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Missouri Forage and Grassland Council
2000 Annual Meeting
October 30-31, 2000
Lake Ozark Holiday Inn, Lake Ozark, Missouri

Private Land and Stream Management


George Seek and Kyle Reno
Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City, Missouri

Introduction
With nearly 93 % of Missouri owned by private citizens, the fate of our state’s natural resources remain largely in their hands. This fact also makes private landowners vital partners in the Missouri Department of Conservation’s mission to protect and manage the fish, forest, and wildlife resources of the state. While the Department has offered conservation assistance to landowners for more than 50 years, there is a constant and growing need for this service. Recognizing this need, the Conservation Commission authorized the establishment of a new division called "Private Land Services" in September, 1999. The new division, containing a diverse staff of 82 resource professionals, became operational July 1, 2000. The mission of the Private Land Services Division is straight forward and simple; "To help Missouri landowners achieve their land use objectives in ways that enhance the conservation of Missouri’s natural resources." George’s presentation will introduce the importance of natural resource management and explain how the new division is organized to better serve Missouri landowners. George will then introduce Kyle Reno, Private Land Services Regional Supervisor, who will present a program explaining Missouri’s approach in helping producers make the most out of their stream side (riparian) land. At the conclusion of Kyle’s program, Paul Calvert, Streams Services Program Supervisor, will introduce and show a short video that illustrates several successful partnerships that not only benefit two endangered species, the Niangua darter and the Topeka shiner, but also livestock producers.

Private Land and Stream Management
Missouri is a "river state" with over 56,000 miles of stream channels that support over 200 species of fish. Missouri rivers and creeks provide many benefits including recreation, navigation, municipal and livestock water supply, irrigation, and waste water treatment. The riparian areas and floodplain features along these streams are some of the most ecologically productive areas of Missouri’s landscape. They provide many functional benefits to humans, streams, and fish and wildlife resources.

With over 93% of Missouri’s watersheds that feed these streams in private ownership, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has recognized the importance of working with Missouri producers and landowners to improve our stream resources while maintaining agricultural productivity. In 1990, MDC placed a special focus on rivers and creeks and implemented a stream improvement initiative entitled Streams for the Future. Streams for the Future had many elements including increased training of MDC staff on stream dynamics and management techniques; increased public awareness and education on stream issues; increased efforts to work with key resource partners; and increased technical and financial assistance delivered to Missouri landowners. Streams for the Future laid an important foundation that helped shape the philosophy and delivery of landowner services by MDC today.

Streams continue to be a high priority for MDC. Stream management efforts are targeted at a watershed scale. MDC Fisheries staff recently completed a comprehensive Inventory and Management Plan for every major stream basin in Missouri. These documents are designed to help MDC identify and prioritize issues and opportunities for the improvement of streams throughout the state. The integration of many disciplines (forestry, fisheries, wildlife, soil science, geomorphology, hydrology, animal science, engineering, agronomy, range management, and many others) through the structural framework and partnerships of MDC’s new Private Land Initiative should help enhance the implementation of the Inventory and Management Plans, and produce a better product for Missouri landowners.

With respect specifically to grasslands, streams pose special issues and opportunities for producers and biologists alike. Documented impacts of grazing in riparian areas include: channel instability; decreased plant vigor; decreased biomass; alteration of species composition and diversity; reduction or elimination of woody species; elevated surface runoff; erosion and sediment delivery to streams; streambank erosion and failure; increased width to depth ratios; degradation of aquatic species; and water quality degradation.

For producers, streams and riparian areas pose special issues as well, including: increased fencing and maintenance costs; potential animal loss during environmental extremes (flooding); inhibited animal performance due to water quality; potential waterborne disease problems; poor distribution of nutrients (manure) on pastures; and lost income potential from alternative farm products (woodlands).

MDC staff are charged with assisting landowners to meet their land use objectives in a manner that improves the forest, fish, and wildlife resources of the state. Hence, stream management prescriptions by MDC staff are designed with the landowner’s production objectives in mind.

While stream recommendations may include structural or biotechnical techniques to address specific in-stream stability problems, the basic foundation of stream recommendations involves the management of what is called the Streamside Management Zone. The streamside management zone is an area adjacent to the stream that directly or indirectly impacts the quality of the stream. Vegetation in this zone provides many functions including: providing streambank stability; stream water temperature regulation; filtering sediment, nutrients, and pesticides from surface and groundwater; dissipating flood energy; and providing habitat for fish and wildlife. Generally, most of these functions are provided within 100 feet of the stream’s edge.

There are four basic prescriptions for streamside management zones that may be prescribed:

  1. Livestock Exclusion: Livestock exclusion means totally excluding livestock from the streamside management zone. This practice is prescribed for producers that do not desire/need to graze or hay this area and want to manage the streamside management zone for the economic and/or habitat benefits provided by woodlands. This is the primary prescription in areas where the ecological health of the stream is dependent on a properly functioning riparian forest. Livestock exclusion requires developing an alternative source of water for the livestock other than the stream if none already exist. This may include tapping into rural water supplies; pumping from the stream; constructing a pond; or digging a well. Livestock exclusion often works well with rotational and management intensive grazing systems.
  2. Limited Access: Limited access is similar to livestock exclusion, however, livestock are provided access to the stream at a reinforced area for watering purposes. This is an option in areas where watering sources other than the stream are impractical or cost-prohibitive. Limited access requires the installation of a fenced lane through the streamside management zone to an area reinforced with rock. The area also can serve as a crossing if access to the other side of the stream is required.
  3. Prescribed Grazing: Prescribed grazing has limited applications on upland prairie streams where the ecological health of the streams is not dependent on woody riparian vegetation. This practice has applications primarily on intermittent headwater streams. With this practice, the streamside management zone is hayed or grazed according to a specific prescription that is designed to produce a desired response in herbaceous streamside vegetation. Alternative water is generally a consideration to prevent overuse of the stream that might result in stream instability.
  4. Silvopasture: Silvopasture is an agroforestry practice that is specifically designed and managed for the production of trees, tree products, forage, and livestock. With this technique, forage crops and timber products are raised together. This system is designed to produce a high value timber product while providing a short-term cash flow from livestock. Examples of silvopasture systems may include grazing and haying within valuable hardwood plantations (oak and walnuts), nut tree plantations (pecans, walnuts), pulpwood plantations, and specialty plantations (Christmas trees). Properly designed, silvopasture systems work well in streamside management zones as long as the system design is consistent with sound stream management.
There are many programs that offer technical and financial assistance to producers for the management of their streamside property. These include elements of the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP); the Soil and Water Conservation Program (SWCP) State Cost Share, and Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution Program (AgNPS SALT); the Environmental Protection Agencies’ (EPA) Section 319 Grant Program; the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program; and MDC’s Cost-Share program.

The prescription for the streamside management zone is dependent on many factors. These include the size, geology, hydrology and condition of the watershed; activities in the floodplain and stream corridor; the condition of the stream both above and below the reach in question; and most importantly, the objectives of the landowner. MDC biologists can develop an appropriate prescription and help identify opportunities for technical or financial assistance to meet the landowner’s stream management objectives.

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