(Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo)
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| Missouri hunters bagged 10,100 turkeys on opening day of the 2003 spring turkey season April 21. Hunters 15 and younger brought 3,660 gobblers to check stations during the Youth Turkey Hunting Season April 12 and 13. Both those harvests were records, and no hunting accidents were reported. Spring turkey season continues through May 11. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
Missouri youngsters bagged 3,660 gobblers during the youth turkey season.
JEFFERSON CITY--Thousands of Missouri families are enjoying turkey dinners, compliments of hunters age 15 and younger. The harvest during Missouri's third youth spring turkey season April 12 and 13 totaled 3,660 birds.
The youth harvest topped last year's figure by 558 and was 1,130 more than the first year the youth hunt was offered. As in the two previous years, youth hunters got the job done without a single hunting accident.
Laclede County led the state with 81 turkeys checked, followed by Franklin County with 77 and Texas County with 76. Regional totals were: Central, 645; Northwest, 483; Southwest, 462; Ozark, 458; Northeast, 457; Kansas City, 450; Southeast, 367; St. Louis, 338.
The season was open to Missouri residents 15 and younger. Those 11 and younger had to hunt under the supervision of a hunter-education certified adult.
Conservation Department officials say they don't expect the youth harvest to affect hunter success during the three-week regular spring turkey season, which opened April 21.
- Jim Low -
Now the emphasis is on delivering services to Missourians where they live.
JEFFERSON CITY - The Missouri Department is headed in a new direction, one that is yielding more outdoor recreation, more education and more renewable resources for the state, say agency officials.
The shift, according to Conservation Department Director John Hoskins, is from buying land to making public land accessible to all Missourians and helping them practice conservation on the private land that comprises more than 93 percent of the state's area.
It's a logical progression," said Hoskins, "and one we always anticipated. Twenty-five years ago our top priority was making sure that people would always have conservation areas where they could enjoy nature. Now that they have the conservation areas, our challenge is to provide the knowledge, the facilities and skills they need to enjoy them."
Hoskins said the change took place over a period of several years as the Conservation Department fulfilled its land acquisition goals. By the mid-1990s, the agency had acquired areas that represented the state's diverse biological communities. The acquisitions ranged from vast tracts of forest, such as 37,522-acre Sunklands Conservation Area (CA) in Shannon County, and managed wetlands like 5,296-acre Grand Pass CA in Saline County to tiny Bat Cave Natural Area in Miller County. It also was closing in on the goal of acquiring areas with excellent recreational potential in every part of the state.
"One of our early goals was to ensure that every Missourian had access to a conservation area close to home," said Hoskins. "In many other states, you can drive for an hour or more between state wildlife areas. In Missouri, many people have several areas to choose from within a short drive."
In the years immediately after voters approved the one-eighth of one-percent sales tax for conservation in 1976, the agency spent as much as 42 percent of its annual budget buying land. Since then, the portion of conservation funding used for land acquisition has declined. In Fiscal Year 2001, the agency spent only about 1 percent of its money for land. In FY 2002, the figure was about 2 percent.
With an extensive network of conservation areas in place, the Conservation Department increasingly has turned its attention to developing facilities to help Missourians enjoy state-owned wildlife areas.
The most visible developments on conservation lands have been lake and stream accesses. The Conservation Department maintains more than 500 of these facilities statewide. They tend to be small, but the boat launching, bank fishing and picnicking opportunities they offer make them much more important than their acreage would indicate. Camping is permitted at some accesses, too.
Hiking trails--a recent addition on many conservation areas--also invite heavy usage. More than 600 miles of paved and unpaved paths offer opportunities for backpackers, day-trekkers, nature photographers, anglers and hunters to reach the interior of conservation areas in every corner of the state.
To provide fishing opportunities in as many locales as possible, the Conservation Department has cooperated with cities and counties to build and maintain 125 community lakes. These often double as municipal water supplies, with the Conservation Department helping develop fishing jetties, boat ramps and sanitary facilities and handling fisheries management. In urban areas, stocking of trout, catfish, sunfish and other species supports summer and winter fishing programs in neighborhood lakes.
The Conservation Department also conducts fishing clinics around the state to show first-time anglers how it's done and introduce them to the excitement of the tug at the end of a fishing line.
