Mutton Creek Marina & Campgrounds

           Stockton Lake, with 298 miles of shoreline, 12 parks, and 24,900 acres of water surface, attracts thousands of outdoor enthusiasts each year. Stockton Lake is a place for campers, picnickers, fishermen, hunters, water skiers, wake boarders, swimmers, power boaters, sailors, scuba divers, canoeists, photographers, bird watchers, nature lovers, and so many more!

A Bit of History

           The Amis Construction Company of Oklahoma City, OK was awarded the contract to begin building Stage One of the dam in April 1963.  The groundbreaking ceremony had been set for June 4, 1964, at the dam site, but rain forced the ceremony to be held in the Stockton High School gymnasium.  Amis began moving in its heavy equipment during the summer of 1964.  The total cost for building the dam was $73 million dollars, about $33 million more than proposed.  On January 23, 1969: It is announced that the name of the dam would be changed to Truman.  Of course, Stockton citizens said NO! Finally, word from Truman's office put a stop to the uproar.  Mr. Truman did not want his name on the dam.

            At long last, the dam was completed in the summer of 1969 and the closing date set for December 12.  At that point, overall construction at the project was 81 percent complete.  Then, 2 1/2 years later, on June 24, 1972, nearly 5,000 people gathered at the project to dedicated Missouri's newest dam and lake. 

            1954 was the year Congress approved the Pick-Sloan bill, which named Stockton as one of three sites in Missouri where flood control dams would be built.  Because the area is part of the drainage system that feeds the nation's two largest rivers, the primary purpose of Stockton Dam was to control flooding on the Missouri and lower Mississippi rivers.  Pick-Sloan was a direct result of the Kansas City flood of 1951, when the Missouri River overflowed its banks, causing millions of dollars worth of property damage and creating untold hardships for residents. Flood control on the Sac River would be an added bonus. The dam also would be designed to control flooding on the local river, an event that seemed to occur regularly during the Spring.  Originally, flood control was to be the only purpose of the dam, but later plans were changed and hydroelectric power generation became a part of the project.

Stockton Lake Stats

           Stockton Dam rises 131 feet above the valley floor and controls a drainage area of 1,160 square miles.  Stockton Lake is the second largest lake in the Osage River Basin System.  It has storage impoundment of 887,109 acre-feet of water at a multi-purpose pool elevation of 867 feet above mean sea level.

            The lake extends up the Sac River Valley about 22 miles to just east of Greenfield in Dade County and nearly the same distance up the Little Sac River, past Aldrich in Polk County.  It covers a surface area of 24,900 acres and is surrounded by nearly 300 miles of virtually undeveloped shoreline.

             Thanks to the Corps' hope of maintaining the area's natural beauty, the acquisition of land for the project included purchasing a wide strip of property around the shoreline to restrict private use, protect the lake from pollution, and provide a refuge for wild game. Today, Stockton Lake is clear and clean, with a sense of wilderness about it.

                 The lake is stocked with bass, walleye, crappie, channel cat, perch and others.  A prevailing southwesterly wind has made it a favorite of sail boaters, six sand beaches attract crowds of sunseekers during warm weather, and camping areas abound.  Three marinas on the lake, Orleans Trial on the North end, Stockton State Park in the middle, and Mutton Creek on the South end, provide boat ramps, rentals, storage, fishing and camping supplies, and information about the area.

Zebra Mussels and Stockton Lake

They came to North American waters in international shipping ballast water and were discovered in Lake St. Clair near Detroit in 1988. Since then, zebra mussels have spread rapidly throughout the Great Lakes and connected waterways of the Mississippi River, including the Arkansas, Illinois, Ohio and Tennessee rivers.

Zebra mussels were first reported in Missouri in 1991 in the Mississippi River. For eight years, they were not found west of the Mississippi in our state. In spring 1999, however, zebra mussels were reported in the Missouri River near Sioux City, Iowa. In August 1999, zebra mussels were found in the lower Meramec River, a Mississippi River tributary south of St. Louis.

It's suspected that commercial barges originating from the Mississippi River, transported attached adult zebra mussels upstream to these previously un-infested areas. During the next several decades, zebra mussels could spread to other freshwater locations in Missouri and throughout North America.

Female zebra mussels can produce as many as 1 million eggs per year. These develop into microscopic free-swimming larvae (veligers) that quickly begin to form shells. At about three weeks, the sand-grain-sized larvae start to settle, and by using their byssal threads, attach to any firm surface. They clump together and cover rock, metal, rubber, wood, docks, boat hulls, native mussels, crayfish and even aquatic plants. Zebra mussels filter plankton from the surrounding water. Each mussel can filter about one quart of water per day. However, not all of what they remove is eaten. What they don't eat is combined with mucus as "pseudo-feces" and discharged onto the lake bottom where it accumulates. This material, which may benefit bottom feeders, also may reduce the plankton food chain for upper water species. Diving ducks, the freshwater drum and other fish eat zebra mussels, but will not control them.

