Improvements Planned For Creek

[ollie]

http://www.neoshodailynews.com/news/x498806672/Morse-Park-a-mini-Roaring-River-Why-not-city-manager-asks

If anyone is interested, the MDC and Neosho have teamed up with MAKO for habitat improvement on the stream and they are holding a public discussion this Sat. As the stream team leader on this creek I am very excited to hear what is going on! Come on down if you get a chance.

[mic]

Hey Ollie,

What's the deal with planting the "native grasses" in these restoration projects? Do they actually provide better bank protection or is it just because they are native?

[ollie]

I think it is more for the "native" aspect than bank protection. They have planted trees along the bank for that. I was told it would save the city money on the upkeep of the park if they didn't have to mow that part with the native grass.

[Justin Spencer]

I would think native grass would also help prevent erosion as they can have roots up to 14 feet deep. Fescues have roots about as deep as their blades, so it would make sense that natives would hold the soil much better and not get washed away. They can mix in some wildflower seed, which also have deep roots and burn it every few years and it will look great.

[Buzz]

I'm looking forward to seeing what they accomplish.

[ollie]

Justin, your probably right on that. It would help as a filter for runoff I would guess. Last time I went to one of these I learned a lot! Was asked about bear sightings and learned MDC was or maybe are thinking about an urban hunt here for deer in Neosho. There is lot of them around, but I don't know how viable it is.

[ollie]

Great info today! Good turnout as well!

[Buzz]

I wasn't able to make it ,but I saw your pickup as we headed to my wifes dads house. Anything different from the newspaper article?

[drew03cmc]

http://www.joplinglo...osho-s-features

One suggestion I would have is making all winter catch and release in Hickory Creek and putting an agent on site to enforce this. Keep the southern cousins out of the darn river and maintain a fishable population of trout for at least 8 months of the year. Granted, there are trout there during the summer, but they are rather scattered throughout the system, from the springs down to Shoal Creek. Another suggestion is to stock trout at a few locations along the creek, for instance, at the lower end of Morse Park, and at the upper end by the helicopter, assuming they only stock in one location.

[ollie]

Drew, it is already C&R in the winter down there, just one agent to enforce all of the county however. Now an agent on site would be great, but I just don't see that happening anytime soon. For what it's worth the white trash take just as many fish down there as the southern brethern. The biggest info I got out of the presention and talking with the city manager is that they are wanting to move the ball parks out of the flood plain to another location. That in itself would help with the trash problem. Wouldn't solve it all, but would help. I will say that the city and the state are trying to improve things down there a lot and they are working with each other to do it! Amen.