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1. Sustainable Ag Benefits Wildlife and Farmers
2. Special Events Set for Hunting & Fishing Day
3. Woman Credits Conservation Web Page for Saving Life
4. MDC to Introduce New Director at Press Conference
5. Outdoor Calendar
"There is a passion for hunting something deeply implanted in the human breast." --Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist
1. Sustainable Ag Benefits Wildlife and Farmers
Sedalia cattleman Matt Boatright found that doing the right thing and doing the profitable thing are the same thing. The Missouri Department of Conservation has incentives to encourage agricultural practices that, like Boatright's, make economic as well as ecological sense.
SEDALIA, Mo. -- Idling along a gravel road in his 1983 Ford pickup, Matt Boatright surveys a patchwork of two-acre blocks of pasture, defined by different heights of grass. His 2-year-old son, David, is sitting in his lap, helping steer the truck, so Matt has to make frequent course corrections to keep it between the fenceposts. Even with distractions, though, Boatright can see that things are going well with his cattle business.
Riding shotgun with Boatright on this particular morning is Paul Calvert, a fisheries programs coordinator for the Missouri Department of Conservation. Calvert is a biologist by training, but farming is his birthright. He grew up on a farm and worked his way through college as a farm hand. Looking at the red Angus and polled Hereford cattle grazing near the road, he comments that they seem to be enjoying the tender young forage.
Adjoining "paddocks" -- small portions of larger fields -- are in various stages of vigorous regrowth after recent grazing. Boatright's successful rotational grazing system involves dividing fields into paddocks of two to seven acres with lightweight, portable, poly-wire fencing that can be picked up and moved to the next area where the cattle will graze. Cattle stay on a particular paddock only until the best forage is eaten, then are moved to a fresh area. Grazed paddocks are allowed to rest until they have prime forage again, usually about 30 days.
A walk through Boatright's paddocks reveals a good variety of forage plants. Drying "cow patties" are scattered evenly over the field, returning nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil. Rutted cow paths are notably lacking; everywhere the soil is protected by a healthy blanket of vegetation.
When Boatright graduated with a bachelor's degree in agriculture from the University of Missouri, he had a head full of progressive farming theories and a family farm to work. He also had a bottom line to watch. When he tried out his theories, he did it on half the land, so he would be able to compare results between old and new methods.
"When I started out seven years ago, we had mostly row crops and some pasture," says Boatright. "Now it's just the opposite; we have mostly grazing land and some row crops. Grazing isn't as fashionable, but it's sustainable. The land can support this permanently. The key is learning how to make it profitable."
Boatright says he seizes every opportunity to find better ways of earning a living from his family's land. He has gotten ideas from the University of Missouri Extension Service, from MDC and from other farmers. He has even taken time to serve two summer internships in New Zealand, whose farmers he calls "the masters of intensive grazing."
Using what he learned, Boatright has made some significant changes in his rotational grazing system. At first, he says, he was limited to watering his cattle from existing sources -- ponds and streams. But he found that had disadvantages.
For one thing, the cattle had to walk a long way to reach the water. Keeping them out of grazed paddocks as they traveled to and from water required an elaborate system of permanent electric fencing. Besides being expensive, this led to erosion in the travel corridors, where constant traffic damaged the ground cover and churned up the soil. Just as bad, the time his cattle spent going to and from water was inefficient. Every hour spent in transit was time when they weren't eating, resting and putting on weight.
The full effect of these and other disadvantages associated with the old system became clear when Boatright tried better methods. When he installed watering devices at the paddocks, he found that calves put on an average of 48 more pounds before weaning. More important, his percentage of "open" cows -- those not pregnant -- dropped significantly with the new watering system. "The system paid for itself strictly on the basis of reproduction," says Boatright.
In-paddock water supply offers other advantages, too. Putting metal watering tanks with automatic flow regulators in the paddocks eliminates the muddy wallows that develop when cattle are allowed to drink directly from streams and ponds. Boatright says he sees fewer cases of pinkeye, hoof rot and other problems associated with cattle standing in water. His calves never get mired in mud or trapped by steep creek banks with the paddock watering system.
And overall herd health is better.
"It makes perfect sense," says Calvert. "When cattle drink from a pond, the water around the edge gets all muddy. The bigger ones can wade out into the water until they reach fresh water to drink. There they stand, muddying the water and eliminating in the pond. The smaller cattle can't get out that far, so they have to drink that."
Boatright notes that when cattle have to go long distances to water, they drink less often. Their digestion is less efficient, so they don't gain weight as fast as they should. And instead of returning nutrient-rich manure to the fields where they graze, much of it falls on travel corridors and watering areas. It runs off into streams and ponds, degrading water quality.
