"Missouri has not seen such an assault on public lands since the Civil War." 

The assailants are factory farms, encroaching on our state parks, our historic treasures, and, yes, our water.  And the state's chief watchdog is helping them... 

Even as you read this, Missouri's Department of Natural Resources is allowing abuses of the very land, water, air and public parks they're sworn to protect.  In the name of economic development, pigs are strangling our state parks.  Chickens are fouling our trout streams. 

We're fighting back.  In a statewide effort, Missourians have taken action to: 

Stop an illegal 60,000-chicken factory, perched on a mountain above the trout stream at Roaring River State Park.

Stop construction of a 5,000-hog factory within 1.2 miles of historic Arrow Rock, the "Williamsburg of the Midwest."

Stop the corporate factory that raises thousands of hogs just upwind from the Battle of Athens State Historic Site.

Appeal a lower court ruling that rejected local citizens' rights to protect the Harry S Truman birthplace from the stench of a confined hog feeding factory. 

These actions send a message that Missourians will fight to protect our sacred lands, our public treasures.  Our efforts will help millions of Americans benefit from cleaner, safer, healthier public park environments.  But the fight is expensive, and the opposition has deep pockets.  Our grassroots supporters have limited funds, further depleted when corporate meat factories move in and lower their neighbors' property values. 

Meantime, the director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has filed a motion to dismiss the petition to stop the hog factory next to Arrow Rock.  The town is a National Historic Landmark, named one of America's "Dozen Distinctive Destinations" by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  Yet DNR's director says our quest to protect parks "sounds so ridiculous to me."  He calls our effort "foolish and emotional."  This is the state official whose constitutional duty is to protect our parks, our water, air and land. 

In fact, state statutes require DNR to issue clean air regulations.  But DNR hides behind the current situation that no regulations exist to protect clean air around our public parks.  Apparently, regulations don't matter much to DNR.  Earlier this year, this same DNR director ignored a court-ordered stay of construction, allowing developers to build the chicken factory above Roaring River trout park.  

We're fighting back.  And you can help. You can help us in our front-line fight to save historic treasures and public lands in Missouri, and throughout the nation.   Your gift will enable us to continue to oppose the encroachment of factory farms on our historic public lands, and expose the Missouri DNR's blatant disregard for the public good.  

Our message is clear:  Factory farms should not ruin our public parks.  What we do here will help draw a line in the sand nationwide.  

Please help us today with your donation. Thank you for helping us save our treasures.   

Donations can be sent to:

 

Citizens to Protect State Parks and Historic Sites

c/o David Finke, Treasurer

P. O. Box 32

Arrow Rock, MO 65320-0032