March 2006
Proper pruning helps storm-damaged trees survive
Friday, March 31, 2006
Broken or hanging limbs can threaten homeowners' safety.
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The three-cut pruning method eliminates problems with torn bark. Illustration courtesy of The National Arbor Day Foundation |
| Damaged limbs should removed near their base, not immediately below the break. Illustration courtesy of The National Arbor Day Foundation |
Forestry Field Programs Supervisor Justine Gartner said the amount of damage a tree can survive depends on the species.
"Weak-wooded species like silver maples, Bradford pears and Siberian elms are prone to rot, so they are hard to salvage if they lose more than a few limbs," said Gartner. "Their wood is so soft that when damage occurs, it's often pretty extensive. Those species are short-lived anyway, so it usually makes sense to replace them rather than trying to save them."
On the other hand, said Gartner, oaks, sugar maples, hickories, elms and other native hardwoods can survive the loss of a substantial part of their crown. In these trees, survivability depends more on where the damage occurs. A forester or professional arborist can offer advice about whether a particular tree is worth trying to save.
Pruning can increase trees' survival prospects if done properly. The key is removing limbs to avoid further damage and promote quick healing.
The most common kind of damage that occurs during pruning is torn bark. This happens when a branch is cut on its upper surface and breaks before the saw cuts all the way through. As the limb falls it pulls downward on the remaining bark, tearing into the limb or trunk below.
This can be avoided by making three cuts. Make the first a few inches into the damaged branch's bottom surface a foot or two from its junction with the main branch. This stops bark tearing.
Make the second cut a foot or so above the first one, severing most of the limb and thereby taking its weight off the remaining stump. The final cut is just above the raised ridge of bark known as the collar. This cut should leave the bark collar intact. This collar eventually will produce bark to cover the wound. The cut should be a little closer to the collar on the upper side than on the bottom.
Bark tears can occur when wind breaks limbs near their bases. These tears should be cleaned up to reduce the chance of disease or parasite infestation.
The idea is to remove loose bark and even up jagged edges of tears where disease fungus or insects can hide. Use a chisel or sharp knife to remove bark that is not firmly attached to the tree without enlarging the exposed area any more than necessary.
Do not paint the exposed surface of bark tears or pruning wounds. This actually hampers healing.
More information about caring for damaged trees is available at the Missouri Forestkeepers web site, http://www.forestkeepers.org/ or the National Arbor Day Foundation's web site, www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/uf/sotuf/chapter_4/appendix_a/appendixa.htm. To find a forester or arborist for advice, contact the nearest Conservation Department office.
Information about maintaining trees also is available through the Missouri Forestkeepers Network. Membership is free. Forestkeepers encourages voluntary involvement with urban or rural forests. Members decide what forest, park or other land to adopt and set their own goals. Program brochures and applications are available by calling toll-free (888) 9FOREST.
Forest nursery worker caps career by presenting trees to governor, granddaughter
Friday, March 31, 2006
This year's ceremonial tree presentation had special significance for the presenter.
JEFFERSON CITY-Jan Moloney has sent dozens of tree seedlings to Missouri governors during her career at George O. White State Forest Nursery. Over the past 31 years she also has sent millions of trees to the state's fourth-graders. But it wasn't until this year-her last year on the job-that she got to deliver the governor's tree in person and give one to her own granddaughter.
Moloney, a forestry resource technician, went to work at the Conservation Department nursery near Licking in February 1975. Part of her job then-as now-was sorting hundreds of thousands of trees annually for shipping all over Missouri. The nursery also provides more than 100,000 seedlings to be given to fourth-graders statewide as part of Missouri's Arbor Day celebration each year.
Fifteen years ago, Moloney got the job of picking a few particularly nice seedlings each year and moving them to the nursery's greenhouse so they leaf out. Those special trees have been presented to Missouri governors at Arbor Day proclamation signing ceremonies.
This year more than 120,000 Missouri fourth-graders will share the governor's privilege of receiving Shumard oak seedlings that have passed under Moloney's watchful eyes. It is the last time she will have a hand in the process, because she is retiring this summer.
In recognition of her years of service, Moloney was chosen to represent the Conservation Department at the March 8 ceremony in the Missouri State Capitol, where Gov. Matt Blunt signed a proclamation designating April 7 as Arbor Day in Missouri. With her was her granddaughter, Alissa Moloney.
"I was a little nervous, naturally," said Jan. "I didn't know what to expect, but everyone was very friendly, and the whole thing was very nice. Alissa got to look around the Capitol. She had never been there before. She enjoyed the outing, too."
Alissa has visited Jan at the forest nursery occasionally in the past, so she knew exactly why her grandmother was being honored. "If her mom is working out of town she sometimes rides the bus to the nursery after school and helps me," said Jan. "She'll put on her little gloves and apron and safety glasses and work alongside me."
As a fourth-grade student in the Licking School District, Alissa will receive one more tangible reminder of her grandmother's work. She will get a Shumard oak seedling, which she plans to plant at her home near Licking.
"Leaving my job after all these years will be a little hard," said Jan, who has worked at the nursery more than half her life. "I think it's an absolutely wonderful life to choose. I really enjoy my work, doing something for my state, my community and the environment. But I think I will enjoy having more free time."
The National Arbor Day Foundation offers information and services to help people plant and maintain trees. For more information, visit www.arborday.org/, or contact Arbor Day, 100 Arbor Ave., Nebraska City, NE 68410, (888) 448-7337.
-Jim Low-
State, federal officials prepare for possibility of bird flu
Friday, March 31, 2006
At present, risk from the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus is low in the Mississippi Flyway. However, that could change, so officials are taking measures to detect and combat any outbreak.
JEFFERSON CITY-State wildlife officials say the risk of a virulent new strain of bird flu reaching Missouri currently is small. Nevertheless, they are working with other state and federal wildlife, health and agriculture agencies to ensure that the virus is detected early if it gets here. They also are helping develop an action plan for such an event.
The new, highly pathogenic strain of the H5N1 virus originated in Asia and has spread to Europe. It has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of domestic and wild birds there and has proven fatal to a little over 100 humans who contracted it. The human fatalities have involved people who had close daily contact with large concentrations of domestic birds, such as at poultry farms.
Mike Roell, resource science supervisor at the Missouri Department of Conservation's Resource Science Center in Columbia, said Missouri's risk status is a matter of geography.
"For the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus to get to Missouri through wild channels, ducks or other migratory birds would have to come in contact with birds from Asia," said Roell. "Missouri is in the Mississippi Flyway, which is a path followed by large numbers of migrating birds. Very, very few birds that travel along the Mississippi Flyway spend the summer in areas that Asian birds also visit."
