This is the twenty-fifth diary in my expanding the national Parks System. Previous Diaries are located at the bottom of the diary
Last time I was in Mississippi, this week I'm in Missouri, the Show Me State. Missouri currently has 5.0% of its land federally protected, good for 28th in the country, slightly behind Louisiana and slightly ahead of Georgia. Missouri currently has 1 national monument, one national forest, 10 wildlife refuges and 5 historic sites and other NPS units. I will be proposing adding more monuments to Missouri's tally.
Missouri
Total Area 69 707 sq miles
Land Area 68 742 sq miles
Water Area 965 sq miles
Coastline 0 miles
Additional monuments -4
ADDITIONAL MONUMENTS -4
* Ozarks- Would preserve portions of the Ozarks Mountains region in Missouri and Arkansas as a monument , using existing forest as a baseline and adding further lands as buffer areas. Estimated area 1 million acres ( In AR and MO)
* Harry Truman Would upgrade the existing historic site to monument status, and would expand to include other areas associated with the 33rd president, who is the only President to come from Missouri. Estimated area 500 acres
* Gateway Arch
Would rename and re-designate the existing Jefferson National Expansion Memorial as a national monument, in honor of its most famous symbol. Would expand the area slightly to incorporate open areas inside St Louis. Estimated area 500 acres
* Ulysses S Grant
Would upgrade the existing historic site to monument status and incorporate areas in Illinois, Ohio and New York connected to Grant as part of the monument, including his tomb in New York City. Estimated area 500 acres (In IL, MO, NY and OH)
EXISTING AREAS
NATIONAL MONUMENTS -1
* George Washington Carver Established 1943 Covers 210 acres
http://upload.wikimedia.org/...
the Moses Carver home, the home of Georges foster father, is shown above
The First monument created to honor a non-President and African American, Carver protects the boyhood home of George Washington Carver. Carver is famous for his work with peanuts ( he is said to have developed 300 uses for them) but he also worked with Soybeans and other crops as well. Carver started working with peanuts in the post -Reconstruction South as a alternate crop to cotton, which was subject to boll weevil attacks. attempts to create a monument in his honor were stymied by the wartime ban on non-war related expanses, and it wasn't until after Carvers death in January 1943 at the age of around 79(his exact birthdate is unknown, accounts range from 1861 to 1864) that a monument was approved by Congress. Carver did not, contrary to legend, discover peanut butter, the Aztecs are known to have used it in the 15th century, and the patent for making peanut butter was awarded in 1884 to Marcellus Gilmore Edson. Nearly 31000 people visited the monument in 2011.
NATIONAL FORESTS-1
Mark Twain Established 1939 Covers 1,491,840 acres
http://upload.wikimedia.org/...
The St Francis River, located in the forest is shown above
named after the legendary author of "Tom Sawyer" and "Huck Finn", Mark Twain NF, is notable in that it was originally two separate national forests, Mark Twain and Clark NFs, both proclaimed in 1939, before being merged into a single forest in 1976 while retaining the name of Mark Twain. The forest extends into more counties-29- than any other NF. the forest is divided into 6 units (Asa-Cassville-Willow Springs, Eleven Point, Houston -Rolla-Cedar Creek, Poplar Bluff, Potosi-Fredericktown, and Salem) and contains 7 wilderness area containing 78000 acres. During the Depression, the forest was home to over 50 CCC camps which helped reforest and develop areas in the southern part of Missouri
WILDLIFE REFUGES-10
* Big Muddy Established 1994 Covers 16700 acres
http://www.fws.gov/...
The Missouri River is seen in the above picture
named after the nickname given to the Missouri, Big muddy Wr, stretch the length of the river in Missouri, and consists of 12 separate units, the refuge was created at the great Floods of 1993, to allow the Missouri to reach its former floodplain areas. at the time of Lewis and Clark, the Missouri was a slow meandering river, which flooded regularly and created woodlands and habitat suitable for wildlife in its floodplain. The River was channelized starting in the early 20th century which cut it off from its floodplain, destroyed the forests and wildlife habitat around the river and made the river current faster, Big Muddy is an attempt to restore portions of the river to a natural state. The Approved boundary for the refuge extends the entire length of the river within the state and covers nearly 170000 acres, but to date only small parcels of lands around the river have been set aside, although the land protected continued to grow each year- currently the reuge covers 18000 acres.
* Clarance Cannon Established 1964 Covers 3750 acres
Located in the floodplain of the Mississippi, Cannon is named after former Missouri Congressman Clarance Cannon who served in the House from 1923-64. the refuge provides habitat for waterfowl, and is managed by Great River WR.
* Great River Established 1958 Covers 11600 acres (in IL and MO)
http://www.fws.gov/...
Part of the Great River refuge is Shown above
Straddling the Missouri-Illinois border, the refuge is divided into four units - Fox Island in Missouri, and Bear Island, Delair and Long Island in Illinois, with most of the refuges 11000 acres area in Illinois. the refuge is part of the Mark Twain WR Complex.
* Middle Mississippi River Established 2000 Covers 7000 acres ( In IL and MO)
http://www.fws.gov/...
Part of of the refuge is flooded in spring in the above photo
Established in response to the great flood of 1993, Middle Mississippi River consists of 7 districts, six in Illinois- Beaver Island, Crains Island,Horse Island, Meissner Island, Rockwood Island, and Wilkinson Island, and Harlow Island in Missouri. this portion of the river is not controlled by levees, and is thus more free flowing than much of the rest of the Mississippi. the refuge was declared an important birding area in 2008. most is the islands are open to the public and fishing and hunting is allowed.
