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| Canvasback ducks posted an encouraging 25 percent increase in breeding birds this year compared to 2006. North American duck numbers were up 14 percent overall from last year. That promises a good season for hunters if weather conditions are favorable. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
Reduced access to the area for two years is the price of renewal.
CHILLICOTHE, Mo.-Parts of Fountain Grove Conservation Area (CA) will be closed to hunting again this year as renovations on the area continue. The Missouri Department of Conservation says the work will restore the area’s infrastructure and wetland functions, thus ensuring that it remains a magnet for migratory birds and people who love them.
The area was among Missouri’s top waterfowl stopovers for much of its 60-year history. However, most of the area’s infrastructure - particularly water-control structures and levees - has deteriorated with age. This has made it difficult for area managers to selectively flood various wetland pools for maximum benefit to ducks, geese, shorebirds and other wildlife.
Another problem plaguing Fountain Grove is siltation. Soil carried into the area over the years has filled in much of the low-lying ground, reducing the size of wetland pools.
The Conservation Department completed Phase I of the project last year, dredging excess soil from some areas, replacing 60-year-old water-control structures and rebuilding levees where needed. This year’s work involves replacing the remaining water-control structures and revamping interior levees.
Fountain Grove also is getting a new pump to bring water into the area from the Grand River. The Conservation Department hopes to start this work next summer.
“This long-term investment into Fountain Grove means some short-term losses,” said Conservation Department Wildlife Management Biologist Doreen Mengel. “Once again, portions of the area affected by construction activities will be closed to public access.”
Mengel said Pools 1, 2, 3, and the H-J pool complex will be closed to waterfowl hunting this year, leaving designated pools on the area’s east side and along Parsons Creek open to duck and goose hunters. The Parsons Creek wetland units depend on rainfall to fill pools, so hunting opportunity there will depend on a wet fall.
Portions of the area affected by construction activities also will be closed to archery deer hunting and other activities. For details on closed areas, call (660) 646-6122. Fountain Grove is one of five state-owned wetland areas targeted for renovation under the Conservation Department’s Golden Anniversary Wetlands Initiative. In all, the agency and its partners expect to spend $16 million to restore the areas’ continued productivity.
Half a century ago, the Conservation Department began developing wetland areas to recreate a small portion of the millions of acres of natural wetland lost in the previous 150 years. Duck Creek CA in southeastern Missouri, Fountain Grove and Ted Shanks CAs in the north, and Montrose and Schell-Osage CAs in the southwest were the vanguard of Missouri’s wetland restoration.
Within a few years of their creation, these areas attracted hundreds of thousands of ducks, geese and other birds that need wetlands to sustain them during their annual migrations. Resident birds, furbearers and a host of other animals and plants also found homes at these man-made wetlands. People weren’t far behind, pursuing opportunities to hunt, fish, watch and photograph wildlife or just enjoy sunrises and sunsets in natural landscapes.
Like all man-made mechanisms, the working parts of managed wetland areas wear out. Pipes deteriorate. Outdated, hand-operated screw-gates become inoperable. Duck Creek CA in Bollinger, Wayne and Stoddard counties typifies the quandaries that can develop on ag ing wetland areas. Annual flooding of wetland pools has reduced the vigor of bottomland hardwood forest there, requiring a rethinking of water-level management to preserve the area’s unique character.
Duck Creek’s large reservoir was designed as a green-tree reservoir and later used to catch water for distribution to wetland pools. It has become a productive and popular fishing spot over the past 50 years. This requires a rethinking of water-use priorities. Meanwhile, managers struggle with the physical challenges of propping up decaying infrastructure that includes wooden water gates, rusting pipes and sagging levees.
Sometimes it isn’t the wetlands themselves that change, but the land around them. At Ted Shanks CA in Pike County, the construction of locks and dams on the adjacent Mississippi River raised the water table, killing ancient forests and setting off an ecological chain reaction that ended with a rising tide of reed canary grass and other invasive plant species that are not beneficial to native wildlife.
At Montrose CA in Henry County, erosion from adjacent land flushed tons of sediment into the wetlands. Missouri has made amazing progress in stopping erosion the past 10 years. But before that, as much as 15 feet of gooey sludge washed into wetland pools, drastically reducing shallow-water habitat available to wildlife and making much of the area unsuitable or even unsafe for waterfowl hunting.
