News Release 131

DEPARTMENT SUPPORTS FOX RIVER ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN NORTHEAST MISSOURI

Volume 36-131	Contact: Renee Bungart
(For immediate release)	573-751-4465

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, MARCH 17, 2008 -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources approved an amendment to extend a $449,263 grant to Northeast Missouri Resource Conservation & Development Council Inc. to support the completion of its water quality project.

The council will continue to address critical areas that have a major impact on water quality in the Fox River in Scotland County. The goals of the Fox River Ecosystem Development Project are to protect and improve water quality in the watershed. This will be accomplished by achieving six major objectives:

Controlling chemical runoff
Controlling soil erosion
The proper storage and use of animal waste
How to use existing programs to develop wetland areas
Planning riparian corridors to control unstable stream banks
How Best Management Practices improve wildlife habitat, both aquatic and terrestrial

The council will develop survey instruments to evaluate the change in attitude of land users and project participants in the watershed. Water samples will be collected in streams in the Fox River watershed to document progress made by the project's demonstration and implementation activities.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Region 7, through the Department of Natural Resources, has provided partial funding for this project under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. For more information, contact the department's Water Protection Program at 800-361-4827 or 573-751-1300.

For more information on this project, contact Kenneth Berry with the Northeast Missouri Resource Conservation and Development by calling 660-397-2223, extension 5, or by sending Berry an e-mail to ken.berry@mo.usda.gov. Or, contact John Johnson with the department's Water Protection Program at 800-361-4827 or 573-522-2740 or by sending an e-mail to john.johnson@dnr.mo.gov.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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