a must. “You could geteaten alive if you don’t have good commu-nication skills and the ability to peacefullywork out problems with people,” he said.“You also need a certain amount of commonsense and to be street smart.”

In Jaco’s opinion, you can’t beat his job.“The benefits are great, the pay is competi-tive, the equipment and training are superb,you get a lot of support from staff and thereis a lot of room for advancement. And …you get to work in a recreational setting.”

Jennifer Sieg is a public information spe-cialist with the department’s Division ofState Parks.

(Above, top) Ranger Danny Jaco spends a lot of time on traffic controland routine patrol of the park’s campground and day-use areas.

(Above) Ranger Jaco greets visitors to Lake Wappapello State Parkand provides them with information, assistance and safety advice.

“ … I feel that I make a big difference invisitors having a positive experience.”

– Park Ranger Danny Jaco

24 Missouri Resources

MDC and the Missouri Department ofNatural Resources work together tocreate the state park. In early 2008,Conservation transferred approxi-mately 800 acres to Natural Resourcesfor the new state park.

Current River State Park is beingbuilt on property that was formerly theAlton Club, which was constructed inthe late 1930s as a corporate retreat forthe Alton Box Board Co. and whosestructures are now listed in the Nation-al Register of Historic Places. In addi-tion to its historical significance, thenew state park is part of the much larg-er and naturally significant CurrentRiver landscape. With its location ad-jacent to the Current River, a portionof the new state park is within the sce-

nic easement of theOzark National Sce-nic Riverways,which was the na-tion’s first nationalpark to protect awild river system.

The area of thepark within the sce-nic easement will in-clude the restoredbuildings of the cor-porate retreat, alongwith day-use activi-ties such as a picnicarea, fishing in thelake and a smallcanoe take-out area.Outside of the sceniceasement, modernstate park amenitieswill be constructed.Visitors will be ableto stay in cabins orbring their tent andstay in the camp-ground. The parkwill serve as a cen-tral hub for area hik-

ing information and miles of hiking andbackpacking trails will be constructedand linked to other public trails in thearea. A special-use camp will be avail-able by reservation to organizedgroups. In keeping with the educationallegacy of the area, the Jerry J. PresleyEducation Center will be developedwith meeting spaces to serve a varietyof programming activities.

Development of the park is beingfinanced as part of the settlementagreement with AmerenUE over theTaum Sauk Reservoir breach. The de-partment hopes to have the majorityof the park open to the public in 2010.

Sue Holst is the division information officer for the Division of State Parks.

One Last Word

Department of Natural Resources Director Doyle Childers, left, Gov. Matt Blunt and John Hoskins, direc-tor, Department of Conservation, discuss development plans at Current River State Park.

Fall 2008 25

Planning a New State Parkby Sue Holst photograph by Scott Myers

Planning is under way for thenewest state park in the Missouri

state park system: Current River StatePark. The new state park north of Em-inence in Shannon County is beingbuilt along one of the state’s most out-standing rivers, the Current River.

The new state park showcases allthree parts of the Missouri state parkmission: It has outstanding naturallandscapes and historical landmarks,as well as opportunities for recreation.That three-fold mission is why Gov.Matt Blunt felt the area would be wellsuited as a state park. The propertywas owned by the Missouri Depart-ment of Conservation and operated asthe Jerry J. Presley Outdoor Educa-tion Center. Gov. Blunt requested that

MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCESP.O. Box 176Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176

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