By Sherry Best

Spring is a transition, theseason of "firsts". It is a time ofp ro g ression. One by one, wesee the steps of change: jon-quils, then daffodils in the fro n ty a rd, the return of migratoryb i rds. Spring is the awakening,the warming of days, the sunon our skin, the first hike in ourshirt sleeves. As the steps accu-mulate, we become more awareof the constant motion ofn a t u re. Each increment is asmall-scale measure of univer-sal growth. The day the dog-woods start blooming, themorning the morels emerg e ,will never be repeated. Nextspring will be diff e re n t .

By Roy C. Hengerson

Every two years the Sierra Clubsets its overall conservation priori-ties in conjunction with a newCongress starting up in the nation'scapital. This is voted on by theBoard of Directors after extensiveinput from Club activists, groups,chapters, regions, and staff. It is alsobased on the political landscape theClub must deal with, given theresults of the last election.

For 1997-1998 the Sierra Club's

overall conservation priorities are:1. To protect and restore

America's forests by reformingnational and state forest laws, poli-cies, and practices.

2. To protect and restoreAmerica's clean water and wetlandsby reforming national and statelaws, policies, and practices.

3. To protect and recover endan-gered and threatened species andtheir habitats by reforming nationaland state laws, policies, and prac-t i c e s .

In addition, the Sierra Club will

One Earth One ChanceVolume 29 Number 2 May/June 1997

Sierra Club Sets 1997-1998 National ConservationPriorities

®

Season's Paradox

Continued on page 14 . . . . . . . . .P A R A D O X

Continued on page 2 . . . . . . . .P R I O R I T I E S

“Mayapples”, Burr Oak Woods, Blue Springs, MO, 1995, Photo by Sherry Best

2Ozark Sierran May/June 1997

Chapter Executive Committee

A t L a r g e :Gale Burrus, Chapter Chair, Sierra Club Council Delegate

9828 Willow Avenue, #1A, Kansas City, MO 64134, (816) 763-5120Andrew Gondzur, Vice Chair

4037 McDonald Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116Keet Kopecky, Treasurer, Newsletter Editor

9211 Olmstead, Kansas City, MO 64138, (816) 966-9544Jim Rhodes, S e c r e t a r y

878 Victoria, St. Louis, MO 63122, (314) 821-7758Rebecca Schedler, Membership Chair

1103 Jewell Avenue, Apt. 1, Columbia, MO 65203, (573) 443-4401Chris Hayday , Political Chair

700 West Blvd. N., Columbia, MO 65203, (573) 875-4507Claus Wawrzinek

P.O. Box 45542, Kansas City, MO 64171, (816) 561-7863

G r o u p R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s :Thomas Hart Benton Group, Bob Sherrick

10807 E. 205th Street, Peculiar, MO 64078, (816) 779-6708Eastern Missouri Group, Ginger Harris

556 Oakhaven Lane, St. Louis, MO 63141, (314) 432-2618Osage Group, Hank Ottinger

511 Westwood Avenue, Columbia, MO 65203, (573) 443-4957Trail of Tears Group, Brian Alworth

2826 Whitener St., Cape Girardeau, MO 63701, (573) 334-7978White River Group, Bob Rodgers

RR 5 Box 323, Rogersville, MO 65742, (417) 753-5051

C h a p t e r C o m m i t t e e C h a i r s :C o n s e r v a t i o n : Caroline Pufalt

13415 Land-O-Woods, #3, St. Louis, MO 63141, (314) 878-3165Transportation: Ron McLinden

3236 Coleman Road, Kansas City, MO 64111, (816) 931-0498Highlands Activity Section: Lori Anne Clark

3027 Hogan Dr., Jefferson City, MO 65109Longview Student Section: Gina De Barthe

2036 James Downey Road, Independence, MO 64057, (816) 257-1198P o p u l a t i o n : Robert Elworth, M.D.

RR 2 Box 5324, Willard, MO 65781 (417) 742-2775Legal, Deferred Gifts Officer: Roger Hershey

18308 Hanthorne Drive, Independence, MO 64057, (816) 795-7533L e g i s l a t i v e : Joe Engeln

2407 Topaz, Columbia, MO 65203

S t a f f / C h a p t e r O f f i c e :Ken Midkiff, Program DirectorTraci Sneeden, Administrative Assistant

914 N. College, Suite 1, Columbia, MO 65202 <------ NEW A D DRES S(573) 815-9250 voice/answering machine(573) 442-7051 FAX/modem(800) 628-5333 Water Quality Hotline

The Ozark Sierran is published six times a year by the Ozark Chapterof the Sierra Club. Annual dues of Sierra Club members pay for asubscription to this publication. Non-members may subscribe for$15 per year.If you have items for publication, contact :

Ozark SierranClaus Wawrzinek phone: (816) 561-7863P.O. Box 32727 E-mail: clausw@worldnet.att.netKansas City, MO 64171 Please cc: kkopecky@aol.com

The editors reserve the right to edit articles. Material may be editedfor length, content or clarity. If you have strong creative ownershipof your writing and wish to reserve the right to review your editedarticle before publication, consider your deadline 10 days prior tothe published deadline. With notice, we will be happy to work withy o u .Reproduction-quality photographs (prints) or artwork are greatlya p p r e c i a t e d .The published deadline is the drop-dead deadline. Submissionsreceived after the deadline might not appear in the issue.

