Missouri Association of Professional Soil Scientists

To Advance The Knowledge And Wise Use Of Our Soil Resources

MAPSS Annual Fall Meeting
MAPSS Summer Meeting/Float
Soil mapping in Jefferson and Washington Counties

1996 MAPSS Annual Fall Meeting will be held in Springfield, Missouri on tober 25 & 26. A busy time is planned including first-ever testing for MAPSS ~tification (details inside). The meeting will be held at the Ramade Inn at the intersection of 1-44 and Glenstone Avenue near the Cracker Barrel restaurant. Government rate is $49.00. Call 1-800-707-0326 for reservations. Mention MAPSS, if we have 10 rooms, we get the meeting room free.

Certification written test will be at 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning and the field exam at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. Written test results will be available Friday night. The MAPSS business meeting will be at 2:00 p.m. Friday afternoon. Topics include discussion and voting (?) on lifetime membership amendment, election of new officers and committee members, financial report, etc. Other agenda items and speakers will be added as the meeting nears. If you havee any agenda item please contact Dan Childress,

The MAPSS Summer Meeting/Float was held on July 18 & 19 at Greer Crossing beautiful Oregon County Dust north of Alton, Missouri. Attending Friday were Dan Childress, Brad McKee, Leon & Joyce Thompson, Mike & Iva Moore, Kevin Godsey & wife, Ken Benham, Gary Sturdevant & date, John Preston, Grant butler, Richard Tummons, Dr. Vernon Renner, Tony Dobmen, Jerry Gott, Dave Skaer and his nephew, Ellen Dettman & date, and Mark Osborn. These people (and four million uninvited flies) gorged on huge chunks of artfully charred cow (T-bone steaks). Other meal highlights included Iva Moore's (Mikey's wife) turbocharged baked beans (Mikey's name for them, not ours), Joyce Thompson's 5-layer (orwas it 6 layers?) dessert and home-made-fresh-baked rolls, fresh roasted peppers from Tony Dobmen's garden and Dan Childress's huge boiling pot full of fresh sweet corn. There was lots of other good stuff that I do not know from whence it came and therefore I can give no written credit, so no slight to anyone in the thank you department is intended. Those MAPSS members who chose to attend missed a great feed for the second year in a row. Thanks is to be given to Mikey Moore and Dan Childress for providing grills. Big thanks are to given to Dan Childress and the Shannon County crew for making all the arangements.

Highlights of the Friday night meeting included walking along and wading in the Eleven Point River, socializing, dissertations on formation and development of the world's soils, digesting, playing kick the soccer ball with Dave Skaer and his nephew and an oral revision of the Soil Survey Manual and soil Taxonomy.

The members and guests put seven canoes on the Eleven Point River about mid-morning on Saturday. The occupants of three canoes left at noon to attend other weekend business. The other four canoes continued on bravely during the heat of the afternoon. The air temperature reached 99 in the shade; then thunder started rumbling in the west. That was when it seemed like a good time wrap up the float trip and start chugging home.

Some of us became acquainted with a new float stream over the weekend. Others got reacquainted with a stream they hadn't floated for too many years. The Eleven Point is an excellent river, but it doesn't get as much publicity or draw as many people as the Current.

About eighteen months ago I was relocated in Hillsboro, Missouri to assist in the completion of soils mapping for the Jefferson County soil survey. The first year I worked in the northern half of Jefferson County and the remaining time has been spent in western Washington County, administered by the Forest Service.

These two counties have a lot of contrast. Jefferson County is in a population explosion. There are heavily built-up areas, forty acres or more of houses and mobile homes. The ridge tops, lower side slopes, and foot slopes are lined with with houses. Many of the houses are landscaped adequately. There are others that have narrow back yards next to an escarpment, some developed on glade areas, some adjacent to steep slopes that poses a hazard of landslides. Others are located on low terraces adjacent to the flood plain. Anything done on or near these sites could create a hazardous situation.

In the federally owned areas of Washington County the developed areas consist of constructed deer stands. They are located near the clear areas on ridgetops foot slopes. There are two kinds, with and without roofs. There are a very few that are enclosed on all sides. They remind me of a range control tower located on a military firing range. Some deer stands are crude looking. These consist only of a seat attached to a tree by metal brackets. Others have a floor and guard rail constructed between trees. All have a system developed to raise and lower their goodies. This is usually a plastic bucket or milk crate tied to a rope. Depending on the amount of ingenuity and effort applied, access gained to the stand will be by a ladder or railroad tie spikes driven into the tree.

Some elements of the transportation system in the two counties are similar. Both have curves that range from gradual to sharp and various steepness of grades. The major difference is the road surface. In Jefferson County nearly all roads are hard surfaced with asphalt. That is not to say they won't develop potholes. All roads maintained by Washington County in the Forest Service lands are characterized by creek gravel with occasional 'water bars" build across the road used to direct the flow of runoff water on the road to an open ditch

The next system of roads in Washington County that leads away from these all weather type roads is wide enough for only one way traffic. The Forest Service access trails has a road surface consisting of chert and sandstone or is non-skeletal with a silty surface with potholes and ruts filled with stagnant water. A chain saw should be standard equipment for a vehicle that comes upon a downed tree so the direction of vehicle travel is not stopped. It won't take long to break the habit of resting the arm or sitting too close to an open door window. The elbow or face will be smacked hard by tree limbs or thorny stems from a bush.

There is contrast in inhabitants, man and animal in the two counties. In Jefferson County it doesn't take any effort to meet the public. In order to make most efficient use of field time, people are avoided whenever possible. Walking below the ridge top line of sight on "tippy toe" for noise control is common practice. In Washington County the only sound you hear is a vehicle if it's within a half mile of you. If the truck is left unattended with the windows rolled down all of the four-legged animals are not tame enough to do the following: place their heads inside the cab and accidentally turn on the headlights causing the battery to go dead; wash the mirrors with their noses and tongues; use any protruding part of the truck as a messaging device; the act of removing a piece of clothing from the truck cab and finding a few feet away on the ground; and the forced entry of your lunch by tearing into the plastic bag and partialy eating your sandwich or bakery pastries.