Alternative watering systems are among the projects that will be eligible for cost-share assistance from the MDC under its new Stream Incentive Program starting in October. The program also provides technical, material and financial incentives for addressing erosion and other stream management problems, and to recognize good stream stewardship.
"Matt never really left row cropping," says Calvert of the changes Boatright has made. "It's just that now his crop is grass, and he's harvesting it with cows."
"This is a tremendous marriage that benefits both agriculture and wildlife," says Boatright. "Everybody wins. My cattle are fat and happy. Wildlife wins because there's better habitat around streams when cattle are fenced out. Missouri wins because we aren't losing soil, and we're keeping nutrients on the land instead of letting it run into the streams. And the state's economy benefits because we're profitable, and we can reinvest the money we make in Missouri."
"You can't force landowners to do conservation-wise things like getting cattle out of streams," says Boatright. "But if you show them how it is good for business, they will do it. If you can show them how to use ground to its highest and best use, they want to do it, but it takes people like Paul to build trust and show them how their goals and conservation goals complement each other."
"I think to be competitive in farming today you have to be willing to try new things," says Calvert. "Hopefully, the Stream Incentive Program will lead more people to try new watering systems and other practices that will benefit them and wildlife."
To learn more about stream incentive programs offered by the MDC, call Calvert at (573) 751-4115, ext. 859.
2. Special Events Set for Hunting & Fishing Day
Try your hand at shooting or casting, see a live otter show, or attend one of dozens of other events celebrating Missouri's hunting and fishing heritage.
JEFFERSON CITY -- Missourians will celebrate Hunting and Fishing Day this month with tours of fish hatcheries, fishing clinics, exhibits at retail stores and colleges, wildlife days at schools, pistol, turkey, trap and archery shoots and dozens of other events. September also is Water Quality Month in Missouri, and events for that observance are scheduled throughout the state, also.
Gov. Mel Carnahan proclaimed Missouri's Hunting and Fishing Day observance to coincide with the national event Sept. 28. Noting hunters' and anglers' long history of conservation leadership in Missouri, Gov. Carnahan said, "Such men and women continue in advocacy roles today and contribute millions of dollars in order to study, restore, maintain and enhance Missouri's many forest, fish and wildlife species."
St. Louis area residents can choose from a variety of activities Sept. 21 at the Post-Dispatch Hunter Education Day at Forest 44 Conservation Area and Hunting and Fishing Day at August A. Busch Memorial CA near St. Charles. Call (314) 441-4554 for more information.
In the Springfield area, you can go to the Andy Dalton Shooting Range at Bois D'Arc CA from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Sept. 28. Try out primitive and modern archery equipment, see demonstrations of modern rifle, pistol and shotgun shooting and historic black-powder rifles. Or you can shoot air guns, watch videos, go fishing, learn to tie and cast fishing flies and see demonstrations of retrieving hunting dogs. Call (417) 742-4361 for more information.
The MDC Conservation Service Center at St. Joseph will sponsor an open house Sept. 22 with opportunities for kids to shoot bows and arrows and air guns and learn how to fish. Nationally renowned wildlife imitator Ralph Duren will be on hand to demonstrate his animal calls, and visitors will be able to improve their knowledge with tree and leaf identification exercises, a trail hike and a fish tank filled with river fish native to Missouri. For more information, call (816) 271-3100.
Columbia area residents can watch the Cedar Creek Outdoor Team Challenge at Cedar Creek Rod and Gun Club and try their hands at some of the archery, fishing, pistol, rifle and shotgun events. For entry forms or information, call (573) 474-5804 or 474-8609.
In the Kirksville area, waterfowl hunting clinics conducted by the Missouri Department of Conservation will be open to spectators. More information is available by calling (816) 785-2420.
Clarksville will be the scene of the second annual Big River Days Sept. 21 and 22. The event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at Riverfront Park in Clarksville will feature free river cruises, a 5,000-gallon aquarium with river fish, an Indian encampment, a historic military re-enactment, a live otter show, kids activities, story telling, crafts, traditional foods and tours of the lock and dam. Sponsors of the event include the Missouri Department of Conservation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Illinois Department of Conservation, the Riverlands Association and the City of Clarksville. For more information, call (573) 242-3724 or (314) 355-6585.
The MDC is the coordinating agency for Hunting and Fishing Day and Quality Water Month events in Missouri. Agency personnel have organized many other events around the state in cooperation with various agencies and organizations. Call the nearest MDC office for details about Hunting and Fishing Day and Quality Water Month activities in your area.
