Date: 6/2/25 10:35 am From: Monacell, Peter L. <plmonacell...> Subject: Re: Grand Pass CA question
Hi Steve.
There are a few areas of Grand Pass CA that you may be thinking about.
The first is the counterclockwise one-way loop on the west side of the area that circles Pools 1 and 2. This loop was closed to general traffic for a significant stretch this past spring during Turkey Season. The vehicles you saw may have belonged to authorized turkey hunters, or else to those who passed the restriction signs to search for morels, possibly without permission. You shouldn’t drive past the signs without authorization, even if the barriers are open. This is true everywhere at Grand Pass.
Drivers headed west from the headquarters building will first find an open spur to the north that allows access to a brushy area; however, passing that spur means that you essentially reach a dead end because turning north at the next road would take you clockwise, against the flow of traffic on the one-way loop. Wrong-way signs are clearly visible. That loop, incidentally, is closed off entirely during the waterfowl refuge period ending March 1st. Entering the loop to travel in the intended direction first requires driving to the northwest region of the CA.
If you continue west from headquarters as far as you can go, you reach an area that is always off-limits; it contains machinery and controls for the river pumps.
Another area you may be thinking of is the northeast portion of the CA, which contains the three pools inside of the Tetesau Oxbow. In recent years, the road running along the northwest edge of this area has been off-limits through April 30th because of an extended Light Goose Hunting Season. Driving on that portion of road when it is open, you do, past the northeast parking lot, reach an off-limits sign because continuing would take you up onto the river levee. I’ve had good luck birding on foot past that sign when the area accessible that way is open to foot traffic; however, you can never drive into that area.
Finally, there is a long off-limits portion of the road that runs east-west through the middle of Pool 5. You can drive west on this road to a point but then come to an “Authorized Vehicles Only” sign and must park or turn around. Reaching this limit can feel frustrating because there can appear to be a lot of good habitat past the restriction sign, and birding that area during permissible periods would entail a lot of hiking.
Good birding,
Pete
Pete Monacell,
Jefferson City
From: Missouri Wild Bird Forum <MOBIRDS-L...> on behalf of sgg.bluesfan <sgg.bluesfan...>
Date: Monday, June 2, 2025 at 7:16 AM
To: <MOBIRDS-L...> <MOBIRDS-L...>
Subject: Grand Pass CA question
CAUTION!: This email originated from outside of Columbia College.
Good morning,
I have gone out to Grand Pass CA a few times over the last six weeks or so. I have noticed that many of the roads there while the gates are open have signs that say Authorized Vehicles only or something like that. With those a large portion of the area is off limits.
My first time there I must have accidentally went through one as I went through an area that I can't refind my way there. I know as you went left from the intersection at the office and then went right somehow I got beyond that area but the last two times the only roads I see beyond that have all of those signs. Even the short drive over the dike for a view of the river has that sign.
I have seen vehicles beyond those. One a few weeks ago drove thru the grass to get around a closed gate and it looks like others have before him with the tracks.
So, my question is, are we allowed to drive pass those signs if the gate is open? A silly question as I would never think to go forward but it seems so much is not available.
Thanks,
Steve Griffaw
<Sgg.bluesfan...>
Jefferson City MO
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