Last fall when the state Department of Conservation announced that the Truman Access on the Mississippi River in southern Jefferson County would be closed indefinitely, the prospects of getting back to the mighty waterway seemed even more remote than the site itself.

But earlier this month the state issued a release that the 20-acre property adjacent to the Rush Island power plant reopened for public use. With improved drainage and higher roadbeds, the area is expected to be less affected by frequent flooding in the future.

With the river hovering near its zero level this month, high water worries may seem like a low priority, but the Mississippi has been out of its banks five times in the last two years including an event in March of this year when it exceeded flood levels by over a foot. (The zero-level does not mean there is no water in the river, but it indicates that the nine-foot deep navigation channel needed for commercial barges may not be maintained.)

Flood events in the past have deposited significant amounts of silt sediments, so the department used that material to raise the road levels. The excavation work also included adding new drainage pipes.

“After the long closure of Truman Access, we have reopened the gates,” said Tim Schuette, a conservation department maintenance supervisor. “With the combination of raising the road and parking lot and replacing a couple of culvert pipes that were silted in, drainage will be much better.”

Portions of the access road, and the parking lot near the boat ramp, were raised from two to four feet using the accumulated river sediment. After the silt was bulldozed into place and graded, conservation department crews covered those areas with an additional foot of rock base.

“I believe we have the road and parking lot at an elevation where excessive silt deposits should not form during a typical high water event as they’ve done in the past,” Schuette said.

The strategy to allow the sediment to build up and use it to in the fight against future floods has been successful at other river accesses in southeast Missouri. It is opposite of previous recovery efforts, which worked to remove the silt and replace it with rock. But every subsequent flooding event buried the new rock surfaces in more silt.

The single-lane boat launch ramp at Truman Access is concrete, but the parking area and roads are all gravel. The current low river levels showed the bottom structure for the large fishing areas that attract summertime anglers. A wing dike just upstream from the ramp creates a large pool away from the river’s strong current.

In addition to fishing opportunities, Truman provides access to Harlow Island, a 1,200 -acre tract that is part of the Middle Mississippi River Natural Wildlife Area. About 800 areas of the property had been cropland, but the flood of 1993 over-topped the agricultural levee protecting the property, and it has since be allowed to return to its natural bottom land forest habitat.

The refuge is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is one component of a network of lands along the river between St. Louis and the Ohio River near Cairo, Illinois. The wetlands and woods are set aside for the protection of plants and animals that call the habitat home.

A mile-long slough creates Harlow Island, separating it from the Missouri mainland. The current low river level has the slough looking more like a wet ditch, but spring rains and snow-melt in the north will bring the river and its side channels to their former glory soon enough. Hopefully the raised roadways and improved drainage will limit the time the area is closed “indefinitely” in the future.

Truman Access is on Big Hollow Road about 10 miles south of Crystal City off US Highway 61 at Hwy. AA.

Originally published by Leader Publications Dec. 9, 2021.

Once the leaves finally fell off of the trees, the deer season took on a look of normalcy. The unofficial numbers from the November portion of firearms season were very similar to recent years. (Actually, it seems there are still a remarkable number of trees still holding tight to their summer wardrobe.)

Opening weekend weather included a mix of wind and rain through two days of pretty typical November weather, and hunters responded by taking nearly 90,000 deer. In round numbers it’s pretty easy to predict what to expect throughout the state’s four months of deer hunting.

Opening weekend usually accounts for a quarter to a third of the overall harvest, so a number close to 100,000 has come to be expected. The rest of the November portion can count on just about the same number of deer, as hunters add to their personal totals or use the second weekend and last nine days to make up for missed opportunities.

The other segments, including archery, two youth seasons, antlerless and alternative methods are likely to reach or exceed another 100,000 deer, bringing the annual total to nearly 300,000, which has been a consistent mark.

Other true to form data regards the top harvest counties. Franklin and Texas counties take full advantage of their large geography and strong habitat to lead the way year after year. Jefferson County found its way into the top five this year with about 4,200 deer taken.

When the archery season paused for the November portion, Jefferson County was maintaining its dominance, leading the way for the tenth consecutive year with 1,173 deer checked. Callaway and Franklin counties were the only other locations to top four-digits with 1,031 and 1,034 respectively.

Still to come is an extended antlerless portion beginning Dec. 4. The season that allows hunter to only shoot does or young bucks with antlers less than three inches had been three days long, but this year will stretch through two weekends until Dec. 12.

