Where do you start, upstream or downstream?

This is a first for me, getting innvolved for an environmental cause. It just seemed like the right cause, the right time and the right place. Apparently, I'm not the first one to think that there is a problem. Spring River is already identified as USGS Watershed No. 11070207. The Missouri Department of Conservation already has a file on it.

It has already been listed as a "impaired waters" in Missouri and Kansas. As with any project, awareness, resources, communication, volunteers, a Plan and enthusasm are what it takes to be successful. Regrettably, Spring River has been neglected, ignored, and taken for granted by many people, businesses, communities and 'neighbors'. I suppose that identifying resources and volunteers will be the first task. Awareness will be a close second.

Below is an excerpt from Spring River Watershed Inventory and Assessment, referenced above. The Spring River Basin is located in southwest Missouri in Barry, Barton, Christian, Dade, Jasper, Lawrence, Newton, and Stone counties. The basin lies along the border between the Osage Plains and Springfield Plateau physiographic regions. The Spring River originates along the Barry-Lawrence county line south of Verona, flows west-northeast to its confluence with the North Fork of the Spring River east of Asbury in Jasper County and then southwest into Kansas and Grand Lake of the Cherokees in Oklahoma. Major tributaries within the basin are the North Fork of the Spring River, Center Creek, Turkey Creek, and Shoal Creek. Numerous smaller tributaries flow throughout the basin.

Southwest Missouri, Southeast Kansas and Northest Oklahoma are all dependent on, and should be concerned about, Spring River. Help me get this started.