The Ozark Sierran is produced on a Macintosh computer, so weprefer to receive material electronically (e-mail), or on a Macintoshor PC disk (3 .5"), saved in Microsoft Word or “text” (ASCII) WITHA HARD COPY OF THE TEXT. Typed articles are also accepted(especially a few days before the deadline.) All submissions mustinclude name, address, and phone number of the author. If youwant your submission returned (including your disk), pleaseinclude a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE).

y

continue to fight back the "War onthe Environment" that has been andcontinues to be waged by someelected and appointed officials. TheClub will defend against attempts toroll back environmental laws underthe guise of takings or regulatoryreform. It will work to stop theweakening of pollution standardswhether through legislation or regu-latory revisions by the federalEnvironmental Protection Agencyand state environmental agencies. Itwill also work to defend our publiclands from incompatible develop-ment or other impairment.

Finally, the Sierra Club will con-tinue its priority campaigns in theinternational arena, including greentrade, global warming, population,development funding, and humanrights and the environment.

P R I O R I T I E S . . . . continued from page 1

By John Leon Fish

Be an environmentalist three times (or more) everyday...eat low on the food chain

Every year, beginning in 1985, the Farm AnimalReform Movement (FARM) has promoted an event theydubbed the Great American Meatout. The idea is foreveryone to "kick the meat habit on March 20th (firstday of Spring) and to explore a less violent, more whole-some diet" for at least that one day. But what does thathave to do with carrying capacity?

Quoting from one of FARM’s publications:"Millions of acres of forestland are devastated through

conversion to grazing land and cropland to feed farm ani-mals, both in the US and abroad. Runoff from these landscarries suspended and dissolved solids, organic matter,nutrients, and pesticides into our lakes and streams,accounting for more water pollution than all other humanactivities combined. Overgrazing and intense cultivationeventually turn these lands into desert."

According to 1991 USDA figures, you must feed cat-tle 13 pounds of corn to produce one pound of ediblebeef. The corresponding figure for pork is 6 pounds; forbroiler chickens, 3 pounds; and for sheep, 19 pounds.This means that much more grain must be grown thanwould be necessary if people were eating the graindirectly instead of cycling it through the digestive tractsof animals.

Think also of how many acres could be returned totallgrass prairie, wetlands, and natural flood plains ifwe stopped feeding 70% of US grain production to ani-mals. That could make for a whole lot of restoredwildlife habitat.

Of course, it also requires enormous water and ener-gy inputs to produce enough grain to support the typi-cal American diet, leading to aquifer depletion, topsoilloss, soil salinization, air pollution, greenhouse gasemissions, and a growing dependence on imported fos-sil fuels.

In addition, America's farm animals produce abouttwo billion tons of manure each year--about 10 timesthat of the human population. This waste spills andseeps into groundwater, wells, rivers, lakes, andstreams, leading to wildlife kills and nitrate poisoningof humans.

While people think of the typical American diet asnormal, it isn't by historical standards. In fact, it is large-ly a creation of the post-World War II era. It seems nor-mal because it is the only diet most people in this coun-try have known during their lifetimes.

According to a 1985 report by the National ResearchCouncil of the National Academy of Sciences entitled

Diet and Health, Implications for Reducing ChronicDisease Risk, Americans eat, on average, eating half thegrains and potatoes they consumed at the turn of thecentury, 33% more dairy products, 50% more beef, and280% more poultry. Though these figures have likelychanged somewhat since then, they haven't changeddramatically enough to alter the basic point: the averageAmerican's diet has gone from being plant-based tobeing animal-based over the course of this century.

Moreover, since 1900, the US population has grownfrom 76 million to about 266 million today. Somethinghad to change in order to provide ever-greater amountsof animal foods to an ever-growing population, and thatchange took the form of industrialized agriculture. Nowwe are seeing the consequences in rising grain prices;herbicide- and insecticide-contaminated rivers, lakes,and streams; and manure-lagoon spills from mega-hogf a c t o r i e s .

For most of us, the most direct and powerful way wecan act to solve our carrying capacity crisis, simply byaltering what we choose to eat everyday. All we have todo is choose to eat a plant-based diet, one based aroundgrains, vegetables, and fruits, containing small amountsof animal foods, at most. Just like that, you dramaticallylower your own personal impact on the Earth, whileimproving your health. Not bad results for a change thatopens your life up to wonderful new horizons of deli-cious, ethnic, plant-based cuisines.

If you would like to do more to educate others aboutthe benefits of plant-based diets for the Earth, pleasecontact me at (816) 353-9305, or e-mail me at7 2 6 3 3 . 2 1 1 @ c o m p u s e r v e . c o m .

3Ozark Sierran May/June 1997

Carrying Capacity Corner: The 12th Annual GreatAmerican Meatout

By Ken Midkiff

In 1990, the federal Clean Air Act, in re c o g n i t i o nthat metropolitan areas continued to suffer fro me x t remely unhealthy air, re q u i red reductions in emis-sions that contribute to ground-level ozone.

Emissions from polluting industries had been thefirst target of clean air laws in the 1970s, and indeed,the smoke-belching factories of yesteryear are almosta memory.

Such sources of pollution were relatively easy toidentify and relatively easy to clean up.

Of course, the polluting industries claimed the skywas going to fall. They claimed that the cost of pollu-tion prevention would be so prohibitive that civiliza-tion as we know it would end, and even worse, cor-porate profit margins would be decreased. It turnsout that none of this was true; the cost of pre v e n t i o nwas relatively cheap. Some companies even re a l i z e deconomic benefits by finding uses for what had pre-viously been spewed away.

But ground-level ozone continued to be a pro b l e m- particularly in metropolitan areas that rely almostexclusively on single- occupancy vehicles for trans-portation - such as St. Louis.

