Geography. (Senior Division 2002).

Cooper, R. M. Department of Geography, University of Missouri-Columbia. LANDSCAPE REPRESENTATIONS OF THE CURRENT AND JACKS FORK RIVERWAYS. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role that representations of the landscape of the Current and Jacks Fork Riverways played in the political struggle over these rivers and their surrounds. The Current River region of the southeastern Missouri Ozarks was one of the nation's largest and most important lumbering areas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The numerous lumbering operations removed almost all of the marketable timber and heavily transformed the landscape of the region. Yet, less than 20 years after the last recorded log drive on the Current River, a variety of individuals, environmental organizations, and government agencies were calling for the federal protection of the Current and Jacks Fork rivers and the creation of a national recreation area based on the many natural and scenic qualities of this landscape. A bitter political battle involving a variety of individuals and groups ensued, culminating in 1964 with the establishment of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, America's first federally protected riverine park. The focus of this study is on the portrayal of the landscape as being natural and wild. The representations are placed in their historical and political contexts, following recent research in cultural geography that challenges the idea of mimetic representation. This study illustrates the conflicting and often contradictory ways in which the landscape of the Current and Jacks Fork Riverways was represented and shows that landscapes and their representations are not divorced from ideologies.

Hamilton, J.H., Department of Geography, University of Missouri-Columbia. SHORTLEAF PINE DISTRIBUTION IN THE OZARK CURRENT RIVER HILLS. Historically, the forests of the Ozark Current River Hills had a large shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) component. In the early 1900's much of the region was logged. Oak and hickory (Quercus and Carya spp.) forests have grown in place of the removed pine. This study will evaluate the historic distribution of pine based on the notes made by the Public Land Survey in the early 1800's. The historic distribution will be compared to the current distribution of pine to identify areas where the forest cover has significantly changed. The current distribution of pine will be obtained from multiple sources including Forest Inventory and Analysis plots and Landsat Thematic Mapper images. The geographic and ecological factors of slope, aspect, geology, soils, and landform will be evaluated in conjunction with pine plots to determine the set of factors that historically supported pine for ests and will be compared to the modem land cover types that currently occupy these sites.

Jungmeyer, R., Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Lincoln University. THE HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF AN HBCU: LINCOLN UNIVERSITY. This study focused on the geographic, historic, and political factors in the decision to locate Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, as opposed to Kansas City or St. Louis. The idea to establish an educational institution in Missouri for the benefit of freed blacks came from a group of enlisted men and their white officers that served in the 62nd and 65th Colored Infantries. As this idea moved toward fruition it appeared that such an institution might be located in St. Louis, where the majority of the state's black population resided. Due to political forces this plan failed, making the committee for establishing Lincoln Institute, turn their attention to Jefferson City. With Governor Thomas B. Fletcher and the state government being supportive of the Union cause, Lincoln Institute was established in Jefferson City, Missouri, in 1866.

Jindrich, J.B. Department of Geography, University of Missouri-Columbia. IDENTIFYING ELEMENTS OF RACIAL SEGREGATION IN A HISTORIC G.I.S. This study uses data from Columbia city directories spanning the years 1905-25 to identify the extent, block location, and general demographic location of the separate colored community in relation to the neighboring majority white community. A primary reason for this research is to examine the relationship of the historic Black community to specific environmental conditions. Various transformations were applied to the data to verify the accuracy of the model against contemporary records, as well as to identify patterns of residential density and relative affluence. The results suggest that the model is robust at the street block level, with counts of population very close to census records, and allowing a much finer degree of analysis. Data to support assertions of relative affluence were derived from tax and charity records. The study suggests a strong relationship between the flood plain of Flat Branch Creek with the location of the Black community as well as poverty in the White community, and pollution hazards. This result supports assertions by some authors that marginal land was an important factor in the location of Black populations within urban settings, locations that increased environmental hazards.