Improvements in construction materials and techniques will give the five areas much longer productive lives than they enjoyed after their initial development. The past 60 years’ experience also has given managers a better understanding of how plant and animal communities on the five areas function. Future management is expected to be more effective as a result.
Partners in the project include Ducks Unlimited, the University of Missouri, the Missouri Waterfowl Association, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Big Muddy National Wildlife Refuge, the North American Wetlands Conservation Council, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Kansas City Power & Light Company.
Part of the money needed for wetland renovations is coming from grants through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA). This law provides for distribution of federal duck stamp proceeds to states for projects that benefit waterfowl. NAWCA grants can be used to pay up to 50 percent of the cost of qualifying projects.
For more information about the Golden Anniversary Wetlands Initiative, see the March 2006 issue of Missouri Conservationist magazine or visit mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2006/03/20.htm.
-Jim Low-
Conscientious, safety-minded waterfowlers follow these rules.
JEFFERSON CITY-Safety, ethics and common courtesy go a long way toward ensuring a positive duck hunting experience. The Missouri Department of Conservation offers the following tips for happy hunting.
When hunting with others, establish safe zones of fire and shoot only when ducks are in your zone.
Don’t mix guns and alcohol.
Do not shoot at ducks that are too far away for a sure, clean kill. Ducks are in range when you can see their eyes or feet.
Do not overload your boat. More hunters die of hypothermia and drowning than from gunshots.
Set a good example for less-experienced hunters. Examples last a lifetime, and poor behavior reflects badly on all hunters.
Do not set up directly downwind of other hunters. This interferes with their hunt and is a serious violation of hunting etiquette.
Practice firearms and boating safety. Wear a life preserver.
Know and obey hunting regulations. They are designed to preserve your safety and the waterfowl resource.
Respect the resource. Retrieve all downed ducks.
Identify your target before shooting.
For more about duck hunting, visit www.ducks.org/Hunting/HuntingTips/1587/HuntingTipsLanding.html.
-Jim Low-
The second discovery of invasive Eurasian mussels in the Show-Me State underlines the need for vigilance among boaters, anglers.
BRANSON-Missouri’s second established population of zebra mussels has been documented at Lake Taneycomo, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Private Land Regional Services Supervisor Brian Canaday said the mussels were discovered by employees of the Empire District Electric Company. The fingernail- to quarter-sized mussels were attached to a submerged log.
The same day, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission reported the discovery of two immature zebra mussels near Lead Hill Marina on Bull Shoals Lake, downstream from Lake Taneycomo.
Scattered specimens of the zebra mussel have been observed at other locations in the Missouri in recent years. Last year’s discovery of a colony on a boat dock at Lake of the Ozarks was the first established population, however.
Zebra mussels are black-and-white striped mollusks similar to clams. Native to Europe and Asia, they were transported to the North America in the bilge or ballast water of ocean-going ships. They were first discovered in Lake St. Clair near Detroit in 1988.
Larval zebra mussels, called veligers, can survive in water left in bait buckets, boat live wells and bilge systems or the cooling systems of marine motors. They attach to hard surfaces including rock, wood, concrete, plastic, crayfish and other mussels and stay there until they die. Adult zebra mussels can live for several days out of water.
Zebra mussels get free rides to previously uninfested areas when the boats, motors or trailers to which they are attached move to other locations. Canaday said this probably is how they got into Missouri waters.
“We cannot determine exactly how or when they were introduced into Lake Taneycomo. However, tens of thousands of people visit there every year, so it is likely that zebra mussels were unintentionally transported by boats, motors, trailers, aquatic plants or other items that had previously been in infested waters.”
A single adult female zebra mussel can produce a million young each year. They can coat the surface of any item upon which they attach themselves. In some locations zebra mussels have reached densities of more than 750,000 per cubic meter - in some areas in the Mississippi River, zebra mussel shells are up to 6 feet thick on the bottom. At these high densities they can clog power plant, industrial and public drinking water intakes and encrust boat hulls, causing millions of dollars in damage. Zebra mussels directly threaten native mussel populations by suffocating them and preventing them from getting nutrients.
Conservation Department biologists watch for zebra mussels as part of their daily routine. Canaday said citizen awareness is a critical part of zebra mussel detection, however.