An easy way to address this was to re q u i re thatauto manufacturers produce automobiles that getbetter gas mileage to reduce the per-auto emissionsand to install efficient emission-control systems.C l e a n e r, fuel efficient cars were produced, with somegnashing of teeth, by the auto industry folks.

But, as these cars age, the systems that make themclean and efficient need to be maintained. Otherwise,we end up with the same pollution-belching, gas-eat-ing monsters as in the past. The thrust, then, of cur-rent efforts to clean up the air in our cities is to makes u re that automobiles are properly maintained.

To do this, programs have been designed to checkthe emissions in simulated driving conditions. Thisinvolves putting the car on a treadmill that givesvarying degrees of resistance over a four- m i n u t eperiod, while checking the emissions through a pipehooked up to the exhaust that runs through a com-puterized measuring system. Euphemistically called"I/M 240" (Inspection and Maintenance - 240 sec-onds), this program is quick and efficient. It tellswhether the car is meeting emission standards, andp rovides a readout of what the problem is and howto fix it. The cost proposed for the St. Louis metroa rea would be a piddly $24.00 per car every twoy e a r s .

So, not only would this program clean up the air,

but every two years auto owners would get a physi-cal exam on the car. Fuel economy is directly re l a t e dto emissions, so not only would the air be cleanedup, but gas mileage would stay efficient. Everyoneb e n e f i t s .

Enter the politicians. Three years ago, the MissouriGeneral Assembly approved the I/M 240 system forimplementation in the St. Louis metro area. This wasdone primarily to keep the US EPA happy so thatfederal highway funds would not be shut off. It wasclear from the git-go that not many legislators gave ahoot about clean air or the health of their con-s t i t u e n t s .

The General Assembly also instructed theAttorney General's office to sue the US EPA so thatMissouri would not have to comply with the federalclean air re q u i rements. This was done, and the statelost the suit. Last year, the General Assembly re f u s e dto provide funding for the I/M 240 pro g r a m .

In the meantime, the air quality in the St. Louisa rea got worse. The ambient air monitoring devicesa round the area detected many, many days eachsummer when the air was literally unfit to bre a t h e .Hospital admissions for respiratory pro b l e m sshowed a one-to-one correlation with "bad air days".Health professionals urged the implementation ofthe I/M 240 program to clean up the air.

But, just two weeks ago, the House BudgetCommittee killed the funds in the budget of theDepartment of Natural Resources for the clean airp rogram. Deleted were $4.5 million dollars plus thesalaries for seven new state employees to oversee theI/M 240 pro c e s s .

Rep. Lori Donovan (R - Florissant) introduced themotion to kill the funding. Voting for the deletionw e re Democrats May Scheve, Russell Gunn, and Ti mG reen and Republicans Rich Chrismer and EmmyMcClelland, all from the St. Louis are a .

Other St. Louis state re p resentatives, such as JoanB r a y, Sue Shear, and Sheila Lumpe, recognized thereal issue: human health. Forget the US EPA, forg e thighway funds. The members of the legislatureshould be concerned about clean air and the healthof the citizens of the St. Louis area, rather than whin-ing about "expensive federal mandates".

The air needs to be cleaned up - that is the bottomline. The I/M 240 program would do that eff i c i e n t l yand inexpensively, with little or no inconvenience. St.Louis legislators need to put aside posturing anddemagoguery and deal with the real problems: badair and human health.

4Ozark Sierran May/June 1997

Bad Air and Bad Politics

By Caroline Pufalt

There's a new saw mill coming tosouthern Missouri. That would nor-mally not be notable news but thisparticular type of mill and what itmay represent has many people wor-ried about the future of Missouri'sforests. The mill is a chip mill, whichmeans it is designed to use a varietyof tree sizes to mill into chips foreventual paper processing. If a sig-nificant chip mill industry developsin Missouri, as it has in some otherstates, it could mean the transforma-tion and loss of many of our hard-wood forest acres.

At this writing a large timbercompany, Willamette Industries, isplanning to develop what it calls a"wood recovery facility" in WayneCounty, Missouri. The exact dimen-sions and capacity of this facility arenot clear, but it is designed to millhard and softwoods into chips forpaper pulp. Chips from the mill willbe sent to Kentucky for processing.Concern is that the new mill, andothers that may follow, represent thestart of a growing chip mill industryin Missouri.

In order to understand why thisprospect is viewed as a threat, oneneeds some background on types ofmills and their products. Missourihas many saw mills (about 400)which use medium to large size treesfor hardwood and softwood lumberfor products such as flooring, furni-ture, and pallets. Most mills producesome waste products such as slabsand chips. In an effort to be moreefficient and economical some millshave small onsite chipping facilitieswhich use these residue chips.

However, a mill devoted to theproduction of chips is a different sortof operation. Such chip mills aredesigned to use almost any size treeand often the whole tree primarilyfor the production of chips to beused for paper pulp. Softwood, suchas pines, have been the most com-mon source of paper pulp. But inrecent years paper mills have devel-

oped methods to also use hard-woods for paper. Thus, Missouri'sforests, often a mix of hard and softwoods, can be used for paper pulp.

Chip mills come in various sizes.What concerns forest watchers mostare the larger high capacity chipmills. These mills are sometimescalled remote or satellite facilitiesbecause they often supply a papermill a distance from the source for-est. The type of logging associatedwith larger chip mills can be devas-tating. That logging often results inlarge and complete clearcutting. It issometimes aimed at type conversion,such as converting a hardwood ormixed forest to a pine plantation.