Since many Missourians live in urban areas, the Conservation Department makes an effort to offer nature-related experiences within easy reach of city-dwellers. Millions of people in St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and other cities have a variety of conservation land within a 30-minute drive of home, thanks to judicious purchases of land around population centers.
Another way the Conservation Department serves city residents is through its growing network of nature centers. St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Jefferson City already are served by such facilities. Partnerships with local communities are planned to raise funds for additional centers in Cape Girardeau, Joplin and St. Joseph. Redirecting income that once was spent on acquiring land enables the Conservation Department to staff and maintain these and other places for urbanites to stay in touch with the natural world.
With increased outdoor recreation comes increased need for enforcement of wildlife laws. Before voter approval of the conservation sales tax, the Conservation Department did well to assign one conservation agent to every one or two counties. Today, every county has at least one conservation agent. Forty-four counties are patrolled by two agents, and St. Louis, St. Charles and Jackson counties are served by three agents each. Besides enforcing hunting and fishing laws, agents serve as the first point of contact for people who need services such as wildlife damage control, hunter education programs and technical advice about forest, fish and wildlife management.
With more than 700,000 acres of land in conservation areas and another 150,000-plus acres of other agencies' land under Conservation Department management, the work of the agency's Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife divisions has grown. To ensure that management expertise and resources stay where they are needed--at the local level--the agency has flattened its administrative structure, transferring several positions from the central office in Jefferson City to the field.
The success of this strategy is evident in management success stories. Missouri's annual wild turkey harvest has multiplied nine-fold in the past 25 years. In 2001 the harvest topped 72,000, making Missouri the top turkey-producing state in the nation. The state's deer management program is working to control deer numbers, producing a harvest of more than 229,000 whitetails last year.
Bald eagles, ospreys, giant Canada geese and furbearers are among the Conservation Department's other success stories, and the agency now is turning its attention and resources to bobwhite quail restoration.
Not all the agency's efforts are directed at single species, however. Missouri is leading the way in national efforts to view and manage wildlife on a broader scale that benefits a wide array of plants and animals. The scientific underpinning needed to develop "landscape-scale" wildlife management will come from research projects like the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP), a 100-year study of the effects of timber harvesting on every facet of forest ecology.
Under management programs funded by the conservation sales tax, the amount of timber on conservation areas increased by an average of 75 board feet per acre between 1975 and 1988. The agency also supports urban forestry, providing $260,000 annually to encourage community tree planting and maintenance. Each year, the George O. White State Forest Nursery ships more than 5 million tree seedlings.
Conservation Department habitat work isn't confined to forests. The agency has played a key role in implementing the North American Wetland Management Plan, which restored millions of acres of marshland nationally and was essential to restoring beleaguered North American duck and goose populations. Ongoing wetland restoration at Columbia Bottom CA in St. Louis County and creation of the 13,732 August A. Busch J. Memorial Wetlands at Four Rivers Conservation Area are prime examples of using private and federal funds to leverage state conservation money. Similar initiatives are addressing the loss of prairie land and the resulting decline in numbers of songbird species that depend on grassland for their survival.
Another new priority for the Conservation Department's changing mission is providing the information and outdoor skills that people need to use their public land. To help people find conservation areas, the agency has a free "Discover Outdoor Missouri" road map showing the location of hundreds of conservation areas and providing basic information about each. The 262-page "Missouri's Conservation Atlas" provides more detailed information about conservation areas in a bound set of county road maps for $16. Both publications are available at conservation nature centers and regional offices statewide.
The Conservation Department also offers brochures, booklet, audio and video tapes and CDs to enable Missourians to find and enjoy nature-based outdoor activities. These range from guides to float streams and hiking trails to field guides for identifying birds, wildflowers and other plants and animals.
For people who lack the outdoor skills needed to get the most out of time on conservation areas, the Conservation Department sponsors outdoor skills workshops. Hunting, fishing, camping, canoeing, birdwatching and wildflower identification are a few of the subjects Missourians can learn about at Wonders of the Outdoor World (WOW), Hands-On Outdoor Training (HOOT) and Becoming an Outdoorswoman (BOW) workshops.
Conservation education extends into Missouri's elementary school classrooms, too. The Conservation Department works with state education officials to provide curriculum materials that meld nature knowledge with basic curriculum subjects like math and English.