“There are many more boaters and anglers than Conservation Department workers. In several cases citizens or business owners have reported infested boats,” he said. “That allowed us to make sure the boats were cleaned properly before being launched.”
Missouri Stream Teams also are helping monitor lakes and streams for zebra mussels. If you would like to join the effort, call (800)781-1989 or visit the Stream Team web-site at www.mostreamteam.org.
Canaday said research on zebra mussel eradication techniques is underway. Some mollusk-specific chemicals can help control zebra mussel populations. Treating entire lakes is not feasible, however, partly because the same chemicals kill native mussels and snails. The Conservation Department can provide information to those who would like to use these chemicals.
Zebra mussels can attach to the hulls and drive units of boats left in the water. They increase water drag on the hull, reducing efficiency, and they can clog motors’ water intakes, resulting in engine damage. To prevent this, keep drive units out of water when not i n use. If possible, pump hot water through your engine's intake on a regular basis to prevent mussel growth inside the engine's cooling system.
Juvenile mussels are quite soft and are scoured off of boat hulls when cruising. Boat hulls should be inspected for infestation after extended periods without use.
If you ever move your boat, lift or dock to another body of water, follow the steps outlined below. INSPECT boats and trailers thoroughly, and remove any trash, mussels or aquatic weeds before leaving any water body. Mussels and other items removed from the boat should be properly disposed of in a trash container. DRAIN water from the motor, live-well, bilge and transom wells, and any other water from the boat and equipment before leaving any water body DUMP leftover bait in a trash container on land, away from the water.
RINSE boats, trailers and equipment (including live-wells, bilge, and cooling systems) thoroughly with hard spray or HOT (104 degrees) water, like that found at a do-it-yourself carwash. DRY boats, motors, trailers and equipment thoroughly in the hot sun (for approximately 5 days) before using them again.
For more information about zebra mussels, call (573) 751-4115 or visit www.protectyourwaters.net. To report a potential zebra mussel sighting, contact the nearest Missouri Conservation Department office or go to: www.mdc.mo.gov/nathis/exotic/.
-Jim Low-
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| Missouri has special youth seasons that allow youngsters to hunt quail, pheasant, ducks and deer before the regular seasons open each fall. For more information, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/13924 or www.mdc.mo.gov/2116. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
Not all hunters who fall from tree stands are so fortunate.
JEFFERSON CITY-Bob Legler has some reason to be afraid of tree stands. Three of the bones in his back are permanently fused as a result of a fall from a tree stand two years ago. Yet the West Plains resident continues to hunt from tree stands, with some changes.
Legler is the Ozark regional fisheries supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation and an avid deer hunter. His eight-hour ordeal occurred Nov. 16, 2005, his 55th birthday.
Friends and family customarily let him have the woods to himself on that day, so he can choose whatever stand he wants. After spending most of the morning in one stand without seeing any deer, he decided to switch tree stands. He chose a perch 20 feet above ground level. As he climbed up, he noticed the twin trunks of the tree that held the stand were swaying visibly in the gusty wind.
He climbed into the stand using wooden steps and handholds. Minutes later, he spotted two deer coming toward the stand. He waited until they were standing broadside at 60 yards to shoot one of the deer.
He savored the moment with a celebratory cup of coffee, then lowered his rifle and backpack to the ground with a rope. Just as he stepped off the tree stand platform the wooden handhold he was grasping with his left hand broke loose. As he began to fall backwards, Legler grabbed another handhold with his right hand. The force of his falling weight broke that piece of wood loose, too. He fell 20 feet, landing on his back.
“At impact, I felt a sensation in my legs like an electrical current pulsing through them,” he recalls. “The pain was excruciating, unlike anything I had ever experienced before. I knew that I was hurt, and hurt bad. I was alone, half a mile from home, no phone.”
Legler lay on the ground for several minutes trying to catch his breath. He prayed. After awhile, he noticed that he could move his toes. That was the answer to one of his prayers.
He managed to roll onto his stomach, which brought on another wave of pain. When he tried to push himself up onto his hands and knees, he found that the fall had broken his left arm and wrist. He rolled back onto his back and checked his wristwatch. It was 11:30 a.m.
Knowing that it would be a long time before anyone came looking for him, he set his mind on getting out of the freezing woods on his own power.