Waterfowl, shorebirds, gulls and terns are the most likely migratory species to carry the virus. State and federal authorities are focusing most of their avian flu monitoring efforts on Alaska and the Pacific Flyway, where most North American birds that come in contact with Asian birds are found.
"Missouri really is not a place where we expect to see an early outbreak," said Roell.
Nevertheless, the Conservation Department is participating in efforts to monitor for the virus. He said the agency took samples from 300 hunter-killed ducks at Otter Slough and Duck Creek conservation areas last fall. He said Conservation Department workers asked hunters for permission to swab the birds' digestive tracts and sent the resulting samples to labs for testing. He said hunters were enthusiastic and cooperative in making their birds available for testing. They kept their ducks after samples were taken.
The Conservation Department also continues its normal practice of investigating reports of large numbers of dead or sick birds.
Details of the 2006 bird flu monitoring program in Missouri will be determined as part of the Mississippi Flyway sampling protocol, which will closely resemble the protocol for the Pacific Flyway.
Nationwide, H5N1 monitoring will include investigating die-offs, surveillance of wild bird populations, testing of hunter-killed birds and collection of fecal and water samples in areas of high waterfowl population concentrations.
Officials also plan to use "sentinel" flocks. These consist of domestic birds-some owned privately by cooperating Missourians, and some established especially for monitoring near large water bodies. These flocks will provide an opportunity to test birds that are exposed to migratory birds.
The Conservation Department also is part of Missouri's Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Committee, a multi-agency group that is developing a response plan in case the virus reaches the Show-Me State and changes so it can more easily infect people.
Roell noted that migratory birds are not the only avenue by which H5N1 could enter the United States. He said smuggling of birds and poultry products, travel by infected people or travelers bringing virus-contaminated articles back from other counties are more direct potential means of introducing the virus.
Details of the national bird flu monitoring effort are available at www.nwhc.usgs.gov/ For answers to commonly asked questions about bird flu, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/hunt/wtrfowl/birdflu.htm.
-Jim Low-
Bobwhite bonus is building at White River Trace
Friday, March 24, 2006
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| Special management at White River Trace Conservation Area south of Rolla is creating opportunities for quail hunters and birdwatchers while adding to knowledge of grassland birds' habitat needs. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
SALEM, Mo.-Most Missouri quail hunters would give a year's worth of dog food to find a spot where they could flush seven coveys in two hours. They would get weak in the knees at the sight of plum thickets, native grassland and brushy draws sprawling over thousands of acres instead of huddling in isolated corners. Such a place does exist. It is public land, and hunting is allowed.
The place is White River Trace Conservation Area (CA). The Missouri Department of Conservation created the area to create a quail-management area in the Ozarks. It is more than a place where hunters can pursue bobwhite quail. It also is a place where wildlife managers and researchers can learn more about the bobwhite and its needs. Ongoing work there also provides object lessons for landowners who want to make wildlife a priority on their own property.
White River Trace CA covers 2,044 acres in east-central Dent County, approximately 20 miles due south of Rolla. Geologically, it is part of the Salem Plateau, an elevated area between the Current and Meramec River watersheds. The soil is thin and sandy.
Like Indian Trail CA to the east, White River Trace CA draws its name from an ancient Indian trail that crosses the areas southeastern corner. Carved into the surface of the land by countless feet over hundreds of years, the "trace" is still visible. In the winter of 1838-1839, 1,766 Cherokee Indians used the trail on their way to the Indian Territories in what is now Oklahoma. More than one-quarter of their party died along the way.
At that point in history, the area still was covered with grasslands, glades, savannas and open woodlands. It teemed with wildlife, including songbirds, deer, turkey, elk, bison and bobwhite quail. In the years that followed, however, land use drastically altered the landscape. Intensive grazing and the introduction of exotic, cool-season grasses virtually eliminated native grasses and shrubby growth. Fire suppression allowed trees to engulf the savannas.
By the time the Conservation Department bought the area in 1988, it had few quail, because it had almost no quail habitat. The open areas were covered with pure stands of fescue grass. Brushy growth was confined to draws and fence rows. Savannas where woodland and grassland intermingled had turned into dense groves of post and blackjack oaks and hickories with virtually no commercial or wildlife value.
The Conservation Department bought the land especially because of its potential for management as habitat for quail and other birds and wildlife that thrive in open lands. The plan was to establish plant communities similar to what existed there originally.
The first step was to replace fescue pastures with a mix of warm-season grasses, including little bluestem, and other native plants, such as partridge pea, native lespedezas and Maximillian sunflower. Fire-tolerant woody plants such as hazelnut, American plum and sumac were part of the restoration effort, too.
The Conservation Department got help for some work at White River Trace CA from Quail Unlimited, the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Turkey Federation's George C. Clark Chapter.
If the community management approach succeeded, one result would be better-maybe great-quail hunting. But it also promised benefits for wildlife in general, from birds to mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
Wildlife Management Biologist Rob Chapman inherited the job of managing White River Trace CA five years ago. When he and his staff began working on the area, the open land was well on its way to more natural conditions. Their challenge was, and remains, converting dense stands of scrubby oak-hickory forest back to savanna.
Prescribed fire is the tool in this task, because it is effective for restoring and maintaining open woodlands and savannas. Herbicides also can be an effective method of thinning trees. However, broadcast spraying would incidentally kill desirable plants such as prairie willow, New Jersey tea, lead plant, royal catchfly, rattlesnake master, blazing star, coreopsis and Michigan lily, which have survived beneath the trees. Consequently, chainsaws and hand-applied herbicide are used in combination with prescribed fire in restoring open woodland and savanna to the area.
One way to judge the success of the Conservation Department's strategy is by the variety of birds on the area. Rolla resident Mike Doyen is vice president of the Audubon Society of Missouri. He says the changes in bird life at White River Trace CA since he began visiting the area eight years ago have been amazing. An example is the increase in the number of sparrow species.
David Plank, the famous wildlife artist from nearby Salem, is an accomplished birder and a frequent visitor to White River Trace CA. He goes there to sketch and photograph plants and animals for his work. He took time to show Doyen the various sparrow species found on the area.
"Quail management has really succeeded," said Doyen. "There are lots of quail, and also lots of other grassland birds, like Bell's vireo, Henslow's sparrow and grasshopper sparrows, that are rarely seen in the Ozarks today. There are so many sparrows calling sometimes, you can't count them all."
In fact, Chapman said, nearly every sparrow species known to live in Missouri has been seen on the area. Other birds that find safe harbor at White River Trace CA include dickcissels, woodcocks, indigo buntings, Bewick's wrens, bluebirds and a host of warblers. In all, 117 species have been reported on the area. These include the endangered Bachman's sparrow, although this has not been conclusively confirmed
A pair of northern harrier hawks nested on the area last year. "That is unheard of," Doyen said. "They never nest this far south. There is nothing static on the area. It is improving every year."
