Missouri Association of Professional Soil Scientists

To Advance The Knowledge And Wise Use Of Our Soil Resources

The Centennial observance of the Soil Survey was made this surnmer1 close to home in St. Louis. The National Cooperative Soil Survey Conference included seminars, speakers from near and far, and a tour that included both a historical marvel and a modern ecological conundrum. And MAPS S got to be a player in it all.

Topics of discussion included the current activities of the U.S. soil survey program, and some of the activities abroad. Information on current developments in GIS technology, "fuzzy logic", and some of the finer points of public and private sector soils work were on display. Further details of the conference will be published.

Participants from beyond the borders of Missouri and of the USA had the rare opportunity to witness a MAPS S meeting and auction in action. Topics that were touched on included the status of the state's regulations on subdivision and individual septic Systems, where we are on the Second Generation Soil Survey in Missouri, and the fall meeting.

To the guests, this probably all appeared to be routine and civilized until our Featured Artist, Colonel Questionable (see photo), AKA president-elect Dave Skaer, came to peddle his um, our wares. Items sold included a wide assortment df items ranging from well seasoned soil survey paraphernalia and literature to home made wine, a car hood (really!), and the piece de resistance, a knife carried and used by Curtis Marbut. More than $300 was raised toward the MAPSS general fund to help keep membership dues down.

The highlight of it all was the journey to Cahokia Mounds and Wudwood, with a rather extended intermission so that we could examine and contemplate the r6ads, vehicles, and billboards of the Saint Louis Metro Area. Very scenic.

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site is perhaps not so well known by the general public, but it is a historically major landmark of North American history. This is where the largest civilization north of what is now Mexico thrived and then perished before Europeans reached the continent. They left behind a collection of over 120 mounds that were built one basketful of earth at a time, and used an estimated fifty million cubic feet of soil. The most dominant piece Monk's Mound, the largest prehistoric earthwork in the Americas. With two terraces and a level summit, the mound is around 100 feet high and the base covers an area of 14 acres.

Dr. William Woods of Southern ~linois University discussed the archaeology of the site and the structure of the mound. He pointed out the areas on the slopes of Monk's Mound where slumping and erosion that have occurred in recent years indicate a possible long-term decline for the mound.

Later that day (and after that intermission) the conference was taken on a tour of two watersheds in Wildwood, the recently chartered city in western St. Louis County. It was a fascinating study in contrast between the relatively pristine and the deeply disturbed. Stephanie Lickerman, a planning and zoning commissioner for the city, and Joe Vunich, planning director for the city, took conference participants on a brief tour of Wild Horse Creek in Babbler State Park and Caulk's Creek in an area that is showing some very disturbing consequences of unplanned development in it's watershed.

Wildwood was established on land in the Ozark Border MLRA. It is characterized by deeply dissected terrain, with elevation relief of over 200 feet. Soil parent materials include residuum from limestone, sandstone, and shale, as well as bess in area near the Missouri River.

Wild Horse Creek, in a watershed that has been protected by it's location in a state park since the 1920's, remains a small, narrow, but perennially running stream. The banks are stable and the water is clear. There are natural levees on each side of the stream and there is virtually no evidence of soil erosion or land degradation.

In the Caulk's Creek watershed, urban development has taken a serious toll on not only the stability of the watershed, but also on the structural integrity of the roads, houses, and other infrastructure components that have been placed on land that, as many are now learning, is highly unsuitable for these types of development. This was amply demonstrated as conference participants walked down the stony wash of what used to be a stream similar to Wild Horse Creek. There was no water visible, but the creek bed was buried under stony rubble that is often hurled violently by the flash flooding which occurs all too frequently with rain storm events.

Some homeowners in the Caulk's Creek watershed have had their treasured investments threatened and undermined by rapid head cutting up their yards and toward their homes. This situation has been getting worse every year as more homes are built in the area. The cause of this trouble is interference with the hydrologic cycle. When soil infiltration is cut off by roads, houses, and other impervious structures, stormwater in this steep terrain has nowhere to go but down the surface of the hills. As a result, scouring and erosion begin accelerating, and in landscapes such as this, the integrity of the stream is destroyed, the channel widens, and the threat of slumping and structural collapse grows on adjacent sloping areas.

With some assistance from UMC's Dr. David Hammer, the City of Wildwood has developed an unprecedented type of subdivision ordinance that requires developers to account for soil and landscape characteristics for proposed areas of construction. Usable areas for development are to be delineated, and areas that are found to be severely limiting, as much of the Wildwood area is, are prohibited for development. This could well serve as a model for other jurisdictions in the future. Unfortunately, it appears to have come too late for Caulk's Creek.

The conference wrapped up with another round of technical sessions, and committee meetings for input on charting the future course of development of soil resource information both at home and abroad. A review of these proceedings is expected to be produced in the next few months.