“I rolled over on my stomach - more pain. After that wave subsided, I pushed up on my knees and elbows. I was near a small tree, so I grabbed that with my right hand and pulled myself upright to my knees. The pain in my back was intense, but I was determined to outlast it. I held onto that tree for probably five minutes, knowing that the pain would subside. It never did.”
Legler lowered himself back to the ground and shouted for help, but his screams were swallowed by the blustery wind. He realized then that he had broken his back and decided that lying still was his best chance of avoiding making things worse. He used his good arm to scrape dry leaves over his body for insulation. Then he spent several hours looking up at the sky. He prayed, recited scripture and sang hymns.
Then the shivering began, first in his legs, then in his abdomen and finally in his upper torso. Shock and hypothermia were setting in. Legler came to terms with the very real possibility he would die before help arrived.
Around 7:30 that night, Legler’s wife, Beckie, and son Matt came looking for him, thinking he must be tracking a deer he had shot. They found him cold and weak, but alive. His ordeal was over.
At the hospital, he learned he had shattered the first lumbar vertebra, located in his lower back. Such injuries often result in paralysis of the legs. With surgery and six months of physical therapy, however, Legler was walking again. He regained 95 percent use of his left arm.
Hunting from a tree stand is so enjoyable to Legler that even his brush with death has not stopped him. Instead, he has changed his equipment.
Only after his accident did he learn that the deck screws he used to reinforce his wooden handholds are brittle and more prone than common nails to break under stress. He also realized that mounting boards across two tree trunks subjects wood and screws or nails to constant flexing in windy weather, increasing the chance of failure.
His most important discovery is a safety restraint system that couples a load-distributing harness with a retractable nylon strap. It works like a seatbelt retractor, letting out as much as 20 feet of strap with normal movement, but locking instantly if the strap pulls out rapidly, as it does in a fall. He hooks his safety harness to the device before climbing a tree, so he is protected when entering and leaving the stand, not just when he is hunting.
The devices cost about $75 each. Legler has one on each of his five metal tree stands. He offered the following additional tips for tree-stand safety. --Wear a safety harness. Belts can cause severe injury by concentrating the shock of a fall on a small part of the spine. --Carry a cell phone in an outside pocket where you can reach it easily. --Wear a whistle around your neck to alert rescuers to your location. --Be wary of wooden steps, handholds and stands. --Never put a tree stand in a tree with dead or broken limbs. --Inspect metal tree stands frequently for broken welds, worn straps and other safety hazards. --Use a rope to raise and lower equipment to and from a stand, keeping your hands free for climbing.
For more, visit mdc.mo.gov/news/out/1998/100298.html#2 or mdc.mo.gov/news/out/1997/out1003.html#1.
-Jim Low-
Multiple weather conditions conspired to limit the vividness of fall color.
JEFFERSON CITY-Missourians will find fall color spotty this year. Officials with the Missouri Department of Conservation say the reason is an unusual combination of factors.
Conservation Department foresters statewide predict a less colorful fall than normal. A catastrophic ice storm that devastated trees across a wide swath of southwest Missouri in January set the stage for bad news there, wrecking trees across a wide swath of southwest Missouri.
Trees seemed to get a break with record warm weather statewide in March and responded by leafing out extra early. This worsened the damage they suffered when the temperature plummeted into the 20s and teens for several days in a row early in April. Trees grew leaves to replace frozen ones, but the new flush did not equal the first crop in many cases.
Next came floods, which stressed trees in some areas by drowning their roots for days or weeks. Then came weeks of temperatures in the high 90s and low 100s. Drought compounded the damage. All these events left trees stressed, some fatally.
“2007 has been a tough year for trees in the Show-Me State,” said Conservation Department Education Outreach Coordinator Matt Seek. “Fall color is going to be patchy as a result.”
Fall color normally peaks near the second or third week in October in Missouri. The exact timing depends on location and weather. The peak normally occurs approximately a week earlier in northern Missouri than in the southern part of the state, but unseasonably cold weather can hasten its arrival and departure. Likewise, warm weather can delay and extend the peak.
While the overall fall color outlook is below average, Seek emphasized that brilliant colors still will occur in some areas. Furthermore, he said, the outlook could improve if Missouri experiences warm days and cool nights between now and mid-October.
For more information about fall colors and where to enjoy them, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/forest/.
