[music playing] ANNOUNCER: The following program is a production of Ozarks Public Television.

Good evening and welcome to "Sense of Community."

I'm Jennifer Moore.

So what's in the water?

Well, we're about to find out as we dive into the topic of water quality, and also get a broader update on environmental challenges here in the Ozarks.

Our guest this evening is Loring Bullard, longtime environmentalist and part of the Ozark Society.

We hope you'll join us for this important community conversation.

NARRATOR: Welcome to "Sense of Community."

"Sense of Community" is a public affairs presentation of Ozarks Public Television.

Thanks for joining us this evening.

Before we get started, we just wanted to mention that because of the pandemic, we have a guest in studio, and we are farther apart than we would be in normal times.

And so are our crew are also taking a lot of precautions to make sure that everybody is safe.

With that said, let's dive in.

I am here with Loring Bullard, and we are thrilled to have you this evening.

Thank you so much for coming.

Thank you.

You've been a community leader in environmental issues for decades here in the Ozarks region-- you know, water quality, across the board conservation.

I want to hear from you before we dive into our main conversation a little bit about some of the highlights.

And I know it's hard to summarize decades into a few sentences, but what are some of the areas that you have been most involved in?

Probably the biggest highlight is the Watershed Center.

That was a project that took about half my career with the Watershed Committee.

I was there about 23 years, and probably about 12 of that was spent trying to get the Watershed Center going, which we have done.

And so I think of that kind of as a pinnacle.

At that point, I didn't want to start any other big projects.

It seemed like a good time to retire, when that was completed.

But it's in good hands.

Mike Kromrey, the director, and the staff there are doing an excellent job.

And it's really become a focus for community education.

There's lots of field trips.

Schools, I think they had like 15,000 school kids out there.

Wow.

Pre-COVID, at least.

So it's really getting a lot of use in the community.

And I feel really good about the direction that it's taking.

Excellent.

So one thing we're here to talk about today is the Ozark Society.

So in a nutshell, what is the Ozark Society?

Well, I'll give you a little bit of history.

Hopefully I won't go on too long.

But back in 1962, there was a doctor.

His name was Neil Compton down in Bentonville, Arkansas.

There was a proposal to dam the Buffalo River.

There was actually two dams proposed.

Corps of Engineers already had sites selected.

It looked like a done deal in 1962 when they got involved because you know how those big federal projects are.

Once they get a life of their own, they sort of kind of last forever.

And so they were already starting behind the eight ball, in terms of trying to organize and resist these big dams.

But he did.

He got a group of folks together, and they successfully lobbied the Arkansas delegation.

They took, excuse me, they took the governor on a float trip on the Buffalo.

And of course, the Buffalo is a beautiful river.

So you know, you would think anybody that would go on the river in a canoe would really appreciate what they had there, and be interested in taking care of it.

So next year, the Ozark Society will be 60 years old.

And the Buffalo was designated as a national river in 1972.

So next year, the Buffalo will be 50 years old.

OK. And so the Ozark Society is planning a large celebration next year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Buffalo.

A local group, west group here in Springfield is doing a documentary that should be released about spring of next year that covers the history of the Buffalo, not only the dams but the more recent threats, which we can talk about in a minute.

And then you know, clear up to the present day.

So the Ozark Society, I know it preserves wild and scenic rivers.

It also tries to preserve the wilderness.

And it's got a focus on conservation and recreation as well.

So there is a chapter in Springfield, or based in Springfield that you chair.

What are your goals with that?

Well, the chapter has been around a long time in Springfield.

It kind of faded away.

We basically just revived it here.

Right before COVID hit, we had revived the chapter.

So there were several people that were still members, so it wasn't like we started from scratch.

But we are really focused on the three main things that the Ozark Society is, which is conservation, education, and recreation.

We haven't been able to do much recreation over the last year, but we have done a lot in conservation and education.

We have groups, work groups that are working on a variety of topics.

We have a public lands group.

We have a group working on river issues.

We had the thing on Bull Creek that I think you probably had a report on at one time.

JENNIFER MOORE: Yeah.

And so you know, the work groups are really kind of where we decided to take the activities right now during COVID, just kind of trying to get organized.

And we've had a couple of Zoom educational meetings too.

Great.

So what is your vision for that longer term?

What would be your dream for the Springfield chapter of the Ozark Society?

Well, the dream is to protect the Ozarks.

You know, it's such a beautiful part of the country.

And we have clean water and clean air for the most part.

And you know, I think the vision is that our grandchildren get to enjoy this beautiful country like we do.

