Copyright ©2008 Conservation Commission of Missouri. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
1. Exam shows mountain lion was a young female
2. Safety is the best gift of all for young gun owners
3. Killing swans can prove costly
4. Congress considers nongame wildlife funding
News contact: Jim Low, Jefferson City, Missouri, (573) 751-4115
"Think of the natural world as a great play, an incredible drama held on a world stage in which all living things play a part. When I carry binoculars, I stand with the audience, an omniscient observer to all that goes on around me, and I enjoy this very much. But when I carry a gun, I become an actor, become part of the play itself. This I relish, too."-Pete Dunne, Before the Echo
Experts know the sex and approximate age of a big cat whose pelt turned up in Missouri last month. They even have a fair idea where it came from. But how it died and how it got to Texas County remains a mystery.
COLUMBIA, Mo.--Few live animals receive the kind of scrutiny that was focused on an animal skin at the University of Missouri recently. But then not many mountain lion pelts turn up in the Ozarks, either.
A deer hunter reported finding the pelt, with head and feet still attached, alongside a gravel road in southern Texas County Nov. 13. Conservation Agent Roy Hoggatt retrieved the pelt and immediately put it in a deep freeze to preserve it. From there, the pelt went to a freezer at the Anheuser Busch Natural Resources Building at the University of Missouri-Columbia (UMC). A few days later, University officials thawed the pelt and gathered a bevy of experts to glean as much evidence as possible about the big cat, where it came from and how it died.
Those on hand for the examination included Missouri Department of Conservation furbearer biologist, David Hamilton, Conservation Department wildlife biologist Steve Sheriff, who spent hundreds of hours tracking, trapping and working with live, wild mountain lions in Colorado, David Magahan, a taxidermist who has worked with mountain lion pelts from other states, Mary Ratnaswamy, assistant professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia's School of Natural Resources, and Bill Heatherly, a Conservation Department wildlife programs supervisor.
They discovered that one eye and the tongue appeared to have been damaged by scavengers, and there was a small, superficial cut on the head. However, the animal showed no signs of gunshot or other potentially fatal injuries.
It had been skinned with considerable care to allow preparation as a full-body mount by a taxidermist. Magahan noted, however, that the skinning was not done as a skilled taxidermist would have. Freezer burn on some parts of the pelt revealed that it had been frozen before being discarded in Texas County.
Based on the condition of the cat's teeth and the presence of faint residual spots on the insides of the front legs, the team concluded it was 12 to 18 months old when it died. It was a small female, probably weighing between 60 and 80 pounds. The pelt was just beginning to "prime," a term trappers use to describe the thick fur of animals that are prepared for winter. This may mean the cat died in early autumn.
The team collected several ticks, which could provide clues to where the cat lived, and scraped soil out from underneath the animal's claws for the same purpose. The ticks have been sent to experts for identification, and tissue samples have been sent for DNA analysis.
The tips of both canine teeth were broken, and one of the claws was split. There were no signs of wear from a collar and no evidence of tattoos of the kind sometimes used to identify captive animals. The pads of the mountain lion's feet showed considerable wear. Such wear can mean that an animal has been confined on a concrete floor. The team agreed that the amount of wear on the young cat's feet wasn't enough to provide conclusive evidence it was a captive animal. But this, together with the lack of fatal trauma, leads Hamilton to suspect it was a captive specimen.
Magahan noted that the reddish color of the pelt resembled that of mountain lions found in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, rather than the central or northern Rocky Mountains.
Ratnaswamy said results from genetic testing on the mountain lion and information about the geographic range of the ticks taken from the pelt probably won't be available for several weeks.
"We certainly know more than we did before examining the pelt," said Hamilton, "but we still don't have answers to our most important questions- How did it get to Missouri, how did it die, and who had it?"
Hamilton said he still holds out some hope that an alert citizen will provide a tip that leads to more information. But he says that even if the mystery remains unsolved, at least in this case the Conservation Department has physical evidence that will contribute to a growing body of information about mountain lions in Missouri.
"We have a few pieces of the puzzle now," he said. "As we accumulate more pieces over time, a picture will emerge that will give us a better understanding of what we are dealing with."
