There are some really neat places to hike in the east Ozarks. One is Lower Rock Creek, on the Mark Twain National Forest west of Fredericktown. It is too small for canoeing or kayaking, but it provides a sense of wilderness to those who go to the trouble to find their way to it. We did not explore as far as Cathedral Canyon this time, but it is worth he trip. Traveler has a two-page photo spread of the Rock Creek Canyon.

A number of changes in the Missouri Wildlife Code go into effect March 1. This year, most of the changes have to do with trout. Trout parks opened March 1 also. Traveler had stories on trout fishing, code changes and some improvements to the parks.

A controversy is in the works. Gov. Matt Blunt has named a commission to recommend changes in state government, and already mentioned is the notion of combining state parks with the Conservation Department. Currently, parks are under the Department of Natural Resources.

History writer Jim Featherston tells about Kilroy, the World War II symbol that reassured advancing troops that Americans had already been somewhere and were probably up ahead.

Bill Cooper writes about how he got into turkey hunting and some basics he learned. It was also reported the count of young turkeys was down some last year, but held pretty strong in the central and eastern Ozarks.

Charlie Slovensky writes about life on his grandfather's farm along the Meramec River. Kathleen Brotherton tells how Indians has a religious reverence for natural things.

Plans are being made to begin to restore Big River where mine waste washed in decades ago. Letters and response go into detail on catching walleye on Black River below Clearwater Dam.

At Lake Wappapello, the first of 70 large brush piles have been placed in the lake. A public meeting regarding crappie regulations there resulted in a recommendation for a length limit of nine inches and retention of the creel limit of 30.

There are probably more miles of horse trails than there are miles of float streams in southeast Missouri. Traveler tells you where they are located. That story is repeated below.

There are recipes, the sunrise/moonrise tables, seasons and coming events. Writer Gary Benton tells what goes into the making of a good pocket knife.

For land owners, there's an introduction to fescue control. And Don Rathert tells about the good fishing to be had on a stream most would consider marginal.

Horse trails abundant in east, central Ozarks

Someone suggested we show horse trails on our travel maps. Sounded like a good idea - until we did a little research.
If anyone can’t find somewhere to ride a horse in the eastern and central Missouri Ozarks, they aren’t looking very hard!
We started with state parks. There are trails at Trail of Tears State Park, Wappapello State Park, Sam A. Baker State Park, St. Joe State Park. We’re not sure about John-son’s Shut-ins.
You can ride horses on the following Conservation Department areas: Apple Creek, Holly Ridge, Castor River, University Forest, land leased from the Corps of Engineers at Lake Wappapello, Meramec, Scrivner, Audubon, Peck Ranch, Rock Creek, Angeline. You can ride for more than 100 continuous miles on trails centering on Wappapello State Park alone!
And there are more. Not all trails are specifically listed as open or closed for horses.
You can ride trails on Mark Twain National Forest, some of which were developed specifically for equestrian use, some of which are multi-purpose trails. Most of the Ozark Trail is open for horseback riding - a couple hundred miles worth.
And then there’s the Ozarks National Scenic Riverways along Jacks Fork and Current River. Lots and lots of trails there.
We get the idea if miles are what turn you on, you should sell your canoe and buy a horse. There would appear to be as much mileage in horse trails as there are miles of floatable streams.
And we haven’t even touched on county roads. In much of the Ozarks, gravel roads get little enough traffic that horseback riders are seldom disturbed. Horses pass Traveler’s office with some regularity, and we come across horse riders on other gravel roads quite often.
We still think showing horse trails would be a good idea, but it is going to be a much bigger job to upgrade all the maps than we thought at first.

THE PAST - MARCH 1981

Major changes were being made to Clearwater and Wappapello Lakes recreational facilities and Traveler carried a report on them.
Particularly at Lake Wappapello, improvements to facilities were combined with closure of some popular areas, perhaps marking the beginnings of some major struggles ahead.
Camping would no longer be permitted at the U.S. 67 bridge, for instance, and a road from Greenville to Old Greenville was closed, triggering anger from many upper lake users who were forced to use the Old Greenville Campground.
There was a story on a March canoe trip up the St. Francis River in a canoe to Rockpile Mountain Wilderness Area. A four-horsepower motor helped, but could not push the canoe up all the swift riffles.
Traveler’s history column told of the movement of the Delaware tribe to, and through, Missouri.
And there was the report of the catch of a 10 pound walleye by Traveler editor Bob Todd. He’d been trying for a big walleye for more than two years. This one fell for a crank bait with a sinker ahead of it, in Black River between Clearwater and Poplar Bluff.
Purchase of Bismarck Lake from Hanna Mining Co. was completed by the Conservation Department. The stocking program for ruffed grouse in the eastern Ozarks was going well, with stocking completed in Castor River State Forest. Stockings at Clearwater and Wappapello were next.
A 40 horsepower limit on outboard motors was proposed for the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. This is the national park that takes in most of Current and Jacks Fork Rivers.
Travel maps have been popular with Traveler readers since early in the publication. A number of new maps came online in March, 1981, drawn by wildlife artist Al Agnew.
There was a picture story on Johnson’s Shut-Ins in the winter.
A story told that the Department of Natural Resources had surveyed Missouri and found there to be 3,331 dams in the state high enough or impounding enough water to pose a potential threat to life and limb if they failed.
This put Missouri at fourth in the nation in such dams. Not included were the estimated 300,000 ponds of various sizes that dot the state.
Among ads carried then for places that no longer exist were two on Black River - Dick’s Black River Camp and Keener Spring Resort.

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