Clean Water

Stream Team

Bull Creek at Bear Field

• Stream Team #: 642
• Date formed: March 22, 1995
• Location: Bull Creek in Christian County
• For more info about Stream Teams: see the links listed below.
  

Lynn Lambert and her family have been a stream team for 14 years, but their history with Bull Creek goes back 30 years, to when they bought 37 acres along this small Ozark stream. Lynn’s husband, Dek Koeller, has worked steadily over the past 20 years to protect the stream corridor by planting about 100 trees and shrubs each year to replace those removed by a previous owner. The couple also has worked to stabilize eroding creek banks and recently completed their 14th annual litter cleanup. Their son, Jafar, got friends interested in water quality monitoring, which they now practice on other streams. “This is one of the most beautiful, clean, thriving creeks in this area,” says Lynn. “It is a treasure. We have a real responsibility to do what we can to take care of this stretch of Bull Creek, and more important, to set a good example.”

Controlling Cattails

You can have too much of a good thing.

Cattails, water primrose and other aquatic plants make lakes more beautiful and productive, but they also can get out of control, choking shorelines and ruining recreation. Fisheries biologists at Conservation Department regional offices can offer advice about managing cattails and other aquatic plants in your lake or pond. Information about controlling rampant vegetation is available listed below or by contacting the nearest Conservation Department office. You also can write to MDC, Cattails and Water Primrose Control, PO Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102 or e-mail pubstaff@mdc.mo.gov.

You can do it, too!

Stream conservation is for everyone.

Reading about different stream teams’ remarkable achievements in this space each month, it is easy to get the idea the program is only for people with superhuman energy and soaring ambitions for big-name rivers. The truth is, most stream teams are made up of average folks who love a certain creek and just want to make sure it stays nice. The great thing about Missouri Stream Team is that it empowers members to do what they want, when and where they want. It can help you save the world if that is your goal, or simply give you a reason to check on your favorite stream now and then to be sure all is well. If you should ever discover a problem, Missouri Stream Team has the tools to help you tackle it and a network of other stream-loving Missourians to share their experience and knowledge of stream conservation. To form your own stream team, visit the Stream Team links listed below, or call (573) 751-4115, ext. 3590.