CONSERVATION ACTION

News of the December 17, 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 December 17 at Department Headquarters in Jefferson City.

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 will be a telephone conference call set for 10:00 a.m., on December 22. The next formal meeting of the Conservation Commission was set for February 4, 2000 at Marriott's Tan-Tar-A Resort, Osage Beach. An informal meeting of the Conservation Commission will be held January 18 at Department Headquarters 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:

At a special ceremony in conjunction with the meeting, the Commission Chairman presented service awards to the following long-term employees:

At the same ceremony, the Commission presented Employees Communication Contest Awards to the following winners in four competition categories:

Also at the ceremony, the Commission presented Volunteer Service Awards toCarolyn Brunner, Nadine Marshall and Golda Trower, all of Jefferson City, for 2,000 hours of volunteer services each at the Runge Conservation Nature Center.

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:

REGULATIONS
The Commission accepted the Report of the Regulations Committee and approved amending the waterfowl hunting rule to comply with the Arctic Tundra Habitat Emergency Conservation Actnotably, closing the light goose (blue, snow and Ross') season on February 1, 2000 in all zones and establishing a statewide extended season (February 1 through April 30, 2000) under which persons with valid migratory bird hunting permits may take these light geese from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset using unplugged shotguns and recorded or electronically amplified bird calls.

The Commission also approved amendments that:

ADMINISTRATION: The Commission also took the following action: