Mingo National Wildlife Refuge will get about $2.8 million for a new visitors’ center. The Neosho Fish Hatchery is on target for $1 million. Also set to receive funds are both Squaw and Great Rivers National Wildlife Refuges.

(JS Comment: Whatever you think of the Recovery Act, it’s good to see that some of the recovery money is going to fish, forests, wildlife, parks and federal cleanup projects in more rural areas, and not all of it is staying in the big city.)

Guest Editorial by Jo Schaper

As a lifelong canoeist, I have no problem with efforts to curb obscene, outrageous and or illegal behavior on the river, such as the Riverways’ rules or efforts by the Missouri Canoe and Floaters Association.

But on the other hand, I wonder: where will they go? The young human animal (and sometimes the older one, too) has an innate need to blow off steam. During my youth, that meant a float trip on the Meramec, or the Current River, banging paddles, splashing, and yelling, drinking a little too much for common sense, and horsing around.

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The Ozark National Scenic Riverways will be taking comment this spring on its General Management Plan, which will guide the Riverways’ future once adopted.
If you have strong feelings on such issues as motorized boats, horsepower limits, horseback riding, diving from bluffs, swinging from ropes, rowdy behavior and (more…)