NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS
Low-Water Crossings on the Upper Shoal New designs that benefit people and nature
species to reoccupy nearly 9 miles of habitat, but they’ll also provide a service for local communities.” Replacing the current crossings will decrease the frequency of overtopped roads during high-water events, reducing hazards with vehicles attempting to cross when it’s not safe. “In addition to increasing safety, the new crossings should result in reduced maintenance costs and improved structural resilience,” says Drew. The new bridges will also reduce the risk of catastrophic failure during a flood, and the associated safety and environmental impacts that such an event would cause. Pre-project monitoring will take place during fall 2021 and into spring 2022, with construction projected to start in summer 2022. Once complete, MDC will continue to monitor the fish populations throughout Shoal Creek and the three project sites. “Low-water crossings like these are not limited to Barry County,” says Drew. “We plan to use the new crossings as demonstration sites for other landowners and partners in the area and throughout the Ozarks to show how nature- based solutions can be used for resilient infrastructure and improved habitat.”
The spring-fed headwaters of Shoal Creek, located in Barry County in southwest Missouri, are part of the larger Spring River basin. For years these waters have been a conservation priority for many partners, including the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), Missouri Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and The Nature Conservancy. “The importance of the Spring River system is driven partly by its aquatic biota,” says Drew Holt, TNC’s western Ozark waters coordinator. “Eighty-six species of fish, thirty-five species of mussels and five species of crayfish have been documented in the system.” Included in that count is the federally endangered Neosho Mucket (mussel) and the state species of conservation concern, the Arkansas Darter (fish). Historically, Shoal Creek has had higher densities of the Arkansas Darter, but due in part to stream fragmentation caused by low water crossings acting as barriers, the species struggle to migrate up and downstream as needed. Now, thanks to a grant from the USFWS’s National Fish Passage Program, TNC has partnered with MDC and the Barry County Commission to replace three low-water road crossings in upper Shoal Creek with new free-span bridges to facilitate natural water flows and aquatic organism passage. “We’re excited to get these projects underway,” says Drew. “Not only will they allow the Arkansas Darter and other
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THIS PAGE Soon-to-be-replaced crossings on Shoal Creek that currently restrict water flow and fish passage © Barbara Charry/TNC
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