Speaking up for Missouri...."The Great Rivers State" | | This Week's Water News: Celebrating National Rivers Month with Missouri Stream Teams, flooded Missouri fields, projected water use from a Missouri data center, funding for study for pipeline for Missouri River water, President orders protected Hawaiian waters reopened to commercial fishing, California water board seeks stronger salmon protections, a study for water supply for the D.C. area, how northern states are turning off bridge lights during mayfly hatching season, DNR awards funds for drinking water system evaluations in southeast Missouri, goats helping remove vegetation along Missouri River in Kansas City, a big bass tournament on Bull Shoals Lake, and four rescued from the James River | | |
Paddle MO Registration deadline is August 1st!
Are you a Missouri Master Naturalist? See our special discount for Missouri Master Naturalists during the month of June for Paddle MO 2026!
Missouri Master Naturalists receive 1/2 off your registration if you register during June. Limited spots remain! Register soon to secure your spot!
Paddle MO is not a race! It is a supported opportunity to try paddling on the Missouri River with a experienced support team as your ground and water crew.
Just 15 spots remain for this year's Paddle MO journey:
Weekend, 3-Day, and 5-day spots available.
See the 2026 Route here.
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This Week's "Critter of the Week"!
Butterfly weed/Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
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While outside, you may have noticed large, orange flowers cropping up around that are aflutter with pollinator activity! What is this wildflower? You are probably spotting butterfly weed, also known as butterfly milkweed, pleurisy root, and chigger flower. This wildflower is exceptionally easy to spot. When it is in bloom, it has large, bright orange inflorescences that attract many different pollinators. This plant is a favorite for butterflies, as you may have guessed from the name, and it can also serve as a host plant for monarch butterfly caterpillars. This wildflower is a milkweed, even though it lacks a major characteristic. Unlike most other milkweeds, the butterfly weed does not have milky sap! The next time you go on an adventure, keep an eye out for this striking plant and its various visitors.
Source: https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/butterfly-weed
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Celebrate National Rivers Month by attending a June event
and participating in the Stream Team Slam!
Check out all these June events!
| | Lifejackets save lives! Wear a lifejacket on the rivers and lakes! | |
- June 13 - POSTPONED Until June 27 James River Rescue on the James River with JRBP
- June 13 - Love Your Park Clean Up Day at Fairground Park, St. Louis
- June 13 - Woodland Restoration event, Kansas City with Heartland Conservation Alliance, 9-Noon
- June 13 - Design your own Pollinator Garden, Columbia Farmers Market, 8-Noon
- June 13 - Native Garden Volunteer Event, Lakeside Nature Center, Kansas City, 8 - 10 AM
- June 13 - Recycling Volunteer Signup, multiple locations in Kansas City, 9 AM - 5 PM
- June 13 - Swamp Woodland Bioblitz, 9 AM - 11:30 PM, St. Louis, MO
- June 14 - Veterans Free Fishing Day, Maramec Spring Park, 6:30 AM - 8:30 PM, St. James, MO
- June 16 - Missouri DNR Nonpoint Source Management Symposium, 10 AM-Noon
- June 16 - No Trash Tuesday Challenge, St. Joseph
- June 16 - Soccer Watch Party Event Recycling, 4 PM - 11:45 PM, shift options available, multiple locations in Kansas City
- June 16 - 20 - Recycling Center Volunteer Event, multiple locations in Kansas City, 9 AM - 5 PM