* Mingo Established 1944 Covers 21676 acres Budgets $1.2 million
http://upload.wikimedia.org/...
a view of one of refuges bogs is shown above
Located in Missouris bootheel, the refuge is the largest and one of the oldest in the state. Established in 1945 to conserve some of the last remaining bottomland hardwoods in the region, 8000 acres of the refuge was set aside as wilderness in 1976, and the refuge has been restored from the poor condition it was in prior to being set aside. the refuge had a budget of $1.2 million in 2004 and employs 9 people.
* Ozark Cavefish Established 1991 Covers 40 acres
The smallest refuge in the state, Ozark Cavefish was set aside to protect Turnback Cave, which is home to the endangered Ozark cavefish and gray bat. To protect the wildlife the refuge is closed to the public.
* Pilot Knob Established 1987 Covers 90 acres
http://upload.wikimedia.org/...
Pilot mountain , site of the refuge, is shown above
A mountain rising 1470 feet above the area, and site of a former mining operation, Pilot Knob was deeded to the federal government in 1987 and Pilot Knob Ore mining company ceased operations on the mountain. the summit of the mountain, which is home to a third of the worlds Indiana bat population, became a refuge. to protect the bats and public safety (many mine shafts remain open on the mountain), the refuge is closed to the public.
* Squaw Creek Established 1935 Covers 3400 acres
http://upload.wikimedia.org/...
a map of the refuge is shown above
The oldest refuge in the state Squaw creek is named after a creek that lies north of the refuge. Home to large numbers of snow geese (1 milion were counted in early 2013), the refuge is an important stop on the Central Flyway. Originally developed by the CCC, the refuge now covers 7300 acres and had 134000 visitors in 2001.
*Swan Lake Established 1937 Covers 10795 acres
http://upload.wikimedia.org/...
the refuge in autumn
the second oldest refuge in the state, Swan Lake was developed by the CCC to provide habitat for wildlife. 241 species of birds have been observed, including prairie chickens. Swan Lake is one 4 refuges to cover more than 10000 acres.
*Two Rivers Established 1958 Covers 8501 acres (in IL and MO)
http://www.fws.gov/...
located at the Confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, most of the refuge lies in Illinois, although some lies in Missouri. Currently covers 9200 acres, with land acquisitions ongoing.. home to nearly 300 species of birds including bald eagles.
HISTORIC SITES AND OTHER NPS UNITS-5
* Jefferson NM Established 1935 covers 173 acres
http://upload.wikimedia.org/...
Old Courthouse , site of the Dred Scott decision, is shown above
Designated to commemorate both the Louisiana Purchase and the debate over slavery, The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial was first designated in 1935, and contains the Gateway Arch, Old Court house and the museum of Western Expansion. it was selected as the Missouri symbol for the state quarters collection in 2003. nearly 3 million people visited the site in 2011.
*Harry S Truman NHS Established 1983 covers 10 acres
http://upload.wikimedia.org/...
Trumans farm house is shown above
A historic site honoring the 33rd president of Us, Harry Truman NHS conserves the house where Truman lived after his presidency, as well as the farmhouse where he grew up. 31000 people visited the site in 2012.
* Ozark NSR Established 1964 Covers 80000 acres
http://upload.wikimedia.org/...
a map of the Riverways is shown above
Established to protect the Current and Jacks Forks Rivers, as well as some of the largest natural springs in the country, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, is classed as a national park. The Park was chosen to be Missouri's representative in the National Park Quarters series, and will be the third quarter released in 2017. Nearly 1.8 million visited the park in 2007.
* Ulysses S Grant NHS Established 1989 Covers 10 acres
http://www.nps.gov/...
a map of the NHS is shown above
Set aside to protect the house where Grants wife Julia was born, the site is a memorial to the life of President Grant, who lived in Missouri from 1848 until the Civil War. the 10 acres on the site are the last remnant of the family farm, Grant sold off most of the family holdings near the end of his life after being forced into bankruptcy by a swindler. the site became part of park service in 1989.
*Wilson's Creek NB Established 1960 Covers 1750 acres
http://upload.wikimedia.org/...
Cannon located on the battle field are shown above
The battlefield preserves the site of the first major Civil war battle fought east of the Mississippi. the battle, fought in August 1861, resulted in a Confederate victory, however, Union forces were ultimately able to keep Missouri , one of four "Border States" in the Union. the battled pitted roughly 5000 Union forces against 12000 Confederate and Missouri state guard. A slightly larger number of Union forces were killed, 1300 to 1200 Confederate. the area was set aside in 1960 and is considered one of the best preserved Civil War battlefields. Over 200000 people visited the battlefield in 2005.
This concludes my Virtual visit to Missouri. Next time i'll be walking with the bears in Montana and seeing if theres is still gold in the Bitterroot Mountains. as always Comments and Input are welcome.
Prior Diaries
1.Alabama
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2 Alaska
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3 Arizona
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4 Arkansas
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5 California
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6 Colorado
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7 Connecticut
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8 Delaware
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9 Florida
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10 Georgia
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11 Hawaii
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12 Idaho
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13 Illinois
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14 Indiana
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15 Iowa
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16 Kansas
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17 Kentucky
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18 Louisiana
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19 Maine
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20 Maryland
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21 Massachusetts
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22 Michigan
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23 Minnesota
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24 Mississippi
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