Ozarks

Etchieson, G. Meeks, Enid Erickson, Michael A. Pfeiffer, Roger E. Coleman, Larry D Haikey, William F. Pell, and Daniel J. Nolan
1999  Ozark-Ouachita Highlands Assessment: social and economic conditions.
Chapter 1:  Archeological and Historical Backround.  Report 4 of 5. General Technical Report  SRS-32. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 299 p.

During the early twentieth century, Arkansas participated in the tick eradication effort of the United States Department of Agriculture.  Initiated in response to "Texas fever", a tick born illness that jeopardized the state's cattle industry, the eradication program endorsed the widespread construction of concrete dipping vats and use of arsenical dipping solution to bring Arkansas above a mandated quarantine line.  This paper explores the material culture of tick eradication and the impact of Federal bureaucracy on free range herding and traditional Arkansas lifeways.  Lastly, issues of significance and eligibility for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places are addressed.

The Old Lead Belt of southeastern Missouri was one of the leading producers of Pb ore for more than a century (1869–1972). Large quantities of contaminated mine waste have been, and continue to be, supplied to local streams. This study assessed the magnitude and spatial distribution of mining-contaminated legacy sediment stored in channel and floodplain deposits of the Big River in the Ozark Highlands of southeastern Missouri. Although metal concentrations decline downstream from the mine sources, the channel and floodplain sediments are contaminated above background levels with Pb and Zn along its entire 171-km length below the mine sources. Mean concentrations in floodplain cores N2000 mg kg−1 for Pb and N1000 mg kg−1 for Zn extend 40–50 km downstream from the mining area in association with the supply of fine tailings particles that were easily dispersed downstream in the suspended load. Mean concentrations in channel bed and bar sediments ranging from 1400 to 1700 mg kg−1 for Pb extend 30 km below the mines, while Zn concentrations
of 1000–3000 mg kg−1 extend 20 km downstream. Coarse dolomite fragments in the 2–16 mm channel sediment fraction provide significant storage of Pb and Zn, representing 13–20% of the bulk sediment storage
mass in the channel and can contain concentrations of N4000 mg kg−1 for Pb and N1000 mg kg−1 for Zn. These coarse tailings have been transported a maximum distance of only about 30 km from the source over a period of 120 years for an average of about 250 m/y.

About 37% of the Pb and 9% of the Zn thatwas originally released to the watershed in tailings wastes is still stored in the Big River. A total of ~157 million Mg of contaminated sediment is stored along the Big River, with 92% of it located in floodplain deposits that are typically contaminated to depths of 1.5–3.5 m. These contaminated
sediments store a total of 188,549 Mg of Pb and 34,299 Mg of Zn, of which 98% of the Pb and 95% of the Zn are stored in floodplain deposits. Most of the metal mass in channel deposits is stored near the mines, with 72% of the Pb and 78% of the Zn occurring in the 25 km of channel proximal to the mine source. Although environmental assessments of streams contaminated by mines often focus on evaluating metal concentrations in the geochemically active fine sediment fractions, about 60% of the Pb stored in channels is associated with coarse dolomite tailings fragments deposited in channels within 25 km of the mines. The magnitude and basinwide distribution of Pb and Zn storage in legacy floodplain sediments ensures that remobilization by bank erosion will be a continuing problem for water quality far into the future.

Life cycle strategies have evolved extensively throughout the history of metazoans. The expression of disparate life stages within a single ontogeny can present conflicts to trait evolution, and therefore may have played a major role in shaping metazoan forms. However, few studies have examined the consequences of adding or subtracting life stages on patterns of trait evolution. By analysing trait evolution in a clade of closely related salamander lineages we show that shifts in the number of life cycle stages are associated with rapid phenotypic evolution. Specifically, salamanders with an aquatic-only (paedomorphic) life cycle have frequently added vertebrae to their trunk skeleton compared with closely related lineages with a complex aquatic-to-terrestrial (biphasic) life cycle. The rate of vertebral column evolution is also substantially lower in biphasic lineages, which may reflect the functional compromise of a complex cycle. This study demonstrates that the consequences of life cycle evolution can be detected at very fine scales of divergence. Rapid evolutionary responses can result from shifts in selective regimes following changes in life cycle complexity.

FOUNDATIONAL ECOLOGY is the term that philosopher Joseph Grange (1977) used to describe a respectful, caring attitude toward nature and the environment. This article argues that one valuable means for contributing to a foundational ecology practically, especially in regard to environmental design, is architect Christopher Alexander's "pattern language."

This article examines pattern language's ability to join understanding and practice by presenting its use in an upper-level architectural studio taught by the two authors. The studio focus was the MEADOWCREEK PROJECT, a multi-disciplinary environmental-education center in Arkansas' Ozarks.

The article overviews the results of the Meadowcreek studio, both in terms of design and educational results. First, the design approach and resulting design proposals are discussed. Second, the learning value of the studio is examined, drawing on students' written evaluations.

The article concludes that, in its ability to integrate philosophical and practical needs, pattern language offers a powerful conceptual tool for designing environments that arise from and sustain a foundational ecology.