-Jim Low-
WEST PLAINS, Mo.- The Missouri Conservation Commission will hold its next meeting Sept. 27 and 28 at the Conservation Department’s Ozark Region Headquarters, 551 Joe Jones Boulevard, West Plains.
The Commission will meet in closed session at 2:45 p.m. Sept. 27 and in open session at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 28.
Commission meetings are open to the public. 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: William F. “Chip” McGeehan, Marshfield, chairman; Lowell Mohler, Jefferson City, vice-chairman; Don Johnson, Festus, member, and Becky L. Plattner, Grand Pass, member.
-Jim Low-
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| Struan Smith, left, and David Seargeant, both of Sidney, Australia, stopped in Jefferson City Sept. 4 to rest and resupply before completing their 2,300-mile odyssey from the headwaters of the Missouri River to its confluence with the Mississippi River. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
Ask the Conservation Department for help before taking drastic measures.
JEFFERSON CITY-Missourians are likely to see more bears than usual this fall. The reason has less to do with the number of black bears in the Show-Me State than it does with a scarcity of natural bear foods.
Record-breaking cold in early April all but destroyed this year’s crop of acorns from white oak trees.
“Acorns typically make up about 90 percent of the food that bears consume just before going into winter dormancy,” said Private Land Field Programs Supervisor Rex Martensen with the Missouri Department of Conservation. “Most bears are in hibernation by Dec. 1. In the two or three months leading up to that, they may spend 20 hours a day gorging on acorns. They are extremely nutritious, and during that time bears’ metabolism changes to help them store extra fat. A big male can gain two or three pounds of fat a day.”
The loss of white oak nuts is offset to some degree by a good crop of acorns from red oaks, which bear fruit from buds set the previous year. Still, the loss of half of their staple food means lean times for Missouri’s estimated 150 to 300 black bears. That, in turn, means bears are more likely to come into contact with people during the “fall shuffle,” as they roam widely in search of food.
“Bears’ sense of smell is very keen” said Martensen. “They can locate food from as much as 20 miles away. That is good, but traveling to food sources is going to drag bears across a lot of people’s property, where they have a chance to get in trouble.”
An early example of the trouble Martensen mentioned is a 133-pound male black bear that turned up in Max McDonald’s beekeeping operation in Dent County Sept. 5. The bear tore into four of McDonald’s 40 bee hives, causing approximately $800 worth of damage. Not knowing that help was on the way, and believing that he was justified in using any means necessary to stop the damage, he shot and killed the bear.
“We could have had someone there in an hour to deal with the situation,” said Martensen. “I understand how upset Mr. McDonald was. It’s just unfortunate the bear died before we could do anything about it.”
Missouri’s Wildlife Code allows people to kill most wildlife that damages property. Deer, turkeys, black bears and endangered species that are causing damage may be killed only with the permission of an agent of the Conservation Department.
Martensen said most bear problems can be avoided or stopped. The Conservation Department can help with both. If you see a bear, call the nearest Conservation Department office or conservation agent.
Avoidance is as simple as keeping foodstuffs, such as pet food, indoors so as not to tempt bears. Livestock feed can be kept in sealed containers in outbuildings, along with barbecue grills and other things that might catch a hungry bear’s nose. Bird feeders should be taken down at the first sign of a bear visit.
“The worst thing you can do is deliberately feed a bear,” said Martensen. “Bears that get used to getting food from humans are as good as dead. You just can’t have an animal that is that big coming around homes and businesses.”
Allowing bears to forage at bird feeders, pet bowls, compost piles and trash cans is just as dangerous for bears as intentionally feeding them. Martensen said it will be especially important for Missourians who live in the part of the state with established bear populations to eliminate these sources of trouble.
For Missourians who may have several thousand dollars invested in bee hives, such as Mr. McD onald, a couple hundred dollars to install an electric fence often can prevent much more expensive damage and save a bear’s life.
Sometimes bears grow hungry enough to visit human habitations in spite of people’s best efforts not to tempt them. When this happens, Conservation Department wildlife damage biologists have several ways of sending bears back where they belong - to the woods.
Harassment with pyrotechnics is enough to discourage most bears. If that isn’t enough, the Conservation Department traps nuisance bears and moves them to new areas. To make them even less likely to repeat their dangerous behavior, wildlife damage biologists sometimes harass trapped bears with dogs and rubber bullets upon release.
