Copyright ©2008 Conservation Commission of Missouri. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
1. MDC Turning Access Goals into Opportunities
2. Quail, Pheasant Season Forecasts Fair
3. Making More Efficient Use of Forest Resources
4. Morgan Countians Tell Poachers, 'Don't Tread on Me'
Available for computer download; phone (314) 526-1689.
"Unless we can refresh ourselves at least by intermittent contact with nature, we go awry ...." -- G.M. Trevelyan
JEFFERSON CITY -- What does "accessibility" mean to the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC)? It means listening to people who know the most about disabled-accessible facilities -- persons with disabilities. It means pouring a lot of concrete. And it means making sure Missourians who have disabilities know what services and facilities are available to them.
MDC began listening to persons with disabilities in an organized way in September of 1994, when it organized the MDC Disabled Accessibility Advisory Council (DAAC). The DAAC consists of eight volunteers who advise MDC about accessibility issues. They also serve as advocates for persons with disabilities. Most DAAC members have disabilities themselves. All have experience working with disability or rehabilitation issues.
"The council has provided a wealth of solid, practical advice," says Dan Dickneite, who serves as MDC's liaison to the DAAC. "They are our touchstone for decisions about matters that range from policy decisions to whether the design for a wheelchair-accessible boat ramp will work. I hate to think what it would be like trying to comply with ADA (the Americans with Disabilities Act) without their help."
Judging by reports on MDC capital improvement projects, the agency has spared no concrete in seeking ADA compliance. In the past year, the agency has:
Most of these projects consist of adapting existing facilities to meet the needs of persons with disabilities. Meanwhile, all new MDC facilities are being designed with disabled users' needs in mind.
Besides working to remove physical barriers, MDC offers its award-winning magazine, Missouri Conservationist, on audio tape and provides close-captioned versions of its video tapes to libraries statewide. Nature centers have sign-language interpreters for some programs and offer programs in multi- sensory formats.
Hunters with special needs can obtain special-use permits to reduce regulation barriers to their sports. Special hunts further address their needs. Anglers with disabilities can take advantage of special fishing programs.
Dickneite says MDC wants to ensure that everyone who could benefit from all Department facilities knows about them. To meet this need the agency is preparing a series of 13 regional booklets with detailed information about the location of disabled-accessible facilities and special features offered at each. The first booklet, covering the St. Louis area, is expected to be out before the end of the year. The rest will follow within a few months.
Mark Bellamy of Pacific chaired the DAAC during its first year. He says he is excited about the progress he and other volunteers have helped MDC make so far.
"I think the Conservation Department goes way out of their way to make sure everything is accessible," says Bellamy. "If it's not, it seems like they're willing to figure out what they can do to make it more accessible. I'm real happy to be affiliated with the organization."
Bellamy says a design for a loading system that helps persons who use wheelchairs get in and out of boats at launching ramps is an example of the excellent results produced by collaboration between the DAAC and MDC.
Getting wheelchair users into boats can be difficult enough, but doing so safely on the steep incline of a boat ramp is especially challenging. On top of that, structures at lake and stream accesses must be able to withstand periodic flooding and strong water currents. It took the inventiveness and experience of engineers and disabled users to come up with a workable solution to the problem.
Current DAAC Chairman Jerry Case says he, too, is impressed with MDC's interest in making its facilities as accessible as possible. He has toured several MDC facilities, reviewed plans for buildings and provided advice on how to make them as "disabled-user friendly" as they can be. He says he looks forward to touring new boating and fishing access facilities at Lake of the Ozarks at the DAAC's next meeting Nov. 3.
Case says he has enjoyed working with MDC to explore possibilities of recruiting more disabled employees and refining department policies defining "disability" in issuing special-use permits.
Case says he would like to see the DAAC's perspective broadened by a wider variety of volunteers. For instance, he says, the current group is predominantly white males and persons with mobility impairments. The DAAC's scope of action might benefit from members with different perspectives.
"I think that will come with time, as this group is around longer and develops a broader network of contacts," says Case.
Other members of the DAAC include: James Darrow, St. Louis; Larry Sell, Unionville; E.H. Dooley, Palmyra; Arthur C. Flowers, Sedalia; Dennis E. Connor, Ellisville; and Boyd Headrick, St. Louis. Persons with questions or suggestions for the DAAC can write to: Missouri Department of Conservation, Disabled Accessibility Advisory Council, Planning Division, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180. Or phone (314) 751-4115, ext 355.
-jim-
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- "Go northeast Missouri hunters!" seems to be the best advice for those on the trail of pheasant and quail. The latest Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) population surveys of pheasant and quail numbers show the highest concentrations of both birds are in the northeastern part of the state.
The 1995 August Roadside Survey (ARS) showed the number of pheasants in the state increased by 18 percent compared to last year. Survey results reflect counts of pheasants seen along designated 30-mile routes in several counties across the state. The ARS figures are in line with statistics gathered during the Rural Mail Carrier Survey (RMCS) in April. Mail carriers reported an average of 1.03 birds per 100 miles of survey route, a 14- percent increase from last year.
The region north of the Missouri River from Central Missouri to the Mississippi River posted an average 7.2 pheasants per 30 miles in the ARS.
MDC's Pheasant Range Expansion program offers promise of greater pheasant-hunting opportunities in north Missouri in the future. Since 1987 MDC has worked to increase the number of birds by relocating wild-trapped pheasants in counties throughout the state. The best results have come from releases in Knox, Macon, Randolph and Shelby counties. This year 93 wild-trapped pheasants from South Dakota were released in Clinton County's West Keystone area.
A tally on quail conducted by conservation agents during the first 15 days of August show little change in the quail population. The agents kept daily records of the number of quail counted along 30-mile routes in 112 of the state's 114 counties. No counts were taken in Jackson and St. Louis counties. The total quail index, or number of quail per 30 miles is 8.2. The 1994 quail count was 8.5 per 30 miles.
Based on the August survey MDC wildlife researchers say the outlook for quail hunting is fair. The places where hunting success rates will likely be best are in the northeast, all along the western border of the state and in the Bootheel. Quail numbers are rated as high in those areas.
The hunting season for quail is Nov. 1-Jan. 15 with a daily bag limit of eight and a possession limit of 16. Pheasant season in the north zone is Nov. 1-Jan. 15. The daily and possession limits are two and four males respectively. In the southeast zone pheasant season runs from Dec. 1-12, with daily and possession limits of one male each.
-alm-
JEFFERSON CITY -- The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has helped develop a new market for wood products that is reducing waste and adding to the state's economy. Hardwood chips left over from the making of lumber are being used by paper manufacturers.
"The new market," says Shelby Jones, MDC forestry staff supervisor, "is good for everyone from landowners to loggers, to mill operators. They all will realize additional income because formerly unused wood residues can be used to produce raw material for making paper."
The use of this "new" resource is the result of years of work by MDC and wood producers. The primary consumers of log slabs and other coarse residues have been charcoal manufacturers. However, new technology makes it possible to use sawdust for this process, creating an oversupply of coarser residues at sawmills. That prompted research for new markets for the product.
The research found that hardwood chips are increasing in popularity for the production of paper. MDC and wood producers spent three years working to get Missouri recognized as a reliable source for wood products and to convince the paper industry to buy chips from Missouri. The marketing campaign paid off in August when three companies began selling chipped wood to paper mills in the southeastern United States and to users overseas.
The paper industry's use of hardwood provides a needed boost for Missouri's chip producers, who have been hard hit by innovations in the charcoal industry. A development that has enabled charcoal producers to replace chips with sawdust in the manufacturing of their product had caused a glut of chips on the market. Now the wood chips not used by the charcoal producers will be shipped to paper mills.