The Missouri Department of Conservation's way station on the "information superhighway" made the difference between surviving and becoming road kill for a New Jersey woman.
JEFFERSON CITY -- Those who are skeptical about the potential benefits of the global computer network known as "The Internet" should take note of an e-mail message that turned up in the Missouri Department of Conservation's electronic mailbox recently. According to Madeline Martorana of North Arlington, N.J., the MDC's computer home page on the World Wide Web is, quite literally, a lifesaver.
"Dear Sir/Madam," Martorana wrote, "I just want to personally thank whomever was responsible for the Internet article regarding 'edible and poisonous mushrooms.' My mother decided to pick some mushrooms growing on her property and was already frying them when I told her to let me do some research on them. I came across your very nice and informative page (the MDC 'home page' on the Internet) and was able to tell her that the mushrooms she was frying were no other than the deadly 'destroying angel' mushroom.
"I know this may sound silly, but your article actually allowed me to save her life. The mushrooms were white, tall with the ring around the stem. The gills and mushroom were all white.
"Thanks again. I hope that you continue to offer such an interesting and lifesaving web page in he future. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks."
There is no antidote for the toxin in the "destroying angel" mushroom. Symptoms first appear several days after the mushrooms are eaten, by which time victims' kidneys have been destroyed. After that, the only treatment is kidney and liver transplant.
"I find the most amazing things on the Internet, "Martorana said in an interview after the incident. "The mushroom article was so well-written, and the photos were nice and clear."
"Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms" is one of dozens of free publications the MDC has offered in print for years. The agency is working to place the text and photographs from all these publications -- including wildlife species profiles, information on how and where to fish and hunt, how to manage forest, fish and wildlife, home conservation projects and more -- on its home page.
Computer users can access information on the MDC home page at: http://www.mdc.mo.gov/welcome.html. Besides lifesaving facts and illustrations about mushrooms, the MDC home page contains information on hunting, fishing, forestry, nature, places to go, landowner tips, kids' page, teaching, fishing report, news, Missouri Conservationist Magazine, books, videos, job opportunities, plants, animals and more.
4. MDC to Introduce New Director at Press Conference
The event at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center will provide an opportunity for news media to ask questions of the Missouri Department of Conservation's sixth director.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Conservation Commission will formally introduce the sixth director of the Missouri Department of Conservation to the news media at a press conference at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 19 in the San Francisco Room at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City.
Conley will be in Kansas City to attend the Sept. 20 Commission meeting. The press conference will provide an opportunity for him to field questions from the media. Conley, Commission members and current MDC Director Jerry J. Presley also will be available for photos.
Conley will begin work for the MDC in early October as director designate. Presley will continue as director until the transition is complete at the end of the year.
Conley, 54, is a native Missourian who grew up in Cape Girardeau. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1964 with bachelor's degree in fish and wildlife management and earned a master's degree there in fisheries management in 1966. He has worked in wildlife and fisheries management in Utah and Iowa and has served as director of the Kansas Fish and Game Commission and, most recently, as director of the Idaho Fish and Game Department.
The lead story in the Sept. 6 issue of All Outdoors about youth waterfowl hunting clinics incorrectly reported that persons age 16 and younger may hunt on youth-only waterfowl hunting dates. The story should have said that only persons under age 16 are eligible to hunt on youth waterfowl hunting dates. Please advise your audience of this error. Jim Low
HUNTING
Bag Limit
Opens Closes (Daily-Possession)
Bullfrogs 6/30/96 10/31/96 8-16 (See Wildlife Code)
Common Snipe*+ 9/ 1/96 12/16/96 8-16
Coyotes 5/ 6/96 3/31/97 Some restrictions during
deer season. (See Wildlife Code)
Crows 11/ 1/96 3/ 3/97 No Limit
Deer/Turkey (Archery) 10/ 1/96 11/15/96 See Regulations, available mid-July
11/27/96 1/15/97 See Regulations, available mid-July
Deer (Firearms) 11/16/96 11/26/96 See Regulations, available mid-July
Deer (Muzzleloader) 11/16/96 11/26/96 See Regulations, available mid-July
12/ 7/96 12/15/96 See Regulations, available mid-July
Deer 1/ 4/97 1/ 5/97 Open only to hunters with unfilled
(Firearms & Muzzleloader Any-Deer Bonus Deer Tags for
in units 1-17, 22, 58 & 59) open units. See Regulations
Dove*+# 9/ 1/96 10/30/96 15-30
Ducks and Coots*
North Zone 10/26/96 12/14/96 Five ducks daily with no more
Middle Zone 11/ 2/96 12/21/96 than 4 mallards (no more than 1 female),
South Zone 11/23/96 1/11/97 2 wood ducks, 2 redheads, 1 pintail,
Youth-only Duck Hunting Dates 1 black duck, 1 hooded merganser or
North Zone 10/19/96 10/19/96 1 canvasback. Daily bag for coots is
Middle Zone 10/26/96 10/26/96 15. Possession limits are twice the
South Zone 11/16/96 11/16/96 daily limit.
