Missouri - Endangered Species Habitat

The Niangua River is a typical Ozark stream--with a bluff and trees on one side and a grassy flatland on the other--except that it is home to the Niangua River darter, a species listed as endangered under Missouri law ("threatened" under Federal law). The 5.5 inch fish is found only in Missouri and only in eight north-flowing tributaries of the Osage River, which flows into the Missouri. On 390 acres at the upper end of the Little Niangua River, Jerry Duff has an 80-head cow-calf operation.

Duff's cattle grazed right up to the Niangua until 1996 when he installed an electric fence to keep them back. He also installed an alternative watering system and created buffers 50 feet to 200 feet wide on each side of the river. The Fish and Wildlife Service, Farm Service Agency, and Missouri Departments of Natural Resources and Conservation provided 75 percent of the cost; the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provided technical assistance and design work. Some grasses were seeded, but there are a lot of "volunteers." NRCS District Conservationist Paul Frey says, "If we keep out the cows, Mother Nature will do the rest. In fact, Mother Nature has better luck seeding than we do."

The resource agencies' goal was clean water and protecting the Niangua River darter, but improvements in habitat and water quality for the darter also will help other species, such as small mouth and rock bass, suckers, and other sports fish. State fisheries biologist Craig Fuller points out, "landowners are realizing that by confining their cattle in pastures with a good water supply and keeping them out of the streams, the cows are drinking better water and they're healthier. On top of that, the manure is being recycled on the land," where it's needed and valuable. Frey calculates that a 1,000-pound beef cow produces 63 pounds of manure per day. In nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, he says, a 100-cow herd "produces" $5,511.50 worth per year--value lost when the cows aren't on the land.

The cooperation between Duff and the natural resources agencies is proving a model for similar joint ventures in other parts of Missouri where there are threatened and endangered species and habitats. Duff, confident that the old cattle paths along the creek will heal completely, says, "I figured there was a place for conservation and for a productive farm, and a way to meet both goals."

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