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 [...]

ShareIt seems everyone has to comment before the National Park Service’s draft General Management Plan for Ozark National Scenic Riverways is issued, so naturally the Missouri House of Representatives has seen fit to get into the act.
This is a bit lengthy, but it is the best summary of the legislation which went into the [...]

ShareBy Jo Schaper
Photos and captions courtesy of Shea Bergman, Missouri Dept. of Conservation.
How do you take 33 Urban Ranger Corps inner city youth (and six of their leaders)* on a three-day, 48-hour canoe trip with two nights of camping on the Current River?
Ask Shea Bergman, Steve Jacobsen, Brandon Pope and Pat Whalen of the [...]

ShareVoice of the Ozarks, Common Sense Conservation and the 9th District of the Missouri Trappers Association will sponsor an open town hall meeting to discuss road and access closing along the northern portion of the Ozark Scenic Riverways. The meeting will be held Thursday, August 11, 6:30 p.m. at the old city hall in Salem, [...]

ShareA national rivers preservation organization has added its voice to those calling for returning the Ozark National Scenic Riverways (ONSR) to a more pristine condition by placing the Current and Jacks Fork rivers on its endangered rivers list. The action by American Rivers, announced at a press conference at the Alpine Shop in Kirkwood [...]

Share Ozark National Scenic Riverways made significant progress over the weekend in the safety and condition assessments and repairs of facilities damaged by flooding. Much credit goes to the park’s maintenance staff who had been working beyond normal hours to accomplish flood related repairs. The patience of the public and the cooperation from [...]

ShareI had plenty of opportunity to experience southeast Missouri’s extreme weather on Tuesday and Wednesday on my monthly newsstand/ad sales route. Photos from Van Buren, Poplar Bluff, Lake Wappapello, Sam A. Baker State Park, Clearwater Lake, Black River, Bellview Valley and Valley Park are posted below. Pictures of the Big River and Jacks Fork were [...]

ShareLike many folks around here, both Emery and Jo like the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Not sure when Emery was introduced to the clear, cold water of the Jacks Fork and Current Rivers, but for Jo it was the summer she was 13, during a family vacation at Alley Spring State Park.

Share(With the constant media blitz the last few days about some fellow inciting political strife based on religion, when this story showed up in our exchange copy of the Reynolds County Courier, I felt compelled to summarize and pass it along. I’m not a member of any of the denominations, and nothing in it is [...]

ShareOzark National Scenic Rivers invites the public to attend the grand opening ceremony of the new Visitor Contact Station at the Pulltite Campground on Friday, September 3 at 6:00 p.m. Park Superintendent, Reed Detring, will cut the ribbon officially opening the facility. The Current River Bluegrass Band will provide musical entertainment. Bring [...]