The Missouri Trustee Council, which includes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and, for some projects, the U.S. Forest Service (Trustees), announces its decision to fund a suite of six restoration activities in southeast Missouri. The Trustees previously discussed proposals for the selected and approved projects at a public meeting on September 2, 2015. The presentation was followed by a 40-day public comment period which provided interested members of the public an opportunity to review the proposed projects and provide feedback.
The Trustees have evaluated the public comments received on the proposed acquisitions and restoration projects. The Trustees have elected to fund and implement a suite of six restoration projects involving acquisition of over 5,400 acres and restoration of upland, wetland and bottomland habitats which will benefit migratory birds and other species as well as improve water quality. The restoration projects also include a cessation of cattle grazing on certain acquired properties, non-native species control, and introduction of prescribed burns. The projects will occur in Dent, Iron, Oregon and Reynolds counties. The total amount for the six approved restoration projects is approximately $10.98 million.
The acting Regional Director of Fish and Wildlife Service’s Midwest Region signed a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the funding of the property acquisitions and affiliated restoration activities. This step concludes the Department of the Interior’s environmental review of the projects and allows the Trustees to move forward.
These restoration activities are part of the ongoing Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) process under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act in the Southeast Missouri Lead Mining District. The Southeast Missouri Lead Mining District spans multiple counties from 40 to 90 miles southwest of St. Louis, Missouri, and is located in the Big River, Black River and St Francois River watersheds. It is one of the largest lead-producing regions of the world. Funding for these selected projects comes from legal settlements with ASARCO, LLC and Freeport McMoRan for natural resources that were harmed by releases of lead and zinc from mining and smelting at sites in the Southeast Missouri Lead Mining District.
The purchase and restoration of high-quality habitats enable the Trustees to compensate the public for the loss of natural resources as a result of lead and zinc contamination. Natural resources injured by the releases of mining-related contaminants include surface water, stream sediments, fish, aquatic invertebrates, and migratory birds, and their supporting habitats, such as streams, riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian corridors, forests and savannas. The property purchases will include additional lands for the U.S. Forest Service in the Black River watershed and will add to the Bell Mountain Wilderness area in Iron County and will infill other areas within their proclamation boundaries in Dent County. The property purchases in Iron, Oregon and Reynolds counties will be owned and managed by Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Habitat restoration projects such as eradication of non-native invasive plant species will be conducted on some of the newly acquired properties in addition to other areas already owned by the Forest Service in Washington, Crawford and Shannon Counties. Additionally, the Forest Service will conduct wetland restoration on the Mark Twain National Forest property on the upper West Fork of the Black River in Reynolds County.
For more information about natural resource damage assessment and restoration in the Southeast Missouri Lead Mining District, visit http://www.fws.gov/midwest/es/ec/nrda/SEMONRDA/index.html or http://www.dnr.mo.gov/env/hwp/sfund/nrda.htm. In particular, the Southeast Missouri Ozarks Regional Restoration Plan, available at the above websites, provides more detailed information about natural resource restoration in southeast Missouri.
