Federal species of concern and candidate species include eastern small-footed bat, Bachman's sparrow, Henslow's sparrow, cerulean warbler, loggerhead shrike, alligator snapping turtle, hellbender, crystal darter, Arkansas darter, ozark shiner, bluestripe darter, stargazing darter, paddlefish, spectacle case, western fanshell, snuffbox mussel, Neosho mucket, scaleshell, Ouachita kidneyshell, salamander mussel, purple liliput, rugged hornshell, Albarufan dagger moth, artesian agapetus caddisfly, Missouri glyphopsyche caddisfly, Kit's neotrichian caddisfly, contorted ochrotrichian microcaddisfly, Ozark snaketail dragonfly, Frison's seratellan mayfly, central Missouri cave amphipod, Barr's cave amphipod, Clanton's cave amphipod, subtle cave amphipod, pink planarian, Tumbling Creek cavesnail, auriculate false foxglove, Skinner's false foxglove, reed bent grass, Bush's poppy mallow, Ozark chinquapin, tall larkspur, French's shooting star, butternut, bifid phlox, Hall's rush, royal catchfly, bald grass, Ozark spiderwort, and Ozark wake robin. In addition to these species, the Ozark Highlands provides habitat for numerous state listed plants and animals. The U.S. Forest Service is a major landowner in the Ozarks having units composed of the Clark, Mark Twain, and Ozark National Forests. The Current, Eleven-Point, and Buffalo Rivers are designated as national wild and scenic rivers and adjacent lands are managed by the National Park Service. Extensive lead deposits are mined in the northeast portion of the Ozarks, with other mining for zinc, coal, iron, and barite.
Tourism is one of the region's chief industries based upon the natural wonders and the hill culture.
Trout fishing is a multi-million dollar business, as is the rapidly developing music industry at Branson, Missouri. Perturbations to the Ecosystem Because of the rough rocky terrain, thin soils, mineral deposits, and relatively sparse population, the threats to the natural resources in the Ozarks are somewhat different than in other parts of the country. One of the major threats to the environment of the Ozarks is water quality reduction and contamination. Numerous threatened and endangered species are located in the Ozarks, generally associated with caves and free flowing streams. Many of these water quality problems are due to the interaction of surface and subsurface waters.