HISTORY OF THE OZARK NATIONAL SCENIC RIVERWAYS

The Ozark National Scenic Riverways, a unit of the National Park Service, was created by an Act of Congress on August 27, 1964, to protect 134 Miles of the Current and Jacks Fork rivers in the Ozark Highlands of southeastern Missouri. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Ozark National Scenic Riverways bill. Ozark National Scenic Riverways was the nation’s first “scenic riverways”- a forerunner to the Wild and Scenic river Act by four years. The clean, clear waters of the two beautiful rivers provide excellent opportunities for john boating, canoeing, swimming, fishing, tubing, hiking, and bird watching. Hunting is also allowed within the Riverway’s boundaries, except for around developed areas. The landscape is predominantly rural with oak-pine forests and occasional open fields.