By Jeff Lehr

jlehr@joplinglobe.com

NEOSHO, Mo. - Support for development of a watershed management plan for lower Shoal Creek is gaining momentum.

A second meeting of those involved in the development of the plan is scheduled for 7 p.m. today at Neosho Municipal Auditorium, 109 W. Main St.

The Environmental Task Force of Newton and Jasper Counties is creating a steering committee of about two dozen stakeholders within the lower Shoal Creek watershed, said Newton County Presiding Commissioner Jerry Carter. The committee would guide the development of the plan, Carter said.

"The purpose is to study, analyze and remediate environmental pollution problems on the lower Shoal Creek watershed," Carter said Monday.

The first meeting of the group was June 13, and a mission statement was developed.

The statement designates the entire Shoal Creek watershed - from its headwaters in Barry County to its confluence with Spring River west of the Missouri-Kansas line near Riverton, Kan. - as the area to be served by the plan. The people to be served are the residents who live in the watershed, including those who get drinking water from the creek or use it recreationally, and any others who would be affected by management of its watershed.

Carter said the group would include agricultural interests and businesses affected by Shoal Creek's role in the region's environment.