MO-Gist+Ranch+Conservation+Area

Also see Midvale Conservation Area and Summersville Towersite
 * =Birding in Missouri=

Texas County
=Gist Ranch Conservation Area= Gist Ranch Conservation Area Website Gist Ranch Conservation Area Map ​Gist Ranch Conservation Area Brochure

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Gist Ranch CA
Coordinates: 37.1839802, -91.7825317 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

About Gist Ranch Conservation Area
Four miles west of Summersville on MO-17, turn south on Route W and go three miles, then turn west on Ranch Road, and go 1.75 miles. Another entrance road to the area is five miles west of Summersville on MO-17. This area is predominantly forest with glades, savanna, and old fields. Facilities/features: primitive camping and two intermittent streams (Peters Creek, Sanders Branch).

Gist Ranch Conservation Area is in Texas County, approximately five miles west of Summersville and 14 miles east of Houston.

Gist Ranch is a local name for this tract of land. The Conservation Department purchased this property in 1997 from Smith Flooring Company of Mountain View.

The area is contained in one contiguous tract and is heavily forested. Visitors to the area will find abundant populations of deer, turkey, and other forest wildlife species.

A number of natural communities can be found on Gist Ranch CA. These include small springs and wetlands (also called "fens"). The spring and fen areas host wildflowers like orange coneflower and cowbane and provide valuable habitat for salamanders, frogs, and other wildlife. Small dolomite glades, surrounded by savanna, also occur on the ridges, and on south- and west-facing slopes on Gist Ranch CA. These areas support a diverse flora, including little bluestem, leadplant, wild quinine, blazing star, and rattlesnake master. They also serve as important foraging spots for deer, turkey, and quail.

The Conservation Department is working to improve the area for visitors by constructing ponds and lakes, grading or paving roads and building camping and picnic facilities. Watershed stabilization, upland wildlife habitat practices, and forest management are being implemented. From Gist Ranch Conservation Area Website

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media type="custom" key="26677126" || L361555 US US-MO US-MO-215 37.1839802 -91.7825317 Gist Ranch CA