Clean Water

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From Missouri Conservationist: May 2009
Body

Stream Team

Valley Park Lions Club

Stream Team #: 151

Date formed: June 1, 1990

Location: Meramec River

For more info about Stream Teams: see the links listed below

The Valley Park Lions Club traces its involvement in stream conservation to 1981, when it joined Operation Clean Stream. A decade later, they were among the first groups to join Missouri Stream Team Members of ST 151 started their career by removing items such as massive heavy-equipment tires and major appliances from the Meramec River. Twenty-eight years later, some Lions have shifted their efforts to less strenuous work, providing food and logistical support for those who perform grunt labor in the grandfather of all stream cleanups. Team member Joe Schulte says his club also has been instrumental in recruitment. One challenge is getting young people involved, so the Valley Park Lions work with Scouts. They also have gotten other Lions Club chapters into Missouri Stream Team. “The Lions were doing this before it was politically correct,” says Schulte. “We did it because of our love for the river.”

Stream Team Calendar

Find out what teams are doing all over the state.

If you ever wonder what individual Stream Teams are doing, wonder no more. MoStreamTeam.org has a “Calendar” page where you can scan activities planned by Stream Teams around the state. Examples include:

  • The Eleven Point River Cleanup Aug. 5 and 6, including camping, hiking and caving. For more information, call (477) 270-1008 or e-mail msspaceyriverrat@yahoo.com.
  • The 65-mile kayak/canoe “Race for the Rivers” Aug. 29–30 from Washington to Columbia Bottom Conservation Area. For more information, e-mail greenwaynetwork@gmail.com, or visit the links listed below.

ORV Abuse

Running all-terrain vehicles in streams can be costly.

It’s summer, time to get out into Missouri’s beautiful streams. But be sure to keep your vehicle where it belongs… out of the water. All-terrain and four-wheel drive vehicles can be great tools for outdoors people. They can be fun, too. However, when driven in or through streams they destroy fish habitat and stir up mud that smothers aquatic life. Off-road vehicles also cause erosion and other serious damage on land when driven where they are prohibited. If that is not reason enough to be responsible when off-roading, consider the possibility that you might get a ticket or have to pay a fine if you are caught operating off-road vehicles in inappropriate places. Missouri has public areas set aside especially for ORV riders. These include: Finger Lakes State Park in Boone County, (573) 443-5315; St. Joe State Park, 8,238 acres in St. Francois County, (573) 431-1069; Sutton Bluff Recreation Area in Reynolds County, (573) 729-6656; and Chadwick ATV and Motorcycle Area in Christian County, (417) 683-4428.

This Issue's Staff

Editor In Chief - Ara Clark
Managing Editor - Nichole LeClair
Art Director - Cliff White
Writer/Editor - Tom Cwynar
Staff Writer - Bonnie Chasteen
Staff Writer - Jim Low
Photographer - Noppadol Paothong
Photographer - David Stonner
Designer - Stephanie Thurber
Artist - Dave Besenger
Artist - Mark Raithel
Circulation - Laura Scheuler