“Very few bears are eager to repeat an experience like that,” said Martensen. “They tend to avoid humans like the plague after being trapped and released.”
The Conservation Department destroys bears in rare cases when they cannot be deterred from human contact or become aggressive.
Martensen said this year’s acorn shortage carries both good and not so good news.
"Hibernation is actually a strategy for escaping food shortages, not just cold weather," said Martensen. “Bears that are near reaching their needed fat reserves for the winter may go to den earlier if foods are in short supply. However, those in poor shape may forage longer. Unfortunately, young males usually are the last to go to dens, and young males are responsible for most nuisance bear problems.”
Martensen said Missouri’s black bear population does seem to be growing slowly. This growth leads to more contact between bears and people. In 2004 the Conservation Department received 17 complaints about nuisance bears. The agency has received 170 nuisance bear calls in the past two years.
Missouri has two areas where bears are fairly common. One is the part of southwest Missouri around Barry, Christian, Douglas, Ozark, Stone, Taney and Webster counties. The other is the part of the eastern Ozarks around Carter, Crawford, Iron, Oregon, Reynolds, Ripley, Shannon and Washington counties.
Bears occasionally turn up north of the Missouri River or near the state’s eastern and western borders, but such instances are rare.
Martensen is interested in bear sightings, no matter where they occur in Missouri.
“For a scientist, every piece of data is important,” he said. “I really appreciate people reporting every bear they see. We are particularly interested in concrete evidence of bear sows with cubs. A picture of a sow with cubs on a trail camera is as near as you can get to being sure there is an established bear population in a particular area, rather than just a few transient bears wandering through.”
To report a sighting, contact the nearest Conservation Department office or your local conservation agent.
-Jim Low-
The Conservation Federation of Missouri wants to enable hunters to give as much venison as possible to hungry food banks.
JEFFERSON CITY-Dave Murphy occasionally feels like a man with a tiger by the tail. In the four years he has worked as Executive Director for the Conservation Federation of Missouri, the Share the Harvest Program (STH) has grown by leaps and bounds. Keeping up with hunters’ desire to feed the hungry has grown into a full-time job that Murphy finally decided to share so thousands more Missourians can enjoy meat on the dinner table.
Now in its 16th year, STH orchestrates and finances the efforts of thousands of hunters, local organizations and meat processors to get ground venison to people in need. In its first year, STH channeled several hundred pounds of venison to needy Columbia area residents. By the time Murphy took the helm of the Conservation Federation, the program was bringing in 38 tons of venison a year.
Murphy thought hunters would donate even more meat if two obstacles could be overcome. One was the logistical challenge of cooling and transporting truckloads of deer carcasses. The other was paying for processing of those carcasses.
His success is evident in recent year’s donation figures. In 2005 donations totaled 78 tons of venison. Last year, it topped 161 tons.
“I honestly believe we could bring in a quarter of a million tons a year,” said Murphy. “It’s just a matter of organization and fundraising.”
Murphy is getting an enormous boost on the organizational challenge from two groups. One is conservation agents. “These men and woman have performed magnificently,” said Murphy. “They work to promote the program in their communities and help bring all the pieces together. Agents have been a huge driving force behind the program’s success.”
The other STH dynamo is local sponsors - the civic clubs, church groups and sportsmen’s organizations that find food banks and meat processors to cooperate in the effort. They also find local sponsors to put up cash to defray the cost hunters must pay to have their deer processed. In many areas, the cost is fully paid.
That is made possible by another key part of STH - statewide sponsors. Last year the program received more than $165,000 in matching money from the Conservation Department, Bass Pro Shops, Shelter Insurance, Drury Hotels, Safari Club International, Whitetails Unlimited and the National Wild Turkey Federation for deer processing. This cash put a $35 down payment on the cost of processing each donated deer.
“Missouri hunters are blessed, and we know it,” said Murphy. “We have an abundance of deer, and Share the Harvest gives us the chance to share that abundance with people who really need it.”
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-
Aspiring trappers earn spending money, help control raccoon, otter and other furbearer populations and gain an unparalleled knowledge of nature.
JEFFERSON CITY-Youngsters who want to learn the art of trapping from experts can sign up now for instruction Oct 13 and 14 at the Land Learning Foundation near Triplett.
The two-day clinic will cover all aspects of trapping from trap selection and setting to skinning and fur handling, trapper responsibility and ethics. Participants will get to set traps the first day and check them the second.
