CONSERVATION ACTION

News of the November 2, 1999 Conservation Commission meeting
Contact: Carolyn Auckley, (573) 751-4115;
E-mail: Carolyn.Auckley@mdc.mo.gov

The Conservation Commission, with all members present, met on November 2 at the Grand River Inn in Chillicothe.

Howard L. Wood, Bonne Terre
Ronald J. Stites, Plattsburg
Randy Herzog, St. Joseph
Anita B. Gorman, Kansas City

The next meeting of the Conservation Commission was set for December 17 at the Conservation Department's Central Office in Jefferson City.

PRESENTATIONS

Commission meetings are open to the public. Those wishing to be placed on the agenda for a presentation or other business must send a written request to Director, Department of Conservation, P. O. Box 180, Jefferson City MO 65102-0180, or FAX to (573) 751-4467, at least 10 working days before the meeting date. The Commission heard presentations by:

--State Representative Jewell D. H. Patek, Chillicothe, about wetland development as a mitigation project by the Missouri Department of Transportation.
--Jef Hodges, Regional Director, Great Plains Region, Quail Unlimited, Inc., Clinton, who provided follow-up information from a Quail Unlimited membership survey.
--Betty Mylar, Executive Director, Missouri Forest Heritage Center, who showed the Center's new video and provided an update on the project.

REGULATIONS

The Commission accepted the Report of the Regulations Committee, and approved the following 2000 turkey hunting seasons:

Spring Season. The spring turkey season will be twenty-one (21) days in length (from April 24 through May 14, 2000). A person possessing the prescribed turkey hunting permit may take two (2) male turkey or turkeys with visible beard during the season; provided, only one (1) may be taken during the first seven (7) days of the season (April 24 through April 30) and only one (1) turkey may be taken per day from May 1 thorough May 14.

No changes were made in the formula for the fall firearms turkey hunting season, which remains fourteen (14) days in length (from October 9 through October 22, 2000). A person possessing the prescribed fall firearms turkey hunting permit may take two (2) turkeys of either sex during the season; provided only one (1) turkey may be taken during the first seven (7) days of the season, and only one (1) turkey may be taken per day.

LAND ACQUISITION

The Commission acquires land only from willing sellers and makes annual payments to compensate local governments and schools for lost tax revenues at assessment levels current when acquired. Public access to acquisitions is appropriate only after closing of real estate transactions, at which time boundaries have been marked and further information is available. The Commission approved proceeding with:

--purchasing approximately 80 acres on the Thompson River in Grundy County as a new access area.
--purchasing approximately 35 acres in Gentry County as an addition to the Emmett and Leah Seat Memorial Conservation Area.
--exchanging approximately 670 acres in five isolated tracts of Graves Mountain Conservation Area in Iron and Wayne counties, for 1,240 acres in Wayne County as an addition to Coldwater Conservation Area.

ADMINISTRATION:

The Commission also took the following action:

--The Commission unanimously approved the promotion of Robert L. Krepps to Forestry Division Administrator, replacing Marvin Brown who resigned.
--Approved revised policy, Field and Retriever Trials on Department Areas, in the Area and resource Management Policies and Procedures Manual.
--Approved addition of a Wildlife Biologist position in the Northwest Region, based on funding currently available through cooperative agreement with the Kansas City District, Corps of Engineers.
-Approved the 1998-99 Annual Report for the Department of Conservation, and authorized publication and distribution.
Authorized entering into contract with low bidder for construction of the Grand Pass Pump Station Modification in Saline County.
--Authorized pursuit of enactment of certain legislation during the next session of the General Assembly.