May 2004

Free Fishing Days set for June 12-13

Free Fishing Days June 12 and 13 are a perfect opportunity for casual anglers to enjoy fishing without having to buy permits. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo))

The best things in life are free . . . two days a year.

JEFFERSON CITY-There may not be such a thing as a free lunch, but for two days each year, there is free fishing.  On June 12 and 13, anyone can fish in the Show-me State without having to buy a fishing permit, trout stamp or trout park daily tag.

Each year the Missouri Department of Conservation designates the weekend after the first Monday in June for permit-optional fishing. The goal of Free Fishing Days is to encourage people to sample the state's abundant fishing opportunities.

Show-Me State anglers can fish for stocked rainbow trout in state parks or catch bluegills and catfish at community lakes statewide. Those looking for a special challenge or for solitude can pursue wild trout in specially managed stretches of Ozark streams. The Missouri, Mississippi and Osage rivers harbor monster blue and flathead catfish, and largemouth bass are available at big lakes in every corner of the state. Thousands of ponds harbor bluegill and crappie. You can even stalk hefty, torpedo-like muskellunge in a handful of lakes scattered around the state.

"This is just one way we say thank you to Missourians for their support throughout the year," said Fisheries Division Administrator Steve Eder. "If you haven't fished in awhile, you can do it on us this weekend. You might be reminded of how much fun it is and decide to go again some time soon. There's no better way to spend time with friends and family. You might even bring home supper."
Normal regulations, such as limits on the size and number of fish you can keep, remain in effect during Free Fishing Days.

Regulations are outlined in the 2004 Summary of Missouri Fishing Regulations. The free booklets are available at bait shops and other stores where fishing equipment is sold. Some private fishing areas still require permits on free fishing days, and trespass laws remain in effect on private property.

Public fishing areas are available in every county in Missouri. To learn about fishing spots near you, visit www.mdc.state.mo.us/fish/prospects/ or call the nearest Conservation Department office. Many state-owned fishing areas have special facilities for anglers with handicaps. For information about handicap-accessible fishing spots, visit www.mdc.state.mo.us/accessibility/.

- Jim Low -

Conservation areas perfect for National Trails Day

No Missourian has to drive more than a few minutes to celebrate National Trails Day June 5.

JEFFERSON CITY-The poet who penned the line, "What is so rare as a day in June?" wasn't thinking of National Trails Day. However, the American Hiking Society apparently agreed with that sentiment, because they chose the first Saturday in June for their annual National Trails Day celebration.

Opportunities to enjoy National Trails Day are not rare in Missouri, where conservation areas (CAs) statewide offer hundreds of miles of trails.

The Missouri Department of Conservation has more than 650 miles of trails on areas so widely distributed that no one in the Show Me State lives more than 45 minutes from a place for a walk in the woods or glade, savanna or prairie.

In the St. Louis area, you can observe National Trails Day at Rockwoods Reservation. This area near Glencoe has 10 miles of trails. Kansas City area residents might want to visit James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife Area during National Trails Month. This 2,456-acre area near Lee=s Summit has 18 miles of trails. In the Springfield area, hikers can visit Little Sac Woods CA near Willard, which boasts six miles of trails.

Conservation Nature Centers in St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Jefferson City all offer extensive networks of developed trails, many of them accessible to people with mobility impairments.

The Conservation Department recently opened a new trail at Diana Bend Conservation area, just west of Rocheport. It includes a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk from Katy Trail State Park to a viewing platform and a covered wildlife viewing blind overlooking a wetland. An extension of the trail leads up a steep hill to a deck with a view of the Missouri River. This portion is not wheelchair accessible. The trail has interpretive signs and excellent opportunities for viewing shore birds and other wildlife. It won a Trail Achievement Award from the Coalition for Recreational Trails.

Information about dozens of other trails is contained in "Conservation Trails: A Guide to Missouri Department of Conservation Hiking Trails." The 91-page booklet easily fits into a day pack and contains maps of trails at 40 CAs. Trail descriptions let you pick trips based on scenery as well as facilities. The guidebook lists the plants and wildlife you may encounter and scenic points of interest along the trails. It enables hikers to plan outings that best fit their skill levels.

Featured trails range from .2 to 18 miles, from level paved paths to rugged, rocky trails and from foot traffic-only paths to trails where biking and horseback riding are permitted. User-friendly maps accompany each trail description, and there is an overview of regulations at each area. Beginners will appreciate the book's tips on hiking etiquette and recommendations on hiking gear. There are even blank pages for jotting down trail notes.

