SECTION IV - RECREATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES

4.01 PHYSIOGRAPHIC

The lake lies within the southeastern limits of the Salem Plateau section of the Ozark Plateau Physiographic Province. This province is frequently referred to as the Ozark Dome since the area is topographically an east-west elongated dome of outward dipping Paleozoic rocks. The Salem Plateau section contains most of the higher summits of the province.

The St. Francis River, which forms Wappapello Lake, flows south from its headwaters in the St. Francois Mountains and enters the Mississippi Embayment downstream of Wappapello Dam. The St. Francis River north of the lake possesses an incised valley having steep slopes and a narrow floodplain. South of the lake the river exits the Ozark Escarpment and meanders through the low-lying bottom lands of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley to its mouth at the Mississippi River near Helena, Arkansas.

4.02 GEOLOGIC

1. General. Rock formations in the area consist of lower Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, primarily Ordovician calcium and magnesium carbonates. Since carbonate rocks are soluble to some extent in groundwater, karst features such as caves, springs and sinkholes are common throughout the area.



2. Houck's History of Missouri lists 140 caves in Wayne County, many not explored. Rebel Cave was a commercial enterprise, although now closed, is the only named cave in the lake area.



3. Dolomites of the Canadian Series Roubidoux and Gasconade formations comprise the bedrock in the immediate vicinity of Wappapello Dam. These formations are typically light gray, fine to medium grained, cherty dolomites. The Roubidoux Formation also contains fine to medium grained quartzose sandstone beds. Fossils are not common in either of these formations but occasionally fossil mollusks are found in the chert layers.



4. The major mineral resources of the area include sand and gravel, agricultural and building stone, clay deposits and brown iron ore. The gravels are predominately cherts with minor amounts of igneous rocks. The sand fraction is mostly quartz.



5. The stone quarried in the area is dolomite from the Emminence and Gasconade formations. Principal use of the quarried stone is for agricultural liming although crushed stone production does increase during periods of highway construction. A building stone quarry in the Roubidoux Formation sandstone operates intermittently in southern Wayne County.



6. Deposits of brown iron ore are widespread in this region. The most important deposits occur in cherty clay residuum derived from the weathering of Ordovician dolomites. Limonite is the ore mineral and occurs as irregular masses in the residuum. All mining has been done using open pit methods. Because of their small individual size and scattered occurrence they are not well suited to large mechanized operations. During 1998 there was no known mining of these deposits in the region.



7. Earthquake Activity. The major earthquake activity in the area was the 1811-1812 New Madrid series which had epicentral locations near New Madrid, Missouri. These earthquakes occurred between December 1811 and February 1812 and were some of the largest events known to have occurred in the contiguous states. Many smaller earthquakes have occurred in this region since the 1811-1812 New Madrid series.



8. Earthquake Evaluation. The Wappapello Dam is being evaluated for resistance to strong ground shaking due to earthquakes. This evaluation was required by the Office of the Chief of Engineers for all large Corps of Engineers structures. The current Phase I Special Study on Seismic Deficiencies for Wappapello Lake outlines apparent design deficiencies of Wappapello Dam and appurtenant structures.




The District has proposed a non-emergency, multi-year, phased program be initiated to strengthen the outlet tunnel to resist a seismic-induced collapse, mitigate the liquefaction concerns in the foundation sands, rectify the nonstructural seismic hazards of the gate house, and develop strategies for Wappapello's Emergency Action Plan (EAP).

The District recommends that MR&T funding be acquired to conduct a Phased II Seismic Evaluation Report, which would incorporate current studies and determine the scope, cost and scheduling of the potential Phase III analyses and Phase IV quality assurance. A Phase III Design Memorandum (DM) would establish explicitly: potential corrective measures for the tunnel and foundation sands; the tunnel's best mitigation option; the chosen liquefaction resistance method and its design, quality assurance procedures, and specifications; and, nonstructural mitigation procedures for the gate house. The DM would resolve the strategies for the EAP, if these strategies had not been funded previously. Phase IV would construct and conduct quality assurance measures for the resolved mitigation efforts.

4.03 ARCHAEOLOGICAL

Wappapello Lake is potentially rich in cultural (archaeological and historical) resources. The National Historic Preservation Act (PL 96-515) directs each Federal agency to establish a program to locate and inventory all cultural(archaeological or historical) properties under the agency's ownership as control; and to nominate to the Secretary of the Interior all properties that appear to qualify for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places ("National Register"). The Act also requires Federal agencies to take into account the effect of federally licensed, funded, or executed undertakings upon properties listed in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register. The appropriate State Historic Preservation Office and the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation (an executive office advisory to the President) are to be offered reasonable opportunities to comment on possible effects to cultural properties before the expenditure of Federal funds on the issuance of any licenses. Where a particular property's eligibility for inclusion in the National Register has not yet been determined, Federal agencies are prohibited from inadvertently selling, transferring, demolishing, or neglecting the property until such determination has been made.

