1. Gypsy Moth Trap Results Show Good News (w/pic)
2. Ms. Wheelchair USA Urges Tree Stand Caution (w/pic)
3. Conservation Agents Nab Dove Poachers
"While our way of life has changed, there is within us a feel for the land and what it used to be . . . ." -- Sigurd Olson
The Missouri Departments of Conservation (MDC) and Agriculture and federal agencies put out traps baited with pheromones around the state in June and check them through the middle of August. The number of male moths that are lured into traps by the sexual attractant tell foresters where a destructive outbreak of the forest pest might occur.
Most of the moths (16) were captured in St. Louis County. That isn't surprising, since the gateway city is a natural funnel for highway traffic from areas that already have gypsy moth infestations. Forestry officials say they plan to conduct more intensive trapping in the area next year. Such targeted trapping can detect potentially dangerous gypsy-moth hot spots. If the trapped moths all hitched rides into Missouri from other states, that will be apparent from the pattern of captures, too.
Four gypsy moths turned up in traps in Taney county and one each was caught in Christian, Jackson and Pettis counties. Last year 32 gypsy moth were trapped statewide. Traps set around an area in Dent County where gypsy moths were found in May came up empty. MDC Forest Pathologist Sue Burks says this is strong evidence that efforts to control the infestation succeeded. She says the small number of moths caught statewide indicate there is no serious infestation in Missouri.
Officials are trying to delay for as long as possible the addition of Missouri to the gypsy moth's range. The moths, whose territory now includes land north of a line from central Michigan into South Carolina, expand their range by about 15 miles per year. At that rate, the insects will likely reach Missouri around the year 2020.
The insects are harmful because of their insatiable appetite for foliage. Each gypsy moth caterpillar can eat a square yard of leaf surface during the two weeks it takes them to prepare for metamorphosis into adult moths. Repeated defoliation can kill trees.
Missouri would likely be a prime target for the pests because much of Missouri's forest is dominated by their favorite food, oak trees. Destruction of oak trees would have a devastating effect on the biological diversity and economy in forested areas.
Burks says areas where gypsy moths are found in traps are inspected for egg masses. Trapping, destroying egg masses and spraying are among the efforts being used to prevent an infestation of the insects. These efforts give Missouri time to prepare for the eventual arrival of the gypsy moth.
2. Ms. Wheelchair USA Urges Tree Stand Caution (w/pic)
COLUMBIA -- Penny Lorenz-Bailey, recently crowned Ms. Wheelchair USA,
was in an auto accident that cost her the use of her legs. But as assistant
director of Missouri Heads Up, she knows that spinal-cord injuries don't
threaten only automobile drivers and passengers. Hunters who use tree stands
can suffer paralysis and worse if they neglect safety in their sport.
Ms. Lorenz-Bailey lives in Harrisburg and works in Columbia. Her job with Missouri Heads Up is part of a national effort to prevent permanent, irreparable brain and spinal cord injuries. She notes that the growing popularity of tree stands puts deer hunters squarely in the audience she needs to reach.
Archery deer hunting season runs from Oct. 1 through Jan. 15. During that time, thousands of Missourians will spend countless thousands of hours 10 or 20 feet up in trees, waiting for deer.
"That might not seem very high," says Ms. Lorenz-Bailey, "but at the end of a 12-foot fall, a person's body is traveling at about 20 miles per hour. Imagine running into a concrete wall at that speed with nothing to protect you. It can be devastating."
For most people, the phrase "hunting accident" calls to mind a picture of someone who has suffered a gunshot wound. MDC keeps records on that kind of hunting accident, and annual statistics show a decrease in the frequency of such mishaps since hunter education training became mandatory.
But a greater hazard for deer hunters -- especially bowhunters -- is falling from tree stands. Data on tree-stand accidents is scarce, since they do not have to be reported. But experts agree that such accidents probably are more common than firearms hunting accidents.
Staton says he got a lesson about the frequency of tree-stand accidents a few years ago. He had gone to interview a gunshot victim at a hospital. When he asked for the room number of the hunting accident victim, the hospital receptionist asked, "Which one?" It turned out the hospital had four patients who had been injured while hunting, and three of them were there because of falls from tree stands.