The Conservation Department includes people with sensory or mobility impairments in its planning. Nature centers, hiking trails, boating accesses and other facilities all are available with accommodations for special needs. The agency co-sponsors special hunts for handicapped Missourians, too.
"I occasionally am asked what the Conservation Department is going to do with its sales tax money now that we aren't buying much land," said Hoskins, "as if our job is done. Buying the land was just the beginning of the job. It's kind of like buying a farm. Now we have to work the land. The challenge now is to give taxpayers the return that they deserve on their conservation investment."
Hoskins said maintaining productivity and providing access to well-managed conservation land will require all the Conservation Department's current resources. "Missouri's conservation program has good financial support compared to many other states, but it's important to appreciate that our conservation expenditures are modest in comparison to other state agencies' budgets. The Conservation Department's entire annual budget--including sales tax money, permit sales revenues and federal aid--is less than one percent of the state's annual budget. That's a bargain to keep up the best state conservation program in the nation."
- Jim Low -
A recent sampling of wild deer turned up no cases of the disease.
JEFFERSON CITY--State officials say that laboratory tests found no Missouri deer with chronic wasting disease (CWD). The Missouri Department of Conservation says it plans to continue testing additional deer in future years.
"The test results are encouraging, but we should remain vigilant," said Eric Kurzejeski, resource science supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation. "We need to stay on top of this to be sure we find CWD if it's elsewhere in the state, and we need to be ready to respond appropriately if it is found. We will continue to need hunters' help to accomplish that."
The Conservation Department took tissue samples from 5,972 deer killed by hunters during the November portion of the 2002 firearms deer season and had them tested for CWD. Also tested were approximately 400 deer taken by hunters in managed deer hunts and a smaller number of apparently sick deer that were reported to the Conservation Department as part of its pre-existing, targeted surveillance program. None of the deer tested positive for CWD.
The testing was the first round of the Conservation Department's three-year CWD monitoring program. It included approximately 200 deer from each of 30 counties. In the next two years, the agency plans to test another 12,000 deer from Missouri's remaining 84 counties. When complete, the program will provide a 95 percent chance of detecting CWD if it is present in the state.
In addition to the structured, statewide monitoring program, state officials will continue targeted testing of obviously sick deer reported to the Conservation or Agriculture department. Kurzejeski noted that Missouri hunters kill nearly 300,000 white-tailed deer annually and are in an excellent position to report deer that look sick.
Counties included in the 2002 monitoring program sample were Andrew, Bates, Bollinger, Caldwell, Callaway, Carroll, Chariton, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Franklin, Greene, Holt, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Madison, Monroe, Pike, Platte, Ripley, Ste. Clair, St. Francis, St. Louis, Scotland, Sullivan, Taney, Texas and Warren.
"We appreciate the help of hunters who donated deer heads for testing," said Kurzejeski. "Their cooperation will continue to be critical to the state's CWD monitoring program."
The Agriculture Department regulates the importation of captive deer and elk to safeguard Missouri from several veterinary diseases, including CWD. Producers from outside Missouri must obtain entry permits for elk, elk hybrids, mule deer and white-tail deer by proving they have been in a state-recognized CWD monitoring program for at least three years. Missouri prohibits the importation of captive deer and elk that come from any portion of a state designated as a CWD endemic area or that have been held in a CWD endemic area within the past 5 years.
CWD belongs to a group of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, or TSEs. It shares certain characteristics with other TSEs, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle, scrapie in sheep and Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease in humans. However, CWD is a different disease known to affect only members of the deer family.
The World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes for Health have studied CWD and found no link between it and similar human diseases.
Likewise, veterinary health officials say that all evidence to date indicates that CWD is not a threat to domesticated animals. Agriculture Department Staff Veterinarian Dr. David Hopson said current research shows no evidence that chronic wasting disease can spread to other livestock, such as cattle.
Dr. Howard Pue, public health veterinarian for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said, "I wouldn't change my lifestyle because of CWD."
For more information about CWD, visit the Conservation Department Web site, http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/hunt/deer/cwd.htm.
- 30 -
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| Using a decoy to hunt turkeys creates the potential for an accident. A reckless hunter might fail to identify his target properly and fire at your decoy. You can minimize your danger by tying a hunter-orange cloth around the tree where you sit. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
Birds serve as indicators of environmental quality and boost Missouri's economy.