Single copies of the book are available for $5 plus shipping and handling from The Nature Shop, Missouri Department of Conservation, 877-521-8632 or online at www.mdcnatureshop.com. The guidebook also is available at conservation nature centers and regional service centers statewide.

For more information about National Trails Day and the American Hiking Society, visit www.americanhiking.org/.

-Jim Low-

Special events highlight National Trails Day

Events range from trail maintenance work days to fun festivals.

JEFFERSON CITY--Missourians who want to get outdoors June 5 can join like-minded outdoors people at a variety of events scheduled in conjunction with National Trails Day.

St. Louis area residents have their choice of two events. The first is Taste of Wildwood Day. Participants will meet at the trailhead at Greensfelder Park at 8:30 a.m. Transportation will be provided to the Missouri Department of Conservation's Rockwoods Reservation. Participants will hike nine miles along the Greenrock Trail back to their vehicles at Greensfelder Park. Refreshments and lunch will be provided, but reservations are required. To register, contact Kathy Arnett, 636/458-0440, info@cityofwildwood.com, or, visit www.cityofwildwood.com.

National Trails Day at Klondike Park will begin at 10 a.m. June 5 in St. Charles County. This will be the grand opening of the Klondike Trail. There will be guided hikes, nature photography instruction, face painting, health screenings and geo-caching demonstrations. Bike technicians will be on hand to perform safety checks, and food will be available at a lunch fundraising event. From St. Louis, take Highway 40 west to Highway 94. Take Highway 94 south 12 to 13 miles. Go through Defiance and past the Klondike boat ramp to the park entrance on your left. For more information, contact Katie Kaizer, 314/918-1004, kkaizer@rei.com, or visit www.rei.com/stlouis.

Ozark Greenways, Inc., will hold the James River Greenway Trail dedication from 10 a.m. to noon June 5. The event will be an opportunity for hiking and bicycle riding. For directions and details, contact Terry Whaley, 417/864-2015, terry@ozarkgreenways.org, or visit www.ozarkgreenways.org.

Discover Ozark Memorial's Trails will start at noon June 5 at the Ozark Memorial Park Cemetery, 415 N. St. Louis in Joplin. This is an opportunity to hike or bike the cemetery's trails, enjoy children's programs and tour trail exhibits and workshops. Hot dogs and burgers will be served until 1 p.m., and raffles will be held throughout the day. For more information, contact Dennis Dreyer, 417/624-1084, dennis@ozarkmemorialpark.com.

The Ozark Trail Association will hold a trail work day starting at 9 a.m. June 5 at the Mark Twain National Forest's Council Bluff Lake Recreation Area near Potosi. For details, contact Margo Carroll, margosky@aol.com, or visit ozarktrail.com.

The USDA Forest Service will host a Boy Scout Cedar Creek Trails work day starting at 8:30 a.m. June 5 west of Fulton. Reservations are required. To register, contact Carol Trokey, 573/592-1400, ctrokey@fs.fed.us.

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LEWIS AND CLARK QUIZ

Question: Where did William Clark record seeing a large Indian drawing of a manlike figure, called a "manitou," on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River?

Answer: In Moniteau County, near the present-day town of Sandy Hook, Mo.

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Swamp rabbit knowledge piling up

Swamp rabbits are much larger than the cottontail rabbits familiar to most Missourians. Their distribution in the Show Me State is limited to the southeastern corner of the state. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo)

Conservation Department Resource Scientist Brian Root spent a morning in April checking on swamp rabbit numbers at Duck Creek Conservation Area and Mingo National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Missouri. Because the rabbits themselves are elusive, he checks for their presence by counting the number of logs where swamp rabbits establish latrines. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo)

Biologist hopes increased understanding will lead to better management of these super-sized rabbits.

POPLAR BLUFF--Morning was slanting through the branches of towering pin oaks and bald cypress trees on April 6 when Brian Root set out on an annual quest. Striding through the park-like forest at Duck Creek Conservation Area (CA) in southeast Missouri, he seemed to be dodging shafts of fog turned incandescent by the morning golden light. In fact, he was zigging and zagging from one rotting log to another, checking the top of each for telltale signs of his quarry.

"Yep, here we go," he called out after half an hour of searching. I found him resting on one knee in a thicket of shrubs and oak seedlings. The cluster of thick growth in an otherwise park-like expanse of forest floor stood at the foot of a dead pin oak whose trunk measured 30 inches in diameter.

In front of Root was a rotting log carpeted with moss, and atop the moss were half a dozen round pellets a little smaller than dimes. The light brown color and rough texture of the pellets Root found indicated the rabbit that left them had not visited this log for quite some time, possibly weeks.

Root was on a mission to learn if swamp rabbits still inhabited areas where they had been found previously, and if they had occupied new areas. The pellet pile was the calling card of one of the animals, which once inhabited most of Missouri's southeastern corner. Now they are confined to pockets of lowland habitat in the Show-Me State.

In Missouri, the swamp rabbit is a "species of management concern" to Root's employer, the Missouri Department of Conservation. They can be locally abundant, but they only occur at about 100 forested locations in the state. Swamp rabbits still thrive, however, in other states of the lower Mississippi River Valley.

Like their more common cotton-tailed relatives, swamp rabbits are most active at night. Their preference for living in brushy, overgrown areas of bottomland hardwood forests also makes them difficult to find. Most troublesome of all for biologists intent on learning about the elusive rabbits is the fact that they seldom make the mistake of entering wooden box traps, which are wonderfully effective on cottontails.

This is a problem for biologists who want to make sure the swamp rabbit remains part of Missouri's wild tapestry. "The most basic information you need to manage a wild species effectively is how many of them there are," said Root, a resource scientist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. "It's also important to know how many die and how many young are added to the population each year. Without those facts, it's hard to tell if you are succeeding. So far we haven't been able to get good answers to any of those questions about swamp rabbits in Missouri," said Root.

Until a better technique comes along, the best way to discover where swamp rabbits live is to take advantage of a curious habit. Swamp rabbits don't like to deposit their droppings just anywhere. They carefully place them atop rotting logs. Some people think they sit on logs to get a better view of their surroundings and defecation simply happens where they spend the most time. Others theorize that the neat piles of rabbit pellets serve as territorial markers.

Whatever the rabbits' reason for making them, these latrines are a godsend to biologists with no other easy handle on estimating swamp rabbit numbers.
"By looking for pellets, we can tell if swamp rabbits are using an area. The number of piles gives us a general sense of how many rabbits there are in an area. If we could ever get an accurate swamp rabbit census in several areas and correlate the population numbers with the number of pellet piles found there, this would be a much more useful tool for measuring the population."
The second spot Root visited was inside Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, which borders Duck Creek CA. Root checked his compass before venturing into the trackless wilderness. In terrain where a 2-foot change in elevation qualifies as a hill and a curtain of massive tree trunks limits visibility to a few hundred yards, even accomplished outdoors people can get lost.

As we wound our way into the forest scanning log tops, Root commented that the area will look very different in a few years. This tract is scheduled for selective removal of trees to create openings in the leafy canopy that has excluded direct sunlight for decades.

In the absence of light, the forest floor has almost none of the brushy cover swamp rabbits require. Root and other managers hope the lush growth that fills these sunny oases in the shadowy forest will support swamp rabbits.
This time, however, he found nothing, and moved on to his third stop of the day. This was slightly higher, drier ground than the last spot, but an hour of searching turned up only one latrine log with two very old pellets.

Our final stop was a tract of "high" ground adjacent to the gravel road. This site was noticeably more brushy, due to the proximity to the road opening and naturally occurring holes in the forest canopy.

Fifty yards into the forest, Root found the gold standard of swamp rabbit sign--a pile of several dozen pellets with three dark, glistening, obviously fresh ones on top. Within a few hundred yards, we found more than a dozen other latrines, some also with fresh pellets.

The mood of the outing changed to something like an Easter egg hunt, although we weren't putting our finds into baskets.

Swamp rabbits live nowhere in the Show Me State except the bottomland forests of southeast Missouri, and they are a good indicator of the overall health of these forests. Swampers are also a locally popular game animal, although the number of avid swamp rabbit hunters is fairly small. The Conservation Department, whose funding base includes a one-eighth of one percent sales tax paid by everyone in the state, works to meet the needs of all wildlife species in its management plans.

Root is part of a network of conservation professionals who make up the Conservation Department's Swamp Rabbit Working Group. In the past, the group has organized swamp rabbit population surveys to learn where the animals were found and periodic monitoring to find out if their distribution has changed.

Such surveys from recent years seem to indicate that swamp rabbit numbers are stable. But long-term habitat changes have not favored these water-tolerant rabbits, which grow to nearly twice the size of cottontails.

"Most of our historic bottomland hardwood forest was lost during the late 1800s and early 1900s, when people cleared southeast Missouri's lowlands for agriculture," said Root. "Much of the remaining 100,000 acres of this type of forest is inside Mississippi River levees, where flooding makes it poor swamp rabbit habitat. Most of the rest is in public areas like Duck Creek and Mingo. That's good. The bad news is that changes in these forest remnants haven't favored swamp rabbits."

One change has to do with water. The forests that were not cleared survived mostly because they were too low and wet for farming. Ditching of surrounding land channeled even more water into these low areas, making them too wet even for swamp rabbits.

Another change that has put swamp rabbits at a disadvantage is forest aging. Like cottontails, swamp rabbits thrive in a patchwork of old and new growth that has brushy cover where they can escape from predators. Many bottomland forest tracts contain stands of mostly mature trees. These mature stands have few openings and, consequently, little rabbit habitat.

Historically, when much of the Bootheel was forested, local disturbances such as flooding, tornadoes and other catastrophic events created swamp rabbit habitat in southeast Missouri. But with total forest acreage only a fraction of what it used to be, there is little space in which such natural processes can operate. That is a detriment to swamp rabbits and other species that thrive in pockets of disturbance.

Enhanced swamp rabbit habitat is among the expected benefits of efforts to maintain high-quality waterfowl habitat at Duck Creek CA. Killing trees that compete with pin oak seedlings ensures the future supply of acorns that waterfowl rely on during their fall migration. It also encourages the brushy growth that favors swamp rabbits. This win-win approach excites all those involved.

Root and other biologists will track swamp rabbit numbers as these brushy openings develop. Similar forest management will be used at other bottomland sites if the technique is successful.

Root expects the Conservation Department's newly established Big River/Wetland Systems Field Station in Cape Girardeau will be able to discover more about swamp rabbits in the future. For example, better trapping techniques could increase knowledge about the animals' distribution, population density, home range, life span and details about habitat needs.
"I think we know enough now about how swampers respond to forest management practices, such as thinning cuts and clearcuts, to start improving habitat for the species," he said. "Some of the densest populations I have seen have been on conservation areas where we did some tree harvesting and the clearings grew up in thickets for 10 or 15 years. With a little more knowledge about these animals and well-planned forest management, we ought to be able to have both big, majestic forests and swamp rabbits."

- Jim Low -

Used trucks, SUVs, boats and motors to be sold

The next surplus property auction will feature lots of pickup trucks, boats and outboard motors.

SPRINGFIELD--Dozens of outboard motors, boats, pickup trucks and other motorized equipment will go on the auction block at the Missouri Department of Conservation's surplus property auction in Springfield next month. Similar events Aug. 14 in Brookfield and Oct. 16 in Salem will give buyers a shot at everything from office equipment to lawn mowers.

The Springfield auction will take place June 5 at the Conservation Department office at 2630 N. Mayfair. On sale will be:

--More than 50 outboard motors ranging from 2.3 to 150 hp
--More than a dozen john boats and fishing/skiing boats
--17 1989 to 2002 model pickup trucks
--Two Jeep Cherokee 4X4s
--A Ford Taurus sedan
--Nine boat trailers
--Two flatbed trailers
--A Kawasaki ATV
--A 55 hp Hesston tractor.

Auction items will be on display from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. June 4 and starting at 8 a.m. June 5. The auctions begin at 10 a.m. A complete list of sale items and terms of sales are available at the registration desk the day of the sale.

All property must be paid for on the day of the sale and before removal. The Conservation Department accepts cash, MasterCard or Visa credit cards or personal checks with proper identification.

The Conservation Department plans other auctions Aug. 14 in Brookfield and Oct. 16 in Salem. For lists of sale items, call the Conservation Department General Services Division at 573/522- 4115, ext 3279 or 3283.

- Jim Low -

LEWIS AND CLARK QUIZ

Question Which Corps of Discovery member was the first to publish his journal of the epic journey?

Answer: Patrick Gass, in 1807

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Despite dismal conditions, hunters set another spring turkey harvest record.

Between the regular spring turkey hunting season and the youth hunting season, Missouri hunters checked more than 60,000 turkeys this year. That is a record for Missouri and is likely to keep the Show-Me State at the top of the nation's turkey hunting heap. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo)

JEFFERSON CITY--Hunters killed more than 60,000 turkeys during Missouri's 2004 spring turkey seasons, setting a record that is likely to keep the Show-Me State at the top of the turkey hunting heap nationwide.

