Share(The weather looks mostly good, and the hillsides October russet for this weekend. Looking for a place to go? Here are Tom Uhlenbrock’s suggestions. Jo)
By Tom Uhlenbrock
Missouri State Parks
Hawn State Park has the reputation as being Missouri’s prettiest, especially in fall. Ed Schott can look out the window of his office and see why.
“There are [...]

ShareThe Camp Pin Oak dining lodge that burned down last September at Lake of the Ozarks State Park will be rebuilt with a bigger kitchen, a new outdoor patio and indoor seating for 135 people.
Camp Pin Oak originally was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1934 and 1938. A fire destroyed the dining lodge [...]

ShareThis Saturday, September 24, is National Public Lands Day as well as National Hunting and Fishing Day. Many federal land managing agencies, such as national parks and monuments and US Forest Service forests celebrate with admission free days, and special events.

An area roundup follows:
National parks: Riverways does not charge an entry fee anytime. [...]

Share Summer is not over yet and a family camping trip to a Missouri state park is a great way to celebrate the season.
On Aug. 26-28, anyone who camps two nights in any of [...]

ShareIf you saw the photos of the Joplin tornado devastation, beyond the remains of St. John’s Hospital, one of the most visually affecting sites were the twisted, some still standing, but entirely stripped tree trunks. While the loss of human life and pets were the main focus of most news coverage, the trees, or lack [...]

ShareSenate Bill 135 was signed by Governor Jay Nixon on June 22. This is an omnibus bill pertaining to environmental protection, meaning it contains a number of provisions on unrelated issues but which all relate to the environment or environmental regulation.
You can view the whole bill here.

ShareSara Parker Pauley, director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and Bill Bryan, director of Missouri State Parks, a division of the department, announced Friday June 24 that trail users in the city of Doniphan will benefit from a new trail project, thanks to a $97,800 federal Recreational Trails Program grant.
[...]

ShareIn our July coverage looking into whether the Ozark National Riverways’ rivers are endangered or not, Jo Schaper makes reference to an online extra transcript of answers to her questions addressed to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. MDNR has several divisions which regulate and address the quality of Missouri streams, lakes and groundwater [...]

ShareThe water’s gone down some, and it’s not pretty.
Though water has quit flowing through the breached Birds Point levee, and plans are underway for its temporary repair, the Mississippi River remains above flood state at most locations north of Cairo. Bird’s Point itself is one of the exceptions, being one and one [...]

ShareBacteria on the beach. Blech.
For most of us, most of the time, we’d rather not think about it.
By Jo Schaper
After bacterial issues during 2010 closed major state park swimming beaches for summer weeks on end, and resulted in a major shakeup inside the Department of Natural Resources, the weekly bacteria report became as [...]