JEFFERSON CITY--A multi-million dollar tourism industry based on birds is among several reasons cited by Gov. Bob Holden for proclaiming Bird Conservation Day in Missouri.
Holden signed the proclamation April 17 at the State Capitol, declaring May 10 Bird Conservation Day. In doing so, he noted the importance of thriving bird populations as indicators of the state's environmental health and as the basis for a thriving tourism industry.
Nearly 1.3 million Missourians watch birds each year, and eight out of 10 Missourians feeds birds. Wildlife watchers spend $444.1 million on their hobby in Missouri, and these expenditures generate $997.7 million in business activity and $21.4 million in sales tax revenues. Holden noted that wildlife watching supports more than 13,000 jobs in the Show-Me State.
One-hundred sixty-seven species of birds nest in Missouri, and another 235 bird species have been documented as migrating through or visiting the Show-Me State.
Holden also hailed the formation of the Missouri Bird Conservation Initiative (MoBCI) to ensure the continuation of healthy, diverse bird populations. More than 50 organizations, including the Conservation Department, business, industry, Audubon Missouri, Ducks Unlimited and other private conservation groups are part of the MoBCI coalition.
Organizations with an interest in bird conservation are invited to join the coalition. More information is available from Audubon Missouri, 2620 Forum Blvd., Suite C-1, Columbia, 65203. Phone 573/447-2249. For more information about birds in Missouri, visit http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/nathis/birds/.
- Jim Low -
Retail sales, tax revenues, jobs and spiritual renewal are among the benefits that Missourians derive from forests, fish and wildlife.
JEFFERSON CITY--What's the value of a butterfly, a wildflower, a bluebird or a wild turkey?
If you own a retail store catering to bird lovers, the answer might be the sale of a bird feeder and seed. If you are a motel operator, it could be the price of a night's lodging for out-of-state hunters. To a hunter watching a strutting turkey gobbler or a wide-eyed child watching a brilliant yellow swallowtail butterfly land on a purple coneflower, it is the value of a lasting memory, which is priceless.
Placing a value on forests, plants, animals and the human experiences that surround them is a challenge. The Missouri Department of Conservation has calculated some of those values to demonstrate that natural values are worth preserving.
The easiest way to quantify wildlife's value is in dollars and cents. Annual statistics on hunting and fishing permit sales, tourism expenditures and similar activities paint a picture of industries critical to Missouri's economic health.
--Forest-products businesses generate income of more than $3 billion.
--Missouri's more than 1 million hunters and anglers generate income. topping $1.5 billion and tax revenues of $104 million.
--Deer hunting alone generates more than $68 million in expenditures, adding nearly $16 million to state sales and income tax revenues.
--Wildlife watchers, many from other states, spend more than $448 million.
Another measure of the value of Missouri's natural assets is the jobs they support:
--34,000 jobs in the forest products industry.
--41,690 jobs related to hunting and fishing.
--7,300 jobs related to deer hunting.
--13,110 jobs related to bird feeding, nature photography and other wildlife watching. This is enough to fill Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City more than 23 times.
More than 2 million Missourians age 16 and older enjoy hunting, fishing and other wildlife-related recreation each year. Missouri residents alone spend more than 11 million days fishing, 6 million days hunting and 10 million days watching wildlife annually.
"People turn to the outdoors when the stress of life catches up with them," said John Hoskins, director of the Missouri Department of Conservation. "People's hunger for authentic contact with nature is evergreen. Decade after decade, Missourians come back to the state's forests, fish and wildlife for the rewards and spiritual renewal they offer. Nature has value you can take to the bank."
- Jim Low -
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| With favorable weather, Missouri hunters could harvest more than 50,000 turkeys during the 2003 spring turkey season April 21 through May 11. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
Make a few simple preparations now to vastly improve your chance of success.
JEFFERSON CITY--Turkey hunting is one of the most democratic kinds of hunting available in Missouri.
Missouri's thriving turkey population gives Show-Me State hunters about a 40 percent chance of killing at least one gobbler. Last spring, hunters here killed more than 56,000 turkeys in Missouri--more than any other state in the nation. The record harvest came in 2001, when Missouri hunters killed 57,842 turkeys.