The bobwhite quail, the nominal target species of management, has done well, too. The area's quail population is estimated at 500 to 1,000 birds, which is close to the management goal of one bird for every two acres. Abundant habitat is the reason.
Whereas most quail habitat on private land is found in steep draws and other hard-to-farm areas, virtually all of White River Trace CA is suitable for quail use.
"People think of the bobwhite as an 'edge' species," said Chapman, "but that is mostly because they get pushed to the edge. At White River Trace, the kind of habitat normally found only in field edges is everywhere. There are plum thickets at the edge of warm-season grasses, at the edge of ponds, at the edge of blackberry thickets, at the edge of brushy draws. One day there will be savannas at the edges of all the other kinds of quail habitat. Everywhere is the edge at White River Trace."
Hunters are encouraged to use the area under special regulations. Quail hunting is allowed until 1 p.m. daily from Nov. 1 through Nov. 30. Hunters check in and out each day and report the number of coveys they flushed and the number of birds they killed and crippled. Records show that hunters have flushed as many as seven coveys in one morning of hunting. The area has produced a harvest of up to 430 quail per year.
Surprisingly, however, hunting quail is not easy at White River Trace CA, in spite of their abundance. Records of past years' hunts show that it takes an average of three hours to flush one covey. Ironically, abundant habitat also explains why quail hunting is tough at White River Trace CA.
"Hunters on this area hate it the first time," said Chapman. "The birds aren't all on fence rows and food plots. Quail habitat is everywhere." This gives the birds lots of room to spread out in, said Chapman, making them harder to find.
The elusiveness of quail at White River Trace CA actually is a good thing, because they are harder for predators to find. Instead of being able to patrol brushy draws and other oases of habitat in the midst of a desert of fescue grass and tall timber, predators must try to find quail in hundreds of acres of prime quail cover, the same challenge hunters face.
"You look out over 300 acres, and the quail could be anywhere," said Chapman. "It can be a frustrating place to hunt."
This may account for the fact that White River Trace CA has not become a Mecca for quail hunters, in spite of its strong quail population. More surprising is the fact that birders don't use the area more. Doyen said weekend birders are beginning to discover the area, but he almost never sees anyone else on the area during the week.
"The more I go there, the more I fall in love with the place," said Doyen. "Sometimes I go there just to sit and watch and listen to the wind blowing through the grass. It is remarkable to have a 2,000-acre grassland in the Ozarks."
Because White River Trace CA is part of a quail focus area under the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative, neighboring landowners may qualify for a 90 percent cost share on quail-friendly management practices. For more information, visit www.bobwhiteconservation.org/, or call Chapman at (573) 368-2590, ext. 25.
-Jim Low-
Chillicothe & Portageville to host April waterfowl meetings
Friday, March 24, 2006
Participants will learn about proposed seasons and zone boundaries.
JEFFERSON CITY-Residents of southeastern and north-central Missouri will have two opportunities to learn about waterfowl hunting regulations and discuss those regulations with the Missouri Department of Conservation.
The 2006-07 waterfowl season structure is on the agenda for the April 7 Conservation Commission meeting. The Conservation Department has scheduled waterfowl season workshops April 17 in Chillicothe and April 20 in Portageville to discuss the Commission's actions related to waterfowl hunting regulations.
The Chillicothe meeting will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Grand River Inn, 606 W. Business 36, at the junction of Highways 36 and 65. Further information is vailable by calling (660) 646-3140.
The meeting in Portageville will be from 7 to 9 p.m. at the University of Missouri Delta Center, 147 Highway T, at the junction of Highway T. Further information is available by calling (573) 290-5730.
-Jim Low-
Litter tips make No MOre Trash goals attainable
Friday, March 24, 2006
Small actions can make a big difference.
JEFFERSON CITY-April is No MOre Trash Month in Missouri, and the Missouri Department of Conservation has tips to help people keep the Show-Me State litter-free.
One way to avoid litter is to cut down on waste. You can reduce waste by using cloth napkins instead of paper and reusing cardboard boxes, grocery bags and other wood-pulp based products. Another litter-reduction tactic is to have your name removed from mailing lists and ask to receive information electronically instead. The Direct Marketing Association has information about how to do this at www.dmaconsumers.org/consumerassistance.html.
Smoking produces a significant amount of litter. Some smokers do not consider their cast-off cigarette butts litter. Others say they toss butts due to a lack of safe places to discard them. Eighty percent of smokers say they would use butt receptacles if they were available, so providing suitable disposal containers is one litter-prevention strategy.
Half of smokers say they would change their behavior if they were more aware of their effect on the environment. Let friends who smoke know that their discarded cigarette butts are litter. They can learn more at www.cigarettelitter.com.
Research by Keep America Beautiful, Inc., showed the leading sources of litter include household garbage cans, commercial dumpsters and trucks with uncovered cargo beds. These are within the control of their owners, so be sure your property isn't part of the problem.
Keep America Beautiful also discovered that people with low self-esteem are more likely to litter than those with a good self-image. Young people also are more likely to litter, especially when they are in groups. Peer pressure is a powerful tool in this age group.
For more information about how you can help keep Missouri clean, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/nomoretrash/.
-Jim Low-
Commission to meet April 7 in Jefferson City
Friday, March 24, 2006
JEFFERSON CITY-The Missouri Conservation Commission will hold its next meeting at 8:30 a.m. April 7 at Conservation Department Headquarters, 2901 W. Truman Blvd. Jefferson City.
Commission meetings are open to the public. Items to be placed on the agenda for presentations or other business should be sent in writing to Director, Missouri Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180, fax (573) 751-4467, at least 10 working days before the meeting date.
People requiring special services or accommodations to attend Conservation Commission meetings can make arrangements by writing to the same address, or by phone at (573) 751-4115.
Commissioners are: Lowell Mohler, Jefferson City, chairman; Stephen Bradford, Cape Girardeau, vice-chairman; Cynthia Metcalfe, St. Louis, secretary; Chip McGeehan, Marshfield, member.
-Jim Low-
Lisa Allen named Missouri State Forester
Friday, March 17, 2006
Missouri's top forest steward touts the importance of partnerships in achieving healthy and sustainable forests.
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| Lisa Allen recently was named Missouri's eighth state forester. Allen has worked for the Missouri Department of Conservation for 20 years, holding jobs from assistant resource forester to Private Land Services Division Administrator. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
Conservation Department Director John Hoskins introduced newly appointed Missouri State Forester Lisa Allen at the March 3 meeting of the Conservation Commission at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center, Kirkwood. He noted her passion for forest stewardship and her vision for the future of forest management in Missouri.
