Ozarks Club forms to protect riverways

To the Editor:

The Ozarks Club announces group will protect the rights to access and to use the Ozark National Scenic Riverways

The Ozarks Club is a newly formed club created by myself, John Mark Brewer, and others in order to combat environmentalists in the battle to keep access and usage open on the Jacks Fork and Current Rivers. The environmentalists will continually work to shut things down--they have organizations with money & paid staff. The petitions submitted to Senators McCaskill & Blunt's offices some time ago were meant to put fear in us that they might win this round because they saw what we can do when we stick together & get to work. They hope the politicians will discuss this and feel it necessary to give in to the environmentalists' concerns for the Jacks Fork & Current River watersheds because they presented thousands of names on a petition.

Believe it or not, we got over 5,000 comments in about the Riverways, many of which came in direct support to keep the rivers and land open to access and to use. We must keep up this fight. We must not back down. It is time once again to prepare for the next General Management Plan draft. The General Management Plan is what the National Park Service will use in daily management practices for up to 20 or 30 years, which is why the process is so important.

We have started this new group to provide for a means to distribute information, collect funds to help support the cause, rally the public who supports keeping the Riverways open, and stay involved in the governmental decision-making process for managing the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.

It is apparent there are factions that want to rule this land and waterways here that have no real connection here. The environmental and political bandwagons have been loaded with people who do not understand what state the Ozark National Scenic Riverways is in nor what proper management needs to be done here.

So it is time to get active again!! We will be having meetings to prepare for the General Management Plan draft which may be released as soon as February. We must be ready to protect our rights and privileges of living here. Please help join the effort & The Ozarks Club.

For more information, please contact myself, John Mark Brewer, on my cell at 314-607-5564.

Memberships are $10.00 per person. Next meeting date & time will be posted soon. I expect we will have a public meeting in early April. More information will follow. Also, you can visit us on Facebook & request to be in our group, The Ozarks Club.

John Brewer

The Ozarks Club

PO Box 248

Eminence, MO 65466