The clinic is sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Missouri Trappers Education Foundation. Meals and overnight accommodations are provided as part of the free event.
The registration deadline is Oct. 8. For details, call Clay Creech, (660) 288-3127.
-Jim Low-
Youths must attend the clinic to qualify for a hunt at a private waterfowl club.
BLAIRSTOWN, Mo.-Aspiring hunters ages 9 to 15 have an opportunity to learn about waterfowl hunting from expert hunters.
The clinic will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 13 at Everhart’s Wilderness Lodge, Blairstown. The workshop will cover firearms safety, shotgun patterning, dog training and handling, duck calling and game processing. Participants will put shotgun training into practice by shooting clay targets on a sporting clays course that simulates real waterfowl hunting situations.
Those who complete the workshop will be eligible to take part in a guided waterfowl hunt Oct. 27.
Registration for the free event is open to 40 youths on a first-come, first-served basis. Each participant must have completed a certified hunter education course and be accompanied by an adult sponsor. To register, call (660) 885-6981.
Sponsors of the event include John and Linda Everhart, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Kansas City Chapter of the Safari Club International, the Missouri Waterfowl Association, and the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Jakes Program.
-Jim Low-
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| Archers will find plenty of deer in Missouri this year, but turkeys might be harder to find, due to the second-worst nesting season on record. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
This summer’s hot, dry conditions make training and experience gained fighting western fires more valuable than ever.
JEFFERSON CITY-Ask Nathan Morfeld how he spent his summer and you will hear about a trip to Idaho. It won’t be one of relaxing amid cool
mountain breezes, however. Morfeld is among more than 150 Missourians who spent part of their summer helping quell wildfires in the western United States.
Morfeld, of Freeburg, was a natural resources major in college. He went to work for the Missouri Department of Conservation a year and a half ago as a forestry resource assistant. His first formal training for fighting wildfires came at the annual Midwest Wildfire Training Academy in Jefferson City. Since then he has taken two other courses to broaden his firefighting skills. He had a few chances to use his training here, but joining the campaign to extinguish the 147,000-acre Cascade Fire Complex in August took his experience to a whole new level.
“We were some of the first ones there,” said Morfeld. “It started with just four crews, ours and three Indian crews from South Dakota. We left for six days, and when we came back there was probably 1,000 people there. It was impressive to see a fire complex come to life and the phenomenal effort it took to bring together the sheer mass of people and equipment to put out these fires.”
Morfeld said western fires behave very differently from those he has helped fight in Missouri. For one thing, the fallen evergreen needle “duff” on the forest floor can harbor smoldering fire out of sight. If it flares up beneath trees with low-hanging limbs, trees can explode into flame, sending showers of embers that can start fires a mile away.
One of his crew’s tensest moments came while fighting the Whisky Fire.
“We were always in a safe zone and kept our situation awareness, but we had to scramble a couple of times to hold our line. Once, we had been trimming the lower limbs off of trees for a day or two and thought we had this fire extinguished. We were moving along when we saw smoke back there. We went back to check, and a tree just ignited right on the fire line. We had to get it down before it fell across the line and started a whole new Whisky Fire.”
While Morfeld was working fire lines and felling exploding trees, other Conservation Department workers were performing a variety of jobs on some of the hundreds of other fires that burned millions of acres nationwide this summer. Their contributions ranged from providing specialized global information system (GIS) services to overseeing fire lines.
Not all the Conservation Department’s out-of-state workers were foresters. Morfeld’s team alone included personnel from the Conservation Department’s Forestry, Wildlife, Private Land Services and Fisheries divisions. Missouri fire departments and the Mark Twain National Forest also send firefighters to combat wildland fires nationwide.
Besides training its own personnel, the Conservation Department teaches volunteer and professional firefighters how to fight forest and other natural-cover fires in their areas. The agency also works with the USDA Forest Service to coordinate the activities of Missourians who volunteer to fight wildfires wherever they are needed nationwide. This year, the agency sent volunteers to California, Georgia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
The Forest Service reimburses states for their workers’ time spend fighting fires away from home, but why send Missourians across several states to fight fires? Part of the reason is that Missouri sometimes needs other states’ help to fight its own fires. Beyond that, out-of-state firefighting gives Missourians valuable experience in conducting large-scale operations. It provides hands-on firefighting experience and hones the organizational skills of fire and other emergency administrators.
An example of the usefulness of this experience became clear in January, when a freak ice storm shut down power and emergency services across a huge swath of southwestern Missouri. Coordinating with the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency, Conservation Department personnel set up an incident command center in Springfield and directed heroic e fforts to rescue Missourians and clear thousands of downed trees from roads so emergency services could reach those in need.
“Those skills don’t come from classroom training,” said Conservation Fire Training Coordinator Bruce Palmer. “Classroom training and mock exercises just aren’t the same as making decisions about real problems when people’s lives and property are on the line. Spending time in other states is part of the cost of being prepared at home.”
Morfeld’s perspective was more personal. “You never get a view like that on a vacation,” he said, “and you feel like you did something good. When you finish, you say, ‘Missouri put this fire out.’”
Missouri was still sending firefighting crews out of state in early September. Palmer said some western fires probably will burn until the first snow falls.
-Jim Low-
Wildflowers and birds galore mark the coming year’s passage.
JEFFERSON CITY-Buyers of the 2008 Natural Events Calendar will find everything from bison to bellwort in the calendar’s 32 colorful pages, plus dozens of reasons to get outdoors and in touch with nature.
The calendar, produced by the Missouri Department of Conservation, is on sale now at conservation nature centers and regional offices statewide. You also can buy copies by calling toll-free (877) 521-8632 or through The Nature Shop, www.mdcnatureshop.com. The price is $5 per copy, plus shipping and handling and sales tax where applicable.
The 2008 calendar has more than 30 color photos of wild plants and animals and Missouri landscapes. All were taken by Conservation Department employees or volunteers.
Photographic highlights of the 2008 calendar include an ice-covered prairie backlit by the setting sun, intimate portraits of a king rail, a cedar waxwing, a fox squirrel and an eastern collared lizard, close-up photos of butterflies and a snowy Missouri River landscape.
As always, calendar owners will get glimpses of natural life in Missouri through daily entries about such diverse events as bobcats mating, morels popping and meteors showering.
Special features of the 2008 calendar include monthly tips for native plant gardeners, an invitation to join the Missouri Master Naturalists and a close look at barrens, balds and glades.
-Jim Low-
Participants get to enjoy golden autumn weather on the Katy Trail while doing their part to help endangered plants and animals.
JEFFERSON CITY-The Ninth Annual Endangered Species Walk/Run is set for Oct. 13, when hundreds of people are expected to trek the Katy Trail in support of Missouri’s endangered plants and animals.
The event raises funds to help restore habitat, conduct research and support education projects. This year’s event highlights bottomland hardwood forests and swamps. These habitat types harbor 10 percent of Missouri’s rare and endangered species.
Participants can choose from three race options: a 5K walk, a 5K run, and a 10K run. All events start at the Jefferson City Pavilion north of the Missouri River near the junction of Highways 63 and 54. The walk begins at 8:45 a.m., followed by the races at 9 a.m. The race route includes a portion of the KATY Trail. This year, the race route will be certified by the USA Track & Field, and the races will be chip timed. Awards will be given to winners by age class. Youth teams are encouraged with reduced registration fees.
Online registration costs $20 before Sept. 20 and $25 after. Those submitting paper registration pay a $2 surcharge. Registration includes a long-sleeved T-shirt with artwork created for the occasion by Conservation Department Artist Mark Raithel. Non-participants can purchase T-shirts for $25. To register or order a T-shirt, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/programs/es_walkrun/.
The Conservation Department is holding a youth postcard contest in conjunction with the walk-run. The contest deadline is Oct. 1, with the postcar ds to be displayed in the Missouri State Capitol and at the race.
Gov. Matt Blunt will proclaim Oct. 7-13 Missouri Endangered Species Awareness Week. Schools and conservation nature centers will observe the week with special activities.
The event is co-hosted by the Missouri departments of Conservation, Natural Resources and Health and Senior Services, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Jefferson City Parks, Recreation, and Forestry. Sponsors include Color Graphic Printing of Springfield, Wal-Mart, AmerenUE, the St. Louis Zoo and KRCG 13 in Jefferson City. For registration and other information, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/programs/es_walkrun/, or call (573) 522-4115 ext. 3150.
-Jim Low-
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