The Eleven Point National Wild and Scenic River is a stretch of the spring-fed Eleven Point River in

the Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant porti ...

of southern

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

set aside through eminent domain for preservation by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in 1968. The designated part of the river stretches from Thomasville to State Highway 142. The river was included in the original proposal for the

Ozark National Scenic Riverways The Ozark National Scenic Riverways is a recreational unit of the National Park Service in the Ozarks of southern Missouri in the U.S. The park was created by an Act of Congress in 1964 to protect the Current and Jacks Fork rivers, and it wa ...

, but it was ultimately excluded when the Riverways were designated on the

Current Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (stre ...

and

Jacks Fork Jacks Fork is one of two rivers in Missouri that are part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways system. Starting in Texas County, Missouri, this spring-fed river flows in a general east to northeasterly direction through the heart of the geolog ...

rivers in 1964. It is one of the original eight rivers named under the

Wild and Scenic Rivers Act The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free- ...

as possessing "outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural or other similar values." The Eleven Point holds the ''scenic'' designation within the National Wild and Scenic Rivers system, meaning that it is free of impoundments, with shorelines or watersheds still largely primitive and shorelines largely undeveloped, but accessible in places by roads. The river isn't actually wilderness, many old homesites, fences, farms, and roads were located along the river, but in only a few decades have since been reclaimed by nature. Only about half of the land in the designated area is public, owned by the National Forest Service. The government holds a scenic

easement An easement is a nonpossessory right to use and/or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B". An easement is a propert ...

on other land within the area that preserves its character for the future, but which does not allow public access to privately held land. Being a river, naturally, the area is best visited by boat. Canoeing is the most popular way to visit, while

jon boat A jon boat (or johnboat) is a flat-bottomed boat constructed of aluminum, fiberglass, wood, or polyethelene with one, two, or three seats, usually bench type. They are suitable for fishing, hunting and cruising. The nearly flat hull of a jon bo ...

s are frequently used by fishermen. Smallmouth bass,

rock bass The rock bass (''Ambloplites rupestris''), also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, red eye, and black perch, is a freshwater fish native to east-central North America. This red eyed creature is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish fa ...

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

, and

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

are among a variety game fish found in the river. There are minimally developed float camps along the river that are accessible by boat, and

dispersed camping Dispersed Camping is the term given to camping in the United States on public land other than in designated campsites. This type of camping is most common on national forest and Bureau of Land Management land. Designated campsites often offer s ...

on gravel bars is allowed.

References

{{authority control bodies of water of the Ozarks protected areas of Oregon County, Missouri protected areas of the U.S. Interior Highlands rivers of Missouri Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States