The state forester is the face of forestry in Missouri, providing leadership for current and future forestry issues and overseeing activities of the Forestry Division and its 235 workers. Allen said her goal is to advance healthy, diverse and sustainable forests in both rural and urban areas. She said this will require collaboration with many partners, old and new.
Allen, 45, is a native of Howell County. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in forestry from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She worked as an assistant resource forester in southeastern Missouri from 1984 to 1988 and as a resource forester in central Missouri from 1988 to 1993. She supervised the Conservation Department's urban and community forestry programs from 1995 through 1998, and from 1998 through 2003 she supervised Forestry Division activities in southern Missouri as one of the Conservation Department's two forest management chiefs. For the past two and a half years she has headed the Private Land Services Division.
"During the interview process, Lisa articulated a passion and vision for the Forestry Division and the citizens and stakeholders it serves," said Hoskins. "I am excited about her plans to improve forest health, engage private landowners and the forest industry and recruit and retain quality staff."
Allen said she formed an ambition to become state forester early in her career. "When I began my career as a field forester, I couldn't imagine finding a job more enjoyable and rewarding than working as a forester for the Conservation Department," she said. "I made up my mind early on to work hard and do my best everyday, and maybe someday I would have the opportunity to lead such a great group of dedicated professionals. It is hard for me to believe that day is here."
Allen said her ambitions for Missouri's forests include increased forest management assistance to private landowners, improved forest health and protection programs, better collaboration with the forest industry to ensure sustainable forest management, advanced support of community forestry programs and continued broad-based resource and recreation management on conservation areas.
She said the Forestry Division faces several challenges, including: --Managing uncontrolled fire, disease and insects.
--Land conversions that result in smaller, fragmented forests.
--Informing and educating Missourians about the benefits and importance of forests in maintaining healthy ecosystems that enhance quality of life.
--Maintaining a quality work force in the Forestry Division when there is a shortage of professional foresters.
--Maintaining healthy and sustainable forests on private land, which contains 82 percent of the state's forests, as well as on public land. These forests support a wood-products industry that annually generates $4.4 billion in economic activity, creates $54 million in state sales tax revenue and supports approximately 32,250 jobs.
Professional leadership outside the Conservation Department is evident on Allen's resume. She has been a member of the Society of American Foresters since 1985 and holds the group's Certified Forester title. She currently chairs the University of Missouri's School of Natural Resources Advisory Council and is the chairwoman-elect of the Missouri Chapter of the Society of American Foresters. She serves on the Michigan State University School of Forestry's accreditation review board.
Allen is the eighth person to hold the title of Missouri State Forester, and the first woman to do so. She succeeds Bob Krepps, who was state forester from November 1999 through December 2005.
The Forestry Division and the post of State Forester were created in 1938. That was a few months after Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment setting up the nation's first independent, bipartisan conservation agency.
Missouri's other state foresters were: George O. White, 1938-1959; Osal B. Capps, 1959-1976; Jerry Presley, 1976-1986; David Hurlbut, 1986-1988; Gerald Ross, 1988-1992; and Marvin Brown, 1992-1999.
-Jim Low-
Conservation contractor training leaves participants eager for more
Friday, March 17, 2006
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| More than 300 people took part in the first round of Conservation Contractor Workshops offered at eight locations around the state in February and March. The intensive, day-long events are designed to build a work force of wildlife management entrepreneurs who put conservation principles into practice on private land. For information about qualified private conservation contractors, call the Conservation Department's Private Land Services Division at 751-4115, or visit www.mdc.mo.gov/cgi-bin/mdcdevpub/ apps/contactsnonmdc/main.cgi. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
WEST PLAINS-The crowd of 45 men and women gathered at the Missouri Department of Conservation's West Plains office on Feb. 28 could have been farmers. Blue jeans, work shirts and boots were the standard uniform. Ball caps bearing the names of implement companies and camouflage clothing manufacturers were much in evidence.
The conversation was harder to characterize. Much of the discussion taking place over steaming coffee in the big conference room that morning revolved around seed drills and crops, but there was also a good deal of talk about quail, bass, deer and turkeys. Then Brad McCord called the meeting to order.
'Welcome to the Conservation Contractor's Training Course," said the Conservation Department's private land programs coordinator. So began a day of instruction in wildlife management for profit.
In a way, those who attended the training were farmers. They either raise wildlife or hope to do so-for hire. The purpose of the course was to increase their knowledge and skill at making land more productive for fish and wildlife. It also aimed to improve their business acumen, helping them become successful conservation entrepreneurs.
Participants' ages ranged from 20s through 70s. Some were already in the business of making other people's wildlife dreams come true. Some were intrigued by the idea but lacked the know-how or confidence to get started. Several people at the session were there to learn about managing wildlife on their own land. A farm-supply company sent a representative to keep up with developments that might affect its business.
The course was a cooperative effort of the Conservation Department, the Missouri Agriculture Industries Council, Inc. (MO-AG) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. During the morning, participants got a crash course in grassland and woodland management for wildlife.
The atmosphere was relaxed, and as the morning progressed, participants who already were working as conservation contractors contributed personal experiences and tips of interest to aspiring wildlife workers.
An example was a strategy for bridging the productivity gap that occurs when cattlemen convert fields of fescue to native, warm-season grasses. Warm-season grass seed is a valuable commodity, and some landowners find it helpful to harvest and sell seed from developing grass stands until they reach full productivity for haying or grazing. The seed can be sold or used to reduce the cost of converting other fields.
Workshop participants received copies of all the instructional materials used in the training. They also got a stack of other material, including a Conservation Contractor Manual with detailed information about dozens of aspects of managing open land, forests, wetlands and streams. The manual also included information about tapping state and federal wildlife management cost-share programs and MO-AG services.
After the morning's instruction, the workshop moved outdoors. The field trip took them to land owned by Dick and Carol Shooshan near Pomona. The retired couple moved to the Ozarks because the land was similar to their former home area in New Hampshire, but with a warmer climate. They were intrigued by the land's natural potential, but they didn't know the first thing about managing it. To get advice, they contacted the Conservation Department.
Private Land Services Regional Supervisor Bob Cunningham helped them develop a management plan for their land that encouraged diverse plant and animal communities. Now the Shooshan's property is a perfect place to show conservation contractors how to achieve specific goals on private land.
"It's one thing to show people management on a conservation area, where everything is kind of by the book," said Cunningham, "but private land is very different. Each property is a special case. When you bring them here, you can show them how things work on a real farm. The landowner tells them what he wanted and what he did. They learn how that interaction works, and it helps them in their business."
At different teaching stations around the Shooshan farm, workshop participants learned valuable details, such as how to adjust seed drills and other farm implements so they work with wild seeds and plants, the special needs of native plants and how to prevent the death of tree seedlings due to root drying during planting.
