By Mindy Ward, Missouri Farmer Today

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 1:29 PM CDT

CUBA, Mo. — Bob Baker did not know an endangered species was living in his cattle’s watering hole.

The pink mucket mussel resides in the mud and sand of Baker’s Lick Creek in Crawford County.

The mussel is not easily identified in the creek bed because it buries itself in the sand and gravel with only the edge of its shell exposed.

Over the years, flooding damaged most of the mussel’s habitat, reducing its gravel and sand supply. In some areas, pollution took a toll on the population.

The reduction in numbers caused it to make the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species list.

Baker and his wife, Nicky, operate a registered Hereford cow/calf operation on the land surrounding the creek.

Bob Baker and his wife, Nicky, visit their cows under a portable shade structure. The unit was made possible with funding from the Fishers and Farmers partnership. Photo courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation

They knew the mussel was present, but did not realize it was endangered until a visit from a Missouri Department of Conservation fisheries management biologist.

“For some, the endangered species can be a bone of contention,” Kenda Flores says.

“Some fear that the government is going to take property away. They fear they are going to lose their rights.

“So, we try to alleviate these fears.”

Instead of claiming the stream and the surrounding land, Flores worked with landowners to find ways to improve habitat for the mussel, while improving the farm.

She helped coordinate a group of landowners in the Meramec Basin-Lower Bourbeuse watershed, which includes Little Bourbeuse, Brush Creek, Lick Creek and PBoone Creek.

“We needed to come up with projects and a cost-share rate so that these landowners would see the endangered mussel flowing through the river as an advantage,” she adds.

The goal at Baker’s Echo Bluff Farms was to restrict cattle access to the stream.

Baker just switched to a management-intensive-grazing system, and water to pastures was important.

He drilled a well and put in ground water tanks. A new pond serves as an alternative water source.

A creek crossing allows passage between paddocks without cattle walking through the creek. New trees line the bank.

Finally, Baker fenced off the creek from his stock.

Still, there was the need to replace the shade the trees along the creek provided during hot Missouri summers. So, he erected portable 10x20x12-foot shade structures that can move from pasture to pasture.

Baker’s total out-of-pocket expense? Not a dime.

“They paid 90 percent of the cost of drilling the water well, putting in pipeline to waterers and the other projects. I only had 10 percent to pick up,” he explains.

“But, they had an in-kind labor, where I could work off the other 10 percent. That is why I think this program is so great.”

The program is part of the Fishers and Farmers Partnership. Baker was one of a few landowners who benefited from the program early on.

Since then, the number of landowners requesting projects has exceeded the funding, Flores says.

“Certainly, any habitat restoration has to make economic sense for farmers,” says Rob Pulliam, fisheries management biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation.

“This is just one place where we can provide that technical and financial assistance.”

With Flores now serving Southwest Missouri, Pulliam oversees the partnership.

Fishers and Farmers serve not only to provide technical assistance to landowners, but also financial assistance. The program looks for public funding opportunities through government grants, as well as, private funding from companies or organizations.

To date, the Meramec Watershed Basin project is the largest partner-driven project recognized as a “Water to Watch” by the National Fish Habitat Action Plan.

The National Fish Habitat is a cooperative nationwide program to protect, restore and enhance the habitats of the nation’s marine and freshwater fish populations.

It is under the advisement of a voluntary board of public and private sector entities that oversee the implementation of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan.

“Actually, because of the success of Missouri’s partnership with landowners, it was looked at as a model for the national program of Fishers and Farmers,” Pulliam adds.

“Our state had been finding public and private partnerships for a long time.”

Pulliam says improving fish habitat while addressing farmers needs works.

“It is not either cattle or the endangered mussel,” he says. “We can have both.”

The program allows farmers and conservationists to discuss talk about how to accomplish their goals.

“It is critical to have that local leadership,” Pulliam adds. “Our landowner committees make this work.”

Growth of the project comes via neighbor talking to neighbor.

“This program really works,” Baker says. “It helped keep the cattle out of the creek and is helping the fish and mussels, too.”

Flores and Pulliam applaud the landowners of the Meramec Basin for their willingness to be involved in improving water quality.

“This is a group that really understands that improving water quality is important for the longevity of fish and streams,” Flores says.

Pulliam adds, “The watershed is more than just about the fish and habitat, though. It is about land cover, trees and grassland and the people who live and use this place.”

While much of his time is spent tending to cattle, there is something about preserving even a small mussel that resonates with Baker.

“The older we get, the more we look at helping the next generation and more concerned about what they will have when we are gone,” he says.

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