Jan. 1998 - Vol. 59 No. 1
A
Summary of the Missouri Department of Conservation's Annual Report Fiscal Year
1996-1997
This summary of the Annual
Report is a snapshot of the Conservation Department's financial transactions
and year-long accomplishments from July 1, 1996 through June 30, 1997. The Conservation
Department made $604,251.50 in payments to Missouri counties in lieu of taxes,
and also paid $330,206.59 for land in the Forest Cropland Program.
- Director Jerry J. Presley retired. The Conservation Commission selected
Jerry M. Conley as new director. Director Conley embarked on a reorganization
of the Conservation Department.
- Started the Forestkeepers Network, a program for citizens with an interest
in forests. Forestkeepers members help Missouri forests to thrive by learning
to assess the condition of trees in forests and by guarding against insect invasions
and diseases. Forestkeepers provides a citizen network through which members
share their concern for forests. The program is open to any interested citizen,
group or family.
- Provided $110,000 in grants to help 35 schools develop classrooms where
kids can learn about nature in the outdoors. The grants ranged from $800 to
$5,000 per school and were offered through a new statewide grant program sponsored
by the Conservation Department.
- Began a program to help landowners control purple loosestrife, an aggressive,
exotic plant that invades marshes, wet prairies and waterways, crowding out
native plants that provide food and shelter for wildlife.
- Drew praise from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for its commitment
to meeting Americans With Disabilities Act standards. Published a series of
booklets to lead people to accessible facilities on Conservation Department
lands. The Conservation Department has an active program to make its facilities
accessible to everyone. These include accessible fishing docks, shooting ranges
and hunting sites.
- Produced a new video, "The Nature of Trapping," that takes
a look at the historical significance and modern day benefits of trapping in
Missouri. The Conservation Department produced the 19-minute program to dispel
misconceptions about traps, explain how carefully regulated trapping enables
people to live with burgeoning furbearer populations and to show how trapping
helps the agency restore threatened or extirpated species.
- Began a three-year program to restore walleye to the St. Francis River
above Wappapello Lake. The Conservation Department will stock 51,000 fingerlings
each year and restrict angling until the fish are established.
- Launched a stream conservation program to protect the state's best streams
and improve damaged streams. The program pays landowners to help keep livestock
out of streams and ponds, control stream-bank erosion and improve fish and wildlife
habitat. It helps landowners water livestock away from streams and makes payments
on 10-year stream-side property easements.
- Offered clinics to teach youths the basics of waterfowl hunting and held
actual hunts for participants.
- Opened new archery hunting areas in the St. Louis, Kansas City and Columbia
metro areas. In addition to two deer, archers are allowed to buy five additional
permits to take antlerless deer.
- Dedicated Eagle Bluffs, a nationally recognized 4,756-acre conservation
area near Columbia that meets some of its water needs through the use of city
waste water. The area has both seasonal wetlands and semi permanent wetlands
and offers a variety of recreation from hunting to wildlife observation and
fishing.
- Received an Emmy Award for its television show, Missouri Outdoors, and
a children's TV special. This was the second consecutive year Missouri Outdoors
captured the informational programming Emmy.
- Held workshops for landowners to learn about making money by becoming
suppliers to the special forest products industry. Topics included agro-forestry,
native plants and harvesting and marketing wild edibles, from potpourri, pollen
and medicinals to botanicals and seeds.
- Announced the Partners for Wildlife Program had restored 8,000 acres
of wetlands in the state. The program combines the efforts of the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, the Conservation Department and landowners to restore
wetlands that have been degraded or destroyed. The Conservation Department provides
the technical support needed to construct and manage wetlands in the program.
- Began the St. Louis Urban Deer Research Project. It monitors deer with
radio collars to collect biological data on the animals and learn more about
how they use their habitat. This information is being gathered to help urban
communities make informed choices about controlling deer populations.
- The Missouri Stream Team program received the National Wildlife Federation
1996 National Conservation Achievement Award. The National Wildlife Federation
recognized the program for its achievement in conservation education. Missouri
Stream Team is cosponsored by the Conservation Department, the Department of
Natural Resources and the Conservation Federation of Missouri.
What the Money Buys - Fiscal Year 1996- 1997
Forests-$18,335,499
Conservation Department programs foster a healthy and growing forest resource.
Examples are growing and distributing 3.3 million tree and shrub seedlings for
public and private land, assisting private forest landowners and Missouri communities,
managing 436,264 acres of public forest land, developing the state's forest
industry and conducting research on trees and forests.
Wildlife-$18,217,813
Conservation Department programs ensure wildlife populations that are in harmony
with habitat and human enjoyment. Examples are management of about 475,000 acres
of public land and assistance to private landowners, research and population
monitoring of game and non-game species, wetland development, wildlife restoration
including ruffed grouse, prairie chickens, osprey and collared lizards and wildlife
damage control.
Fisheries-$13,391,525
Maintains the aquatic resources enjoyed by 1.35 million Missouri anglers. Examples
are spawning, rearing and stocking over 7 million fish, including 2.2 million
catchable-size trout, fisheries management of over 700 public impoundments totalling
272,000 acres of water, assistance and incentives for landowners, fish kill
investigations, research and monitoring of fish populations and stream stewardship
programs.
Natural History-$1,606,753
Many Conservation Department programs relate to non-game resources and interpretation.
Examples are interpretive programs conducted by nature centers and other naturalists'
efforts, monitoring populations of nongame species, conducting research and
identifying and protecting rare, endangered or fragile species and natural communities.
Law Enforcement-$14,181,009
Paid for law enforcement, resource management, information, education and public
service contact activities conducted by 170 conservation agents, hunter education
programs and 1,700 volunteer instructors conducting 1,100 classes and certifying
approximately 30,000 students annually.
Outreach and Education-$12,403,241
Paid for education materials and contacts with Missouri schoolteachers, the
Missouri Conservationist magazine, films, videos, postage and informational
programs.
Administration-$2,219,345
Paid for legal counsel, auditor, summer help and other administrative charges.
Administrative Services and Human Resources-$22,116,852
Paid for human resources, federal reimbursement administration, fiscal services,
aviation services, fleet management, building and grounds maintenance, planning,
environmental coordination, information management and technology and other
essential services.
Land Acquisition, Landowner Assistance, In-Lieu Taxes-$12,846,726
Paid for new tracts and additions to existing areas totaling 30,489 acres.
Construction & Development-$11,418,455
Paid for outstate service centers, hatchery improvements, wetland development,
river access site development and the construction of shooting ranges.
Design and Development-$3,357,803
