Alas, It May Not Be The Shuffelers Who Kill All The Trout -

[jscheetz]

Here is a link to an article on Atrazine. It is something that many farmers I know put on their fields in massive quantities. And like all fertilizer, pesticides etc - whether on the farm or on your suburban picturesque lawn - when it rains.... where does the runoff go?

Midwest streams are I believe in serious trouble due to this and many more chemicals. As more and more farms creep right up to the edge of streams, not only does this put the chemicals that much closer to the water, but by removing trees and brush between the farms and the water the natural filtering system is taken away and things run directly into the river's ecosystem full strength.

Will be interesting to follow this to see what conclusions are reached.

http://www.envirolink.org/external.html?it...90840250.370833

JS

[Wayne SW/MO]

Midwest streams are I believe in serious trouble due to this and many more chemicals. As more and more farms creep right up to the edge of streams.

I can't speak for other states, but In Missouri thats not true. Farms haven't crept to the edge of streams, but developments, golf courses and condos have.

The state DNR isn't free of guilt either in this assault.

There's a new addition west of Branson that has literally scalped a ridge and a hollow to bare earth and I can just imagine what the runoff will be when they replant it in their idea of the "Country Life"?

[Al Agnew]

I pretty much agree with Wayne. In the Ozarks, there isn't much row crop farming along the streams, and the chemical problems are fewer than they are in other parts of the Midwest, especially these days when more and more farmers are growing more and more corn for ethanol. Corn is herbicide and pesticide intensive, and farming it almost inevitably causes erosion.

Here in the Ozarks our greater problems, besides the one Wayne mentioned about development, are the wastes from concentrated animal operations like hog and cattle feedlots and chicken farms. Of course, with the hormones and antibiotics that go into what these critters are being fed, that waste ends up carrying some pretty dangerous substances into the rivers. And even on pasture operations, far too often the cows are allowed direct access to the streams and cause eroding banks and loss of riparian vegetation.

[jscheetz]

You guys are absolutely right. Fortunately the Ozarks has more streams winding through hills and forests. I grew up on a farm in Iowa and still have family there. Up there if there is a strip of grass bank that's more than 3 feet wide between the stream and the field - it's quickly turned into a row of corn! There are very few fence rows left up there as well - so this is deadly for all the pheasants and others that used the fencerows. Pheasant population is way down. But the field runoff is completely unabated -And they are more corn crazy than ever - used to be that rotating your fields was the way they did things - not so much anymore - they just use more chemicals to make it work, and no stalk fields left over the winter, just get it in and out as fast as you can.

JS

[Wayne SW/MO]

There are very few fence rows left up there as well

When I was a kid in North Missouri, fence rows were the best place to hunt rabbits and quail because they were as much as 20', 10' either side of the fence, and great cover. Even pastures had fence rows and every creek or gully was wooded. I know thats long past now, unfortunately.