Hunters checked 56,882 turkeys during the three-week spring hunting season April 19 through May 9. Young hunters killed 3,269 gobblers during the two-day youth hunting season April 10 and 11, bringing the spring harvest total to 60,151. That tops last year's figure by 1,730. It also puts Missouri in an enviable position as the nation's top turkey hunting state.

"Alabama was the only state that came close to matching our turkey harvest the last couple of years," said Jeff Beringer, a resource scientist with the Missouri Department of Conservation. "They are going to have to run pretty hard to keep up with us this year."

Beringer said Missouri's spring turkey harvest can't continue to increase each year indefinitely, however. "Our turkey habitat is near its carrying capacity now. The proportion of young birds has decreased in recent years, which is evidence that the population is stabilizing. In the future, I expect spring turkey harvests to be about what we had this year. The number might be more or less from year to year, depending on previous years' reproduction and weather conditions during the hunting season, but I don't believe it will get substantially larger."

Weather seemed to have little effect on this year's spring turkey harvest. Rain and wind--two factors that make turkey hunting more difficult--were widespread during the first two weeks of the season. Yet hunters still bagged a record 29,018 turkeys the first week of the season.

Franklin County led harvest totals with 1,099 birds checked. Laclede County was second with 1,071, followed by Howell County with 985. Regional harvest totals were: Northeast, 9,080; Northwest, 8,751; Central, 8,407; Kansas City, 7,479; Ozark, 6,784; Southwest, 6,779; Southeast, 4,569; St. Louis, 4,125.

Mature gobblers made up 81 percent of harvested turkeys. Juveniles, commonly called "jakes," comprised 19 percent of the total. Three years ago, jakes made up 26 percent of the spring harvest.

The Conservation Department has confirmed nine spring turkey hunting accidents this year. They ranged from a person who was struck in the nose by one shotgun pellet to a man who died of his injuries. One other accident is under investigation to determine whether it was related to turkey hunting. This year--as every year--most spring turkey hunting accidents occurred when a hunter mistook another person for a turkey.

"Missouri has so many turkeys, people sometimes take for granted that it's just them and the birds out there," said Rick Flint, hunter education program coordinator for the Conservation Department. "They let down their guard and shoot without waiting to see the entire bird and positively identify it. It's the most common turkey hunting error. There is no excuse for it."

Missouri has averaged approximately eight hunting accidents per spring turkey season over the last 10 years. In the previous decade, the average was 17 accidents per year. The worst year was 1986, when 29 people were injured and two died in spring turkey hunting accidents.

"Seeing accounts of hunting accidents in the news media, it's easy to forget how far we have come," said Flint. Before 1986, when hunter education became mandatory, our turkey hunting accident rate was twice what it is now." He said increased awareness of what causes hunting accidents has helped hunters be safer.

"It's important to view hunting accident statistics in perspective," said Flint. "For every turkey hunter who got hurt this year, more than 13,000 had safe seasons."

According to data on the Missouri Department of Mental Health Web site, nine Missourians died and 173 were injured in boating accidents in 2001. That same year, 455 Missourians lost their lives in falls, and traffic accidents claimed the lives of 1,098.

- Jim Low -

Chronic wasting disease tests negative for second year

The second year of testing turned up no cases of the disease in Missouri.

JEFFERSON CITY-- For the second year in a row, laboratory tests found no Missouri deer with chronic wasting disease (CWD). The Missouri Department of Conservation says it plans to continue testing deer taken in this year's hunting season and in the future.

"Naturally, we are extremely happy to learn that our second year of chronic wasting disease surveillance didn't find any infected deer," said Eric Kurzejeski, resource science supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation. "All the same, it's important that we continue monitoring the health of Missouri's deer herd. We want to be sure to find CWD if it exists in parts of the state where we haven't tested yet, and we have to be ready to respond quickly and appropriately if it is found. We need hunters' continuing help to accomplish that."

The Conservation Department took tissue samples from deer killed by hunters during the November portion of the 2003 firearms deer season and samples from apparently sick deer that were reported to the Conservation Department. In all, 6,049 samples were sent to a federally certified laboratory to be tested for CWD. None tested positive for CWD.