Increased wood chip sales are boosting the state economy in many ways. Paper and pulp companies spend from $14 to $20 per ton of chips. Barge, train and truck companies will see increased business from shipping the wood. Employment rolls at logging and mill operations also are likely to increase from the new industry.
Jones says the state is also reaping environmental benefits. He says "the chip sales to paper producers combined with the use of sawdust by the charcoal industry has created a much more efficient use of our forest resources. Now virtually everything is used from the trees that are harvested."
High demand for wood in the paper industry is likely to translate into a long term, lucrative business for Missouri wood producers. Sawmill operators or potential chip producers interested in doing business with the paper and pulp industry should call Shelby Jones at (314) 751-4115, ext 109.
-alm-
3/10/99 Note: Chip mills have become a controversial issue in Missouri since this article was written. The article simply highlights potential economic benefits associated with new markets for unused and under-utilized materials and wood residues. The Conservation Commission stated on September 25, 1998, that regulation of chip mills is beyond its constitutional authority and directed staff to develop strategies to ...actively participate in any government sponsored chip mill studies; work with the U. S. Forest Service to improve its inventory of forest resources on private land; develop a better outreach program with private landowners that would increase their interest in implementing good forest management practices; and pursue possible legislative alternatives. Chairman Herzog noted that ...the solution to countering the potential adverse impacts of chip mills lies in the education and cooperation of private forest landowners. In addition, by executive order of Governor Mel Carnahan, the Department of Conservation is participating on a state-wide committee to study the impacts of chip mills in Missouri. It is not appropriate that the Department of Conservation adopt an official position on chip mills until the Governors Committee completes its study. Questions regarding chip mills in Missouri and Department of Conservation policy related to chip mills should be directed to the Forestry Division of the Missouri Department of Conservation. Mike Hoffmann |
VERSAILLES, Mo. -- A county is a big area for a conservation agent to cover. But when agents work with vigilant citizens and other law officers, they can do a much better job of protecting wildlife and the public.
Morgan County Conservation Agent Kurt Heisler says people in his area have discovered that they don't have to put up with poachers operating in their community. When residents south of Versailles heard two gunshots on Lake Road W-1 just before dark on Sept. 3, they picked up their phones and called the Morgan County sheriff's dispatcher. One had a description and license plate number for the vehicle involved and knew what direction it was headed.
The Sheriff's Department contacted Heisler, who quickly enlisted their aid in covering all the roads by which the suspect might escape. Within minutes, they apprehended David B. Godbey, 31, of Eldon.
"When questioned, he told us he was hunting snakes," said Heisler. "He had killed two copperheads on the road with a 12- gauge shotgun."
Indiscriminate killing of wildlife is against the Wildlife Code of Missouri. But an even greater concern to rural residents is the practice of shooting wildlife from roadways.
"We've had a problem with road hunting in that area," said Heisler. "Besides the loss of deer and other wildlife, road hunting is dangerous. Now, with the aid of citizens and other law-enforcement officers, we have a better chance of surrounding a road hunter so there's no way he can get out."
That is what happened to Godbey. He pleaded guilty in Morgan County Associate Circuit Court to a charge of taking wildlife from a public roadway. Judge Patricia Scott imposed a $100 fine plus $39 court costs.
Morgan County Prosecutor Mary Greer said, "We share Agent Heisler's concern about people shooting from the roadway. We are concerned about conservation, but the problem goes beyond that. Shooting from public roads is evidence of a lawless attitude that has involved other offenses, including homicide. It is our custom in cases like this to ask for higher penalties."
The Conservation Federation of Missouri and the Missouri Department of Conservation maintain a toll-free Operation Game Thief hot line to make it easy to turn in poachers. All you have to do is dial 1-800-392-1111. Reports can be handled anonymously, and cash rewards are available for tips that lead to arrests.
-jim-
Copyright ©2008 Conservation Commission of Missouri. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use