Ozark National Scenic Riverway’s Draft General Management Plan/Wilderness Study/Environmental Statement is available for review online after its Friday release date.
The Draft Plan includes three alternative plans for use and protection of the riverways.
The No-Action Alternative explains how the riverways are currently managed. According to the Draft Plan the no-action alternative is set to provide a baseline for determining the impact of the other alternative plans.
Alternative plan A management would emphasize more traditional forms of recreation on the river. Management would strive for less crowded public areas, and a stronger link to historical uses of the river. Under this plan most of the Big Spring Wilderness Study Area would be recommended for wilderness designation.
Alternative plan B is the one preferred by the National Parks Service. The preferred alternative was developed from public comments ONSR received and seeks to represent a balance of interests the people of the Ozarks have, Superintendent Bill Black said in a Nov. 1 release. According to the Draft Plan, management would attempt to maintain a mix of traditional recreational and commercial activities.
Alternative plan C would seek to support higher levels and diverse types of recreation, with a focus on ensuring excessive impacts on resources or public safety would not occur. In addition, land-based recreational opportunities would be increased.
Congressman Jason Smith stated in a release that he did not approve of the National Park Service increasing their role in the Riverways.
“The Ozark National Scenic Riverways is already over-managed,” Smith wrote in a Nov. 8 release.
Smith supports the no-action plan; according to the release. This plan would not increase protections for the environment on the Riverways, but rather allow an increase in resource degradation and visitor conflicts, according to the Draft Plan.
Reference copies of the Draft Plan will be made available Nov. 12 at public libraries in several local communities, including Van Buren, Eminence, Winona, Birch Tree, Mountain View, Summersville, Salem, Ellington, and Ellsinore. Digital copies will be available to participants attending the public open house meetings or upon request to the park.
“Our goal remains to develop a final plan that will provide a variety of recreational opportunities while continuing to preserve and protect the natural and cultural resources of Ozark National Scenic Riverways for future generations,” Black stated in the Nov. 1 release.
All interested individuals are invited to attend and comment at two public meetings. The first meeting will be 6 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Van Buren Youth and Community Center. The second meeting will be 6 p.m. Dec. 11 at the Powder Valley Conservation Center, Kirkwood. Each meeting will consist of an open house session for distributing information and receiving comments followed by a formal wilderness hearing to allow individuals to voice their opinions about the proposed wilderness designation.
The plan can be viewed online http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/documentsOpenForReview.cfm?parkID=158&projectID=15793.
The public comment period will be open until Jan. 8. The public is encouraged to provide comments online at www.parkplanning.nps.gov/ozar. Comments will also be accepted at the public meetings, or through the mail to:
Superintendent
Ozark National Scenic Riverways
P. O. Box 490
Van Buren, Missouri 63965
For more information, please contact Dena Matteson at (573) 323-8028 or dena_matteson@nps.gov.