- June 19 - Soccer Watch Party Event Recycling, 11 AM - 2:45 PM, shift options available, Sheels Overland Park Soccer Complex, Kansas City
- June 20 - Annual Upper Current River Cleanup at Montauk State Park, Cedargrove, Akers, and Pulltite
- June 20 - Creek Week: Creek Hike - Gans Creek Wild Area, 9 AM - 11 AM, Gans Creek Wild Area, Columbia, MO
- June 20 - Creek Week: Litter Pickup, 9 AM - 11 AM, Nifong Park, Columbia, MO
- June 20 - Sylvan Springs Beverage Garden and Amphitheater Restoration & Planting, 9 AM - 11 AM, St. Louis, MO
- June 20 - North Riverfront Park Cleanup with Big Muddy and River City Outdoors, 9 AM - 12 PM, St. Louis, MO
- June 20 - Woodland Restoration Workshop, Heartland Conservation Alliance, 9 AM - 12 PM, Kansas City, MO
- June 22 - Onboarding Session with Missouri Stream Teams, 7 PM-8 PM
- June 22 - Creek Week: Ragtag Movie Night @ Ragtag Cinema, 6 PM - 8 PM, Columbia, MO
- June 23 - No Trash Tuesday Challenge, St. Joseph
- June 24 - Creek Week: Explore Native Plants, 3 PM - 6 PM, Ashland, MO
- June 24 - Woodland Restoration Workshop, Heartland Conservation Alliance, 9 AM - 12 PM, Kansas City, MO
- June 24 - 27 - Recycling Center Volunteer Event, multiple locations in Kansas City, 9 AM - 5 PM
- June 25 - Creek Week: Springs/Wells History Tour, 6 PM - 7:30 PM, Columbia, MO
- June 26 - Sunset Paddle and Cleanup on Ellis Bay at Audubon Center at Riverlands, 6 PM-8:30 PM
- June 26 - Creek Week: Three Creeks Hike, 6 PM - 8 PM, Columbia, MO
- June 27 - Friends of Kaw Point Park Monthly Clean-up @Kaw Point Park, 9 AM-Noon
- June 27 - Beautify St. Joe June Clean-Up, 9 AM, St. Joseph, MO
- June 27 - Creek Week: Water Festival, 9 AM - 12 PM, Columbia, MO
- June 27 - Renewing the Blue: Blue Valley Park Cleanup, 9 AM - 12 PM, Kansas City, MO
- June 27 - Woodland Restoration Workshop, Heartland Conservation Alliance, 9 AM - 12 PM, Kansas City, MO
- June 29 - July 1 - 6th-8th Graders, 3-Day, 2-Night Ecology Canoe Trip, Meramec River
- June 30 - No Trash Tuesday Challenge, St. Joseph
- August 1 - Deadline to register for Paddle MO 2026 Missouri River 2-day, 3-day, or 5 day educational river adventure (Boonville to New Haven, MO)
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Upper Current River Cleanup, Saturday June 20th
Volunteers Needed!
| | Advocacy Updates and Opportunities | | |
July 1, 2026 - Comment period on proposed multiple no-discharge storage facilities permits located in Barry, Hickory, and Newton counties. No-discharge operating permit applications were received from the following entities:
- HydroAg-Cassville Storage Tank (MO-0141020), located along Farm Road 1095, Cassville, MO, owned by HYDROAG ENVIRONMENTAL, LLC, P.O. Box 550, Russellville, AR.
- Denali-El Dorado Storage Tank (MO-0141003), located along County Road 350, Humansville, MO, owned by DENALI WATER SOLUTIONS LLC, P.O. Box 550, Russellville, AR.
- Denali- Wentworth Storage Tank (MO-0140953), located along Highway J, Wentworth, MO, owned by DENALI WATER SOLUTIONS LLC, P.O. Box 550, Russellville, AR.
July 22, 2026 - Comment period on the MO DNR draft Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2027 Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) Intended Use Plan (IUP) and Project Priority List. The Clean Water SRF provides low-interest loans to municipalities, counties, and public sewer districts for wastewater infrastructure projects. This IUP documents how the department intends to spend Clean Water SRF funding during FFY 2027.
| | Support Stream Teams United as you drive. Don't have a Stream Team license plate? Anytime of the year is the perfect time to order one! Show your love for Missouri's streams as you drive, and support our stream advocacy efforts in Missouri! | | | | |
