Natural Resources Conservation Service 1 

Clear...Concise...and to the Non-Point 

Volume 10, Issue 1 

May 2009 

THE UPPER WHITE RIVER REVIEW

The Newsletter of the South Missouri Water Quality Project, a USDA-NRCS Water Quality Office 

Providing Conservation Solutions To Non-Point Source Water Pollution. 

I have found there is 

nothing like the magic 

of a canoe to fortify relationships, whether those 

relationships are people 

and nature, or people and 

people. This past Earth 

Day, I was fortunate to be 

in a canoe with my oldest 

teen-aged son participating in a clean-up event at 

one of our local lakes. 

When he was a small boy, 

we spent many hours 

together on rural streams 

floating and fishing. As we 

spent the afternoon dodging snakes and picking up 

trash, we recalled our fishing battles, especially his famous encounter with a gar on the James River. 

Over the years, I have viewed our time spent on 

streams as a primary method to educate my sons about 

the outdoors. Our family follows the classic example 

nationwide of how each generation becomes more removed from the outdoor life of farming. Despite having 

a century farm in our family, my sons have not had the 

privilege to daily experience life on this farm. From an 

early age, I have tried to teach them the importance of 

agriculture, and how we must continue to grow food for 

everyone to eat – a basic human need. Because we live 

several hours from our farm, floating our local streams 

provided the perfect backdrop to reinforce these discussions. 

Although we still do many activities together, we both 

agreed that we haven’t spent enough time on the water 

lately. For me, spending time on the water provides an 

excellent “reality check” for our conservation work. 

Thanks to the efforts of many conservation-minded 

groups, our community is well informed and motivated 

to practice conservation. I was pleased to see that the 

shoreline at our local lake looked pretty good. 

This Earth Day I felt good about doing something 

constructive for our community. I’m not naïve enough to 

think the small amount of trash we collected significantly enhanced the environment, but I do think the 

time I invested with my son just might someday pay big 

environmental dividends. I urge you to get involved in 

conservation. You might make a wonderful memory. 

Stewardship Compass by Steve Hefner 

Steve Hefner, South Missouri 

Water Quality Project Team 

Leader 

Grand Opening Showcases Fossilized Bones

Missouri Institute of Natural Science Now Open For Business 

5th Anniversary Meeting 2 

Pilot Project a Success 3 

Irrigation Project 4 

Riparian Corridor Workshop 4 

Report Feral Hogs 4 

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 

 A cease order issued by the government on all activities involving explosives 

following the 9-11 terrorist attack prevented completion of a construction project near Springfield, MO. Blast engineers 

planned demolition work for a new road 

and was allowed to detonate only the 

charges that had been already loaded. 

That single blast led to the discovery of 

the oldest fossil cave in North America. 

 Since that time, science exploration and 

conservation efforts have been conducted 

in the cave. A new Field House Annex 

has been constructed and will house fossilized artifacts. A ribbon cutting ceremony was recently held on May 5, 2009. 

Contact Matt Forir, executive director, to 

schedule a visit (417-883-0594). 

1786 S. 16th Avenue, Suite 105 

Ozark, MO 65721 

South Missouri Water Quality Project 

Prehistoric turtle 

shell excavated 

from the cave with 

a puncture wound. 
Natural Resources Conservation Service 2 

Commemoration Event Nets Two U.S. Representatives

Blunt and Emerson Receive Briefing about SMWQ Conservation Efforts 

 Members of Congress Roy Blunt 

(MO-7th District) and Jo Ann Emerson 

(MO-8th District) recently attended a 5th

year Commemoration Meeting on April 

14, 2009 of the USDA-NRCS South 

Missouri Water Quality Project at the 

Missouri State University Fruit Experiment Station in Mountain Grove, MO. 

Organized in 2003 through a local Resource Conservation and Development 

Council, an interdisciplinary staff of 

conservationists has provided voluntary conservation assistance to property owners and managers to improve 

water quality in the Upper White River 

Basin of Missouri. 

 “Our project area covers parts of 21 

counties and two congressional districts in Missouri,” said Team Leader 

Steven Hefner. “We were pleased to 

have the opportunity to inform the representatives about the assistance that 

has been provided to the public regarding conservation.” 