Safety was part of training, too. For example, instructors pointed out tree species that are prone to be hollow, creating serious danger to workers who try to kill them by girdling their bark with chainsaws.
Walks between teaching sites gave instructors and students alike a chance to share hard-won field experience. Tips about tree planting in dry weather, adapting all-terrain vehicles for farm work on remote sites and other tricks of the trade flowed freely.
The field trip wrapped up at a food plot ringed by forest. When all the planned material had been covered, McCord asked if anyone had questions.
"When is the next workshop going to be?" asked one of the students. From there, discussion turned to what the participants wanted to learn in future events.
McCord later expressed pleasure at the fact that many workshop participants clearly wanted more. "I think this first course gives us a good framework to build on," said McCord. "We will be doing a lot of evaluation work to decide what to offer in later sessions."
He said the evaluation began with forms filled out by participants at each of the eight workshops. "We need to know what they want to see next, what they need most help with. That's going to determine our next course of action."
On the trek back to their vehicles, some workshop graduates were already thinking ahead, to putting their know-how to work. "I want to get that free advertising on the Internet," said one. He was referring to the listing of private conservation contractors on the Conservation Department's Web page. Workshop participants qualify for inclusion in the listing.
Landowners who need wildlife management work done can go to www.mdc.mo.gov/programs/contractor/ to find qualified contractors. You can also find information there about conservation contractor training.
For more information about future conservation contractor training, call the Private Land Services Division at (573) 751-4115.
-Jim Low-
Officials hope conservation contractor training will satisfy unmet needs
Friday, March 17, 2006
Without wildlife entrepreneurs, much of Missouri's potential wildlife habitat will go unmanaged.
JEFFERSON CITY-With government agencies like the Missouri Department of Conservation, the USDA Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, why do Missourians need private wildlife contractors? The answer lies in one fact: 94 percent of Missouri's existing and potential fish and wildlife habitat-approximately 42 million acres-is on private land.
"There is no getting around that number," said McCord. "No government agency has resources to practice wildlife management on that large a scale. If we don't have conservation on private land in Missouri, we hardly have conservation at all."
Luckily, said McCord, many landowners care about conservation. "They want to manage their land in ways that are compatible with wildlife. Our challenge is to give them the tools they need to do it."
McCord said several developing trends work in favor of private-land conservation. One is the movement of people from cities and suburbs to small rural acreages. Homeowners with 10 to 100 acres around their houses have different ambitions for their land than farmers or ranchers, and high among those goals is encouraging wildlife.
Wildlife management also is becoming more attractive to those who depend on their land for income. Money from state and federal cost-share programs helps landowners blend the demands of farming and forestry with the needs of wildlife. The ability to augment incomes with hunting leases makes wildlife-friendly land management not only affordable, but good business.
Some provisions of the Federal Farm Bill will help landowners pay for conservation work. The Conservation Department has its own cost-share programs to complement federal offerings. But even with the desire to help wildlife and financial incentives to do so, obstacles remain. Few landowners have the necessary time and expertise. Others start out with lots of enthusiasm but run out of steam. Private Land Services Regional Supervisor Bob Cunningham calls this common phenomenon "planting fatigue."
"The first few years, people have a burst of energy and excitement. But after planting several hundred trees or fighting fescue for two or three years they come back to us and say, 'Can't you find somebody to do this for me?'"
That is where private conservation contractors come in. A cadre of qualified private conservation contractors could multiply government conservation efforts many times. The Conservation Department is trying to develop this entrepreneurial work force by offering conservation contractor workshops.
"If we could get six or seven people out of each of these courses to go into business full time," said McCord, "that would put 50 more people on the ground statewide doing wildlife work. It would make a huge difference."
For information about conservation contractor training, call the Private Land Services Division at (573) 751-4115.
-Jim Low-
Share the Harvest donations near record level despite challenges
Friday, March 17, 2006
Telling every successful hunter about donating venison helped offset tough hunting conditions and the closing of check stations.
JEFFERSON CITY-Private conservation officials credit Missouri's new electronic game-checking system with saving the day for needy people statewide. Without a boost from Telecheck, they say, many more Missourians might be having trouble putting food on the table.
Dave Murphy, executive director of the 50,000-member Conservation Federation of Missouri, said his organization processed hunter donations of at least 258,191 pounds of venison during last year's deer season. That is just 6 percent less than last year's record figure of 275,374. Murphy says he considers that a phenomenal success.
Murphy notes that several factors could have caused 2005 venison donations to be much lower than they were. For one thing, hunters had a tough year. Abundant acorns caused deer to be more scattered and harder for hunters to find. Overall, Missouri's 2005 deer harvest was down 8.3 percent compared to the record set in 2004.
"Hunters killed almost 26,000 fewer deer than they did the year before," said Murphy. "That was a very worrisome fact for folks at food banks and homeless shelters. They have come to rely on venison donations to help them feed hungry people. If you assume that hunters are putting the first deer they shoot into their own freezers, then killing one to donate, you would expect that kind of harvest drop to hit hard."
Program organizers also worried about how the elimination of check stations would affect venison donations. In previous years, local Share the Harvest workers met hunters at check stations in many areas and encouraged them to donate meat. With the replacement of check stations by telephone and computer deer checking, that point of contact disappeared.
"A very considerate action by the Conservation Department really rescued the program, in my opinion," said Murphy. He said the Telecheck system was already set up when Share the Harvest organizers realized the possible impact that eliminating check stations might have on donations. The Conservation Department already had a contract for the service spelling out voice prompts that hunters would receive when checking deer. But at the Conservation Federation's request, the agency changed the system to include Share the Harvest in the recorded message.
"Each and every successful hunter telechecking their deer heard our message," said Murphy, "not just those who happened to go to a check station where one of our volunteers was working. There is no doubt in my mind that the reminder made a tremendous difference."
Murphy said 2005 Share the Harvest donations could still top the previous record. He said invoices from meat processors who took part in the program are still coming in. "It is possible that we may yet surpass last year's totals," he said. "To me, that is amazing."
Share the Harvest was established in 1992 by the Columbia Area Archers and the St. Louis Longbeards chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation. The goal was to give hunters an easy way to donate deer meat to the needy. Since then, the program has grown from collecting a few hundred pounds of venison to funneling more than 100 tons of meat annually into food banks and local charities.
Hunters can donate all or part of deer. In many cases, money is available to pay for processing of whole deer, making the donations free for hunters. This is made possible by donations from hunter groups, local businesses and large corporate donors, including Bass Pro Shops and Shelter Insurance.
Although Share the Harvest is a statewide program, it is organized and operated at the local level by a civic club or sporting group. The first step in setting up a Share the Harvest program is to find at least one deer processor and one charitable agency to participate in the program.
The organizing group then contacts the local conservation agent. The agent provides information and advice and ensures that both the packing house and charitable organization are reliable.
