Get involved

The best way to protect Missouri’s aquatic resources is to develop a close personal relationship with them. Canoe an Ozark stream or fish a big river and get in touch with just how precious these resources are. Then join a Missouri Stream Team and help clean up our rivers, learn to monitor water quality, learn about watershed conservation, and take part in the many activities available.

Learn more

Water is essential to our quality of life, and Missouri is endowed with lots of it. Over 1,163,000 surface acres of fresh water cover about 2 percent of the state. This resource features 112,000 miles of streams, including the Mississippi and Missouri rivers; 276,708 acres of public lakes; and about half a million acres of small private ponds. Underground water resources are equally vast. About two thirds of the state is comprised of karst terrain, which bubbles with 1,100 springs, including the largest in the world.

Although it is still possible to find the broad, rich, well-timbered bottomlands and the cold, crystal-clear springs of which early explorers wrote, our waterways and wetlands have changed tremendously since settlement times. Intensive agriculture and urbanization have altered every watershed in the state. All but five percent of Missouri’s wetland resources–a rich complex of marsh, wet prairie, fen, forested and shrub wetlands–have been lost. Channelization has eliminated two and a half thousand miles of naturally meandering streams, and dams have created vast reservoirs where free-flowing rivers once ran. Foreign species continue to invade Missouri’s waters and upset the balance of native systems.

Report illegal activities

Missouri’s streams–and the fish and wildlife that depend on them– belong to all the people of Missouri and are managed by the Department of Conservation for public use. Every stream is a reflection of its watershed, which is another way of saying that whatever happens to the land, happens to the water, too. Ultimately, we all live downstream. Report fish kills, illegal dumping or illegal gravel mining, poaching, and other problems to regulatory authorities or your local Conservation Agent.

Browse by Subject

Seasons and regulations
Find out about specific seasons and fishing regulations
Fish and fishing
Look here for information on fishing and the various species of fish in Missouri
Streams and watersheds
Details on streams and how to conserve them
Lakes and ponds
Information on how to manage a lake or pond
Fish hatcheries
Information on Conservation hatcheries and raising fish
Aquatic resource education
Educational resources regarding aquatic life