Wildlife Viewing
Butterfly on a flower
Birdwatching
Whether backpacking a remote trail or waiting for a butterfly to alight on a flower, wildlife viewing is an outdoor activity available to people of all ages, interests and abilities. According to a 1991 national survey, 2.3 million Missourians enjoy watching, feeding or photographing wildlife.
The Conservation Department manages over 900,000 acres of land, thousands of miles of rivers and streams and 610 lakes for people to explore. To help people make the most of nature outings, the Department has produced Missouri's Conservation Atlas. This guidebook contains road maps of all 114 Missouri counties, detailed directions to each Conservation Department area plus an index of facilities, activities and features to look for at each site. Another resource, the Missouri Nature Viewing Guide, describes more than 100 of the state's best nature-viewing areas, provides habitat descriptions of each site and offers tips on outdoor etiquette.
Take a spring drive to enjoy flowering dogwoods, a summer hike to see eastern collard lizards sunning on a glade, a fall visit to a wetland to watch waterfowl migration or a winter trip to a river to see bald eagles. The Conservation Department is committed to help the public enjoy wildlife viewing opportunities in the state.
Gearing Up for Nature
Backpacking
People enjoy nature in the remote wilds and in their own backyards. Opportunities to walk, hike and enjoy natural habitats are increasing in Missouri. Remote trails take people into the some of the wildest parts of the state, while rails-to-trails conversions connect people with small towns and wildlife throughout Missouri.
Successful wildlife viewing improves as you learn where to go and when to look. Spring warbler migration, for example, is easily missed, even though it may be happening in the treetops above your head.
Improving Access to the Outdoors
Boardwalk on a conservation area
This boardwalk, one of many built by the Conservation Department on public lands, helps visitors enjoy Allred Lake Natural Area's majestic cypress swamp. Boardwalks, trails and viewing decks at conservation areas provide access to a wide range of unique natural habitats.
Programs for People
Black vultures
More than 200 people visited Lake Taneycomo in 1997 for the second annual "Vulture Venture." About 800 black vultures and turkey vultures gather in a one-acre area along the lakeshore each year before migrating to their summer breeding grounds. This February gathering gives human visitors a rare chance to observe the bald-headed scavengers on their sycamore roosts and learn more about their characteristics and habits. Black vultures are rarely seen in Missouri, unlike their common cousin the turkey vulture.
Vulture Venture is one of many special events sponsored by the Conservation Department to promote interest in wildlife and unique habitats. Eagle Days, jointly sponsored by the Conservation Department and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, began in 1978. This popular yearly event attracts as many as 7,000 visitors each January to the small Mississippi River town of Clarksville.
Other Conservation Department special events include Prairie Day, Day in a Cave, Day in a Marsh and Ozark Glade Day.