You can shift the odds even farther in your favor by taking the following steps to maximize your chances of bagging a turkey.
Buy permits early
There is no limit on the number of permits available to hunt turkeys in Missouri, but you may test the limits of your patience if you wait until the last minute to buy one. Avoid long lines at permit vendors by buying your permit early.
Check your gear
Have you examined your camouflage clothing, seat cushion, calls, decoys and shotgun shells since last spring? Now is the time to check essential items to avoid being caught flatfooted on opening day. Diaphragm calls deteriorate, friction calls may require sandpapering to restore proper tone, and shot shells have a way of disappearing during the off season.
Also take time to check the safety and proper functioning of your shotgun. While you have your gun out, place the yellow "Be Safe" sticker on the receiver. This is a legal requirement for turkey hunters.
Pattern your shotgun
Most turkey hunters have great faith in the ability of their favorite turkey guns to drop gobblers at long distances. Surprisingly few have ever test-fired their guns to determine exactly how their gun performs with different loads. "Patterning" a shotgun provides information about three factors critical to turkey hunting success.
First, firing your shotgun at a paper target at known distances with different loads tells you which loads deliver the best killing patterns. Second, it allows you to determine how far you can reasonably expect to shoot at a turkey and be certain of a clean kill. Third, patterning reveals whether your shotgun delivers the charge of shot to the point of aim.
This last factor can be surprising. Shotguns normally are used on moving targets, and shooters develop instinctive skills to put the shot where it needs to be. But shotguns must be aimed like rifles for turkey hunting, and many shotguns shoot slightly left, right, above or below the point of aim.
To find out how your shotgun performs, make several targets of paper or cardboard. They should be at least 24 inches square. Thirty-six inches is better to reveal the placement and density of the shot pattern.
Set targets up at measured distances of 20, 30, 40 and 50 yards, making sure that they are far enough apart that they won=t be hit by stray shot from other targets. Mark each target with the distance and type of shell being tested. Make a large, black dot in the center of each target and take careful aim at the dot when firing test shots.
Missouri law prohibits using shot sizes larger than No. 4 for turkey hunting. No 6 is the smallest size shot capable of penetrating turkey skulls and neck bones beyond a few yards, so the choices are No. 4, No. 5 or No. 6.
After you have shot one target with each load you are testing at each distance, lay the targets out and compare the shot patterns. The first thing to look for is how the shot patterns are centered on the targets. If most seem to be skewed one direction from the center, you will know that you must compensate for this by adjusting your point of aim.
Next, look at the distribution of shot on each target. The pieces of shot should be close enough together to make it impossible for a turkey to avoid having its skull and neck bones hit by several pieces of shot. Finally, the shot should be evenly distributed to minimize "holes" in the pattern.
Larger pieces of shot penetrate bone better at long range, but the tradeoff is that a given weight of large shot has fewer pellets than the same weight of smaller shot. Penetrating power is useless if the pattern is too sparse or patchy to ensure hits on vital areas. You may choose No. 4 shot if you don't plan to shoot at birds farther than 25 yards, but opt for No. 6 if you hope to take shots out to 35 yards.
Believe and remember what your patterning targets tell you. Hunters like to talk about the once in a lifetime shot that killed a gobbler at 50 yards, but few shotguns produce patterns capable of consistently producing clean kills at this distance. If you find that the effective range of your shotgun is 35 yards, don't try longer shots.
Selecting loads and chokes
It makes sense to use the heaviest load that your gun will fire safely, as long as the kick doesn't lead to flinching and poor aim. It also makes sense to use the tightest choke available in shotguns with interchangeable or adjustable chokes. Don't get caught in a magnum rat race, however.
The key to killing a gobbler is calling it as close as possible before pulling the trigger. Get a bird within 20 yards, and any shotgun will do the job. Fail to get the bird within 40 yards, and you run the risk of losing a wounded bird no matter how impressive your artillery.
Practice calling
Don't wait until the night before the season opens to brush up calling skills. The best way to learn to call turkeys is to listen to real wild turkeys and imitate their sounds. If you can't do this in the woods, consider buying an audio tape of turkey sounds. Instructional audio and video tapes can be helpful, too.
Scout the competition
The best thing you can do to increase your turkey hunting enjoyment and your chances of killing a turkey is to spend some time in the woods prior to the hunting season and learn your quarry's habits. If you approach this casually, strolling around carelessly in regular hunting clothes, not only will you probably not learn much, you'll spook the turkeys, making them even harder to hunt.
