News Release 299

DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS
TO DISCUSS ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN BRANSON

Volume 36-299

Contact: Connie Patterson

(For immediate release)

573-751-1010

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, MAY 22, 2008 – Representatives from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources are visiting Branson today to take part in Gov. Matt Blunt’s scheduled Capital for a Day office hours, which will begin at 1 p.m. at Branson City Hall, 110 W. Maddux, Branson.

Capitol for a Day office hours are part of the governor’s ongoing initiative to make state government more accessible. The Department of Natural Resources implemented several measures to help meet this directive. Through the department’s Ombudsman Program, for example, an ombudsman is located at each regional office and operates independently from the regional offices and the department’s Division of Environmental Quality. Ombudsmen inform the regional directors and the department director of issues, concerns and problems they learn of while meeting with clients of the department. Ombudsmen Dave Woolery and Carrie Smith are based in southwest Missouri.

The Department of Natural Resources also maintains several state parks in southwest Missouri that provide recreational opportunities as well as supporting the local economy. Table Rock State Park, for example, is located adjacent to Table Rock Lake in Branson, and includes a public marina that offers boat rentals and personal watercraft, as well as two camping areas along the shoreline. The Department of Natural Resources also maintains several historic sites in the area, including Battle of Carthage State Historic Site, located in Carthage, which is the site of one of the earliest battles in the Civil War; and Nathan Boone Homestead State Historic Site, the former home of Daniel Boone’s youngest child, located in Ash Grove. For more information about Missouri’s state parks, call the Department of Natural Resources directly at 1-800-334-6946 (voice) or 1-800-379-2419 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf), or visit the Web at www.mostateparks.com. 

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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