 SMWQ staff members Robert 

DeMoss, Clay Robertson, Adam Coulter, and Mary Giles provided brief reports detailing accomplishments. To 

date the staff has assessed nearly 

24,000 acres of forest land, 150 miles 

of riparian corridor, prepared 6,600 

acres of rural nutrient management 

plans, 645 urban nutrient management 

plans, assistance in 79 additional urban conservation activities, and implemented a youth water education program to over 5,500 households. 

 Representative Blunt was instrumental in the creation of the federally 

funded office to offer site-specific, timetested technical assistance for conservation practices. He indicated in a recent editorial published by the Springfield News-Leader that the office, “can 

be a model for the nation in its pursuit 

of empowering citizens and government to work together to ensure a rising quality of water.” 

U.S. Representatives, Jo Ann Emerson (left) and Roy Blunt (right) at the SMWQ 5th Anniversary Commemorative Meeting 

“We were pleased 

to have the 

opportunity to 

inform the 

representatives 

about the 

assistance that 

has been provided 

to the public 

regarding 

conservation.”

Steven Hefner 
Natural Resources Conservation Service 3 

High School and College Earth Team Volunteers Join Forces 

Pilot Project in Hurley Promotes Water Quality Education 

 

 Missouri State University (MSU) students joined 

forces this spring with high school students enrolled in 

the Missouri A+ program to teach fundamental natural 

resource concepts to young children in a small rural 

town in southwest Missouri. The high school and college students were all enrolled as Earth Team volunteers through the South Missouri Water Quality Project 

(SMWQ) in Ozark. 

 “Cool!” “Awesome!” are just some of the comments 

heard in the second grade classroom in Hurley, MO as 

MSU student, Whitney Kramer, led the children in a 

hands-on experiment depicting evaporation during the 

water cycle. 

 A room was darkened in an adjacent building as 

Lindsey Hoskins, another MSU student, divided the 

children in her kindergarten classroom into groups and 

asked each group to shine the light from their flashlights through bottles of clean and dirty water and discuss what they saw and where they might find that 

type of water. 

 Just down the hall, Kim Brewer, also a MSU student, 

helped excited four and five year old children with their 

coats as they lined up to go in search of living things 

while visiting the nearby creek. While they were having fun, they were introduced to an important concept: 

ALL LIVING THINGS NEED WATER TO LIVE. 

 The SMWQ Project, located in Ozark, MO, created 

the Earth Team Early Childhood Education Program 

four years ago and has had an ongoing partnership 

with students in Dr. Denise Cunningham’s, “Methods 

of Teaching Science and Math” class at Missouri State 

University. Each semester students are involved in 

developing and teaching lessons related to water and 

present them in primarily urban practicum classrooms 

within the watershed. All MSU students receive academic credit for their participation in addition to serving 

as Earth Team volunteers. 

 However this semester, these three MSU students 

jumped at the opportunity to be involved in a pilot project which placed them in practicum classrooms in a 

rural school and teamed them with Missouri A+ high 

school students. Lindsey, Kim and Whitney developed 

lessons that introduced a water concept, and also developed four supporting activities that the high school 

students led in follow-up sessions. 

 Hurley high school principal, Lisa May, and elementary principal, Josh Phillips were excited that Hurley 

Public School was invited to be a partner in this Earth 

Team volunteer joint endeavor. Josh Phillips said this 

about the program, “I have been impressed with the 

multiple facets of this program. We are not only developing the skills of future teachers, but are teaching 

state required content in a stimulating manner. Our 

high school students have learned a great deal from 

the college students and in turn have produced high 

quality lessons themselves. The result has been 

classrooms full of eager young children learning in a 

highly engaging and hands-on way.” 

 The opportunity to participate in the pilot project also 

appealed to high school students, Anna Wolfe, Billie 

Carsten, Josey Payne, Macey Thompson, and Kelsey 

Frossard, because the service hours involved in the 

program contributed toward the mentoring requirements of the Missouri A+ program. In addition, their 

Earth Team service was documented allowing them to 

cite it on future college applications as community service. 

