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to MDC Home PageI prefer my deer wild. I would rather have one glimpse of a mule deer bounding away through the brush, than an hour with a forest monarch so fallen from his pride as to accept Popsicles from the hand of the hereditary foe. Rather than have him die of indigestion brought on by picnic scraps, I would rather that he died of a legal shot through his gamy heart, after many a free season of running the does and of fathering dappled fawns. -- Donald Culross Peattie, "Sportsman's Country"
Missourians who want more quail, rabbits and songbirds soon will be able to tap the resources of several agencies with one stop at an NRCS office.
MACON, Mo. -- For Missouri quail and rabbit hunters, the '90s have not been banner years. Those who enjoy the lilting song of a bobolink amid a sea of waving grass haven't had much to crow about, either. That will change in the next few years if the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) have their way.
The Conservation Department and the NRCS are engaging in a partnership that involves an unprecedented degree of cooperation. The goal is providing one-stop shopping that will allow landowners to get a wide range of conservation-related services from one office near them.
Changes in land use have taken a serious toll on both game and nongame wildlife in Missouri since the 1960s. The causes of the changes, including intensive farming with fence-to-fence plantings of hybrid crops and exotic grasses, are well known. State and federal conservation agencies have developed programs to help wildlife populations thrive in Missouri's changing landscape. But with more than 90 percent of the state's land in private ownership, government programs can do little more than encourage conservation.
"We have some excellent tools available to us in Federal Farm Bill programs," says Conservation Department Agriculture Services Supervisor Bob Miller. "We can design state programs to address needs not covered by the CRP and newer federal conservation initiatives. The challenge is to coordinate those programs so they actually work together."
The "CRP" Miller referred to is the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which has been around since 1987 and is administered by the NRCS. Like the NRCS itself, the CRP's mission has changed in recent years. The NRCS used to be the Soil Conservation Service, and the CRP used to be largely about soil conservation. But as the Natural Resources Conservation Service's new name implies, it now has a broader mission, and so does the CRP. Both now are much more concerned with wildlife habitat and water quality.
The NRCS has had its toolbox expanded by two new programs created in the most recent Federal Farm Bill. The Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) is a voluntary program that provides technical help and cost-sharing for habitat improvement work on private land. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides cost-share assistance and financial incentives for landowners who take measures to protect water quality. Land management practices covered by EQIP include manure management systems, farmland buffer strips, fertilizer and pesticide storage, vegetative wind barriers, forest management, wildlife habitat management and cropland management practices such as root plowing and conservation cover plantings.
With these programs, the NRCS has much more ability to help landowners with wildlife conservation efforts. In fact, says Miller, the NRCS now has more wildlife conservation potential than capability.
"WHIP, EQIP and the broadened focus of CRP have expanded the NRCS's mission so fast, their staff hasn't been able to keep up. They have traditionally been a soil conservation agency, and they have all the expertise they need in that area. Where they are short at the moment is in fish and wildlife management. That's where we can help."
Since the Conservation Department has a wealth of forest, fish and wildlife management talent, the two agencies plan to pool their resources. Some NRCS employees will occupy desks in Conservation Department offices, and some Conservation Department workers will set up offices at NRCS facilities. This temporary arrangement will allow both agencies to learn from the experience of the other.
The agencies are calling the joint program the Open Lands Initiative. The program will be piloted in northeastern Missouri, with participating offices in Moberly, Shelbyville and Edina. In addition to the federal wildlife habitat programs, these offices will be able to assist landowners who are interested in the Conservation Department's Landowners Assisting Wildlife Survival program, which offers cash payments for crop buffer strips left standing adjacent to woody cover, and the stream conservation incentive program. Regardless of a landowner's goals, regardless of which programs are needed to reach those goals, all the necessary assistance will be available through one local office.
Besides cash payments, cost shares on conservation work and help from soil, water, fish and wildlife conservation professionals, the Open Lands Initiative will give participating landowners access to specialized equipment needed to sow native warm-season grass seed and conduct prescribed burns.
The two agencies' goal is to enroll half the eligible acreage and all the interested landowners in the pilot area in the Open Lands initiative. Conservation Department lands also will be managed to complement work on private land in the pilot area. The result should be more food and cover for quail, rabbits and songbirds in the region.
When the pilot program is completed and the results are evaluated, the NRCS and Conservation Department plan to expand the Open Lands Initiative to five other regions in north-central, northwestern, west-central, southwestern and southeastern Missouri.
Tom Dailey, an upland wildlife biologist with the Conservation Department, said, "Hunting success is going to improve as a result of the Open Lands Initiative. When it does, we will know that we have improved conditions for a whole array of wildlife, from quail and upland sandpiper to loggerhead shrikes and field sparrows. These animals provide recreation and enjoyment for hunters and birdwatchers. But just as important, they are indicators of a healthy environment."
-jim low-
Numbers of this prairie-dependent species are down 50 percent compared to 1995.
JEFFERSON CITY -- When it comes to Missouri's greater prairie chickens, booming is a term that can only apply to the birds' mating behavior. A 1997 spring count on prairie chicken breeding grounds shows a continuing downward population trend that began in the late 1960s.