High capacity chip mills may alsohave a negative long term impact ona local economy. When a local econ-omy depends on traditional sawmills, trees are permitted to growlarger and used for forest relatedproducts, such as furniture, andthere is a ripple effect in the econo-my. Jobs can be had for loggers, millworkers and those involved in pro-cessing and manufacturing the finalproduct. And, of course, the landowner profits. If trees are cut using aprofessional approach, such as selec-tion logging, some trees are leftstanding. The landowner can have areliable source of income and theland can remain primarily forested.

But in a high capacity chip milleconomy, landowners are oftenunder pressure to permit clearcut-ting in which their land is complete-ly cut over. Smaller or medium sizedtrees are used before they can devel-op into quality lumber. Land that iscompletely cut over will take a longtime to develop into saw timber. Thetemptation will be to cut it againbefore the forest reaches maturity, orto convert it to a non-forest use, suchas pasture. In either case the landowner is left with a drasticallychanged resource and the forestnever returns as before.

Chip mills are often very mecha-nized, employing few people andtaking the resource out of the local

area to be processed. Since highcapacity chip mills can process largevolumes quickly, they are sometimesshort lived. Thus, the local economy"exports" its resources, realizing fewbenefits in the process. What's leftare cut over hillsides that will takemany decades to recover.

Will this happen to Missouri? Theanswer depends on what types ofmills develop and how landownersrespond. One view is that chip millswill provide a market for what arecalled intermediate cuts or timberstand improvement cuts. Those areforestry terms for a cut designed tothin a forest so that the remainingtrees can develop into higher qualitytimber. Sometimes there is no mar-ket for the smaller trees cut in thisprocess and thus it is costly to thelandowner. If chip mills provide amarket for those thinnings this typeof timber stand improvement couldbe profitable.

But the fear is that the presence ofchip mills, particularly high capacitymills, will result in temptations formore clearcutting, forest type con-version and even land conversion.Unfortunately this has been theexperience elsewhere. High capacitychip mills have been prolific in thesoutheastern U.S. and they areviewed by many as an ecological andeconomic disaster.

What can the state do to helpinsure that Missouri's hardwood andsoftwood forests are not threatenedby high capacity chip mills? TheOzark Chapter has joined othergroups in the southeastern US inasking the EPA to do an environ-mental impact statement on highcapacity chip mills. We can also askour local Department of NaturalResources to be vigilant as it consid-ers granting permits to larger mills.But perhaps most important is tomake sure that landowners have theinformation they need on the eco-nomic and ecological impacts of highcapacity mills so they can makechoices to manage forests sustain-a b l y .

5Ozark Sierran May/June 1997

Can Missouri's Forests Survive Chip Mills?

We can feel this process inour bones. We want to interactwith it. My response is to pho-tograph it, to re c o rd it RIGHTN O W. The momentpasses, as it must, butRIGHT THEN, it wasso. The mayappleshave bloomed; nextweek, the mayappleshave fruit. The stepskeep their assignedo rd e r, constant,immeasurably subtle,i m p e rc e p t i b l e .

This is Zeno'sParadox. Zeno of Eleawas a Greek philoso-pher who liveda round 490 - 430 B.C.He argued thatmotion wasn't re a l .Each step in asequence couldalways be dividedinto smaller fractions,until the fractionsw e re so infinitesimalthat movement from one to thenext became irrelevant. Hismost famous argument isAchilles running after a tor-toise. Zeno stated that Achillescould never overtake the tor-toise, because each time hisp ro g ress was measured fro mone starting point to the tor-toise, the tortoise had movedo n .

The process of growth is thatelusive. Our lifestyles don'tallow constant observation, sowe witness growth in steps. Weneed to maintain a connectionto the process, to get away fro mthe things that keep us busy.The first day of Spring is theday we get out into it. We want

to be re f reshed, to keep intouch with our natural her-itage. By experiencing beautifulplaces, we feel united witht h e m .

That unity is important to us.It is so important that we dedi-cate our time ande n e rgy to pre s e r v i n git. We gain some-thing immaterial:we grow as much asthe nature does. Wedo not take a har-vest; we certainly donot receive a pro f i t ,but we do achieve are w a rd .

The growth con-tinues without ourp resence, moment tomoment, day to day,season to season,after we go back tothe mundane. If we

return, we can see the pro g re s s .RIGHT NOW, the redbuds areblooming. RIGHT NOW, theduckweed has spread to thats t ream bank. NOW, the grasses

have overtaken them a y a p p l e s .Achilles hasreached the tor-toise. Experiencep roves Zenow ro n g .

The growth con-tinues withouthuman interven-tion. If it isstopped, it is lost.We participate in itby not interru p t i n git. That's our para-dox now. We arepart of this continu-i t y, part of the envi-ronment. If we fail,it fails. I believethat's why we neede x p o s u re to it. I am

convinced that's whywe preserve it. If we

didn't need to learn from it, wewouldn't bother.

6Ozark Sierran May/June 1997

P A R A D O X . . . . . . . continued from page 1

“Mayapples from the ground” Black Pond Woods, Ann Arbor,MI, 1990, Photo by Sherry Best

“Mayapples from the ground”, Burr Oak Woods, Blue Springs, MO 1995Photo by Sherry Best

By Caroline Pufalt

Mark Twain once re m a r k e dthat " I think I can say withpride, that we have legislature sthat bring higher prices thanany in the world." His re m a r k ,though humorous, points to areal and enduring problem inAmerican politics. Advocatesfor serious campaign re f o r mpoint out that we can look tohistory for manyexamples of theneed for re f o r m ,but no successfuls o l u t i o n s .

