Background

In May 2004, resource managers and scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and National Park Service (NPS), met in Fayetteville, Arkansas to address Ozark resource issues of importance to the Department of the Interior. In addition to identifying key resource issues, participants recognized the need to work with additional Ozark stakeholders involved in natural resource research or management.


Addressing Shared Ozark Resource Management Goals
Within the Ozarks, there is significant overlap in the species, habitats and conservation goals identified in State Wildlife Action Plans, The Nature Conservancy’s Ozarks Ecoregional Assessment, those identified by NPS, USFWS and USGS in 2004, as well as other agencies’ planning documents. Tremendous opportunity exists for working together at geographic locations; sharing monitoring protocols and research designs, products and results; and developing methods to measure management action effectiveness.


The First Ozark Summit
The USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center and the Missouri Chapter of The Nature Conservancy are co-hosting the first Ozark Summit May 13 – 15 in West Plains, Missouri. The purpose is to improve Ozark-based natural resource research and management through active collaboration of scientists and managers from many agencies. Conservation targets have already been identified in agency planning documents; we intend to strengthen existing partnerships and develop new ones by identifying ways to begin or expand collaborative work on specific topics. The unifying theme of the first Summit is “Ozark Streams.” On the first day, invited speakers will summarize priority conservation targets and concerns related to four technical breakout topics. An evening social event will showcase posters describing successful research and monitoring programs, management evaluation tools, and collaborative partnerships.

Getting the Work Started
On the second day, facilitated breakout groups will develop Ozark-wide strategies toward collaboration, reaching conservation targets and evaluating management actions. Groups will vary in their proposed approach depending on the nature of identified needs and actions. Meeting participants are expected to come prepared to actively discuss successes, challenges, and information needs for research, monitoring, and management programs in one of the following breakout topics focusing on Ozark streams:

• Aquatic Species Migration
  
• Riparian Habitat/Restoration
  
• Recreational Fisheries
  
• Water Quality and Quantity
  

While on-the-ground scientists and resource managers attend the technical breakout sessions, program managers will work together in a facilitated breakout group for partnering dollars and overcoming institutional barriers to collaborative work. On the third day, we will provide guided field trips to locations where inter-agency collaboration is already resulting in successful conservation management actions. We look forward to a successful event and hope the first Ozark Summit can serve as a model for developing Ozark-wide conservation strategies to benefit a wide stakeholder base for many resource issues.

Ozark Summit Planning Team

• Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
  Jane Anderson, Steve Filipek, Mark Oliver
• Conservation Federation of Missouri
  Amy Buechler
  
• Missouri Department of Conservation
  Bob Legler, Dave Mayer, Tom Nichols
• The Nature Conservancy Arkansas Chapter
  Ethan Inlander
  
• The Nature Conservancy Missouri Chapter
  Stephen Mahfood
  
• US Geological Survey
  Keith Grabner, Jeff Spooner, Esther Stroh, Matthew Struckhoff
  
• US Fish and Wildlife Service
  Steve Hensley, Mark Sattelberg, Charlie Scott, Richard Stark