The testing was the second round in a three-year effort by the Conservation Department to check every county in the state for CWD. The goal for each of the first two years was to test approximately 200 deer each from 30 counties. Next year, the agency plans to test approximately 200 deer from each of the remaining 54 counties for which no tests have been performed to date.
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 2003 testing were Audrain, Barry, Boone, Buchanan, Cass, Dallas, Daviess, Dent, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Knox, Lewis, Macon, Maries, Marion, Mercer, Miller, Newton, Nodaway, Oregon, Osage, Ray, Saline, Scott, Ste. Genevieve, Stoddard, Washington, Webster and Worth. Those tested in 2002 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 allowed Conservation Department workers to take tissue samples 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-tailed 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.

"We constantly monitor the state's captive elk and deer herds, and we've never had a positive case of CWD," said Dr. Taylor Woods, state veterinarian with the Missouri Department of Agriculture. "Not having found a positive case among wild herds gives us a big indication that our captive herds are free of the disease and gives us a leg up in marketing our products across the state and throughout the nation."

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. Woods said current research shows no evidence that chronic wasting disease can spread to other livestock, such as cattle.

For more information about CWD, visit the Conservation Department's Web site.

- Jim Low -

LEWIS AND CLARK QUIZ

Question: Where did the Corps of Discovery climb a bluff on Sept. 15, 1806, to survey the river and shoot an elk for dinner?

Answer: Lewis & Clark Point, in Ermine Case, Jr., Park, at Jefferson and W. 10th St., Kansas City.

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Conservation Department invites women outdoors

Women who take part in the June 11-13 Missouri's Outdoor Women event at Lake of the Ozarks will learn outdoor skills ranging from camp cooking to shotgun and rifle shooting. For details, contact Nickie Phillips, 573/522-4115, ext. 3292, Nickie.Phillips@mdc.mo.gov. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo)

Women learn how to do everything from piloting a boat to camp cooking.

LAKE OF THE OZARKS--Women who want to learn outdoor skills ranging from operating a motorboat to hunting and fishing will get their big chance at the Missouri's Outdoor Women workshop June 11 through 13 at the Windermere Conference Center on Lake of the Ozarks.

The Missouri Department of Conservation sponsors the workshop to help women 18 and older acquire outdoor know-how. Daughters as young as 14 are welcome, too.

Classes include:
-- Watercraft operation
-- Canoeing
-- Primitive skills
-- Basic fishing
-- Fly fishing
-- Archery
-- Firearms safety
-- Rifle/handgun shooting
-- Shotgun shooting
-- Map, compass and GPS
-- Nature hike

More information is available from Regina Knauer, 417/895-6881, ext. 1068, Regina.Knauer@mdc.mo.gov; Kathi Moore, 660/785-2424, ext. 228, Kathi.Moore@mdc.mo.gov; or Nickie Phillips, 573/522-4115, ext. 3292, Nickie.Phillips@mdc.mo.gov.

The registration deadline is May 14. Registration costs $35 per person, and does not include food and lodging. Participants ages 14 to 17 pay no registration fee when registered with an adult. Lodging and food expenses still apply, however.

A limited number of scholarships are available. Students, educators and single income/single-parent households receive preference for scholarships.

- Jim Low -

Conservation Commission extends hunting, fishing privileges for military personnel serving out of state.

Service men and women will get new permits when they return home.

JEFFERSON CITY--The price of freedom shouldn't include loss of hunting, fishing and trapping privileges. That's the message behind the Missouri Conservation Commission's recent decision to extend permits for military personnel who have been called to duty outside the Show-Me State.

At its meeting April 26, the Conservation Commission approved issuing equivalent permit privileges free to military personnel who bought hunting, fishing or trapping permits but were unable to fully exercise the privileges purchased, due to mobilization and deployment outside Missouri. The policy covers regular, Reserve and National Guard personnel who were posted outside the state on or after Jan. 1, 2002.

"Our Commissioners felt strongly that the state's military personnel are sacrificing enough without losing hunting, fishing or trapping privileges they paid for," said Conservation Department Director John Hoskins. "We may not be able to bring them home any sooner, but we can make sure they get their fair share of Missouri's outdoors when they do come home."

Conservation Department officials are working out details of how to issue replacement permits and what documentation military personnel will need to obtain them. Details will be announced in a few weeks.

- Jim Low -

LEWIS AND CLARK QUIZ

Question: When making their way up the Missouri River from St. Louis in the spring of 1804, the Corps of Discovery visited a settlement founded by renowned frontiersman Daniel Boone. Where was the settlement located?

Answer: At the present-day site of Defiance, Mo., just south of Weldon Spring Conservation Area in southwestern St. Charles County. Boone's home still stands, and is operated as a historic site. For more information, call 636/798-2005.

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