I Am Conservation

Monty and Mary Wheeler share a lifelong dedication to farming and a love of the outdoors. Both enjoy fishing, are active in the Tri-Lakes Fly Fishing Club, and are involved in several farm-related organizations. They own and run cattle on the 82-acre tract of Polk County land north of Bolivar where Monty grew up. By the early 2000s, the Wheelers had grown tired of watching their pasture being eroded by Ables Creek, a stream that crosses their farm and flows into the Pomme de Terre River. Receiving technical and financial assistance from the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Wheelers put in a cedar tree revetment along a cut bank on the creek’s east side. Fencing was also constructed along the stream to keep out the cattle and allow a 50-foot streamside corridor to grow. “It completely fixed the erosion problem,” Monty said. “We now have sycamores and willows growing along the creek.” In addition to preserving grazing land, the Wheelers also are happy that this project has benefits for Ables Creek, the Pomme de Terre River, and the Pomme de Terre Reservoir, further downstream. “It was a really good project all the way around,” Monty said. “I can’t stress that enough.”

—photograph by David Stonner