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A road winds through the bottomland forest at Spring's End Forest Natural Area.

Natural Areas of the Ozarks

They are a wealth of ecological treasures

By Lee G. Hughes

Natural History Biologist

Missouri is rich in natural splendor, with big rivers, prairies, and lakes, but few places anywhere can compare with the Ozarks when you’re talking about those special places that embody Mother Nature at her finest.  From the many springs flowing into clear Ozark streams, to the wildflower splendor of glades, to deep shadowy forests and rocky grassy woodlands to big mucky fens, the Ozarks have a wealth of ecological treasures.  Some of the best of these are designated as Missouri Natural Areas.

The Missouri Natural Areas system was created to both highlight and help preserve examples of natural splendor.  The earliest Natural Areas were designated in 1970, but the Natural Area program really took off in 1977 with the creation of the Missouri Natural Areas Committee, which is now composed of representatives from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Mark Twain National Forest (MTNF) and the Ozark National Scenic Riverways (ONSR).  This group reviews each Natural Area nomination and strives to ensure that management of these areas represents the “highest and best use” of these tracts.

The Missouri Natural Areas Committee is marking its 30^th year in 2007, and has seen the program grow from less than 50 areas covering 6,000 acres to over 180 areas spanning more than 60,000 acres on both public and private lands.  As the system has grown, our awareness as stewards of the land has evolved as well.  Part of the value of Natural Areas is the opportunity for research and study of high-quality native plant and animal communities.  The old notion of a “hands-off” approach thought to preserve Natural Area communities has yielded to the realization that natural systems do not remain static and unchanging.  Woodlands, glades, and prairies all require periodic disturbances such as prescribed fires to maintain their integrity, and will become stagnant and overgrown without these practices.  Thinning trees in some Natural Areas using more traditional silvicultural practices is one example of how management in Natural Areas is evolving and moving forward.

The goal of the Missouri Natural Area system is to designate high quality examples of all Missouri ’s natural communities, whether on land or aquatic.  Some communities, like some pine-oak woodlands or dolomite glades are fairly well represented in the system.

Others, such as sand forests, woodlands and prairies in the Bootheel region are so rare that finding examples to nominate is a big challenge.  Occasionally an older Natural Area is declassified when a better example of the community type is designated.  Hence the quality of the Natural Areas system is ensured by constantly adding quality areas and removing lesser areas.

Of some 180 designated Natural Areas statewide, 100 or so are located in the Ozarks, and more than two dozen are found nearby in Phelps, Dent, Texas, and Shannon Counties.  Some areas are small, isolated and hard to get to, whereas others are large and see a good deal of public use.  For example, Blair Creek Raised Fen Natural Area on MTNF land in Shannon County near Bunker is only 3 acres and not very accessible.  Sunklands Natural Area, by comparison, is over 6,000 acres and has maintained County Roads providing excellent access.  The area was designated for the many impressive sinkhole features in the area.  As is the case in all Natural Areas, vehicle traffic is restricted to official roads, but many bird watching, wildflower observation and hunting opportunities exist in the Sunklands Natural Area for those willing to walk from the road.

Clifty Creek, recently featured in The Ozarks Chronicle, is a Natural Area on land owned by Pioneer Forest and administered by MDC.  It was designated in 1971 because of the creek, the forest, glades, cliffs, and of course, the natural bridge.  

Indian Trail Conservation Area in Dent County off Hwy. 19 northeast of Salem has two Natural Area units.  The Plank Hollow unit has 400 acres of chert woodland and forest and a fen.  The Fishwater Creek unit is 300 acres and along with some bottomland forest and quality woodlands, it has an exceptional dolomite glade that is a favorite spot for wildflower enthusiasts throughout the summer.

Solomon Hollow Glades Natural Area on MTNF land in Phelps County is a 400-acre sandstone glade and woodland complex off Forest Rd. 1532 south of Lane Spring campground.  Spring’s End Natural Area is on the Woodson K. Woods Conservation Area not far from Maramec Spring Park and has some nice bottomland forest with large bur oaks at the confluence of the Dry Fork and Meramec Rivers .  All of these places are good examples of the natural Missouri .  Some Natural Area features are delicate, and none will remain special places if they are abused.  When you go to a Natural Area, enjoy yourself, but follow the area regulations such as those which prohibit plant gathering or motorized traffic.  If we all take care of these special places, they will exist for future generations to enjoy, appreciate, and learn from.

I encourage you to visit one of these or other Natural Areas and see for yourself some of Missouri ’s finest natural places.  For further information go to the Missouri Natural Areas web page at http://mdc.mo.gov/areas/natareas/ or contact the Rolla MDC office at 573-368-2225.

Plants, mosses and lichens thrive in spring on the acidic sandstone soils at Solomon Hollow Glades Natural Area.