For more information about Share the Harvest, visit www.missouriconservation.org/hunt/deer/share/ or contact the Conservation Federation at (573) 634-2322, mofed@socket.net.
-Jim Low-
Ron Coleman named Conservationist of the Year
Friday, March 10, 2006
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| Ron Coleman of Glencoe is the Conservation Federation of Missouri's 2005 Conservationist of the year. Coleman is executive director of the St. Louis Region Open Space Council. His contributions to conservation over the past three decades include establishing hiking/biking trails, organizing stream restoration projects, establishing St. Louis' annual Clean Water Celebration, organizing the first Missouri Wildlife Art Festival in St. Charles and working tirelessly for renewal of Missouri's one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax for state parks and soil conservation. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
LAKE OZARK-A citizen who has spent decades inspiring thousands of others to take active roles in conserving natural resources is the recipient of the Conservation Federation of Missouri's highest honor, the Conservationist of the Year Award.
The Federation represents 69 affiliated groups and more than 50,000 people statewide. Each year it honors individuals and groups for outstanding contributions in various areas of conservation. Besides these narrowly focused awards, the Federation annually selects one person for long-term service in multiple areas of conservation endeavor. This year's overall honoree is Ron Coleman of Wildwood.
Coleman is an alumnus of Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University) and the University of Missouri-Columbia and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in parks and recreation administration. He has served on the Federation's board of directors for 25 years. During that time he has chaired the Parks, Trails, Rivers and Streams, Natural History and Environment committees. He also served a term as the group's secretary. As president of the Missouri Parks Association, he has worked tirelessly for the renewal of Missouri's parks and soils tax.
Urban parks and open space have been a special interest for Coleman, who currently is executive director of the Open Space Council for the Louis Region. He has helped secure rights-of-way for hundreds of miles of hiking and biking trails where Missourians can renew their bond with nature. Among his greatest successes was the creation of the Frisco Highline Trail between Springfield and Bolivar, the state's second-largest rails-to-trails conversion. The project coincidentally saved thousands of acres of wildlife habitat.
Stream conservation is another passion for Coleman, who has led restoration efforts on the Meramec River by coordinating an annual cleanup event for 28 years. His diverse conservation achievements also include establishing St. Louis' annual Clean Water Celebration, organizing the first Missouri Wildlife Art Festival in St. Charles and working tirelessly for renewal of Missouri's one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax for state parks and soil conservation.
"I have always felt pretty humbled to work in the ranks with so many dedicated and accomplished conservationists in the past," said Coleman after receiving the award. "They have inspired me to carry on the important conservation work for the future."
Coleman received the award Feb. 24 during the Federation's annual meeting at the Lodge of Four Seasons. Other 2005 Conservationist of the Year Award winners are:
Professional Conservationist of the Year Jennifer Battson
Jennifer Battson is the private land conservationist for the Conservation Department in Cole and Osage counties. Last year she made 89 on-site visits to help landowners with conservation practices. The result was 41 conservation plans encompassing 4,321 acres of forest, glade, prairie, savanna, wetlands, streams, ponds, grasslands, crop land and old fields. After hours, she devotes time to citizen conservation groups, including Ducks Unlimited, Quail Unlimited and the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF). She has been very active in the NWTF's Women in the Outdoors and Jakes programs and works regularly with 4H, FFA and other youth groups.
Youth Conservationists of the Year Dane Balsman and Patrick "Neal" Hutton
Dane Balsman and Patrick "Neal" Hutton are seniors at Missouri State University majoring in wildlife management. Both participated in the Conservation Department's Conservation Honors Program and the Federation's Conservation Leadership Council.
Balsman has worked as an animal-care assistant at the Wonders of Wildlife Museum in Springfield and a fisheries assistant and a gypsy moth trapper for the Conservation Department. He is a member of the American Fisheries Society and the National Wild Turkey Federation and is president of the MSU chapter of The Wildlife Society
Hutton performed volunteer work with the Hickory County office of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. He is a charter member of the Federation's Conservation Leadership Corps, where he became active in the Federation's conservation committees. He helped found a chapter of The Wildlife Society at Missouri State University.
Conservation Communicator of the Year Steve Brigman
Steve Brigman covers hunting, fishing and other outdoor subjects for the Springfield News-Leader. His stories and columns are grounded in outdoor experience, enabling him to convey the excitement of the activities about which he writes. Besides capturing readers' imaginations, Brigman provides information and insights that outdoors people need to understand the conservation issues behind the stories.
Conservation Educator of the Year John "Jack" Bowles
Jack Bowles is the teacher in charge of Little Creek Nature Area, The Ferguson-Florissant School District's 96-acre outdoor science-education facility. He directs instruction and operations there, in addition to teaching field biology and advanced-placement environmental science classes for three high schools. He also coaches an Envirothon team.
Hunter Education Instructor of the Year William "Jake" Jacoby
Jake Jacoby has been a volunteer hunter education instructor for 12 years. During that time, he has devoted 2,250 hours of classroom time instilling hunting ethics, firearms safety and other hunting skills in nearly 10,000 students. He has donated more than $4,000 worth of firearms and other hunting equipment and supplies to help his students start hunting. At age 79 he shows no sign of slowing down.
Wildlife Conservationist of the Year Nick Prough
Nick Prough is the Conservation Department's private land conservationist in Cass County. He has recruited more than 100 landowners to enroll acreage in the CP-33 Habitat Buffers Program, more than any other county in Missouri. He also leads the state in Quail Habitat Incentive Project enrollments, with 35 ongoing projects for a total of 155 projects to date. He is always willing to help with prescribed burns, planning food plots, developing operational plans and finding seed for wildlife food plots.
Water Conservationist of the Year Watershed Committee of the Ozarks
The Watershed Committee of the Ozarks has been working for five years to develop the Watershed Center at Valley Water Mill, a landmark achievement for water-quality education. The publicly owned, 100-acre facility comprises a large spring, a 17-acre lake, wetlands, sinkholes, caves and stream frontage. It offers students a chance to learn to harmonize development and high water quality.
Conservation Organization of the Year Ozarks Wilderness Waterways Club
The Ozark Wilderness Waterways Club has worked for 50 years to develop public interest in preserving the natural, wild waterways of the Ozark Region. It was instrumental in preventing construction of dams on the Gasconade, Meramec, Current, Jacks Fork, Eleven Point, Sac, Pomme de Terre and Buffalo rivers. Club members have served on virtually all the Federation's committees and helped found the Missouri Stream Team program.
To learn more about the Federation and the Conservationist of the Year Awards, call (573) 634-2322 or visit www.confedmo.org/.
-Jim Low-
New catfish regulations now in effect
Friday, March 10, 2006
Anglers who fancy blue catfish need to know the creel limit has been reduced.
