A much-awaited General Management Plan for Ozark National Scenic Riverways, one that in its draft stages drew calls for the park to be given to the state of Missouri, reflects political pressures and not the best environmental protections for the Riverways, according to one observer.
The plan, the first revision of the original GMP written in 1984, arrives at a crossroads of sorts for the park. The long-time superintendent has retired, no successor has been identified, and a new regional director, who will be involved in picking that superintendent, won't take office for a couple months yet.
As for the park's GMP, it differs from the preferred alternative identified in the draft plan in two substantial ways: it allows for motorboat engines up to 150 HP in the Riverways south of Big Spring, and there isn't any stretch of the Riverways that is motor-free year-round. The draft had called for moving "from unlimited horsepower to 60 hp/40 hp rated at the powerhead of the motor" south of Big Spring. Also, it had called for a year-round ban on motorized watercraft in the upper reaches of the Jack's Fork and Current rivers.
Interestingly, until the GMP can be implemented, the park is going to allow the use of 60 HP motors even though they're outlawed under the Code of Federal Regulations. It's expected to take at least two years to go through the regulatory process to allow the 150 HP engines, the agency notes.
What remains to be seen is how successful the park staff is in removing 65 miles of illegal horse trails, a process to be addressed as the park works in the coming months on a roads and trails management plan. Finally, how quickly the new GMP is implemented depends on whether the park receives the necessary funding to do so.
Susan Flader, a member of Friends of the Ozark Riverways, long has paddled the park's two rivers and closely followed both the health of the Riverways as well as its management.
"I am really surprised about that," she said about the 150 HP limit. "But that's because there are people down there who have 150 HP engines right now. ... I think it's an abomination on a Wild and Scenic river. ...What happens is there's a lot of people with a lot of political connections in Van Buren where the headquarters of the park is located who have those big power boats."
(Traveler footnote: While the Current and Jack's Fork rivers are not officially designated as part of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System, the enabling legislation that created the park specified that it was created, in large part, to preserve parts of the two rivers. As such, it became the first unit of the park system to protect a river system.)
More of a concern to canoeists than the 150 HP limit, said Ms. Flader, is the decision not to ban motorboats from any stretch of the rivers year-round. While the GMP outlaws their use in the upper stretches of the rivers from April 1 to September 14, for many paddlers the early spring and fall months are the best, she said. "And there's no limitation on power boats at that time," added Ms. Flader.
But of greater concern, she said, is how the park staff goes about limiting horse and ATV usage in the Riverways.
'We're concerned much more with the access points and the horse crossings and this proliferation of horse trails. So it's the ATVs and four-wheel drive vehicles that get access to any gravel bars they can," said Ms. Flader, saying at times some have set up camps on gravel bars and then used chain saws to improve their views. 'The idea down there is you have your own private campground. You don't want to be with any other people. You want your own private place and you don't want to give it up.'
In an overview of the GMP she wrote for Friends of the Ozarks, Ms. Flader noted that, "The final plan is similar to the NPS-preferred alternative in the draft GMP, except for a number of specific changes likely made in an effort to assuage the harsh criticism from local political leaders and residents who opposed any new regulations or limitations on current uses. As a result, despite the preponderance of comments supporting the NPS preferred plan or even stronger protection, virtually all the changes weakened the proposed protections."
Comments
150 horsepower? What are they doing? Waterskiing?
As for "political pressures," is anyone surprised?
It's going to be a very interesting next two years . . . .