But the lack ofhistorical modelshas not weakenedthe resolve ofmany citizensdetermined toclean up the elec-toral process andp rovide democra-cy with a levelplaying field fora l l . M a n yMissourians are participatingin this effort through a gro u pcalled the Missouri Alliance forCampaign Reform (MACR).The recent controversy sur-rounding various campaignfinance irregularities in theP residential election havefocused attention on the federalelection level. But real efforts atreform are brewing at the statelevel. The 1996 election pro-duced an inspiring campaignfinance reform in the state ofMaine. Missourians are draw-ing inspiration from that exam-ple. A conference held byMACR in January feature d

G e o rge Christie, an activistf rom the Maine reform cam-p a i g n .

Why is this an issue of inter-est to Sierrans? Our pro g r a md i re c t o r, Ken Midkiff, attendedthe MACR conference to givehis views on the role of moneyand influence in Jefferson City.Ken lobbies there on behalf ofthe Ozark Chapter and hasseen first hand the influence of

business in legislation aff e c t i n gthe environment and on cam-paigns in which the enviro n-ment was an issue. It costs anaverage Missouri State Senator$180,000 to run successfully foro ffice. It is difficult for citizensto impact that process and theinfluence of large donors o u rces, primarily corporateand business interest, easilyd o m i n a t e .

Despite the recent incre a s e de fforts of labor unions in the 96elections, business and corpo-rate interest far outspend allothers at state and federal lev-els. The Sierra Club, as well as

other citizen based intere s tg roups and individuals, arebeginning to see the need forcampaign finance re f o r m .

Relatively recent efforts atcampaign finance reform beganin 1972 in response to theWa t e rgate scandal. The 1972reforms helped foster theg rowth of political action com-mittees (PACs) and incre a s e dthe importance of an individu-

al's own contri-bution to theircampaign, mak-ing it easier forwealthy individ-uals like Perot orForbes to com-pete. This waspartially due to aS u p reme Courtruling that negat-ed some of thereform pro v i-s i o n s .

The very limit-ed success ofthese re f o r m s

have led many to view publicfinancing of campaigns as thebest course. That is the solutionthe state of Maine pursued.Advocates of reform inMissouri are attempting to fol-low a similar path and havei n t roduced a bill, HB 407, in theMissouri House ofR e p resentatives to establish apublically financed campaignoption for Missouri state races.For more information on thiscontact MACR at 4144 Lindell#504, St Louis MO 63108.,phone 314 531 9630 ( St Louis)816 531 2443 (Kansas City) oremail at macrmo@aol.com.

7Ozark Sierran May/June 1997

Missouri Alliance for Campaign Reform

8 Ozark Sierran May/June 1997

By Ken Midkiff

In the southwestern-most are aof Missouri, a mess has been bre w-ing for many years. The poultryindustry moved into McDonaldCounty in the late 1970s thro u g hthe early 1980s, expanding out ofnortheast Arkansas. The concentra-tion of production that is nowoccurring in other areas ofagribusiness - particularly hogsand cattle - was long ago complet-ed in the poultry industry.

A few large companies contro lliterally all poultry and egg pro-duction. By some farm economists'estimates, 90% of this industry isc o n t rolled, through various means,by only four companies. Afterreviewing the environmental com-pliance files of some of these com-panies, and finding a dismal re c o rdof pollution of local streams, lakes,and lands, I traveled down toMcDonald County and adjacentcounties in Oklahoma.

Local farmers and rural re s i-dents took me on a tour of the are a ,visiting the large poultry houses,s l a u g h t e rhouses and packingplants, and most importantly thelocal streams and lakes. What theyshowed me was not pre t t y. Notmuch can be learned by goinginside the chicken houses (10000b i rds to a house, usually 10 houseson a site) or the slaughterh o u s e sand packing plants (300000 bird sper day at one plant I toured), butwhat comes out of these facilities iss t a r t l i n g .

At the wastewater tre a t m e n tplant at one processing facilityowned by Simmons Industries, 1.2million gallons of semi-tre a t e dwater is released into one smallc reek called Cave Springs Branch.In fact, the packing plant con-tributes over 80% of the flow ofthis stream for several miles, untilsmall springs and tributaries addm o re volume. It almost goes with-

out saying that this stream is heav-ily polluted.

Cave Springs Branch, by theaccounts of the MissouriDepartment of Conservation andthe Oklahoma Fish and Wi l d l i f eDepartment, and by observation oflocal "Waterwatchers" teams, is vir-tually devoid of all aquatic lifeexcept algae. Seining and samplingrevealed only one half-alive fish ina five mile stretch of the cre e k .

This is bad enough, but CaveSprings Branch flows into HoneyC reek, which then enters GrandLake of the Cherokees. The city ofG rove, Oklahoma, depends almostcompletely on the Honey Cre e kArm of Grand Lake for its econom-ic base, as well as its drinkingw a t e r. Obviously, the citizens ofG rove are not very happy to havetheir lake contaminated withp rocessed waste composed of theleftovers from chicken guts.Ofcourse, all of this pollution com-prises flagrant violation of the stateand federal clean water laws. Sow h e re is our Department ofNatural Resources and the USE n v i ronmental Protection Agency,the agencies that industry isalways yelling about as being eco-gestapos, the agencies that are inplace to monitor and enforce envi-ronmental laws and protect thepublic health and welfare and ournatural re s o u rc e s ?

Well, DNR did a good job ofdocumenting the problems and cit-ing Simmons Industries for violat-ing the conditions of its waste-water discharge permit and thelaws of the state and the UnitedStates. But that is as far as it went.O fficial Notices of Violations wereissued to Simmons, with no follow-up enforcement actions - eventhough way back in 1988 a CourtO rder was issued for Simmons toget into compliance and stay there ,or be subjected to a $10000 permonth fine.