And you know, it won't happen unless people get involved.

You know, that's kind of the bottom line, whatever the issue.

And so I think the fact that the Ozark Society is so place-based-- it's not like an organization based in Washington DC, or New York, or somewhere that has a chapter.

And you know, we those are people.

And you know the best way to protect the Ozarks is for the folks who live here and appreciate the area to really start paying attention to what's going on.

What makes this group or this effort different than other environmental groups that are also around and have been for several years?

Well, I think the place-based nature of it, you know, the focus just on the Ozarks.

But at the same time, we have to think about the larger issues too, like climate change, and how does that affect the Ozarks.

One way we know that it affects it is we've had huge floods over the last half a dozen years that are probably related to bigger storm events from climate change.

So global issues affect us in the Ozarks like everyone else.

So we can't ignore those.

But for the most part, what we try to do is focus our energies toward local solutions to the problems.

You know, what can we do here in the Ozarks about climate change?

What can we do about getting rid of plastics in the environment?

What can we do about you know the concentrated animal feeding operations and things like that?

So you know, it is kind of unique in that respect, that it's sort of built on the idea that you have to take care of your home first, you know, the place where you live.

Yeah.

That's fascinating.

And just to throw out a couple of really pretty staggering data points.

According to NASA's vital signs of the planet, which tracks climate, global temperatures have increased 1.9 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880.

Also we know Missouri farmers are scrambling to deal with more floods and drought, but more severe rainfall, heavy rainfall over short periods of time.

I'm really curious to hear more about what some of those local solutions to climate change are.

And are you saying that those are part of the Ozark society's goals as well?

Well, they will have to be.

At this point, I'm not really sure what the solutions are, other than what we've all heard about.

You know, cutting down on the use of gasoline.

I bought an electric lawnmower for my yard.

You know, finally broke down and did that.

You know, so there are a lot of things that you hear about in the news all the time that anyone can do anywhere.

With our topography that we have here and the groundwater that we have, this area is going to be an attraction for a lot of folks in other parts of the country that started having problems with more hurricanes, and floods, and droughts, because we do have an abundance of water here in the Ozarks.

So I think that's one thing we need to be thinking about, is the potential for an influx of a lot more people into our part of the world just because we are fortunate in having the water, for example, that we do.

JENNIFER MOORE: Yeah.

So I think the Ozark Society has a role to play in questions related to streams, and how we develop along streams, and how we farm along streams.

And there are things we can do in terms of regenerative agriculture that build in more resilience into the environment so that, you know, the farmer isn't going to lose his whole crop whenever the flood comes or the drought comes.

And there are a lot of people thinking about sustainable ag as an enterprise in the Ozarks right now.

And what kind of crops could we grow?

Let's say it dries out more.

What can we, is there something we can switch to that we could grow?

So a lot of those questions are out there.

What the Ozark Society, the role that we will play, is probably going to be coordinating those kind of efforts to extent we can.

Keeping people talking to each other across these lines.

Keeping the farmers talking to the environmental people.

You know, things like that.

So I think that's, we don't want to duplicate efforts with other organizations.

We want to try to provide this more of a symbiosis, if we can.

Interesting.

So I know as of about last year, about a year ago rather, from our reporting over on the public radio side, KSMU, that the Parson administration here in Missouri had not really made it a priority within the Department of agriculture to look into climate change issues and sustainable farming.

Do you foresee a day or a goal where you would like to link up these grassroots efforts, like the Ozark Society, with policymakers.

And say, look, this is really important.

It's a critical factor in the wellness of our state, of our communities.

Well, I would say that if we want to make real change, we have to do that.

I mean, that's kind of the bottom line.

Even Neil Compton, back in 1962, someone asked him about whether the organization should get too political.

And he says, if we don't get political, we won't save the Buffalo.

You know, I mean, it's sort of a fact of life that the policymakers have to be on board whatever we do.

I have been very frustrated with our state legislature, especially over issues related to local control.

It happened with COVID.

And to me, it's very disingenuous when a politician at the state level who screams about getting the federal government off of their back at a return turns right around and then gets on the back of the local government.

To turn around and say to a local government what you're doing is not right, or what you're doing isn't good enough, or you can't do that, that's excessive.

I spent my entire professional career working with local governments, trying to develop you know common sense, locally tailored, reasonable solutions to local problems.

And that is where the action is.

That's where things need to happen.

You know, so for someone in Jeff City, the governor, or anyone else to say Greene County, city of Springfield, you can't enforce that mask ordinance, or you can't do this.