Zebra mussels can clog power plants, industrial and public drinking water intakes, foul boat hulls, decimate populations of native freshwater mussels, impact fisheries and disrupt aquatic ecosystems. Economic impacts of zebra mussels in North America during the next decade are expected to be in the billions of dollars.

Overland transport on boats, motors, trailers and aquatic plants poses one of the greatest risk for spreading zebra mussels. Larger adult zebra mussels can live several days out of water in moist, shaded areas.

Boats that have been moored or stored for more than just a day or two in zebra mussel-infested waters may carry "hitchhiking" mussels attached to their hulls, engine drive units and anchor chains. Boats that have been in infested waters for only a day or two are less likely to transport adult zebra mussels.

Microscopic zebra mussel velgers can survive in boat bilge water, livewells, bait buckets and engine cooling water systems, regardless of how long the boat has been in infested waters.

However, they will die very quickly when their hiding places are warmed in the sun or when they "blow dry" on the highway on the trip home.

How You Can Help Prevent Their Spread

If you are a water recreationist (boater, angler, water-skier, scuba-diver, sailor or canoeist) there are some important things you can do to prevent the transport of zebra mussels and other harmful exotic species from one lake or river to another. In some states and provinces it is illegal to transport harmful exotic species.

To prevent the spread of zebra mussels throughout Missouri and North America - and to keep your own equipment from being fouled - please observe the following "clean boating" suggestions when transporting your boat from waterway to waterway.

Inspect

Thoroughly inspect your boat's hull, drive unit, trim plates, trolling plates, prop guards, transducers, centerboards, rollers, axles, anchor, anchor rope and trailer. Scrape of and trash any suspected mussels, however small. Remove all water weeds hanging from the boat or trailer before leaving any water body.

Drain

Drain water from the motor, livewell, bilge and transom wells and any other water from your boat and equipment while on land before leaving any water body.

Dump

Trash leftover bait on land, away from water, before leaving any water body. Leftover live aquatic bait that has contacted infested waters should not be taken to uninfested waters.

Rinse

When you get home - before launching your boat into uninfested waters - thoroughly rinse and dry the hull, drive unit, livewells (and livewell pumping system), bilge, trailer, bait buckets, engine cooling system and other boat parts that got wet while in infested waters; use a hard spray from a garden hose.

If your boat was in infested waters for a long period of time, or if you find any attached adult mussels, use HOT (104 F) water instead of cold, or tow the boat through a do-it-yourself carwash and use the high pressure hot water to "de-mussel" your boat. Do not use chlorine bleach or other environmentally unsound washing solutions.  Zebra mussels cannot be controlled in the wild. Chemicals can be used to kill these mussels, but not with out affecting fish and native mussels. There are chemicals that are safe for fish and native mussels,  but much too costly to be used as a widespread solution

Dry

Boats, motors and trailers should be allowed to dry thoroughly in the sun for at least five days before boating again.

In the Slip

In infested waters, the best way to keep a hull mussel-free is to run the boat frequently (small juvenile mussels are quite soft and are scoured off the hull at high speeds).

On boats which remain in the water, zebra mussels can attach to drive units, cover or enter water intakes, and clog, overheat and destroy the engine.

If possible, leave outboards or outdrives in the up position. Periodically inspect hulls and drive units, and scrape free of mussels. Pump hot water through your engine's intake on a regular basis to prevent mussel growth inside the engine's cooling system.

Boat lifts are another good way to keep these pests off your boat's hull and out of the motor.

Identify the Enemy

Learn what these organisms look like (at least those you can see). If you suspect a new infestation of an exotic plant or animal, report it to your natural resource agency.

Consult the agency for recommendations and permits before you try to control or eradicate an exotic "pest."

Remember, exotic "pest" species thrive on disturbance. Do-it-yourself control treatments often make matters worse and can harm native species.

Where to Look for Zebra Mussels

• Boats
• Bait buckets
• Recreational watercraft
• Sailboats

To report a potential zebra mussel sighting or for additional information, contact your nearest Missouri Conservation Department Office or:

Missouri Department of Conservation, 1110 S. College Ave., Columbia, Missouri 65201, Phone: 573-882-9880

Several Missouri Stream Teams already are helping by monitoring streams for zebra mussels. If you would like to join the effort, call (800) 781-1989 or visit the Stream Team web-site at www.mostreamteam.org.

PLEASE HELP US KEEP STOCKTON LAKE ZEBRA MUSSEL FREE!

 Visit www.nwk.usace.army.mil to view current lake levels, fishing reports, and more info about Stockton Lake.  Visit the Stockton Lake Association's web page at www.stocktonlake.com . For those interested, visit www.stocktonyachtclub.com to view more information about Stockton and find out what the Yacht Club is up to!