Only 15 of Missouri’s 114 counties are excluded during the season. Hunters can use their any-deer or antlerless firearms permits. Limits are determined by county. Hunters in Jefferson County may fill two antlerless permits again this year.

The alternative methods season opens on Christmas Day and continues until Jan. 4, 2022. Known mostly as muzzleloader season, hunters can use cap and ball or other muzzle-loading long rifles or pistols that shoot a .40 caliber or larger, single projectile. Also legal are .40-caliber air rifles, centerfire handguns, airbows, long bows, crossbows or atlatls.

Mandatory chronic wasting disease sampling on opening weekend in Jefferson and 33 other counties resulted in collection of lymph node tissue samples from 18,700 hunter-harvested deer for testing.

“We greatly appreciate the participation and support of the many thousands of hunters who presented their deer for CWD sampling during opening weekend,” said Jasmine Batten, state Department of Conservation wildlife health program supervisor. “The high number of samples collected during opening weekend gives MDC scientists a much better understanding of the distribution and prevalence of the disease. It also helps us to find new cases in new areas as early as possible, which is very important.”

Including the recent sampling efforts, the state has collected more than 173,000 tissue samples for testing since the disease was first detected in wild deer in Missouri in early 2012. To date, the state has found 206 confirmed cases of CWD since sampling began.

Hunters are encouraged to take the deer they harvest in other portions of the hunting season to voluntary sampling locations at taxidermists and meat processors throughout the state. The testing is free for hunters and results are available in three to four weeks through the conservation department website. For more information visit mdc.mo.gov/cwd.

Originally published by Leader Publications Dec. 2, 2021.

The lure of a place like Bennett Spring and its trout park is easy to see, and it goes way beyond the fishing. In one compact package it provides a wide variety of outdoor activities and really nice amenities.

Of course the fishing opportunities are the primary draw, with open stream available from March 1 through Oct. 31 and Nov. 13 through Feb. 8. Open stream may be a overly generous description on opening day when crowds can be huge, but the option to fish later in the day during the regular season, or throughout the winter catch-and-release period, there can be plenty of time with fewer anglers.

During the regular season, fish are released each night from the on-site hatchery based on the number of permits expected to be sold the next day. Most of the rainbow trout are more than 12 inches long, and a few “lunkers” of three pounds or more get released to the stream during stocking.

Segments of the spring branch that leads to the Niangua River cater to different skill levels of anglers and types of fishing. One stretch only allows fly-fishing for the purists. A second area hosts casters with flies and other artificial lures, and Zone 3 is for natural baits and soft plastic lures only.

A daily fishing tag is required from opening day through Oct. 31. The cost is $4 for adults and $3 for anglers ages 15 and younger. During the catch and release season and outside the park boundaries on the river, an annual trout permit is required. The revenue from permit sales pays for the hatchery and fish that are fed and raised for anglers.

The hatchery pre-dates the park, which was purchased by the state in 1924. The history is evident throughout the 3,338-acre property and documented at the park’s nature center along with the ecology and natural environment of the spring and river system. Tours of the hatchery provide up close looks at fish that seemingly grow before your eyes as you walk past the raceways. The spring itself is quite impressive pumping out more than 100 million gallons of water per day.

The spring branch flows past cabins, campgrounds, a lodge with restaurant and store, and other park facilities including churches. Playground equipment and abundant, well-manicured flat ground is available for kids to run and have fun when the fishing is done.

Nearly 200 camping sites are available and can be reserved up to a year in advance. All of the campsites have electricity available, and 43 spots in Campground 1 have full water, sewer, and electric hook-ups.

Lodging options at the park include motel rooms, individual and duplex cabins, and recently remodeled four-apartment units. The motel rooms have refrigerators, and the cabins and other housekeeping units have one or two bedrooms, kitchens and living rooms.

The daily trout tags and other required fishing equipment are available in the park store. Concessionaire Jim Rogers offers fly-fishing lessons for those wanting to learn the craft or improve their presentation.

Five hiking trails range in length from just more than a quarter mile to almost 7.5 miles. The oak and hickory forests are the primary feature of all the routes, but each have interesting elements of their own including natural and man-made structures. Caves, bluffs, upland and bottomland terrain, an historic cemetery, and a natural tunnel that is almost 300 feet long as it forms an S-curve through the hill.

Like all state parks, the site is managed by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The hatchery is operated by the state Department of Conservation. The two agencies work in coordination providing amenities and activities for everyone.

Originally published by Leader Publications Oct. 14, 2021.