McCray, T.R. Department of Geography, Central Missouri State University. REVISITING TRANSPORTATIONS COMPETITIVE ERA. Nothing defines the United States or propels the American lifestyle like transportation. And no less impactful than the movement of people and ideas has been the shipping of goods. An important paradigm, first advanced by Edward Taaffe in the 1960s, organized the history of U.S. transportation into a series of Eras. With the latest--the post-war Competition Era, the United States achieved critical size and integration of its highway, rail, barge, pipeline and air facilities, so that conditions would encourage transportation consumers toward their most rational and efficient choices of freight movement. But a series of direct and indirect subsidies has subverted rational competition, beneath layers of social biases and extensive economic policies, so that todays most popular freight transportation choices--primarily toward the highway--are non-competitive in terms of real transport cost, vulnera ble to disruption, and expose the environment and public safety to significant dangers.

* Salter, Christopher L. Department of Geography, University of Missouri- Columbia. A REVIEW COMMENT ON GEOGRAPHIC INTERACTION AT THE MISSOURI ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. As I conclude more than a decade of presence and presentation at the Geography Section of the MAS Annual Meetings, it seems useful to review the nature of these sessions. For faculty members, graduate and undergraduate students these Sections have provided an excellent forum for geographic interaction. The small size of the house, the high level of interest in making the forum interactive for productive discussion, even argument, and the diverse nature of the topics brought to the floor here has meant that every dedicated participant has seen a microcosm of professional group dynamics. The Geography Section is peopled both by very senior faculty and just-starting grad (and even undergraduate) students. It has been a relatively benign setting for the prompting of serious first presentations. It has been a forum for the reflection on a whole career o f field explorations. It has been a Section that has a self-reliance that is good for geographers but somewhat confusing for the MAS because of the customary Friday night dinner for all Section Presenters. This paper will outline the ways in which the MAS event diverges from presentation settings at Regional and National professional meetings, highlighting the aspects of the MAS experience that help build a sense of productive community within a (too, too) small corps of Missouri geographers.

Wilford-Hammett, R.E. Department of Geography, University of Missouri-Columbia. FINDING MEANING IN A LANDSCAPE OF STONE: THE WOMEN OF BELLEFONTAINE CEMETERY. Previous research has neglected to study the association of nineteenth century rural park cemeteries with statues of women as memorials. Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri was established in 1849 as part of the rural park cemetery movement; a movement recognized for its picturesque landscapes and elaborate memorials. QUAN-QUAL mixed methodology was used in this necrogeographic endeavor to consider general spatial and temporal patterns as well as unique local factors which contributed to the presence of figures of women at Bellefontaine Cemetery. A survey of Bellefontaine Cemetery was completed establishing the locations of over 100 statues of women. The statues were photographed, mapped, classified, and coded for themes of meaning while records and documents were used to analyze demographic information about individuals and families who are me morialized by these figures. As material culture, these statues have been interpreted in four interconnected phases based on material, social, economic, and conceptual relationships. Content analysis of the material attributes of the statues shows that symbolically, the statues represent at least six broad, cultural conceptions of death. Closer evaluation of social and economic relationships indicates that while over-arching cultural meanings do exist, conceptions of death and the meanings embodied in the sculptures of women at Bellefontaine Cemetery do not prescribe to a cultural "norm."

Wilson E.W. Department of Geography, University of Missouri. POLITICS AND THE "LAND ETHIC:" A CASE STUDY OF THE PROPOSED ELK REINTRODUCTION IN MISSOURI. In 1999, the Missouri Department of Conservation performed a feasibility study to determine if elk could be reintroduced into the state. Although the potential release area was found to be ecologically suitable for elk, there was a substantial social backlash when the interests of sportsmen, farm bureau members, cattlemen, conservationists, environmentalists and locals clashed. This study explores the contradictions, noted by Aldo Leopold, between government-instituted conservation measures and individual environmental ethics, which are at the root of this controversy. The proposed reintroduction came on the heels of several proposed conservation initiatives; the Man and the Biosphere reserve, Coordinated Resource Management, and the reintroduction of the river otter, all of which are extremely unpopular in rural Ozark Missouri. This study takes a qualitative approach to assessing and voicing the disparate perspectives surrounding the elk debate, through semi-structured, open-ended interviews of individuals involved in the controversy. The findings suggest that the entire reintroduction effort was wrought with both politics and emotion. I argue that the conflict between stakeholders in this debate exemplifies the dilemma described by Leopold, and that resistance to biodiversity efforts must be taken seriously. Successful application of Leopold's Land Ethic in land management decisions will be more likely if the varied perspectives are all considered.