For whatever re a s o n s . . . p o l i t i c a lclout, bureaucracy inertia, dire c-tives from higher up...whatever,DNR provided constant oversightto a constant barrage of degrada-tion to the streams and rivers ofMcDonald County, watching overand documenting the death of as t ream. The word "complicity"comes to mind. The very agencymandated to protect the naturalre s o u rces and the public healthf rom pollution, made notes andwatched and did nothing.

One vivid image stands outf rom my visit to the "poultry capi-tal". Bill Berry of Delaware County,Oklahoma, and I were standingalong Honey Creek on Bill's farm,looking at the severely pollutedwaters of the creek. Dead algaec o v e red the bottom, coating therocks, sand, and gravel with athick muck that choked all livingt h i n g s .

Gazing down the stream tow h e re the bluff line began, a splashof white caught our eyes. Perc h e dhigh in a sycamore tree was a mag-nificent adult bald eagle, watchingus warily, its bright white headcocked. Then we saw its mate, andtwo other immature eagles in thetops of nearby trees on the bluff s .

Bill explained that the eaglesroosted in his valley in theevenings after a day of foraginga round Grand Lake. Their vantageabove the creek provided themwith a panoramic view of a cre e kkilled by an industry that onlyc a res for stewardship when forc e dto do so.

But, while this scene wasd e p ressing, it also held out hope.The bald eagle is not only ournational symbol, it is also symbolicof what can be achieved when weas a people decide that enough isenough. The bald eagle was almostextinct, its ranks decimated fro mthe effects of the pesticide DDT.

Chapter staff report - Chicken Doings

Continued on page 9 . . . . . . . . . . . .C H I C K E N

9Ozark Sierran May/June 1997

By Rebecca Schedler

It's time once again for theAnnual membership report. Ithought this year I would includem o re information about our mem-bership numbers gathered fro mthe membership report I re c e i v ef rom the Sierra Club’s SanFrancisco office every month.H e re are the numbers as ofDecember 1996: Ozark Chapter -9,192; Eastern Missouri Group -5,885; Thomas Hart Benton gro u p- 1,920; Osage group - 760; WhiteRiver Group - 486; and Trail ofTears group - 130. We are 808members away from 10,000!

All of our groups are in goodshape though they are certainlydiverse in location, demographics,size, and level of activism. I am

trying something new this year tofoster better communicationbetween groups, and betweenchapter and groups, by sendingevery Sierra Club leader a com-plete list of who all the other lead-ers are with a schedule of all meet-ings large and small. One thing Ihope this master schedule will beused for is to get groups togetheron joint outings. For example,t h e re was an outing plannedbetween the Osage and Trail ofTears Groups to visit Hawn StatePark on April 26th to enjoy theg reat springtime flowers andwaterfalls. Also I hope thatConservation Committee(ConsCom) chairs, Membershipchairs, and others will feel free totalk about problems and pro j e c t sthey are working on. For example,the Osage group ConsCom is

working on an endangered speciesp roject, and hope to share withother groups about the process ofdoing this.

The other thing I am hoping toi m p rove upon is the attendance ofour members at the ChapterConservation Committee meetingswhen we are in your area. Pleasefeel free to contact Caroline Pufalt,the Chair, at 314-878-3165 or e-mail her at caro l i n e . p u f a l t @ s i e r r a-c l u b . o rg to find out what is on theupcoming agenda.

F i n a l l y, I just want to thank ourmembers for sticking with us yearafter year. I am happy to re p o r tthat more people voted this yearin our Chapter elections. If 808members each get one new mem-ber we can reach the 10,000 mem-ber mark. Let's see if we canaccomplish this by this same timenext year.

Membership Update

The problem was identified ands t rong, assertive action was takento ban the production and use ofD D T. Habitat restoration, pro p a g a-tion, and other positive actionsw e re taken to re s t o re the eaglepopulation to the healthy, sustain-able level enjoyed today.

The American people, the citi-zens of Missouri, and the re s i d e n t sof southwest Missouri and north-east Oklahoma care deeply abouttheir lands, their streams, theirrivers, and the plants and animalswith which we share this planet.We need to insist..demand.. thatthe Missouri Department ofNatural Resources take the stro n g ,assertive steps needed to makeSimmons clean up its act.

T h e re is no right to pollute. It isagainst the law to pollute.Simmons needs to be madepainfully aware of this. A messageshould be delivered to agribusinessindustries that while their jobs arewelcomed, they had better keep itclean - or get out.

Ozark ChapterT-shirtsAvailable in twostyles

organic cotton(beige) and con -ventional cotton(white).

Sizes: S, M, L, XL, XXLQ u a n t i t y S i z e P r i c e T o t a l

Organic cotton (beige color) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ x $14.- _ _ _ _ _ _Conventional cotton (white color) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ x $12.- _ _ _ _ _ _Shipping and handling $ 2 . - $ 2 . -

T O T A L _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Please send orders along with a check made out to Ozark Chapter of the Sierra Club

Please send orders toSierra ClubAttn: T-shirtsP.O. Box 32727Kansas City, MO 64171

Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for shipping.

C H I C K E N . . . . . . . . continued from page 8

Please join us alongthe Current, Jacks

Fork, and Eleven PointRivers for a weekendof music, fun, interac -tion, and conscious

recognition ofMissouri’ s Ozark

Scenic Rivers Area.Friday , May 30 throughSunday , June 1 1997

at the PulltiteCampground on the

Current River .

