Missouri Highlights

• The Missouri River System is large and complex, including many reservoirs, control structures, and free-flowing reaches extending over a broad region; it drains one-sixth of the United States. The basin is home to about 10 million people from 28 Native American tribes, 10 states, and a small part of Canada. The USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center conducts research on the Missouri River to increase understanding of how river management and restoration activities affect this ecosystem. These studies focus on how changes in the physical, biological and chemical components of the river affect habitat and ecological conditions.

• Lead and zinc mining: In response to diminishing economically extractable ore reserves in the traditional mining areas of southern Missouri, exploration continues for new sources of lead-zinc ore. Exploration in the 1960's identified areas of the Viburnum Trend, the New Lead Belt, currently one of the largest producers of lead ore in the world, but its reserves are diminishing. Further exploration of lead deposits in the Mark Twain National Forest has identified new ore deposits southwest of the Viburnum Trend. Environmental concerns associated with potential lead-zinc mining in this new exploration area, caused the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center to investigate potential environmental effects on the Missouri streams in the mining area. Ecological, toxicological and biochemical studies include investigations of lead, zinc, cadmium, and other heavy metals associated with the ore deposits.

• Freshwater mussels: The United States is home to more mussel species than any other country in the world. Despite the diversity of mussels found in the U.S., no other widespread group of animals in North America is as imperiled or has faced as many extinctions. The abundance and variety of mussels have declined sharply over the past century, but the cause of mussel decline is not well understood. Researchers at the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center, in cooperation with other government agencies, academia, and private industry, are developing standardized toxicity tests using several life stages of freshwater mussels to assess the effects that pollution may have on this decline. In addition, results indicate that water quality criteria for individual chemicals established for the protection of aquatic organisms may not be adequately protective of sensitive stages of freshwater mussels.

• Warming and wetlands: Both quality and distribution of wetland “stopover” habitat are crucial for birds that migrate long distances between wintering and breeding grounds. Stopover sites provide rest, food energy for the next leg of the journey, and nutritional reserves for breeding success. In the Central Flyway states, including Missouri, wetlands have been drastically reduced over time. Climate change threatens further losses, which in turn can have profound effects on migratory bird populations. Scientists from the USGS Fort Collins Science Center (Colorado) are studying how climate change might affect the network of wetland stopover sitesand the sensitivity of migratory birds to such changes. This information will help land and resource managers identify priorities on a regional scale to ensure an adequate network of high-quality sites, a central feature of the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan.

• Migrating shorebirds: Each year during the spring and fall, at least 30 species of shorebirds migrate across the Great Plains states, including Missouri. Although many species seem to be declining in number, reliable population estimates are too few to be used as benchmarks for monitoring or for measuring the success of management efforts. A study by scientists at the Fort Collins Science Center is measuring turnover rates (length-of-stay) at migration stopover sites and combining these data with periodic census data from different sites throughout the region to make more accurate population estimates. Length-of-stay data is an urgent need of both the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan and the North American Waterfowl Management Plans, and will help wildlife refuge managers in Missouri and elsewhere identify actions to enhance conservation efforts locally and throughout the western hemisphere.

• The Conservation Reserve Programis the largest environmental program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture , with enrollment exceeding 34 million acres across all 50 states. In Missouri alone, more than 1.5 million acres on 21,057 farms are in the CRP. Based on average rental payments, the CRP brings in well over $102 million per year to Missouri’s farm economy. Improvement in program performance is an enduring goal of CRP administrators, and participants' input on how the program is working "on the ground" is a critical factor in evaluating its success. For the past 9 years and continuing today, scientists from the Fort Collins Science Center have been working in partnership with the USDA Farm Service Agency to help improve the program by evaluating program performance both socially (how is it working for CRP contractees) and ecologically (how is wildlife habitat improved?). In June 2004, FORT and the FSA sponsored a national meeting for more than 200 participants and presenters to address and present research on these issues as well as future CRP directions. The proceedings, The Conservation Reserve Program: Planting for the Future, was published in 2006.