U.S. EPA Heartland Region's post

In June, our Brownfields team attended the Green for Greene program graduation at Ozark Correctional Center in Springfield, Missouri.

The Green for Greene program is a recipient of a Region 7 Brownfields Job Training Grant and uses their funding to support their workforce development and jobs training program, which offers free instruction and certifications to students that enable them to find jobs in environmental fields, like hazardous waste cleanup, lead and mold abatement, and asbestos abatement.

Green for Greene has trained over 300 students since 2016, including the 15 who graduated in June.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations, Tiffany Frey, who is now the Director of Philanthropic Services at the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. Click here to read more. 

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Extreme Bark Sloughing on White Oak

 

GooseChase!
Something to add to your summer fun lineup!  Springfield Environmental Services has launched an app version of a community scavenger hunt with monthly challenges available.  It’s free to participate so join the adventure!  Here’s a link to the info. and how to sign up!

https://www.springfieldmo.gov/6062/Greene-Goosechase

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​​​​​​​​​​​​Science of Sound--Teacher Workshop, July 30. Target grade level is 1st and 2nd grade, but we could take 3rd grade teachers as well.

See flyer for more details.  Click here.

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The future of our region's water depends on us working together, so now is the time to secure your spot at the Southwest Missouri Regional Water Conference on Sept. 23.

 

Join passionate leaders, innovative thinkers and key community partners as we explore the future of water in our region — identifying new possibilities and addressing pressing challenges together. The day’s agenda is filled with dynamic sessions, thought-provoking presentations from industry experts, and hands-on networking designed to foster real collaboration.

 

No matter your role — policy influencer, researcher, business leader or community champion — your insights are essential as we chart the course for our region’s water resources.

 

Ready to dive in? Register and be a part of shaping our water future. 

 

Cody H. Brewington
Codybrewington@missouristate.edu

Phone: 417-836-8974 

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​James River Basin Partnership

​2024 Annual Report

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Governor Kehoe Signs Missouri Invasive Plant Bill into Law

New law will end the sale of six plants in Missouri, helping to reduce the negative impacts of invasive plants in the state.

Jefferson City, MO (July 15, 2025)—Yesterday, Missouri Governor Kehoe signed Senate Bill 105 into law, halting the sale in Missouri of six invasive plants: sericea lespedeza, burning bush (‘Compactus’), Callery pear, Japanese honeysuckle, perilla mint, and wintercreeper (variety Coloratus).

The implementation date for the legislation is August 28, 2025. The legislation allows five plants in the bill to continue to be sold through January 1, 2027, and two others to be sold through January 1, 2029, to mitigate revenue loss for plant sellers who may have a current inventory of any of these species. Read all details in the final bill language here.

“The Missouri Invasive Plant Council is extremely pleased with this wonderful news and thanks Governor Kehoe and Missouri legislators for their support of this bill that will help protect Missouri’s working lands and native habitats,” said Carol Davit, Missouri Invasive Plant Council (MoIP) Chair.

Several years ago, MoIP, administered by the Missouri Prairie Foundation, proposed the idea of legislation to cease the sale of select invasive plants to reduce their negative impacts on Missouri’s landscape. MoIP invited feedback from nearly 100 stakeholder groups and tabulated feedback that was received to assess opinions in support or against inclusion of specific invasive plants on eventual state legislation.

In 2023, at his request, MoIP sent a list of invasive plants with broad stakeholder support to Missouri Representative Bruce Sassmann for inclusion in a bill he was sponsoring to halt the sale of select invasive plants. While his bill and a companion bill sponsored by Missouri Senator Mike Bernskoetter were not scheduled for floor votes during the 2024 legislative session, both legislators filed similar bills for the 2025 session, for which MoIP and other groups advocated.

MoIP thanks Governor Kehoe, Senator Bernskoetter, and Representative Sassmann for their leadership; the many citizens who contacted their Missouri representatives and senators in support of the bills; the numerous groups, including the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, Missouri Municipal League, Missouri Stream Teams United, the Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM), and The Nature Conservancy, who advocated for the legislation alongside MoIP and the Missouri Prairie Foundation; Missouri legislators who supported the bill; and Kyna Iman, CFM lobbyist, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to build support for the bills in the Missouri Capitol.