Because Wappapello Lake was constructed prior to legislation requiring the inventory, evaluation, and management of cultural resources, new archaeological and historical sites are being discovered which have not been previously recorded. A Programmatic Agreement was developed in 1993 and accepted by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the Missouri State Historic Preservation office for the management of the cultural resources. A Historic Properties Management Plan was developed in 1998, in accordance with the Programmatic Agreement, it is being used to locate, inventory, evaluate, nominate, and manage archaeological and historical properties. This plan will become part of the OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT PLAN and will identify and prioritize items of work for cultural resource inventory, evaluation, and management.

4.04 HISTORIC

1. General. DeSoto ascended the lower St. Francis River in search of gold; however, he veered off to the east before reaching Wayne County. As a colonial territory, present-day Wayne County was originally part of French Louisiana. In 1762 France ceded Louisiana to Spain, and grants of land were given by Spain to various settlers on the St. Francis River. After Spain ceded Louisiana back to France, the United States purchased Louisiana from France including the grants that were recognized by this country. Along Wappapello Lake, these start at Kime and follow the river northerly. Three of the grants later became villages on what is now Wappapello Lake.




Up to 1818 the territory now known as Wayne County, formed St. Francois Township of Cape Girardeau County. When the township became a county, it was nicknamed the State of Wayne because it was so large. The first settler arrived in 1802 but by 1809 there were still no roads in the county.



2. Greenville Historic Site. (ES-C-3) Greenville was the chief village in the county and the original roads in the county radiated from it. Because it was within the flood zone of Wappapello Lake, the town had to be moved north to higher ground. The village streets, building foundations, steps to the courthouse and the cemetery are now included in the Greenville National Register Site.



3. Chaonia Historic Area. (ES-C-1) To secure a railroad, a local resident donated 45 acres for the construction of a village named Wellsdale. The railroad was routed through in 1888 and the town was renamed Chaonia. By 1899 the village consisted of a railroad station and a saw mill. The Chaonia Ferry became very influential in the growth of Chaonia because a large, prosperous agricultural community was across the St. Francis River on Lost Creek. This community depended on the ferry for access to the railroad. The crossing was so greatly needed that a steel bridge was eventually constructed. Chaonia grew to consist of several stores, churches, a bank and numerous residences.




There are still evidences of the old railroad system within the Chaonia Historic Area. Because it also was in the flood zone of Wappapello Lake the town was removed. Further descriptions of this area are contained in paragraph 8-05,b1.



4. Taskee Historic Area. (ES-C-2) Another community center founded during the 1800's was Taskee. This town was the site of the first and largest railroad station in the area and therefore served as a center for commerce and travel. Because it also was in the flood zone of Wappapello Lake the town was removed. Details regarding this area are contained in paragraph 8-05,b2.



5. Kime Historic Area. (ES-C-4) This town developed around a spring. Building foundations and a cemetery still remain within the area. Because it also was in the flood zone of Wappapello Lake the town was removed. Paragraph 8-05,b4 contains additional information regarding the Kime Historic Area.

4.05 ECOLOGIC

Prior to the construction of Wappapello Lake, the river valleys were used almost exclusively for farming. The majority of the lands which were not used for farming were heavily forested with yellow pine, oak, walnut, poplar, hickory, ash, and cherry. However, lumber products at that time were in demand in the area so the forests were heavily utilized.

Since acquisition of the lands by the Government for the Wappapello Lake project, minimal logging has taken place. With control of fire in the area and curtailment of cutting, the forested areas have evolved into mature stands of equal age timber. The ecology of public lands is best described as mature hardwood forestland bordering on a shallow man-made lake.

Epidemic outbreaks of insects and damaging diseases are not common to the Ozark timberlands. Recommended management practices to keep the forests in a healthy condition for use and enjoyment by the public as well as for wildlife management are contained in Sections 10 & 12.

4.06 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SCENIC QUALITIES

1. Topographic Qualities. Wappapello Lake is located in Wayne and Butler Counties in southeastern Missouri. This area is classified as the Ozark Uplands. The area around the lake lies on the edge of the Uplands and is often referred to as the Poplar Bluff Brown Iron District of the Ozark Foothills. A more extensive description of Wappapello Lake area topography is presented in paragraph 5-03.



2. Vegetation. The original vegetation of Wappapello Lake consisted of woodlands that were part of the eastern temperate deciduous forest formation composed primarily of oak-hickory. Over eighty percent of the 20,172 acres of woodland found on public lands at Wappapello Lake is of this type. Major species include white oak, black oak, shagbark hickory, and mockernut hickory. The drier ridge tops are dominated by pignut hickory and post oak. Where a sandstone soil base exists, shortleaf pine and pine-oak mixture stands are found. Eastern red cedar may be locally abundant where limestone is close to the surface.