Staton said several Missourians spend weeks in hospitals each year recovering from broken legs, concussions and broken back and neck bones. Some suffer paralysis. But even they are fortunate to survive their falls. He recalls a case a few years ago in which a hunter suffered a spine injury in a tree-stand fall. Unable to move, the injured hunter lay face down in a puddle of water until he drowned.
Tree stands are not inherently dangerous. Staton says they are equipment, just like cars or chain saws. But just like other equipment, they can become dangerous when they are used carelessly or improperly. He says hunters who use tree stands should take the following precautions to protect themselves:
If possible, wait for professional medical help. Don't let anyone move you until your back and neck are immobilized by being strapped to a back board.
Ms. Lorenz-Bailey says you should only try to walk or crawl to find help if you cannot expect a prompt rescue. Sometimes death by hypothermia is a greater danger than a possible spine injury. She urges caution in such cases.
"Pain means something is wrong," she says. "Find the position that causes least pain and stay in it, whether that means walking hunched over, standing straight up or crawling." She says an unloaded firearm or stick may be useful as a crutch to take stress off the injured part of the back or neck.
"Knowing what to do if you suffer a spinal-cord injury is critical," says Ms. Lorenz-Bailey, "but avoiding injuries in the first place is even more important. Often the best first aid and follow-up medical care in the world can't restore what's been lost in a split-second of carelessness. Most of these accidents could be avoided."
3. Conservation Agents Nab Dove Poachers
Conservation Agents Scott Bumgardaner (Madison County) and Mark Wilcoxon were patrolling Wilcoxon's beat in Dunklin County Sept. 1 when they heard shots coming from a field. They hid near some parked vehicles and eavesdropped on the conversation of the six men who eventually came out of the field.
"They were talking about the afternoon's shooting and how they were going to drop the doves at a house where they had left doves they shot in the morning," Wilcoxon said. "After that, they said they were going to another field and shoot more doves that evening."
When Wilcoxon checked the men's afternoon take he found some of them already over the daily limit of 15 doves. He found more in their vehicles and at a nearby residence. In all, the men had 202 doves. At most, the six hunters might have legally possessed only 90 doves.
Wilcoxon said the men will be charged under federal law, which regulates the hunting of mourning doves and other migratory game birds. The maximum fine for bagging more than the limit is $100 for the first dove and $50 for each additional bird.
"That's a lot of doves," said Wilcoxon. "Some of these guys could be looking at fines of $800 or so."
On the same day, Lafayette County Conservation Agent Chris Capps got wind of a party of hunters hunting over a baited field. It looked like several suspects were involved, so Capps recruited Platte County Conservation Agent Steve Nichols and Clay County Conservation Agent Brian Bartlett to help.
The flat, open terrain east of Kansas City offered little cover for the three agents, and they were forced to approach through a cornfield that was laden with dew. They were soaked to the skin by the time they began their surveillance, but the effort paid off. They caught 11 men shooting doves over a field baited with wheat, a violation of both state and federal law.
When they apprehended the shooters, they found more than 300 doves in piles and buckets. An interesting sidelight to the Lafayette County case was the discovery of a Canada goose carcass discarded behind a round hay bale in the baited field. "It was obvious it had been shot that morning," said Nichols. "It was still warm. Someone had removed the breast and thrown the rest of the bird away, but we never did find the breast meat. I suppose it might have gone with someone who left earlier in the morning."
"People who commit deliberate, flagrant violations don't have any respect for wildlife, or any interest in fair chase," said Capps. "If you'll shoot doves over bait, you'll probably shoot a goose out of season. That kind of mentality is very discouraging to see and very damaging to ethical hunters -- real hunters."
The counterfeit hunters nabbed by Capps and his crew are charged with hunting over bait. Some are charged with taking more than the legal limit of doves. Others, who sought to avoid the over-limit charge by claiming not to have shot more than 15 doves, got tickets for failing to keep their game separate or identifiable.
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