You know, to me that's just wrong.

In terms of environmental-- to your point about local control, in terms of environmental issues and policy, we've seen that in the last couple of years here, with Jefferson City enacting policies that would prevent local governments from enacting certain policy on farming and on environmental water quality.

And so I'm just curious-- getting back to the Ozark Society though, if people, just anybody watching tonight, wants to get involved somehow with Ozark Society-- this local chapter, the Springfield chapter, Schoolcraft chapter is being revived.

How could they do that and what might that look like?

Just get online.

Look at OzarkSociety.net.

We are the Schoolcraft chapter.

And you can join online.

We'd love to have you.

We'd love to have you in the chapter.

And we need more folks.

And so we would welcome anyone who would want to help us.

We're looking for more people and more members all the time.

And you know, I think that the chapter has really hit a nerve, you know, with a lot of people who felt like they weren't maybe represented by other organizations.

Or for whatever reason, they weren't really motivated to get involved in something.

And they've kind of seen the Ozark Society as something a little different that they can kind of get behind and get more interested in.

And that's good.

I mean, we need to have more than one way for people to be involved.

And so to the extent that the Ozark Society can make a difference, whether it's through working with policymakers, or grassroots efforts, trying to get people more aware of what's going on, we're ready to do that.

I want to talk about water quality.

You mentioned earlier, you referred to recent threats.

What would you say, what would you see as the top one or two threats to the water quality of the region here?

Are we talking about storm runoff, farm runoff, CAFOs, what would you say?

Well the-- Or does it depend-- sorry to interrupt.

But does it depend?

Is it hyper localized issues?

You know, depending on more where you are, even within the region.

It is.

It is very localized, in terms of where you are.

We still have some areas that have problems with wastewater treatment.

But for the most part, those kinds of problems are being taken care of.

So storm water obviously in the big cities, which in the Ozarks is Springfield and maybe Joplin.

You know, there's not that many big cities.

And even small cities have some problems related to runoff.

But you know, they're not real widespread.

Agriculture in the Ozarks has been shifting some.

Kind of coming from the outside.

There's a lot more concentrated animal operations kind of moving into the Ozarks from the outside.

So that's something we're really watching with interest.

That was a big issue on the Buffalo.

A few years ago, there was a big hog farm.

The state ended up buying the land eventually because when folks found out that this hog operation was polluting the Buffalo River, social media lit up like a firestorm.

And they had so many people comment.

So many people care about the Buffalo obviously that they said, whoa, we've got to do something.

We can't let this go on.

And so they actually purchased that property and put basically the hog operation out of business.

Most of the CAFO issues we're seeing are more outside the Ozarks in Missouri right now.

But agricultural interests would love to move more into the area.

And I see that as a threat to water quality.

The hog op-- well, there's CAFOs of all kinds but-- And when you say CAFO we're talking about concentrated animal feeding operation.

LORING BULLARD: Sorry to use lingo.

That's all right.

No, just wanted to clarify for our viewers.

These are large, typically larger industrial farms.

Industrial agriculture, confined animals that are fed on site.

And you know, there are 10,000 of those now in Iowa.

And they have largely ruined the streams in Iowa.

And so you know, it's an issue that we are tracking.

And that if there are issues related to CAFOs that come up-- there's already been some.

There was a Senate Bill passed, 391.

This was the local control issue.

And Cedar County was fighting a large CAFO that was moving into that area.

And so this local control bill would take away the ability of counties like Cedar County to have any rules, local rules on CAFOs.

Any local rules that would supersede the state rules.

And that did pass in Jefferson City and was signed into law.

Very controversial.

It's being challenged right now.

Very controversial.

I'm curious.

You know, the reference you made to the Buffalo River, and in terms of social media lighting up, and then the state moving to purchase that property.

It sounds like that's a really clear example of constituent voice and constituent pressure really impacting policy.

Do you foresee that happening in Missouri in the same way that that happened just a few years ago in Arkansas?

It could.

I think it would depend on the threat.

You know, the Buffalo is such a high profile national treasure.

You know, it's a little different than maybe Bull Creek here.

So many people recreate on the Buffalo.

It's so, so beautiful.

And you know so-- It's a very long waterway.

It's long.

Yeah.

I don't know how many, 150 miles long, or something like that.

So it's got a big constituency of folks who care about it.

And I think the Ozark streams generally do too, the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, for example.

You know and we're loving them to death, in some cases.

But yeah, I think if there was a threat, a large threat, that you'd see an outpouring.

