|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||
|
|
The Nature Conservancy in Missouri Home Contact Places We Protect Field Trips & Events Press Releases Volunteer Ways of Giving |
|
|
|
||||
Thorny Mountain
 |
Thorny Mountain is within a region identified as one of the most significant concentrations of biodiversity in midcontinental North America because of its vast number of different species of plants and animals. The area is rugged and remote but worth the effort to explore.
Why You Should Visit
Surrounded by stunning Ozark scenery on all sides, Thorny Mountain provides experienced, adventuresome hikers an excellent opportunity to escape to a remote Ozark landscape. However, this is a very challenging trek and visitors must be able to traverse rugged woodland terrain and be able to use a compass and topographic map.
Location
Shannon County, bounded on the south by Peck Ranch Wildlife Area, west by Ozark National Scenic Riverways, east and north by Mule Mountain State Forest.
Hours
Daylight
Size
960 acres
Conditions
A large woodland encompasses most of the preserve, and an igneous ridge with steep slopes scattered rhyolite glades makes for rugged hiking. There are no trails. Access to the preserve is on foot and requires hiking miles of woods and creek crossings, in addition to climbing a barbed-wire fence.
How to Prepare for Your Visit
Check the local weather forecast. Long pants and sleeves, hiking boots and hat are recommended. Drinking water, compass and topographic map are absolutely necessary. During warm weather, light color and light-weight clothing is suggested. Repellent, binoculars and field guide(s) are also worth bringing.
Preserve Visitation Guidelines
What to See: Plants
The preserve is dominated by woodland and glades that harbor over 250 native plants, including wild hydrangea, orange grass and prickly pear cactus. Wild hyacinth blooms on the glades in spring. Common woodland mammals and reptiles can be seen by the careful observer.
Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
This preserve lies within a region identified as one of the most significant concentrations of biodiversity in the mid-continental region. The rhyolite glades are part of the largest igneous glade complex in the Lower Ozarks.
What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
Prescribed fire and ecologicial monitoring, conducted in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Conservation and the National Park Service, is benefiting a number of species, including collared lizards (which have recently begun to re-colonize Thorny Mountain).