10Ozark Sierran May/June 1997

Saturday, May 31Float trip/clean up on the CurrentRiver Evening music / program:• Musician Stan Slaughter of the AllSpecies Project• Naturalist Tom Kruzen• Cave scuba diver Don Rimbach• Scenic River protection with DonPierce • Presentations on environmentalconcerns in the Scenic Rivers Area:Lead Prospecting, Chip Mills, andEven-Age Logging.

Your opportunity to paddle a river,enjoy music, and friends, and experi-ence the wonders of the ScenicRivers. You are invited to bring yourmusical instruments to jam after theSaturday program.

Please visit the website:h t t p : / / w w w . s u r f n t h e . n e t / u s e r s / H o n -o u r - E a r t h

Regional ContactsKansas CityClaus WawrzinekPhone: (816) 561-7863E-mail: clausw@worldnet.att.net

Cape GirardeauBil l EddelmanE-mail: weddlema@biology.semo.edu

Brian Alworth (before 8:00 p.m.)Phone: (573) 334-7978

SedaliaMark FreemanPhone: (816) 829-1981 E-mail: mfreeman@murlin.com

SpringfieldSue SkidmorePhone: (417) 882-9757E-mail: Sue@Hon-our-Earth.net

AvaJanice LorrainePhone: (417) 683-6245

St. LouisChris HovingPhone: (314) 727-0600E-mail: moenviron@aol.comAttn: Chris

JoplinGregg GailbraithPhone: (417) 358-5176

ColumbiaRebecca SchedlerPhone: (573) 443-4401E-mail: rschedle@mail.coin.missouri.edu

Randal ClarkPhone: (573) 875-0514

DirectionsFrom Rolla: Take 72 south toSalem, turn onto 19 South and followto EE. Turn right and follow to thePulltite group campsites.From Springf ield: Take highway 60East to 19 and turn left, follow 19North to EE. Turn left and follow tothe Pulltite group campsites.

We will be meeting at the Pulltitecampground Saturday at 8:30 a.m.to float

Campsites will be available at thePulltite Group Camping area—tentwalk in sites. Plan to bring your ownfood and gear!Please pack: tent, hiking, and swim-ming apparel, sunblock, chairs, raingear, and binoculars.

Q u a n t i t y C o s t T o t a lFriday evening camping site _ _ _ _ _ x $ 5.00 $ _ _ _ _Saturday evening camping _ _ _ _ _ x $ 5.00 $ _ _ _ _Canoe rent and shuttle for Saturday float/clean up _ _ _ _ _ x $20.00 $ _ _ _ _Shuttle only (own canoe(s)) _ _ _ _ _ x $15.00 $ _ _ _ _Shuttle own boat(s)• Other more expensive options available T O T A L : $ _ _ _ _ _

Send paid registration forms by Tuesday, May 20 (registration must be received by Friday,May 23).Make checks payable to:Ozark Scenic Rivers Community Awareness WeekendPO Box 10112, Springfield, MO 65808• Unless prepaid we cannot guarantee site avai labili ty

11Ozark Sierran May/June 1997

Eastern MissouriGroup (St. Louis area)Canoeists: Time to plan to float thisspring and summer. What's yourfavorite stream? One day or two? Ifyou are experienced and want tobe added to a call or mail list callElmer McNulty, (314) 965-3181.

May 4 (Sun) Meramec State Park.Let’s visit Hamilton Hollow, see his-toric sites and old home sites. Wewill include an underground strollthrough Hamilton Cave. WayneMiller, (314) 569-0094.

May 10 (Sat) Day hike at MeramecState Park to a glade-savanna com-plex being restored by Sierra Club vol-unteers. We’ll hike across rocky ter-rain through lush native grasses andwildflowers, rest in the shade ofchinkapin oaks and enjoy a spectacu-lar view of the Meramec River valley.Penny Holtzmann, (314) 487-2738.

May 10 (Sat) Day hike on the tenmile wilderness trail at MeramecState Park. A long but easy hike withslight elevation gains. Steve Viggers,(314) 984-8752.

May 10 (Sat) Visit two differentprairies in Illinois: Heartland Prairieand McAdams Peak Hill Prairie. Wewill spend time looking at the differentwild flowers and grasses. DianeFavier, (314) 894-5549.

May 10-11 (Sat-Sun) Canoe trip onthe Lower Jacks Fork. AlleySprings to Powder Mill. John andDorothy Stade, (314) 524-3322.

May 17-18 (Sat-Sun) Enjoy theEarth Day festivities and helpthe Sierra Club raise funds for localenvironmental work. We will besqueezing fresh lemonade and mak-ing veggie burgers. If you can donatea couple of hours of your time callJim Young, (314) 664-9392.

May 18 (Sun) Tour de bluff biketrip. Bike ride on top and below thebluffs of the American Bottoms wherenatural beauty and history abound.

We will have a picnic lunch next to ascenic stream and old mill. 15-20miles at a moderate pace with fre-quent stops. Optional trip to a localwinery after riding. Ted Horn, (618)397-9430.

May 18 (Sun) Hike to Bell Mountainthe easy way. Start at FS 2228 to thesummit then descend to highway Awhere the shuttle cars will be. BobGestel, (314) 296-8975.

May 18 (Sun) Enjoy an easy after -noon stroll of 4 to 6 miles in historicBelle Fontaine Cemetery. See springflowering trees and the graves ofmany famous St. Louisans. KevinHunter, (314) 544-5157.

May 24 (Sat) Pale purple coneflowers, Missouri primrose, etc.,at Valley View Glade. See theflowers at Valley View Glade attheir best. Paul Stupperich,(314) 429-4352.