But you know, the threats are usually day to day, not a new dam kind of threat.

It's usually kind of a slow pervasive kind of thing that-- you know, like septic tanks, for example.

You know, what's one or two more septic tanks.

Well, you know, maybe nothing, but when you add 1,000 more septic tanks in the Bull Creek Watershed, that could have an impact.

It's always easier to get people motivated about high profile things like that.

And you know, I was thinking about the Flint, Michigan thing.

You know, the public radio, Michigan Public Radio out of Ann Arbor, really turned the tide up there, with just raising awareness in the community about what was going on.

Public officials in Michigan had made mistakes, and then they swept it under the rug, and you know there was a lot of sort of shady dealings that were exposed eventually during the investigation of that.

So some of these things will-- having the folks like you sitting here, talking to me, I mean, that's really what makes the difference, in terms of getting the word out.

Yeah.

I'm curious, if you could attach a grade to the state of the streams and rivers, in terms of quality here in let's say Southwest Missouri.

Because I know it is different depending on where you go in the region.

What grade would you give them?

B plus.

JENNIFER MOORE: And why?

Well, we have some very high quality streams, but we have, most streams have some impacts.

You know we've got a long list of streams that get on the state's list of impaired waterways every year.

And there's a reason.

They have some sort of a problem.

It may be just a short segment of stream.

Let's say there's just an overloaded sewage treatment plant.

Or there's some kind of a farming operation that might be impacting a section of the stream.

So it's not-- generally, we have pretty good water quality in our streams in the Ozarks.

Because we don't have the pressure.

We don't have the development kind of pressure that they do, or the agriculture kind of pressure like they do in Iowa, or the development pressure like they do in Michigan or in Pennsylvania.

You know, so we are lucky in that respect.

But we're also a growing area.

You know, Christian County was one of the fastest growing counties in the country from 1990 to 2000.

So you know, all that growth means a lot more folks, you know, recreating.

It means a lot more people putting in septic tanks.

It means a lot more folks driving their cars on the roads and everything else.

So you know, there's just a lot more pressure on the resources, all the resources when you have population growth.

Sure.

It sounds like there's a lot more preventative work that must continue, needs to be done.

We're almost out of time, but I want to turn back to something you mentioned earlier, and that was about the state house up in Jefferson City.

You know, there has been longstanding tension between these two apparently opposing ideas of pro-business or pro-agriculture and pro-environment.

Because you know, traditionally the more recent lawmakers have argued that we need, the state needs these agriculture, these large farms to bring in business.

But there really is data and an argument to be made that investing in sustainability is a huge economic powerhouse.

And I'm wondering how you kind of envision that playing out here in the Ozarks.

How can, you know, whether it's green tourism, or just preventing runoff or CAFOs, how can that help economically?

Well, you know, I think you're exactly right about just what you said.

And I think that I, and I think the Ozark Society I would say, is pro-agriculture and pro-environmental.

You know, and it's not a trade off.

It's not one or the other.

We can have good agriculture, with people making money, steady income, and we can have a healthy environment.

You know, it's been shown many times in many places that this can happen.

The thing that aggravates me is that agriculture is not one thing.

You know, agriculture, when people, certain folks use that word, they're talking about it as if they represent the family farm.

And that's just not true.

Industrial agriculture is not family farms.

We're all for the family farm.

I mean, the family farm is the backbone of our agriculture in the United States.

You know, and so-- But it's rare.

When we say family farm, I think a lot of people conjure up an idea of a small, smaller, small to medium size farm.

It's quite rare.

Yeah.

And you know, there are large CAFOs that are owned by families.

You know, I mean, it's not strictly an either-or thing.

But it's not farming.

Industrial agriculture is not really farming.

Farming is understanding how you make things grow.

You have to understand how the soil works.

How do you keep your soil healthy?

You know, how do you fertilize things?

How do you get things, get the water you need?

How do you conserve water?

You know, how do you pass the land on to your next generation in a better condition than it was when you found it?

JENNIFER MOORE: There's a huge respect for the land in traditional farming.

Respect for the land, and in making sure that we treasure that potential in that land to keep us healthy.

Unfortunately, we are out of time.

We could go on, I can tell.

I really appreciate your time here, Loring Bullard.

Thank you.

Thank you for coming on the program.

And we want to mention that we're going to leave you with some helpful websites and other information where you can go to learn more about this topic.

I'm Jennifer Moore.

Thanks for watching.

NARRATOR: Here is where you can find more information about the topics covered in this program.

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