|
 |
MissouriState Coordinators Nick Knobbe Midwest Region Coordinator Charlie Fredrick Join the Missouri Forum listserv - connect with fellow MO activists: Pioneer Forest: Keeping The Trees Forest Management Training A group of Missouri SSCers made up of Webster University SSCers, Nick Knobbe (our state coordinator) and myself, Charlie Fredrick (Midwest Regional Coordinator)... all trucked down to Salem, Missouri - in the heart of the Mark Twain National Forest. We learned a bunch and met some great people in the world of forestry and forest activism.... Just another example of the rockin' activities here in the "show me" state!!! About Pioneer Forest... Pioneer Forest is part of the oak, hickory, and pine forests of the Missouri Ozarks. This region is part of the most extensive elevated landscape between the Appalachian Mountains to the east and the Rocky Mountains to the west. The topography here is largely erosional with the greatest relief (generally 700 feet) occurring along the major rivers. Bedrock here is dominated by the more soluble dolomites, limestones, and sandstones and as a result includes many classic karst features. Situated in an area of spectacular springs, towering bluffs, losing streams, and numerous caves. these lands include significant portions of the spring-fed watersheds of the Jacks Fork and Current rivers. Beginning in 1951, St. Louis businessman Leo Drey began to acquire lands in the Ozarks in an effort to demonstrate that taking better care of forests would produce lasting and economically beneficial results. When National Distillers, a private company with lands located in the Ozarks, decided to liquidate its holdings in 1954, it sold approximately 90,000 acres of land to Leo Drey, who continued to purchase other forestland in the Ozarks for Pioneer Forest. For more than half a century, Pioneer Forest has restored these Ozark woodlands through conservative, natural forest management, and has preserved ecologically important areas and notable landscape features. Altogether there are nearly 160,000 acres in this unique, privately-owned land base.
The First Picture is Loggers Lake - a part of the Mark Twain National Forest, Salem Ranger District... We camped out here with Missouri Forest Alliance and Ozark Forest Watch... we had a nice little spot right on the lake and this was what we woke up to each morning...
The Second Picture is from the Pioneer Forest logging site... this picture serves as an example of Pioneer Forest's forest management plan... this site is logged every 30 years.. sure as hell beats clear-cutting!!! Newly-formed Webster University group:
|