Approach scouting trips as seriously as actual hunts. Wear full camouflage, move slowly and silently and spend most of your time afield sitting absolutely still, watching and listening for information about turkey activity.
As much as possible, do your scouting from afar. Choose a concealed, elevated location from which you can survey the terrain you plan to hunt, and use binoculars to discover where turkeys like to feed, strut and loaf.
Most important, be in the woods at dusk the week before turkey season opens. Post yourself in several different locations at sunset on successive days and listen for the sound of turkeys flying up to roost as darkness falls. Just because a gobbler roosts in one location today is no guarantee that he will return to the same tree the next night. But if you have discovered the location of several favorite roosting sites you=ll be way ahead of the game on opening day.
Final tips
Body shots don=t count in turkey hunting. To prevent a turkey from running off, you must hit him with at least one pellet in the skull or in one of his neck bones.
If you aim directly at a turkey's head, half your shot pattern will fly harmlessly over his head. Worse, if the bird ducks his head just as you fire, you may miss entirely. Instead, aim at the middle of the bird's neck.
A turkey shot from behind, from the side, or with his head pulled up next to the body while strutting does not have his vital area fully exposed. The ideal position is with the turkey facing you with his head up and his neck fully extended.
When the excitement of the hunt builds to a spine-tingling crescendo, remind yourself that no turkey is worth taking the chance of hurting another hunter or being injured yourself. Force yourself to wait until you can see the entire bird before clicking off the safety on your gun. Look beyond your target before pulling the trigger to be sure no one else is in the line of fire.
- Jim Low -
EMINENCE, Mo.--The Missouri Conservation Commission will meet April 27 and 28 at the Jerry J. Presley Conservation Education Center near Eminence.
The Commission will meet in closed session April 27 and in open session at 1 p.m. April 28.
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. Requests must be received by April 14. People requiring special services or accommodations to attend the meeting can make arrangements by writing to the same address, or by phone at 573/751-4115.
Commission officers are: Howard L. Wood, Bonne Terre, chairman, Stephen C. Bradford, Cape Girardeau, vice-chairman; Cynthia Metcalfe, St. Louis, secretary, and Anita B. Gorman, Kansas City, member.
- Jim Low -
A win at the national level would earn this Raytown student a $1,000 prize.
JEFFERSON CITY--Alex Rinas, a fifth-grade student at Norfleet Elementary School in Raytown, is the Missouri state winner in the 2003 Arbor Day National Poster Contest. Rinas was honored April 4 in Raytown during a tree planting ceremony on the Norfleet Elementary School grounds. He was also recognized on March 13, when he attended Gov. Bob Holden's signing of the Missouri Arbor Day Proclamation at the Capitol in Jefferson City.
Rinas was selected by a panel of judges from the Missouri Community Forestry Council, which includes citizens, city foresters, members of the Missouri Parks & Recreation Association, representatives from Forest ReLeaf of Missouri, and foresters from the Missouri Department of Conservation. The contest, sponsored nationally by the National Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota Motor Corp., asked students to create posters reflecting the theme "Trees are terrific...from acorn to oak!" More than 1,000 fifth-grade students from 30 Missouri schools participated.
As the state winner, Rinas received a $50 savings bond from Forest ReLeaf of Missouri and a framed certificate from the Missouri Community Forestry Council. The Conservation Department also planted a tree on his school's grounds in recognition of Rinas' achievement. Ms. Becky Needham, art teacher at Norfleet Elementary, received a Trees Are Terrific Curriculum Kit provided by the National Arbor Day Foundation.
"Students like Alex across the state have learned about the importance of trees to our environment and how they can make a difference," said Missouri State Forester Robert Krepps. "Awareness of the relationship of trees and our environment begins at a young age, and the Conservation Department helps promote many conservation education programs, like the recognition of Arbor Day and the poster competition."
Rinas' poster will be part of the National Arbor Day Foundation's national competition. The national winner will be recognized on National Arbor Day Awards Weekend, April 25-27. The winner, his or her parents, and the winning student's teacher will receive an expense-paid trip to Nebraska City, Neb., birthplace of Arbor Day. In addition, the national winner will receive a $1,000 savings bond and lifetime membership in the National Arbor Day Foundation.