The Conservation Department has formed a special Mountain Lion Response Team (MLRT) that includes Conservation Department and UMC personnel. The MLRT has developed procedures for investigating mountain lion reports to ensure the gathering of as much information as possible from all mountain lion reports.
- Jim Low -
A youngster's first air rifle, .22 or shotgun should come with lessons to help ensure a lifetime of safe, ethical shooting.
JEFFERSON CITY--If your son or daughter is going to unwrap his or her first air rifle or firearm on Christmas morning, be sure to give them the second part of the gift-an education in firearms safety.
Children enjoy shooting sports because they are fun, challenging and competitive. It is up to the parent to decide if the youngster is mature enough for supervised shooting. It is also up to the parent to decide if they are ready themselves for the responsibility of teaching safe gun handling and shooting to the child."Keep in mind that kids will be kids, and take that into account when buying a firearm," says Bob Staton, a protection programs supervisor with the Conservation Department. "Keep the gun under your control. You can use it as a training aid to teach safe handling and the responsibility of owning a firearm."
Parents should keep ammunition and firearms in separate locations, and both should be locked. Trigger locks are also a good idea. If the child wants to show his new gun to friends, he will have to do so in the company of the parent. "Having the gun locked gives the youngster the message his or her gun is not a toy, and it is another way of teaching responsibility," Staton says.
Almost all shooters will eventually take a hunter education course, but youngsters don't necessarily need the course before they have some experience with a gun. Some target shooting or small game hunting before the course will familiarize them with the gun and may actually make them better able to learn the lessons taught in the classroom. To hunt in Missouri, all children 15 years of age or younger who do not have a valid hunter education card must be in the presence of a licensed adult hunter.
How old should a child be to have a firearm? Leo Lujan, Director of Junior Development for the U.S. Shooting Team, writing in a National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) leaflet, says, "The bottom line is, you know your child better than anyone else. You know how well he or she follows directions and handles responsibility.
"You know if your child is mature enough to be mindful of his or her own safety and the safety of others." Lujan adds, "With proper supervision, participation in the shooting sports can teach responsibility at an early age." According to the NSSF, the Boy Scouts of America, the U.S. Jaycees, 4-H Youth Programs and the National Rifle Association all offer shooting programs that emphasize safety. They are taught by certified instructors.
For a copy of the leaflet, "A Parent's Guide to Recreation Shooting for Youngsters," write the National Shooting Sports Foundation at 11 Mile Hill Road, Newtown, CT 06470. The leaflet includes a "Firearms Responsibility Contract" that both child and parent can read and sign.
In Missouri you must be 11 years old to receive hunter education certification. The Missouri Conservation Heritage Card (available where hunting and fishing permits are sold) with a hunter education number on it is an accepted hunter education certificate card. Hunters who have a hunter education card are required to carry their card or a permit with the hunter education number on it while hunting with a firearm.
The Conservation Department is now providing more hunting opportunities for youngsters who receive guns as Christmas gifts. Missouri has a Youth Deer and Turkey Hunting Permit that youngsters under 12 years of age may purchase without displaying a hunter education certificate card. This permit allows a child to hunt in the immediate presence of a licensed adult who has a valid hunter education certificate card. It's a good opportunity for a child to hunt with a parent and learn gun safety first hand.
The permit allows youth hunters to take either one antlered deer statewide or one antlerless deer in any deer management unit except Unit 57. It also allows them to take one male turkey or turkey with visible beard during the spring turkey hunting season and one turkey of either sex during the fall firearms turkey season. If you purchase a Youth Deer and Turkey Hunting Permit, you may not purchase any other deer or turkey hunting permit during that permit year.
The time, date and location of hunter education classes are listed on the Conservation Department's web site at http://www.mdc.mo.gov/ Look under "Hunting." You select your county to search for classes; if none are listed, enter the names of surrounding counties and check them for classes. You can also contact any Conservation Department office or conservation agent for help in hooking up with a hunter education class. If you don't know the name of the conservation agent in your county, ask the county sheriff.
- Jim Auckley -
Failure to recognize swans before shooting turns out to be a costly mistake.
MOUND CITY, Mo.--A hunter who mistakenly killed a trumpeter swan in northwestern Missouri last month could learn an expensive lesson about the importance of identifying waterfowl before pulling the trigger. But the penalty could be much more severe for what appears to be the intentional killing of two swans in St. Charles County.
