The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Conservation, is seeking public comment on a draft environmental assessment regarding the relocation of the Taylors Landing boat access site in Cooper County, Missouri.
The original Taylors Landing access site is located on the southwest bank of the Missouri River at River Mile 185, just north of Interstate 70. The access was built on a 9.5-acre parcel owned Missouri Department of Conservation and is surrounded by the Overton Bottoms North Unit of the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. The proposed relocation site is about 1 mile downstream on approximately 3.6 undeveloped acres of the Overton Bottoms South Unit. Both units of the refuge are on land owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Since the access site opened in 1972, flooding and flood damage has frequently closed the original Taylors Landing. The entrance road requires a high level of maintenance, including annual removal of silt, repair of washouts and reapplication of aggregate. Changes in management of the surrounding floodplain have increased flooding since the area was incorporated into the Big Muddy Refuge in 1994. After a significant flood in 2011, the existing access was once again closed to the public due to flood damage. The Missouri Department of Conservation proposes relocating the access to reduce the maintenance required at the current location to keep it open to the public.
The draft environmental assessment evaluates several proposed action alternatives and funding options, including no action, use of private sites to provide access, and continued use of Federal Sport Fish Restoration funding to improve access in Missouri.
Learn more about the Taylors Landing draft environmental assessment on Missouri Department of Conservation web site.
To comment or receive a complete copy of the draft environmental assessment with the appendices included, contact Doyle Brown, Federal Aid Coordinator with the Missouri Department of Conservation, at (573) 522-4115 ext. 3355 or via email Doyle.brown@mdc.mo.gov
Comments need to be received by November 15, 2020.