The winning teacher will receive $200 for classroom materials.
The National Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit education organization dedicated to tree planting and environmental stewardship. Visit www.arborday.org. for online learning opportunities and to request specific educational materials.
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| Dogwood trees should be in full bloom throughout southern Missouri for the Easter weekend, according to foresters with the Missouri Department of Conservation. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
The chances of contracting this mosquito-borne disease are small, and a few simple precautions can reduce them further.
JEFFERSON CITY--With the return of warm weather, mosquitoes are again becoming part of everyday life in Missouri. With them comes a chance of contracting West Nile virus. However, public health officials say the risk is small, and people can manage their risk with common-sense precautions.
West Nile virus has long been common in Africa, west and central Asia and the Middle East. It was first found in the United States in 1999, when birds and people in New York City were diagnosed with West Nile fever. Since then, it has spread throughout the eastern and central United States.
Although people, dogs, cats, horses and other mammals can be infected, birds are the virus' primary host. Crows and blue jays are particularly susceptible. The virus gets into humans and domestic animals with the help of mosquitoes, which harbor viruses in their bodies after biting infected birds.
Avoiding West Nile virus means avoiding mosquito bites. To do this:
--Eliminate stagnant water where mosquitoes breed. For example, clogged rain gutters, old tires, buckets and swimming pool covers.
--Empty bird baths and other water containers weekly to get rid of mosquito larvae.
--Use insect repellents containing N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide, commonly known as DEET. Apply only as directed. Adults shouldn't use repellents with DEET concentrations higher than 50 percent. For children ages 2 through 12, use repellents with concentrations of 10 percent or less.
--Wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants and socks to avoid mosquito bites.
-- Stock fish in ponds. Many fish--even goldfish--eat mosquito larvae.
Small-scale insecticide spraying is ineffective, because mosquitoes can travel several miles on the wind.
"It is important for Missourians to be aware of this disease and to take reasonable precautions, such as using insect repellents and eliminating standing water around their homes," said Howard Pue, Public Health Veterinarian with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). "However, people should keep the risk of West Nile virus in perspective. This is just one of several insect- or tick-borne diseases--along with St. Louis encephalitis, Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever--that have been around for a number of years. We haven't let those stop us from attending little league baseball games, going on picnics, fishing or hunting. West Nile virus is no different, really."
A clinical investigation in New York City showed that 2.6 percent of the human population there was infected with West Nile virus following the 1999 transmission season. Another study showed that eight out of ten people who were infected with West Nile virus had no symptoms and suffered no ill effects.
In 2002 the DHSS recorded 168 cases of West Nile infection where people had symptoms. Of those, 50 had only West Nile fever, with flu-like symptoms. The other 118 developed the more serious West Nile encephalitis or meningitis. Seven human deaths were linked to West Nile virus infection in Missouri.
The risk of serious West Nile infection is higher for people over age 50. One case of West Nile virus transmission was identified between a pregnant mother and her unborn child, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Ga. In addition, it appears the virus can be transmitted through breast milk. The CDC recommends that pregnant women and nursing mothers take precautions to reduce their risk of West Nile virus infection. However, the CDC does not suggest a change in the American Academies of Pediatricians' and Family Physicians' breast-feeding recommendations. These recommendations are available at http://www.aap.org/policy/re9729.html.
Several companies are working to develop a vaccine against the disease. The disease does not spread from person to person.
The Consumer Specialty Products Association advises against combining insect repellents and sunscreen. Doing so reduces the effectiveness of both products. If you can't find a product with both sunscreen and repellent, apply insect repellent and take measures to reduce sun exposure.
In samples of Missouri wild birds, West Nile virus was found in four game species: mallard, mourning dove, wood duck and Canada goose. Although no cases of West Nile infection from game animals have been identified, the CDC has confirmed that two laboratory workers became infected last summer when their broken skin came into contact with infected animal tissues or blood. It urges hunters to follow the precautions they would use when handling any wild animal. This includes wearing gloves when handling and cleaning animals to prevent blood exposure to bare hands and ensuring that meat is cooked thoroughly.
More information about West Nile virus is available from the DHSS at www.dhss.state.mo.us/WestNileVirus/.
- Jim Low -
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