Furbearers 11/20/96 1/20/97 No Limit
Geese and Brant
Blue, Snow and Ross' Geese*+# Daily bag limits include no more than
North and Swan 10 blue, snow or Ross' geese; 2
Lake Zones 10/26/96 1/19/97 Canada geese; 2 brant; and 2 white-
2/17/97 3/9/97 fronted geese. Possession limits for
Middle and Schell-Osage Canada geese, brant and white-fronted
Zones: 11/ 2/96 11/ 7/96 geese are twice the daily limit. For
11/29/96 3/ 9/97 blue, snow and Ross' geese, the
South Zone 11/23/96 3/ 9/97 aggregate possession limit is three the
White-fronted Geese and Brant daily limit.
North Zone 9/28/96 10/ 6/96
10/26/96 11/ 3/96
11/29/96 1/19/97
Swan Lake Zone 10/26/96 11/ 3/96
11/29/96 1/19/97
Middle and Schell-Osage
Zones 11/ 2/96 11/ 7/96
11/29/96 1/31/97
South Zone 11/23/96 1/31/97
Canada Geese
North Zone 9/28/96 10/ 6/96
10/26/96 11/3/96
11/29/96 1/19/97
Swan Lake Zone 10/26/96 11/ 3/96 (Unless a quota of 5,000 geese is
11/29/96 12/29/96 reached before Dec. 29; a daily limit
of 10 shot shells.)
Middle Zone 11/ 2/96 11/ 7/96
11/29/96 1/31/97
Schell-Osage Zone 11/29/96 1/ 7/97
South Zone 11/23/96 1/31/97
Groundhogs 5/ 6/96 12/15/96 No Limit
Pheasants &
Gray Partridge 11/1/96 1/15/97 (See Wildlife Code)
Quail 11/1/96 1/15/97 8-16
Rabbits 10/1/96 2/15/97 6-12
(may include only
2-4 swamp rabbits)
Ruffed Grouse 10/15/96 1/15/97 (See Wildlife Code)
Sora and Virginia Rails*+ 9/ 1/96 11/ 9/96 25-25
Squirrels 5/25/96 1/15/97 (See Wildlife Code)
Teal*+ 9/ 7/96 9/15/96 4-8
Turkey 4/21/97 5/ 4/97 1 bearded bird per week
Turkey (Fall Firearms) 10/14/96 10/27/96 (See Wildlife Code)
Woodcock*+ 10/15/96 12/18/96 5-10
FISHING
Trout Parks 3/ 1/96 10/31/96 5-10
Trout Parks 11/8/96 2/ 8/97 Catch & release Fri., Sat.,
(Winter Tag Required) Sun. 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Trout Management Areas Open All No Closed 5-10 (See Wildlife Code)
(Trout Permit Required) Year Season
Trout (Trophy and Wild) Open All No Closed 3-3 (See Wildlife Code)
Trout Management Areas) Year Season
(Trout Permit Required)
Black Bass
(streams, specified zone) 5/25/96 2/28/97 6-12 (See Wildlife Code)
(impoundments) Open All No Closed (See Wildlife Code)
Year Season
Bullfrogs 6/30/96 10/31/96 8-16 (See Wildlife Code)
Paddlefish 3/15/97 4/30/97 2-4 (See Wildlife Code)
(See Wildlife Code for creel limits on other species.)
TRAPPING
Beaver 11/20/96 3/31/97 No Limit (See Wildlife Code)
Coyotes 11/20/96 2/15/97 No Limit (See Wildlife Code)
Furbearers 11/20/96 1/20/97 No Limit (See Wildlife Code)
___________
*Hunters of migratory birds are required to have a migratory bird
hunting permit in addition to other appropriate permits (See Wildlife Code).
+Subject to final federal approval
#Complete waterfowl details will be found in the Migratory Bird Hunting Digest,
to be available from permit vendors and MDC offices in early October.
CONSERVATION COMMISSION MEETING
September 20, Hiatt Regency, Kansas City, Mo.
(For additional information contact the Department Director.)
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