 To date, the Earth Team Early Childhood Program 

has reached over 5,500 children in 19 communities in 

the Upper White River Watershed. This adaptation of 

the program supports the SMWQ Project’s overall outreach strategy to extend the Early Childhood Program 

into the rural areas of the watershed. 

Scenes from the Water Partnership 

Planning. . . 

Josey Payne (left) and 

Whitney Kramer (right) 

planning a lesson about 

evaporation 

Teaching. . . 

Lindsey Hoskins 

teaching a lesson 

about pollution 

Kim Brewer explaining that 

living things need water 

 and . . . LEARNING!

Excited 

four and five 

year old children 

exploring a creek 

near the school 
Natural Resources Conservation Service 4 

Conservation Projects and Workshops 

USDA is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer 

 Feral Hog Problems 

 on the Rise 

Billboard Campaign Educates Public 

Irrigation Project Ready to Launch

 

 An increased demand from an ever-growing population in 

southwest Missouri has many groups competing for water—

residents, business/industry, agriculture, 

and power generation. While the last two 

years have brought favorable rains, local 

planners know that dry weather is inevitable. The Southwest Missouri Resource 

Conservation and Development Council 

is sponsoring a pilot irrigation project in 

southwest and west-central Missouri with 

assistance from the Missouri Department 

of Natural Resources (DNR), and the 

USDA-South Missouri Water Quality 

(SMWQ) Project. 

 “This project will promote sound irrigation conservation to agriculture producers,” said SWMO RC&D Coordinator Rita 

Mueller. “A pilot project on six farms will begin this season and 

monitor irrigation application with water flow meters. The Missouri DNR has supplied the funding for the purchase of the meters and the SWMQ Project has prepared the conservation 

plans for over 7,000 acres. The information gathered will be 

important in documenting the amount of irrigation needed in the 

future by farmers to produce food.” 

 Irrigation of crops in Missouri is considered supplemental and 

is highly dependent upon rainfall. Rainfall shortages are usually 

experienced during the summer months of the growing season. 

Irrigation use data will be correlated with weather and crop data 

to create a more accurate picture of irrigation requirements for 

the region. 

 “Agriculture is indeed a significant component. If we can find 

additional funding, we are hopeful to expand our efforts next 

season. Producers have a strong desire to minimize inputs and 

be as efficient as possible,” said Mueller. “This project should 

help us learn how to better serve those needs.”

Feral hogs are destructive to land 

 Local, state, and federal organizations 

are urging Missouri citizens to report feral 

hog sightings across the state. Located on 

both private and public land, feral hogs 

have been sited in 55 of the 114 counties 

in Missouri. Established populations are 

primarily south of the Missouri River. 

 Feral hogs damage land and water resources along riparian areas, consume 

field crops, and root in hay and pasture 

lands. With a high reproductive rate and 

potential for carrying disease, efforts to 

control the population are currently being 

made by USDA Wildlife Services, Missouri 

Department of Conservation, USDA Forest Service, and the US Army Corps of 

Engineers. 

 Because the majority of Missouri land is 

privately owned, it is important for state 

and federal agencies to work closely with 

private landowners to control feral hogs. 

The Southwest Missouri Resource Conservation & Development Council will begin a billboard campaign to provide the 

public with information to report sightings. 

Billboards will be placed along Interstate 

44 and State Highways 60 and 67. In Missouri, sightings should be reported to 

USDA Wildlife Services (573-449-3033 

x13), Missouri Department of Agriculture 

(573-526-2090), or the Missouri Department of Conservation (573-751-4115 

x3147). 

 Rita Mueller 

 Southwest Missouri 

 RC&D Coordinator 

Riparian Corridor Workshop

SMWQ Project Forester 

Robert DeMoss (sitting) 

demonstrates tree planting techniques at a Webster County Soil and 

Water Conservation District (SWCD) Riparian 

Corridor Workshop. The 

workshop was held on 

March 27, 2009 at the 

Harmes Farm near the 

confluence of Panther 

Creek and the James River. Conservation practices included 

a willow staking on the bank, riparian forest buffer, and livestock exclusion. For more information contact Laura Stratton 

at 417-468-4176 x3.