"Booming" describes the sound male prairie chickens make while vying for mates. But this year's count found approximately one prairie chicken per 500 acres in survey areas in west-central Missouri. That figure, while up slightly from last year, reflects a 40-percent decrease from 1995. It is possible that Missouri's prairie chicken population could vanish, as it has in states to the east.
Missouri Department of Conservation Wildlife Research Biologist Larry Mechlin says the decreasing population figures are due to long-term habitat loss. Cool, wet weather during the birds' nesting and brood-rearing period from 1993 through 1996 helped accelerate population declines. Heavy rains wash out nests, and cool wet weather causes broods to succumb to hypothermia. Cool wet conditions also delay or reduce insect numbers when the broods need them for food.
These conditions have combined to prevent prairie chickens from rebounding from lows in the population cycle that normally occur in upland bird populations. "Typically over a series of years a species will have up and down population trends," says Mechlin. "Instead, we have seen a situation where the population goes up a little one year and goes down further the next year. We are gradually losing ground."
Because the weather cannot be controlled, the Conservation Department has concentrated on restoring populations and habitat. Reintroduction programs are being used where there were no remaining resident prairie chicken populations, such as in northern Missouri. Landowners in that area have taken advantage of recent years' federal farm programs to return a substantial amount of land to pastures, hayland and rested grassland.
Mechlin says after it was discovered that prairie chickens reintroduced in Iowa had added a portion of Harrison County in northern Missouri to their range, it seemed likely that a reintroduction program could work in other northern Missouri Counties.
To help remaining resident prairie chickens, the Conservation Department has targeted areas south of Sedalia and Nevada for landscape-scale prairie chicken habitat restoration through the Partners for Prairie Wildlife (PPW) project. That project is designed to create grassland habitat that will provide nesting and brood-rearing areas for prairie chickens. Private landowners with property adjacent to large tracts of public grassland receive cash payments, seed, herbicide and manpower to improve their farms for grassland wildlife. PPW's goal is to reduce fragmentation of the landscape and provide the vast stretches of grassland essential to the birds' survival.
Mechlin says the reintroductions and landscape-scale habitat restoration efforts are in their initial stages. He says it will take five years or more to determine their success. In the meantime, Mechlin is optimistic that more favorable spring and early summer weather conditions could lead to growth in prairie chicken numbers. "This past spring and summer was one of those periods of better conditions," says Mechlin. "We are hoping for improved numbers on the booming ground in the spring of 1998."
-arleasha mays-
Deer are more likely to be seen crossing roads this time of year. Here are some tips to help you avoid running into problems with running whitetails.
JEFFERSON CITY -- The Missouri Department of Conservation reminds motorists that deer are on the move. Drivers should be especially alert for deer on roadways early and late in the day.
Be aware of what's out there in front of you while driving, says Conservation Department Wildlife Research Biologist Jeff Beringer. Scan the roadsides. If you see a deer, get ready to see more. There may be a buck chasing a doe or a family group of deer. Some bold deer jump into the road ahead of others, while others lag behind the main group.
Accidents involving deer and automobiles had been declining in Missouri. The figure for 1987 was 9,378 accidents. That figure dropped to 7,663 in 1995. But 1996 saw a 15 percent jump in accidents to a total of 8,827 collisions.
There are more collisions this time of year because of deer breeding activity, says Beringer. Deer courtship involves bucks chasing does, testing if they are receptive to breeding. They go long distances while doing this and often cross busy roads.
Beringer says young deer also are on the move now, because they are leaving family groups and trying to establish their own home ranges. Increased activity by these deer make them candidates for auto collisions. They travel a lot and have a high mortality, Beringer says.
Deer population densities in Missouri average about 12 deer per square mile. Urban areas, such as Jefferson, St. Louis and Jackson counties, have high deer densities and the highest rates of auto-deer accidents in the state. Many of the deer in these counties live in undeveloped habitat near highways, places where there are lots of roads and heavy traffic, Beringer adds. In a recent year, 300 Missourians were injured in collisions with deer; nationally about 100 people a year are killed in car-deer collisions.
The Conservation Department is conducting a study of deer in St. Louis County to learn more about deer in urban areas. Special archery hunting seasons are helping to reduce urban deer numbers near Kansas City, Columbia and St. Louis.
Safety tips for drivers from the Conservation Department include extra vigilance early and late in the day, taking extra care when driving through wooded areas or near stream crossings and flashing your lights to scare deer standing on road margins. Motorists must be aware that deer often travel in groups, and that if a collision is imminent, it's better to hit the deer rather than go into a ditch or oncoming traffic.
-jim auckley-
JEFFERSON CITY -- Dates listed for fall firearms turkey hunting in the October issue of Missouri Conservationist magazine are not correct, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
The correct dates for fall firearms turkey hunting are Oct. 13-26. Opening and closing dates given in the Almanac section of the magazine showed the season opening and closing one day earlier.
Complete information about fall deer and turkey hunting regulations are contained in the 1997 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Information pamphlet, available wherever hunting permits are sold.
-jim low-
News Services Coordinator
(314) 751-4115, ext. 243
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