Toward the ravines and lower elevations the oak-hickory association grades into stands possessing more mesic species such as red oak and chinquapin oak, white ash, green ash, basswood, black walnut, and bitternut hickory. Persimmon, blackgum, butternut, and sugar maple occur here also. On the low, poorly drained bottomland, sycamore, sweetgum, cottonwood, and river birch predominate. Understory trees of the uplands include primarily redbud, flowering dogwood, and shadbush. The diversity of some of the mesic stands is quite high. For example, within the Johnson Tract (ES-E-2), in one small area less than 100 meters across, at least 27 species of forest trees are recorded.



The U.S. Forest Service inventory completed in 1972 listed the following forest types and quantities: oak-hickory, 16,837 acres or 83 percent; bottomland hardwoods, 2,351 acres or 12 percent; oak-pine forest, 814 acres or 4 percent; pinewoods, 117 acres, less than 1 percent; and cedar-hardwoods, 52 acres, less than 1 percent. The total woodland is 20,172 acres. The project will be re-inventoried to obtain forest and wildlife data, and update data based on stand conditions, environmental concerns and special status species.



The woodlands of the lake vary in quality. Stands located on the better soils consist of large, high quality specimens. These are among the finest upland stands to be found in the state. Tree growth on the drier ridges is slower, and many of these stands are of lower quality and form and consist primarily of trees of medium size. Most of the bottomland stands are young pole stands.



Openland is also a critical habitat component found on project lands. These lands are maintained in early successional stages by prescribed fire, bush-hogging, and agricultural practices. Warm season grasses such as big and little bluestem are the primary species, along with various forbs, composites and some woody invasion species.



Other minor plant communities may be found on lake lands. Small canebrakes consisting of cane grow along the St. Francis River. Willow thickets are sometimes quite extensive. These have minor impact on the ecology of the area.



3. Wildlife. A fauna typical of deciduous woodlands and its edge habitat exist at Wappapello Lake. Originally white-tailed deer, elk, black bear, mountain lion, bobcat, and gray wolf comprised the big game of the area (see McKinley, 1960b). Wild turkeys were common. Because of unregulated hunting much of the big game was scarce by the mid-1800's in many parts of the Ozarks. Regulated hunting conservation and habitat management has brought a revival of many species on Wappapello Lake project lands. Otters and beavers are found along the St. Francis River and lake. Deer and wild turkeys are abundant in numbers. Game species typical of edge habitats, such as eastern cottontails, bobwhite quail, and squirrels are representative. Migratory waterfowl use the lake for resting and feeding and are relatively abundant during the fall and winter months.



4. Aquatic Resources. The fishes of Wappapello Lake and the lake area are typical of Midwestern waters. Major sport species are white and black crappie, bluegill, green sunfish, redear, longear, largemouth bass, and white bass. Also present are channel, blue, yellow and flathead catfish, gizzard shad, and a variety of other fish species. In 1997 the Missouri Department of Conservation began a stocking program of walleye in the St. Francis River above Wappapello Lake. Preliminary result are favorable that this stocking will be successful in reestablishing a fishable walleye population. All totaled, there are approximately 50 species of fish within this region.




The waters of the lake and tailwater also have many diverse forms of phytoplankton, zooplankton, aquatic insects, crustaceans, amphibians, reptiles and mollusks. All in one life stage or another, are an integral part of the food chain, necessary to sustain life of lake organisms. The food supply of the fishes is supplemented also by numerous terrestrial forms, particularly during periods of rainfall or strong winds. Maintenance of good water quality (relatively free of inorganic or organic pollutants) is also necessary for the well being of the diverse aquatic populations.



The Missouri Department of Conservation has conducted annual electro-fishing surveys since 1968. During the spring of 1994, electro-fishing was not conducted due to high water within the lake reservoir. These surveys have concluded that fish populations within the lake remain stable with increase growth rates in 1998. The surveying continues to provide information to help manage the lake to maintain stable fish populations.



5. Scenic Qualities. The north and south ends of the dam afford some of the best views of the wider expanses of the lake. Other scenic vistas occur on the ridge tops, especially those along the water. This type of open land offers a broad view of the lake and provides a relief from the numerous wooded areas giving a more pastoral scenic effect.




The many islands and bays along with the high ridges make an especially interesting lake, both from the land and water, in contrast to some constructed lakes which appear only as wide places of the original river held between parallel bluff lines. In spring, the serviceberry, wild plum, redbuds, and dogwoods bloom in the wooded areas making them come alive with accents of color. Fall is especially beautiful when the groves of sweetgum in the bottomlands burst into flaming colors.

4.07 RECREATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The recreational developments at Wappapello Lake are varied. Major activities of the visiting public consist of sightseeing, fishing, boating, water skiing, camping, picnicking, swimming, hiking, and hunting. Park and recreation areas have been developed which provide both extended-use and day-use opportunities. Included in these recreation areas are campsites, picnic sites, boat launching ramps, beaches, nature interpretive facilities, and hiking, and nature trails. In addition, lands have been allocated for wildlife management. These wildlife areas are available for non-consumptive as well as consumptive recreational use. A description of land use and recreational development is presented in SECTION 8 - RESOURCE PLAN