A press release from the state Department of Conservation late last month caught my eye.
The agency is asking for public input about places that provide access to lakes and streams. A few years ago I offered my evaluation of a few, and the issue still gets my attention.
Actually, there is more (or less) to the request than I thought. Through the end of the year, the state is collecting comments about public places to reach rivers and lakes, but it is specifically regarding an environmental assessment procedure outlined in the Draft Generic Environmental Assessment for Public Lake and Stream Access Sites in Missouri. You can read it at mdc.mo.gov/media/118586.
This 68-page report strikes me as raw and redundant. From what I could glean, the MDC wants to use a simpler method for determining how plans for river and lake accesses affect the surrounding properties, including the human, plant, and animal residents in the area.
The suggested change would save money and time for building new accesses or renovating existing ones, and relocating existing properties. Trying to reduce the taxpayers’ burden and speed up the process for government work would seem to meet little to no opposition. By my interpretation, potential environmental impacts are addressed, and when a conflict with the new rules arises, the old requirements return.
A public comment period on a plan to save money and time seems like a waste of both. You may offer comment by email to state fisheries program supervisor Laura Ruman at Laura.Ruman @mdc.mo.gov by Dec. 31.
The need for more and better access points is evident. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides Sports Fish Restoration funds to the states, and 15 percent of that money must be spent on access renovation, construction or maintenance. The funding comes from federal excise taxes on fishing equipment, import duties on boats and a portion of the federal fuel tax. It is distributed based on a state’s geographic size and number of fishing permits sold.
“Over time, new and improved boat accesses are necessary to help meet increasing demand generated by increased boat ownership and leisure time,” Ruman said in the press release. “Accesses are frequently damaged during flood events and may require closure until the damage is repaired or the access is relocated.”
I have no doubt that our state spends the required percentage of its federal allotment on the hundreds of access points across Missouri, but I always want the ones I might use to be better, or at least available. I have visited a few that are barely accessible.
An ongoing initiative in Missouri invites anglers to complete the Smallmouth Slam, landing at least one bronze beauty from 12 different streams where special regulations protect them.
Three of those options are in or near Jefferson County. The entire length of Big River has multiple locations to join the flow and try to catch a fish. It may be the most accessible stream in the state. The Mineral Fork and the Joachim Creek, unfortunately, are almost the opposite.
Walther Park in De Soto offers just about everything you could want from a public park, but its potential for accessing significant smallmouth bass fishing is limited. The rest of Joachim Creek in the special management zone has better angling options, but it is almost exclusively in private ownership.
The conservation department’s Kingston Access in Washington County consists of a parking lot and a quarter-mile hiking path to the Mineral Fork. Wade fishing is possible and kayakers and canoeists who are willing to carry their equipment can float the three miles to Big River for downriver access sites.
Even with the new and improved environmental assessment plans, the state’s opportunities to reach its fishable waters still face significant limitations.
John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and is the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine. If you have story ideas for the Leader outdoor news page, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com, and you can find more outdoor news and updates at johnjwink.com.