Hunters at Nodaway Valley Conservation Area called the toll-free Operation Game Thief (OGT) hot line Nov. 16 to report another hunter who shot two juvenile trumpeter swans while hunting snow geese. Holt County Conservation Agent Mike Perry investigated the report and found the hunter still in possession of the swans, apparently unaware of his error.
Because trumpeter swans are protected under federal law, an agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) issued a citation for the violation. The maximum penalty is $5,000. Unintentional offenses like this one typically bring penalties of $1,000 to $2,000.
The mistake doesn't say much for the hunter's knowledge of waterfowl identification. One of the swans weighed 18 pounds, the other 14, about three times the size of the snow geese he was after.
The ability to identify ducks, geese and other birds on the wing is essential for legal waterfowl hunting. New hunters can hunt with more experienced hunters until they acquire the needed knowledge. In cases where a bird's identity is uncertain, hunters who are ethical and want to avoid legal problems don't shoot.
Even for inexperienced hunters, however, distinguishing swans from other waterfowl is simple. A swan's neck length and wingspan are about twice those of a snow goose. While snow geese weigh six to eight pounds, tundra swans can weigh about 20 pounds and trumpeter swans can weigh up to 30 pounds.
Mild weather has encouraged significant numbers of swans to remain in Missouri this year, so all waterfowl hunters, and especially snow goose hunters, must be on the lookout for birds with longer necks and wider wingspans than other waterfowl. Also, swans are all white or, in the case of juveniles, all gray. Snow geese of all ages have black wing tips.
Things are likely to go much harder for the killers of two mature trumpeter swans found dead at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Riverlands Refuge in St. Charles County. Preliminary evidence leads FWS Special Agent Bob Leapley to believe the two swans were deliberately gunned down as they sat on the water Dec. 12 and left where they lay. In cases like this one, says Leapley, federal officials are inclined to ask for the maximum fine of $5,000.
Leapley says anyone with information about the case can call the OGT hot line, (800) 392-1111. He said the Trumpeter Swan Society and Operation Game Thief program are offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the conviction of the swan killer or killers.
- Jim Low -
A plan to provide stable, permanent funding for local parks, hiking trails and wildlife conservation and education has support from both political parties.
WASHINGTON, D.C.--Companion bills introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in October could funnel $11 million annually into Missouri parks, recreation, conservation education and wildlife programs without any new taxes. Although they differ from the Teaming With Wildlife (TWW) initiative promoted by a national coalition of more than 3,000 citizen groups and businesses, the bills have support from the coalition and on both sides of the aisle in Congress.
House Bill H.R. 4717, called the Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1998, was introduced in the House Committee on Resources. The bill's counterpart in the Senate is S.B. 2566.
The House bill would make approximately $1.5 billion in revenues from federal offshore oil drilling leases available for state and local programs annually. The funding would be automatic and permanent.
Benefits for Missouri from the Conservation and Reinvestment Act could include:
--Funds for inventory, management and public use of natural areas;--Grants to communities to develop wildlife viewing facilities;
--Grants to schools for development of outdoor laboratories and nature study sites;
--Grants to urban communities to purchase green spaces or urban wild acres;
--Funding for cooperative studies to collect information for restoration and management of wildlife species with special needs;
--Additional management for native prairie on publicly owned lands, especially for the state-endangered greater prairie chicken;
--Hiking and interpretive trails on conservation areas near urban areas;
--Video conferencing available for conservation programs in rural schools;
--Regional waterfowl and wildlife viewing sites on existing public lands.
Deirdre Hirner, executive director of the Conservation Federation of Missouri, says Missouri's largest conservation group supports the Conservation and Reinvestment Act not just because it will bring money to Missouri, but also because it will allow other states to emulate conservation programs pioneered here.
"Missourians have always been conservation leaders," says Hirner. "This program will allow us to continue our leadership and enable other states to follow our lead. The benefits of reinvesting oil money will be incalculable. Local parks will get a boost, and so will wildlife-related tourism. One of the most exciting features of this proposal is funding for conservation education. This is a goal we in Missouri have been pursuing for several years."
She says the Conservation Federation encourages its 35,000 members to contact their legislators and express support for the proposal.
