MISSOURI Fall 2023 • nature.org/missouri
Putting the Puzzle Together The Nature Conservancy and the Missouri Department of Conservation teamed up three decades ago to protect 80,000 acres of Ozark forests
Chilton Creek © Byron Jorjorian
forever fragmenting an ecosystem that was unlike any on Earth. At the time, TNC’s preserves in Missouri totaled a few thousand widely scattered acres, and there was no way it could manage the tens of thousands of acres needed to keep the forests intact. Government conservation agencies had a different problem: They had the capacity to own and manage vast tracts in perpetuity, but they could not move as fast as commercial buyers. All the land would be gone by the time their funding was approved. So TNC and the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) teamed up. In a few weeks’ time, they structured a deal to buy 80,934 acres of the property owned by Kerr-McGee Corporation, an Oklahoma-based chemical and oil company.
In 1991, an irreplaceable swath of Ozark forests was in danger. One of the last big commercial timberland owners in Missouri was divesting, which meant between 100,000 and 200,000 acres were hitting the market. “The Nature Conservancy became very intrigued with that and scrambled to figure out how we could do something,” says Doug Ladd, TNC’s former director of conservation in Missouri. If past sales in the region were any indication, much of the land would be chopped into small plots. Secondary deals had followed similar land deals, with new owners immediately selling off all the timber to recoup their costs. Such transactions could yield one- time profits, but the plot-by-plot clear-cutting would punch holes in the tapestry of forests, glades and fens,
It was described as a “landmark deal,” and it highlighted the strength of a public-private partnership. TNC was the initial buyer, but what it was really buying was time for all the The Transfer In November 2022, TNC transferred Chilton Creek Research and Demonstration area to the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). The property is now part of Peck Ranch. It will always be managed for conservation and connected to other managed lands through the Current River watershed. TNC will use proceeds from the sale to reinvest in the Ozarks and across the state. TNC and MDC continue to work together with their partners in the watershed.
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Ongoing Work in the Ozarks
Pickerel frog © Rebecca Weaver
Rose verbena © Rebecca Weaver
also tying into the broader mix of the watershed. And so, after three decades of work at Chilton, TNC knew MDC would be the right partner to protect the property permanently. “It has never been The Nature Conservancy’s goal to be the biggest landowner in a region,” says TNC’s Missouri State Director Adam McLane. “Our strength as an organization is really as a problem solver—being nimble enough, thanks to our donors and partners, to seize opportunities to protect Missouri’s critical conservation interests.” Chilton is now once again part of those 80,000 acres from the 1991 land deal, absorbed into MDC’s Peck Ranch. TNC will continue to work with MDC and other partners in the area, and the sale allows the Conservancy to seek out new problems to solve and opportunities to seize.
plants and animals that depend on that part of the Ozarks. During the next five years, the Conservancy would transfer roughly 75,000 acres to MDC at cost, which allowed the state to permanently protect it and continue restoration work. TNC held onto about 5,600 acres, a stunningly biodiverse segment along Chilton Creek. In the decades that followed, TNC and MDC carefully nurtured the properties, repairing the damage of commercial logging and fostering natural conditions that support diverse plant and animal life. The state combined the 75,000 acres and surrounding lands to create three sprawling conservation areas of about 40,000 acres each: Sunklands, Angeline and Rocky Creek. TNC created Chilton Creek Research and Demonstration Area, a living laboratory where the Conservancy and outside researchers tested and developed innovative conservation techniques with benefits that stretch far beyond the Ozarks. Chilton and the state’s conservation areas complemented each other while
Ozark tree canopy © Byron Jorjorian
Nearly half of the Current River watershed is protected in some way. Vast preserves, parks and a growing number of privately managed properties help safeguard the region’s biodiversity. The Nature Conservancy has long played an important role in those efforts alongside dedicated partners. One example is the Howard and Joyce Wood Ozarks Conservation Buyer Fund—an innovative tool that allows TNC to buy vulnerable land around the Current and Jacks Fork rivers, add permanent conservation easements on the properties and resell them. New owners agree to maintain the ecological integrity of the land. The fund ensures properties stay on the tax rolls and will be sustainably managed in private forests and recreational grounds. That benefits watersheds, ecosystems and wildlife, as well as local economies.
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