JEFFERSON CITY-Missouri anglers need to know that creel limits for two catfish species changed effective March 1. The change will have the biggest effect on those who specialize in blue catfish.
Channel catfish and blue catfish are among the most sought-after fish species in Missouri. Anglers catch good numbers of both species in some waters, including the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and the state's many large reservoirs.
Even though the two species are different in many ways, they have been subject to the same fishing rules for years. Those rules included a daily limit of 10 channel or blue catfish in the aggregate. In other words, anglers could keep a total of 10 channel and blue catfish daily. That could have been five of each, or 8 blue catfish and two channel cats.
That changed March 1, when new creel limits went into effect. Now, on all Missouri waters except where special catfish management regulations apply, the daily limit is 10 channel catfish and 5 blue catfish daily. This means an angler can keep more catfish than in the past-up to 10 channel cats and five blues. However, they can't keep as many blue catfish as in the past.
The daily limit of five flathead catfish has not changed.
"Clearly, channel catfish and blue catfish can provide very different fishing experiences," said Resource Scientist Kevin Sullivan. "This rule change is the first step in recognizing these differences, and will allow us to manage these species independently. Blue catfish grow much larger than channel catfish, and we're working on management strategies to help take advantage of that growth potential."
One of the key objectives of the Missouri Catfish Management Plan, completed in 2003 following a series of public meetings, was to "maintain or improve the numbers of large blue catfish and flathead catfish." One of the strategies identified to help achieve that objective was to "implement new regulations to restrict harvest of blue catfish statewide while still allowing liberal harvest of channel catfish." The new statewide regulation partially fulfills that strategy.
The blue catfish is a long-lived species that takes many years to reach large size. Some take 10 years to reach 25 inches long, or about 5.5 pounds. A 10-year-old blue catfish, unlike many other sportfish species, isn't near the end of its normal life span. It might easily live another 15 years and grow to be 70, 80 or even 100 pounds.
If anglers harvest too many blue catfish in the 25- to 35-inch range, few are left to reach larger sizes. "We don't expect this rule change alone to result in a lot more 20 or 30 pound blue catfish," said Sullivan, "but it will allow us the option to implement other rules specific for blue catfish in the future, based on angler desires for a particular fishery."
Because the new regulation separates channel catfish and blue catfish, anglers who want to maximize their take-home catch need to be able to tell the difference between channel catfish and blue catfish. Most Missouri catfish anglers don't mind that challenge based on a statewide catfish angler survey conducted by the Conservation Department.
To help with identification, the agency has produced a 36-inch stick-on ruler that highlights some of the key characteristics of the three catfish species. The Department also has a small tri-fold handout that shows the key differences between channels, blues and flatheads. Both are available on request from local Conservation offices.
Anglers should note that some waters where blue catfish live are not affected by the new regulation. Table Rock, Norfork and Bull Shoals reservoirs continue under a daily limit of 10 channels, blues and flatheads in the aggregate. The Missouri portion of the Mississippi River continues with a daily and possession limit of 20 channels and blues in the aggregate and 10 flathead catfish.
The special catfish management zone below Truman Dam still has a daily limit of 4 channels, blues and flatheads in the aggregate with only one catfish over 24 inches allowed.
Most smaller Conservation Department lakes and Community Assistance Program lakes have more restrictive catfish regulations. Anglers should always refer to area signs and brochures to determine daily and possession limits at these lakes.
Those who fish on the Des Moines, Mississippi or Missouri rivers should be aware of what state they are fishing in and abide by the catfish regulations for that state.
Anglers fishing in the section of the St. Francis River that forms the boundary between Missouri and Arkansas need to abide by the regulations of the state in which they are licensed.
The possession limit for each of the catfish species is twice the daily limit.
If you have questions about the new catfish regulation, contact your local conservation agent or a Conservation office in your area.
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Lewis & Clark journalists discover awards
Friday, March 03, 2006
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| Ellen Ashbee of Springfield won the grand prize in the first year of the Conservation Department's Lewis and Clark Journaling Project, including a tent, sleeping bags and camp pillows from Bass Pro Shops and a lantern, camp stove and 50-quart cooler from The Coleman Co. The deadline for entering this year's drawing is May 31. To get started, visit one of the following sites and ask for a Lewis and Clark Journaling booklet. To get started, visit Burr Oak Woods Conservation Nature Center (CNC), Cape Girardeau Conservation Campus Nature Center, Columbia Bottom Conservation Area, Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, Lost Valley Hatchery Conservaton Center, Powder Valley CNC, Runge CNC, Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery Conservation Center, or Springfield CNC. (Photo courtesy of Bob Ball) |
JEFFERSON CITY-Four footloose Missourians and their families will get years of outdoor enjoyment from prizes garnered in the Lewis and Clark Journaling Project sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation and two outdoor equipment companies.
The project spanned the first year of the Lewis and Clark bicentennial. It encouraged participants to visit nature centers and other designated conservation areas around the state. At each site, they emulated Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and other members of Corps of Discovery by recording observations about their surroundings in special journals.
Each site offered a unique way for modern-day explorers to get in touch with aspects of nature mentioned in the Corps of Discovery journals. At each site visited they received a different enamel lapel pin commemorating a distinctive feature there. They also got their journals stamped to confirm their visit.
Those who visited all eight designated sites the first year received a completion pin depicting a Carolina parakeet. Lewis and Clark reported seeing tremendous flocks of the bird, which is now extinct, while passing through Missouri.
Those who received completion pins were entered in a drawing for camping equipment donated by Bass Pro Shops of Springfield and The Coleman Company of Wichita, Kan. Just over 100 people qualified for the drawing the first year.
Ellen Ashbee of Springfield won the first year's grand prize, taking home a four-person dome tent, two sleeping bags, two camp pillows from Bass Pro Shops of Springfield and a lantern, a camp stove and a 50-quart cooler from The Coleman Company, Wichita, Kan. The prizes are a good fit for Ashbee, her husband, Mike, and their sons Brandon, 13 and Jon, 11. They are an outdoorsy family who enjoy hiking, canoeing, fishing and camping.
The Ashbees started their voyage of discovery at Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery Conservation Center near Branson and finished at Columbia Bottom Conservation Area (CA) at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. When they picked up their prizes at the Springfield Conservation Nature Center (CNC) they each made an entry in this year's Lewis and Clark journal. "Who knows," said Ellen, "we might just win again next year."
Three other Lewis and Clark journalists won Coleman stoves in the drawing. They were Larry A. Williams of Kansas City, Patricia Collier of Florissant and Travis Gemmell of Barnhart.