Attached photo of the signing of Senate Missouri 105 courtesy of the Missouri Governor’s Office.

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The Missouri Invasive Plant Council (MoIP) is administered by the nonprofit Missouri Prairie Foundation. MoIP, a networking and advocacy group, bolsters statewide efforts to identify and control the invasive plant species that severely impact several sectors of the Missouri economy and native biodiversity. MoIP’s purpose is to review, discuss, and recommend educational and regulatory action related to managing known and potential non-­native invasive plants. Learn more at moinvasives.org.

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Springfield Art Museum Fassnight Creek Cleanups will be held the second Saturday of the month.   We’re thrilled to bring back our Fassnight Creek 2nd Saturday Cleanups in collaboration with the Springfield-Greene County Park Board after a fall and winter break—join us in helping clean Fassnight Creek and stick around for a nature-art activity on Hatch Lawn.

 

L-A-D Foundation

Incorporated in 1962, the L-A-D Foundation is a Missouri private operating foundation dedicated to the responsible management of Pioneer Forest as a working demonstration of renewable resource use compatible with the long-term carrying capacity and health of the land and water. The Foundation also acquires and preserves in the public interest outstanding areas of natural, geologic, cultural or historic interest. In addition, the Foundation provides support to various projects consistent with its conservation goals, with a particular focus on the Missouri Ozark region.

2024 Annual Report
 

Ozark Soul

Go to Native plants sales page

 

​Missouri Department of Natural Resources

Department of Natural Resources will host four pesticide collection events in 2025

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, FEB. 18, 2025 – The Missouri Department of Natural Resources will offer four free waste pesticide collection events in 2025. All of the events will be open from 8 a.m. to noon and are open to all Missouri farmers and households.​

• Sep. 13 - Location to be determined.

• Oct. 4 - Litton Agri-Science Learning Center, 10780 Liv 235, Chillicothe.

Accepted (limited to 8,000 lbs. total weight per farm or household):

• Herbicides.

• Insecticides.

• Fungicides.

• Rodenticides.

• De-wormers.

• Fly tags.

• Fertilizers containing pesticide.

Not Accepted:

• Pesticide rinsate: For rinsate management information, visit mo.gov/document-search/pesticide-rinsate-management-pub2870/pub2870.

• Paint, explosives.

• Fire extinguishers.

• Yard waste.

• Electronics.

• Trash.

• Pesticides from businesses, pesticide-production facilities, pesticide distributors, pesticide retailers or similar entities.

Registration is recommended but not required. Register for one of the collection events at pesticidecollectionregistration@dnr.mo.gov. More information about the Missouri Pesticide Collection Program is available online at dnr.mo.gov/waste-recycling/what-were-doing/events-collections-trainings/missouri-pesticide-collection-program.

 

Missouri Prairie Foundation

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Ozark Society

(see flyer, click here)

The Ozark Society is a non-profit organization established in Arkansas in 1962 to protect the Buffalo

River and its surrounding wilderness area from development, thus allowing it to remain a free-flowing

and scenic river. Today, the Ozark Society continues to advocate for conservation of natural resources,

preservation of scenic places, and environmental education.​

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Ozarks Clean Fuels Coalition​

SW Missouri Local Government Briefings

​​​Missouri Butterflies, host plants and Caterpillars

Go here to see a great poster of common butterflies and their caterpillars!

 

Watershed Center of the Ozarks

2024 Annual Report

Join the Team:  two seasoal internships with Watershed Natives

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Children and Nature Network

 

Springfield Community Resource Guide

EPA​

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Dish to Dirt Program

Read to find out how to subscribe and see what events are coming up.  Learn about composting, free workshops and more! Click HERE.

The Ozarks Clean Air Alliance (OCAA)  Go HERE to find out more. and the Clean Air Action Plan

White River Sierra Club

​The Schoolcraft Ozarks Society

Dark Sky Missouri (Click here for more information)

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Missouri Environmental Education Association (MEEA)

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Missouri Recycles (MORA)  

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Check out what can be recycled at Staples. https://www.staples.com/stores/recycling

 

Ozark Riverways Foundation

Ozarks Greenways

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Missouri Department of Conservation

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