May 24-26 (Sat-Mon) Memorialweekend canoe trip on the Upper

Meramec River. Dorothy andJohn Stade, (314) 524-3322.

May 25 (Sun) Hawn State Park.Join me on a 6 mile mushroom

observation hike. Bring your fieldguides. Cooking demo and tasting ofwild and exotic mushrooms. Smallfee required. Stephen Finch, (314)644-2553.

May 26 (Mon) Come see the prettywildflowers growing on the gladesat Washington State Park andValley View Glade. Diane Favier,(314) 894-5549.

Jun. 7 (Sat) Eleven mile day hikeon the Pike Run trail in St.Francois State Park. Somedemanding hills. Steve Viggers, (314)984-8752.

Jun. 7 (Sat) Fults Hilltop Prairiehike. We will hike the “mountains” ofIllinois. Would you believe we will goup and down the river bluff several

times. We will have lunch on thebluff overlooking the wetlands ofKidd Lake and the historical Fortde Chartres. The fort will behaving its annual 18th centuryrendezvous which could be anoptional trip after lunch. TedHorn, (618) 397-9430.

Jun. 7-8 (Sat-Sun) The greatTaum Sauk Mountain hike and

camp out. Join me for one or twodays of hiking and looking for wildflow-ers in the St. Francois Mountains. 6-15 people only. Paul Stupperich, (314)429-4352.

Jun. 14-15 (Sat-Sun) Friday opt.Sierra SISTERS backpack. Self suf-ficient ladies only. Pack it up, hit thetrail at Hawn S.P. and River AuxVases. App. 8-10 miles. Limited toeight ladies. Suzanne Smith, (618)

281-4762 (after 6 p.m., Mon-Thur), or Leslie Lihou, (314)726-2140.

Jun. 17 (Tue) Meet at 6 p.m. atPowder Valley for a two mile hike

at Emmenegger. Diane Favier, (314)894-5549.

Jun 20. (Fri) See the sun set atValley View Glade. Cone flowersshould still be around. Diane Favier,894-5549.

Jun 20. (Fri) Night hike. See thearboretum in the full moon. HelenMcCallie, (314) 451-3512 (day) or(314) 742-4380 (home).

Jun. 21 (Sat) Join me on the secondannual solstice Forest Park hike.Late afternoon hike will include sup-per. Paul Stupperich, (314) 429-4352.

Jun. 22 (Sun) Three mile hike.Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park.View old growth forest threatened byPage Avenue extension. Mark

11

Outings listing

12Ozark Sierran May/June 1997

Kaufmann, (314) 427-0058.

Jun. 24 (Tue) Meet at 6p.m. at Bee Tree Park.Hike about two miles.Diane Favier, 894-5549.

Jun. 28-29 (Sat-Sun)Family car camping andhiking. Swimming—weath-er permitting. Cuivre RiverState Park. Kathy Wodell,(314) 240-0675.

Osage Group(Columbia area)May 3-4 (Sat-Sun) Canoeon Ozark Stream - (mustarrange for your own boat).Call Ray, (573) 445-0114.

May 10 (Sat) Bike theKATY Trail & Breakfast inHartburg. Meet at 7:30a.m. at the Jeff City TrailAccess, rifde to Hartsburg

and back with a dining stopat the famous Cafe.CallDaryl for more info,(573)395-4267.

Thomas HartBenton Group(Kansas Cityarea)May 10 (Sat) KC ZooOuting. Meet at 10 a.m atthe front gate of the Zoo.Check out the New KC Zooand the Imax Theater. DanFuller, (913) 362-2266.

May 11 (Sun) CountryClub hike. Meet at thepark and ride lot at Gregoryand Wornall at 2 p.m. for aleisurely walk toward thePlaza and return. Call RonMcLinden, (816) 931-0498.

May 17/18 (Sat/Sun) Flint

Hills Outing. Hike on aranch in the beautiful FlintHills. A great outings forfamilies or beginning back-packers. Meet at 8 a.m. atOverland Park CommunityCenter, 87th & Lamar. CallDan Fuller, (913) 362-2266, to sign up.

May 18 (Sun) PublicTransit Hike along theroute of Kansas City’s pro-posed light rail system.Meet at 9 a.m. at theNichols Fountain, 47th andMain. Call Ron McLinden,(816) 931-0498 for infor-mation.

May 24 (Sat) How Do WeImpact the Environment?Tour the Kansas CityPublic Water TreatmentFacility. 1 p.m. Take alook at how drinking wateris made for a large popula-tion in the Kansas City

region. Limit 15 people.Call Claus, (816) 561-7863, to sign up.

Jun. 7 (Sat) NationalTrails Day. Call BobWilshire, (913) 441-2449,to participate in this nation-al celebration by hiking theproposed local leg of thenation-wide discovery trail.

Jun. 8 (Sun) PowellGardens. Visit our localBotanical Garden and seethe new Visitor's Centerand garden displays. Bringa sack lunch and meet atthe Lee’s Summit Perkins(291 South and 50Highway) at 9:00 a.m. CallLee Ann Googe, (816) 453-8558, for more information.

Jun. 8 (Sun) CountryClub hike. Meet at thepark and ride lot at Gregoryand Wornall at 2 p.m. for a

N O N P R OF I TO R G .

U . S . P OS T A G EP A I D

C O L U MB I A , M OP E R MI T N O . 2 2 9

O z a r k Ch a p t e r / S i e r r a Cl u bP. O B o x 53 4Co l u mb i a , M O 6 5 2 0 5 - 0 5 3 4

Fo r w a r d i n g a n d A d d r es s C o r r ec t i o n R eq u es t e d