Missouri Department of Conservation

Current Commissioners

The four current commissioners are charged with making the final decision regarding all Wildlife Code regulations. To contact the commissioners with your comments, write to Conservation Commission, MDC, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180.

Don Johnson

Commissioner Don Johnson seldom fishes alone. “When I go fishing,” he said, “I always try to take a young person or somebody else with me and give them the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors.”

Johnson, who works as human resources vice president for Cequel III Communications in St. Louis, said he mostly casts big plugs for muskies and brings along a cradle to help him release the big fish without harming them. His biggest muskie, caught when he lived in Pennsylvania, was 54 inches long and weighed 52 pounds. He had that one mounted.

He also loves archery, both target archery and bowhunting. “I have yet to introduce anybody to archery who once they tried it didn’t go, ‘Oh, that’s fun!’” Johnson said.

Archery is easy, he said, but shooting well requires developing the kind of discipline that inevitably brings success to other parts of life. To introduce kids to the benefits of archery, Johnson has helped introduce the National Archery in the Schools Program to Missouri schools.

Johnson, who stepped down from his position as president of the Conservation Federation of Missouri when he was named a conservation commissioner, said Missouri is fortunate in having a conservation commission that takes into account the views of sportspeople and their organizations.

“The thing I like most about it,” he said, “is that we’re willing to listen to all sides on the issues, and we’re willing to change where it’s warranted.”

William F. “Chip” McGeehan

“No place called home,” is how Commissioner William F. “Chip” McGeehan of Marshfield describes his roots. “My dad was in the Air Force,” he said, “and I attended 13 different schools—four different high schools.” He graduated from Jefferson City High School in 1968.

McGeehan’s dad started taking him hunting and fishing when he was 5- or 6-years-old. “I not only enjoyed hunting and fishing, but I also enjoyed the days with my father,” he said.

McGeehan went on to obtain a degree in fisheries and wildlife management from Southwest Missouri State University. During his college years, he worked summers as a fisheries assistant with the Conservation Department.

Now a businessman and a rancher (150 head of bison), he continues to enjoy the outdoors. His favorite fish is a catfish, his favorite game animal is a deer, and his favorite outdoor activity is bowhunting for turkeys or deer.

As a conservation commissioner, McGeehan said he tries to blend the recommendations of biologists regarding our resources with the human element, the needs of the people of Missouri. To assist him in his decision-making, he said “I take every opportunity to get out in the community to listen to the comments and opinions and suggestions from the ultimate users, the consumptive users of conservation.”

Lowell Mohler

You may have bought sweet corn or asparagus grown by Conservation Commissioner Lowell Mohler. He and his wife farm 200 acres near Jefferson City and supervise a farming operation in Holt County.

“My background is all agriculture,” Mohler said. He hasn’t just grown crops, however. His ties to agriculture include 26 years with the Missouri Farm Bureau and three years as head of the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

Mohler loves to hunt ducks. Like many rural youths, he said he was “born and raised” fishing and hunting. “They’re my favorite things to do,” he said. “I started at 6 years old and I’m 71 now, so I’ve been at it a long time.”

He likes the way the Conservation Department is reaching out to schools and creating youth hunting opportunities. “We’re doing a lot of things for young people,” he said, “but we have to keep working at it because there’s so much competition for their time today.”

Mohler’s background in farming and agriculture influences his perspective on conservation. He said his personal goal is to make sure agricultural interests and conservation work together, rather than work against each other.

“A lot of folks that design regulations have never been on a farm,” he said. “What I bring to the table is some balance as to what will work and what won’t work, and what makes sense and what doesn’t make sense.”

Becky Plattner

Becky Plattner, the elected presiding commissioner of Saline County, brings to the Conservation Commission the ability to work both governmental and physical landscapes.

Plattner was raised on a hog farm until she was 12. She’s been heavily involved in farming ever since, including as a FFA volunteer and honorary member, and in the family business of custom farming, which means farming other peoples’ land, as well as their own. She said every bit of land they work has some kind of conservation partnership involved.

Plattner lives in Grand Pass, close enough to the bottoms to hear frogs calling at night. She remembers hunting bullfrogs as a child. “That was what we did,” she said. “We went fishing, and frog hunting was part of it. I used a flashlight and caught them by hand—no gig for me!”

She relishes the Department’s nature centers. “I’ve taken my daughters and other children to them,” she said. “It’s wonderful that these are available to the public. It shows that conservation has something for everyone—adults, children and communities. I think we have to take care of these gifts.”

Plattner hopes her county government background will add a dimension to the Conservation Commission. “I can work with communities and political entities because I understand their perspective,” she said. “I come with an open mind. My philosophy is, ‘What can we do? Let’s work together.’”