Welcome to the Sac River Revenant Project
Welcome to the Sac River Revenant project. We’re located on the family farm just eleven miles west of Springfield, Missouri.
Our 270 acre farm is a mix of pasture and forest. We are recognized as a Certified Missouri Tree Farm by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). As such, we oversee thousand of trees under an agreement with MDC to improve our current timber stand and to plant more trees focusing on pawpaw’s, fruit trees, chestnuts, bald cypress, pecans and many others. The southwest edge of our property is bordered by the lovely spring-fed Sac River. In 2015, we began discussions with our neighbor to the West to lease/purchase his half of the river and about 20 acres adjacent. We worked with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to create a plan with three priorities. 1. Improve our 3/4 mile section of the beautiful springfed Sac River. We want to reduce sediment load & bacterial contamination; reduce the erosion of the banks, encourage the growth of macroinvertibrate populations, encourage the growth of native fish, reintroduce native mussel populations, encourage greater bird & wildlife migration and in general...clean up the water that provides the domestic water supply of Springfield, Missouri as it flows north to Stockton Lake. 2. We want to encourage the production of cattle on our border by fencing them out of the Sac River and giving them better access to cleaner water by way of a deep well and modern cattle watering stations. Our understanding is that cattle will do better with fewer diseases and improved growth if they spend more time grazing while drinking cleaner water. 3. We want to improve the value of our property by reducing erosion, planting five thousand new trees and creating a clean stretch of river for hunting, fishing and recreation. With the help of Federal and State agencies like NRCS, MDC and MDNR, we are using our own money & labor along with matching monies to reach the goals described above. This excellent public/private partnership will benefit all the landowners involved, the cattle farmer, the many people who enjoy Missouri rivers and the residents of Springfield who will get cleaner water to drink. -Dan Chiles |
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