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Natural Resource Management

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has the responsibility for managing approximately 61,000 acres of land and water at Stockton Lake. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) assists the Corps by managing 16,572 acres under a lease agreement. Land management practices used by the Corps of Engineers and MDC are engineered to preserve their natural value.

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Tires = Trash

Most people don’t realize how much trash is generated at Stockton Lake. Most think putting garbage in the dumpster is doing their part to keep our parks clean. What many don’t realize however, is using an old tire for a boat mooring area is littering as well. Folks that own a boat and use it on Stockton Lake know the rocky shoreline. To combat scratches on their boat or personal watercraft many put an old tire on the shoreline to park their boat on. Upon leaving the lake the old tire is more often than not forgotten and left behind.

The photo above is just a small amount of used tires pulled from the Stockton Lake shoreline. Approximately 400 tires were removed out of the campground areas last year alone! As you may know tires take special care to dispose of properly. The tires are consolidated and disposed of properly taking tax payer dollars away from improving parks and put toward labor and disposal costs of tires.

Do your part and take that extra few minutes picking up everything that you have brought. This will help greatly in keeping our parks and natural resources clean. 

Fish Habitat Improvement

With colder temperatures and ice forming on the lake, fishing is the last thing on most people’s mind, however this is the perfect time of year for installing and refreshing fish habitat on Stockton Lake. Generally the lake level is a few feet down and the boat traffic is at a minimum, which makes it safer and more accurate for installing structures.

In January of every year the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with the Missouri Department of Conservation install and refresh fish habitat structures on Stockton Lake.  If you’ve ever been on Stockton Lake and noticed small green signs on a tree next to the shoreline, this marks an area that a habitat structure has been installed. The structure is generally in about 10-20 feet of water depending on current lake elevations.

Usually, 5-10 trees are installed for new areas and 3-5 trees are used to refresh existing sites. The trees range in size from 15-25 foot tall with very brushy limbs. The Corps of Engineers cut approximately 150 trees this year and the Missouri Department of Conservation used their fish habitat “barge” from Table Rock Lake to place the trees in their respective areas. A map with the coordinates of the areas can be found at http://mdc.mo.gov/fishing/places-fish/fish-attractors-map-0.

Youth Turkey Hunt

2015 Youth Managed Turkey Hunt at Stockton Lake 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Cedar County National Wild Turkey Federation will hold it's 3rd  annual youth turkey hunt on Stockton Lake on April 11 and 12.  The Corps of Engineers identified Orleans Trail, Hawker Point, and Crabtree Cove campgrounds as areas of focus for the youth hunters. Youth hunters will be assigned a mentor and take to the field to learn more about turkey hunting and hopefully be able to harvest a bird.The Stockton Lions club and Cedar County NWTF chapter make this a successful hunt each year and without the continued partnership this event would not be as successful. 

The hunt is geared toward providing young hunters a safe, quality hunt to help local youth get introduced to the sport in a safe and ethical manner. The Corps of Engineers would again like to thank the Cedar County NWTF, and Lions club for their involvement and support.