ShareBill Black, Superintendent at Fort Smith National Historic Site in Arkansas, has been selected as the new Superintendent at Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Van Buren, Mo. Black served in an acting capacity in the position for 4 months earlier this year, and takes the position permanently in mid-summer.
In announcing Black’s selection, National Park [...]

ShareBy Jo Schaper
Current River State Park has been in a contentious limbo since a 780-acre portion of the old Alton Club/Jerry J. Presley Center was transferred from the Missouri Department of Conservation to the Department of Natural Resources-Division of State Parks in March 2008.
At an open house/picnic on April [...]

Share“The park’s draft General Management Plan (GMP) continues to be reviewed by the National Park Service’s Denver Service Center and the Midwest Regional Office in Omaha, Nebraska,” said interim Supertintendent Bill Black. “The process is taking longer than we anticipated.”
This news comes via the Riverways Record, a monthly email newsletter the park is now [...]

ShareCongresswoman Jo Ann Emerson (8th District) will be holding a town hall meeting to discuss National Park Service issues this Saturday, February 25 from noon to 2 p.m. at the River Centre at The Landing in Van Buren.
By Jo Schaper
With the public release of the draft General Management Plan pending in the near future, the [...]

ShareOne of the hallmarks of rural living is growing up working on a family farm. Farm kids have always grown up faster than city kids out of necessity: kids have always been expected to take on responsibilities in caring for animals, crops and fellow family members generally earlier than those who live in town.
The [...]

ShareTraveler can’t cover, nor even wants to report every movement of Governor Jay Nixon and his wife Georgeanne. It’s part of their official duties to be there for ribbon cuttings, press announcements, job creation and so forth, all across the state. Even so, this one struck a chord.
Gov. Jay Nixon and First Lady [...]

ShareVan Buren, MO – The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is seeking to construct an improved gate to protect Bat Cave on property it owns in Shannon County, Missouri. Bat Cave is located on the Upper Current River, as an inholding in Ozark National Scenic Riverways, and is a significant hibernaculum for federally endangered Indiana bats. Missouri [...]

Share(National Park Service News Release.)
Nov. 21- Van Buren Reed E. Detring, Superintendent at Ozark National Scenic Riverways, is hanging up his ranger hat after 35 years of federal service at parks from Washington State to Florida. He has served as Ozark’s Superintendent since June 22, 2008
Detring began his National Park Service career [...]

ShareThe Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a press release November 10, clarifying its position on the management of the Lake of the Ozarks shoreline. In the press release posted below, resolution of and responsibility for management issues related to the shoreline are explicitly given to Ameren Missouri, the successor corporation to Union Electric Co., [...]

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ROLLA, Missouri — Since January 1, 2011, Mark Twain National Forest has suppressed 110 fires which have burned more than 19,000 acres of National Forest and other land ownership.
“The Minninghaw wild fire on the Salem Ranger District, at almost 5,000 acres, is possibly the largest documented fire in Mark Twain history,” Mark Twain Fire Management [...]