The newest section of the Ozark Trail, (completed in 2005), the 24 mile easy Middle Fork Section crosses many brooks and streams in the upper basin of the Middle Fork of the Black River: Neals Creek, Strother Creek, Henderson Creek, Little Creek, Brooks Creek, as well as the headwaters of the Middle Fork. The trail passes near Barton fen, seeps, and small springs and through oak and hickory hardwoods, short-leaf pine stands, and small savannahs. The first section constructed by the Ozark Trail Association (OTA), it is also known as the John Roth Memorial Section, in memory of OTA's dedicated founder.