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 [...]

ShareBy Jo Schaper
One of the most remote areas of Missouri is Douglas County. Just to the west of Willow Springs, one tier up from the more touristy Ozark County along the North Fork just before it runs into the White River, Douglas County is hilly, forested, and remote.
This area isn’t a tourist destination. [...]

Share(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service news release)
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today designated the Ozark hellbender as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and also finalized its decision to list the Ozark and eastern hellbender in Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora [...]

ShareJo note: I haven’t done an “Over the Back Fence” recently: these are a bunch of mini-stories and breaking news snippets from the region. Enjoy.

ShareA rare, but not unprecedented 4.2 magnitude earthquake shook Washington County southeast of Meramec State Park shortly after 3 a.m. this morning, waking the residents of Sullivan, but not causing any significant damage. UPDATE: By mid-morning, and with addition of new reporting stations and more data, the quake was downgraded to 3.9 Mw (regional [...]