Dr. Robert Pavlowsky, professor of geography, geology and planning, and Marc Owen, assistant director of the Ozarks Environmental and Water Resource Institute (OEWRI), received two grants totaling $6,554 to complete channel condition assessments for the Finley Creek in Ozark and James River near Rivercut golf course.

The project to develop conservation easements to protect the river is headed by the James River Basin Partnership, a watershed group, and funded through the Nonpoint Source 319 program by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

“We will complete field work and soil and vegetation pattern analysis to evaluate environmental factors that negatively affect the water quality of the Finley Creek,” said Pavlowsky. “The assessment will be used by water quality managers, including the James River Basin Partnership, a watershed group, to develop plans to improve and protect the creek and the lands that drain into it.”

The purpose of the assessment is to find ways to reduce runoff and bank erosion and protect wetland wildlife by strengthening efforts to maintain forested areas and rivers.

For more information, contact Pavlowsky at (417) 836-8473.