Hirner noted that Congress didn't have time to pass the Conservation and Reinvestment Act this year. The idea was to get the ball rolling, so work on this proposal could start in earnest when the House and Senate reconvene next year. "The Conservation Federation and its partners have made enormous progress toward broadening the nation's conservation outlook to include non-game wildlife management, nature study, hiking and other wildlife-related activities. It's tremendously exciting to see that hard work bearing fruit."Hirner says one of the bill's best features is that it places decisions about how the money is used in local hands. She says she also is excited about states receiving funding for programs that will allow them to conserve wildlife while it is still plentiful, rather than the much more expensive work of bringing species back from the brink of extinction.
The proposal calls for setting aside a percentage of revenues from federal oil and gas leases for state and city conservation, parks and recreation projects. These funds would flow to states through the existing federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).
The Conservation and Reinvestment Act also would earmark a percentage of annual oil lease revenues for wildlife-based conservation and education programs. This money would be channeled to states through the established mechanism of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Fund, also known as the Pittman-Robertson Program.
Existing Pittman-Robertson money comes from federal excise taxes on sporting arms and ammunition. These funds would not be affected. The oil lease money would be managed through its own, separate subaccount.
The House and Senate bills differed in some details, such as the percentage of oil lease revenues to be set aside for wildlife programs. These differences would have to be resolved by a conference committee before the proposal could become law.
The House bill calls for setting aside 13 percent of revenues from oil and gas leases for state and city conservation, parks and recreation. These funds would flow to states through the existing federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Missouri's share of the money would be administered by the Department of Natural Resources.
State wildlife management agencies would oversee distribution of funds for wildlife management, conservation education and habitat projects at the state and local levels. In Missouri, the Missouri Department of Conservation would serve this function. The Conservation Department would seek public comment on how the money is spent and would work with citizens' groups and local government agencies to fund projects conceived and executed at the local level.The House bill specifies that the money be divided between the states according to a formula that gives two-thirds weight to states' population and one third to land area. Administrative expenditures would be limited to 4 percent.
States would have to provide matching money to qualify for funding through the Conservation and Reinvestment Act. This requirement could make it difficult for some states to get the federal money, so the House bill provides for a five-year "bridge," during which a non-federal match of only 10 percent would be required. This would give states time to establish adequate funding mechanisms to continue receiving federal conservation money. After five years, states would have to pay at least 25 percent of the cost of projects.
House cosponsors of the CRA include U.S. Reps. Karen McCarthy (D-Kansas City) and Roy Blunt (R-Springfield). Sen. Kit Bond co-sponsored the Senate version. Non-governmental organizations supporting the CRA include Bass Pro Shops, the Missouri Parks and Recreation Association, the Southern Governors' Association and the National Wild Turkey Federation.
The House version of the bill would set aside 23 percent of annual oil and gas lease revenues for land-based recreation, and 10 percent for wildlife conservation. The Senate version would allocate 16 percent of annual revenues for land-based recreation and 7 percent for wildlife.
Under the House bill, approximately 16 percent (approximately $169 million) of the money set aside for land-based recreation would go to the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery (UPRR) program. The Senate version would allocate 10 percent ($73 million) for UPRR.
Ten percent (approximately $459 million) of annual gas and oil revenues would go to state wildlife conservation projects under the House bill. The Senate bill calls for 7 percent ($321 million) of total oil and gas lease revenues for wildlife.
The Conservation Federation of Missouri is part of the state and national coalition that has been working for TWW. Hirner says the Congressional proposal differs from TWW in some respects, but it has the enthusiastic support of the TWW coalition.
Non-governmental organizations supporting the Conservation and Reinvestment Act include the American Birding Association, The Wildlife Society, the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the National Governors' Association, the National Association of Counties and the League of Cities. In Missouri, the coalition backing federal funding for non-game wildlife programs includes Bass Pro Shops, Orscheln Farm and Home and the Missouri Parks and Recreation Association.
Further information about the Conservation and Reinvestment Act and Teaming With Wildlife are available by calling the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. 202/624-7890. E-mail inquiries can be sent to <teaming@sso.org>. The full text of the House and Senate bills is are available on the Internet at <http://www.teaming.com>.
- Jim Low -
Copyright ©2008 Conservation Commission of Missouri. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use