This year, the Conservation Department has designated nine sites for the project. Sites and the pins for each are: --Burr Oak Woods CNC, Blue Springs, bison. --Cape Girardeau Conservation Campus Nature Center, bufflehead duck. --Columbia Bottom Conservation Area, St. Louis, mallard duck. --Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, Kansas City, pawpaw fruit. --Lost Valley Hatchery, Warsaw, channel catfish. --Powder Valley CNC, Kirkwood, dugout canoe. --Runge CNC, Jefferson City, wood duck. --Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery Conservation Center, Branson, brown trout. --Springfield CNC, coyote.
So far, only 14 people have visited all nine sites in the second year of the program. Those who do receive a timber wolf completion pin and are entered in a drawing for more outdoor gear. The program runs through May 31, 2006.
To get started, visit one of the designated sites and ask for a Lewis and Clark Journaling booklet. The booklet outlines day trips and activities that will help you get in touch with the Corps of Discovery's saga and provides places for journal entries.
-Jim Low-
2006 aid to volunteer fire departments from Conservation Department tops $400,000
Friday, March 03, 2006
Training and equipment purchases will protect homes and businesses as well as forests.
JEFFERSON CITY-The Missouri Department of Conservation plans to funnel more than $400,000 into rural fire departments to help protect their members while adding to resources available for fighting forest fires. When added to local matching funds, the total benefit to rural fire department patrons will top $800,000 in 2006.
Conservation Department Fire Training Coordinator Bruce Palmer said the agency has approved 202 grants totaling $417,952 for rural fire departments this year.
Last year the agency had $382,302 available for the program and distributed $373,230. Local matching funds brought expenditures under the program to $434,199.
The grants come from Volunteer Fire Assistance, a program administered by the USDA Forest Service. The Conservation Department adds more than $100,000 each year to the Forest Service funds. The Missouri State Forester oversees the program.
Money comes in the form of 50/50 matching grants of up to $3,000. The grants are available to communities with populations of 10,000 or fewer. Priority is given to rural fire departments with the greatest financial need and to projects that will help suppress forest and other wild-land fires. The money can be used for firefighting and communications equipment or training.
This year the State Forester approved more than 60 volunteer fire department (VFD) applications at or near the $3,000 maximum. These include:
Northeast Region - Adair County Rural Fire Department (RFD) No. 1, Bevier Fire Department (FD), Edina RFD, Higbee FPD, King City FPD, Novinger Community FPD, Paris RFPD, Shelbina FPD, Southwest Adair County RFD.
St. Louis Region - Beaufort/Leslie Fire Protection District (FPD), Belgrade VFD, Herculaneum Fire Department (FD), Mapaville FPD, Sullivan FPD, Americorps, Gerald-Rosebud FPD.
Southeast Region - Big River Fire Protection, Cascade Volunteer FD, East Perry County RFPA, Piedmont RFD, Scott City FD, Southern Iron County FPD, Whitewater FPD, Lake Forest FD, Patterson FD, Desloge VFD, Rural Perry County FPA, NBC FPD, Clearwater FPD, Scott County RFPD.
Ozark Region - Howell County RFD No. 1, Mansfield FD, Pomona FPD, Willow Springs FD, Houston Rural Fire Association (RFA).
Southwest Region - Central Crossing FD, Cross Timbers FD, Galmey FD, Monett RFD, Morrisville Fire-Rescue, Walnut Grove FPD, Jenkins FD, Crane City FD, Dade County R-4 FPD.
Kansas City Region - Cole Camp Rural Fire Protection District (RFPD), Iconium FPD, Lincoln Community FPD, Tightwad FPD.
Northwest Region - Braymer Volunteer Fire and Rescue, Graham FPD, Gamesport RFD, K.A.W. FPD, Lathrop FPD, Spickard FPD, Stanberry Community RFD, Tri-C VFD, Viking Valley FD, Fillmore FD, Northwest Holt County FD, Brookfield RFA, San Antonio FPD, Rock Port VFD.
Central Region - Cole County FPD, Iberia Rural Fire Protection District (RFPD), Vichy Volunteer Fire Protection Association, Sunrise Beach FPD, Gravois FPD.
For more information about the VFA program, contact the nearest Conservation Department office or call the Forestry Division Central Office, (573) 751-4115.
-Jim Low-
Wild game adds variety to heart-healthy diets
Friday, March 03, 2006
Wild meat is a dietary bargain compared to domestic products.
JEFFERSON CITY-Do you have an expanding waistline? If you are losing the battle of the bulge you might consider taking up hunting. It offers heart- and lung-strengthening exercise with a bonus-meat that is low in fat and cholesterol.
In general, wild game tends to be lower in fat than meat from domestic animals. Furthermore, wild animals deposit fat reserves differently than some livestock.
For example, pigs and cattle store large amounts of fat between and within muscle. This is considered desirable, because the meat bastes itself while cooking, making it easy to serve juicy meat with almost any cooking method, from boiling to broiling. For people with heart disease and others watching their fat intake, however, it makes these meats bad choices.
In contrast, white-tailed deer lay down fat reserves almost entirely between the skin and muscle or inside the body cavity. Furthermore, venison fat is dense and waxy at room temperature, which makes it unpleasant on the palate. Hunters and meat processors are careful to remove all the fat from venison cuts before cooking. That is good news for fat-conscious dieters.
Venison is not the only wild meat that is low-fat. Tests conducted at the University of North Dakota at Fargo show that most wild game is naturally low in fat. USDA choice beef is approximately 6.5 percent fat. White-tailed deer venison's fat content is about 1.4 percent. Cottontail rabbit meat is 2.4 percent fat. Wild turkey meat contains 1.1 percent fat, while pheasant has an amazingly low fat content of .6 percent. Moose is the lowest of the low-fat meats, with a miniscule .5 percent.
Waterfowl are higher in fat, but their meat still compares favorably with beef. Mallard meat contains 2 percent fat, while snow geese carry 3.6 percent fat.
Heart-conscious consumers limit their intake of fat partly because it packs a lot of calories, which contribute to obesity. They also limit fat consumption because the body converts it to cholesterol, which can clog blood vessels.
Many dieters are surprised to learn that low-fat meats can be high in cholesterol. A heart-healthy diet seeks a balance between fat and cholesterol consumption.
Wild game compares less favorably on cholesterol content than fat content. USDA choice beef contains 72 milligrams (mg) of cholesterol per 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of meat. Cholesterol content of wild meats include: pheasant, 52 mg; wild turkey, 55 mg; buffalo, 62 mg; elk, 67 mg; moose, 71 mg; conttontail rabbit, 77 mg; squirrel, 83 mg; mourning dove, 94 mg; white-tailed deer venison, 116 mg; mallard, 140 mg, and snow goose, 142 mg.
For more information about wild game and nutrition, visit www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/yf/foods/hunting/wg-pubs.htm.
-Jim Low-
