NPS General Management Plan Meeting in Clayton Animated and Thoughtful “Let’s go back to the enabling legislation – back to why this river was preserved. We need to get a handle on the excesses which have taken place since then,” said Greg Iffrig, natural resources manager for the L-A-D Foundation. The L-A-D Foundation is the largest private landowner in Shannon County, managing Pioneer Forest for sustainable lumber while allowing public recreation on its land. They have an office in Salem, and a big stake in what happens on Ozark Riverways. I mentioned that I had viewed a DVD copy of a presentation given at a Missouri Parks Assn. meeting backing the restoration view espoused by Alternative A. “Share that,” said Jerry Sugerman, “Tell your friends to watch the DVD, and write a letter and copy it to your senators and representatives and the governor. Let them know the public is interested in the outcome of this.” Thirty years ago, Sugerman had been an activist fighting the dam on the Meramec River. “Jerry’s moved his canoe off the Meramec, and he’s paddling on the Current, now,” quipped Iffrig. Although many people were concerned about that the Riverways remain in good shape to be enjoyed by their kids or young relatives, the restoration-preservationist point of view was by no means the only one present. “Twenty years ago a car might go by. Now there are more cars. There is more horse traffic. There are more canoes – we’ve got to find some balance, somewhere.” They looked on, thoughtfully. “Now, what do you think?” he said. “We want public input from everywhere – from Van Buren to St. Louis. We want to know what you think. You don’t have to agree with everything we’ve proposed. Look at it deeper. Are there angles we’ve missed? Are there other things we need to do to better manage the river? The only bad outcome is, if you are silent, you can’t have your say.” This was the last of the series of five meetings; a weary week on the road for ten or twelve NPS officials, including Superintendent Reed Detring, Deputy Superintendent Russ Runge and some faces from the field familiar to park visitors for years. “We’ve had a wide variety of comments, and all sorts of points of view,” said Detring. “No one has been shy about letting us know what they think. And we’re pleased with the turnout.” Runge added, “We’ve got a government mandate to get input. We don’t know what we’re going to do in our preferred alternative yet. We want to find out what the people want us to do in regards to boats, and canoes, horses and trails. That’s why we’re out here.” Detring estimated they had heard from 1100 people during the week. Elisa Kunz, the park spokesperson, estimated 800. Whatever the exact number, the public meetings spanned the wide variety of interests people have when it comes to Missouri’s largest national park. Traditional Traveler viewpoints were in full evidence, even deep in the canyons of the city, among them: Most of the remarks written on the large notepads tended to concern themselves with the river from Montauk to about Round Spring. The two most contentious issues were horsepower: both the boat HP changes proposed under all three alternatives and the issue of massive trail rides negatively impacting water quality, especially on the Jacks Fork near Eminence. “I think you should ride your horse responsibly,” she said. “We can do that, but some people need to be educated how. Maybe we don’t all need to go out there every weekend. But we do want to be able to ride.” Moss encouraged her. “Put down your comments in writing. Let us know how you think we can do it. You’re a horse person. I’ve talked to a lot of horse people this week, and they don’t all feel that way,” he said. The huge paper pads filled up with verbal comments, not all of them aligned with the Alternative on display at the station. Like children in school, some folks dutifully sat at the table, and filled out the provided comment forms. Others left the meeting room with park provided literature, and forms still unfilled. “This isn’t a vote,” Kunz said. “Everyone loves a piece of the river, and we’ve had a really good showing from a fantastic cross-section of people. “We really do want to hear what people think, and what their ideas are. The Alternatives are guides, but we might end up taking piece from several, as long as they are compatible ideas and putting them together. And we really are going to read every comment.” Kunz said a preferred alternative might be available as early as late fall 2010, or if not, by spring 2011, which will trigger another round of public comment meetings. “We won’t announce it in winter 2010,” she said. “You know how winter roads are in the Ozarks.” Deadline for written or emailed comments is July 31. Please see www.nps.gov/ozar and click on the link to the General Management Plan/Wilderness Area for details, if you were not able to attend a meeting. See the July paper issue of Traveler to see our thoughts. Posted June 26, 2009.
