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| Hunters set a record for the number of deer killed during Missouri's regular firearms deer season Nov. 11 through 21. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
Stunning photography and intimate details from Mother Nature's journal enhance enjoyment of every day.
JEFFERSON CITY-Butterflies, icy stalagmites and ghostly oaks enshrouded in mist are among the stunning images that grace the 2007 Natural Events Calendar from the Missouri Department of Conservation. At $5 per copy, and with discounts available, it is a luxury every Missourian can afford.
Next to breath-taking photographs, the 10X14-inch calendar's most popular feature is daily notes about things going on in nature. The entry for Jan. 22 notes that the state's bald eagle population is near peak level around rivers and other open water. On April 11, calendar readers learn that paddlefish are moving up streams to spawn. July 20 brings the news that long-tailed weasels are mating, and on Oct. 17 the news is that fall foliage is at its peak color. Dozens of gorgeous color photos bring such news items to life.
Besides daily nature notes, the 32-page calendar includes information about blooming times of 64 wildflowers, monthly nature gardening tips and insects.
The calendar is on sale through The Nature Shop. To shop and order online, visit www.mdcnatureshop.com. Call (877) 521-8632 to order toll-free and request information about sales tax and shipping costs. You also can request a printed catalog from MDC Nature Shop, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180, or by e-mailing estore@mdc.mo.gov.
-Jim Low-
A share of federal revenues from offshore oil leases is paying for proactive wildlife management at the state level.
JEFFERSON CITY-A quiet revolution is taking place in Missouri, and few people - even those most directly affected - know it. The revolution is in how wildlife management is funded, and, more important, the whole approach to wildlife management. The key to both is State Wildlife Grants (SWGs).
In 2000, Teaming With Wildlife, a coalition of 4,500 organizations, convinced Congress to use part of revenues from offshore oil leases to fund state conservation programs. To qualify for the money, each state had to develop a comprehensive wildlife strategy. The focus of these state strategies was on preventing wild species from becoming endangered, instead of the more expensive and less effective approach of trying to rescue species already teetering on the brink of extinction.
SWG funding began reaching states in Fiscal Year 2001. State wildlife agencies are using partnerships with local communities, businesses and conservation groups to leverage SWG funds, and the effects are becoming apparent on the ground. However, conservation partners - including professional wildlife managers - do not always know where the money comes from.
"The very nature of this program kind of guarantees that it will be hard for people to make a connection between close-to-home conservation work and State Wildlife Grants or Teaming With Wildlife," said Dave Erickson, chief of the Missouri Department of Conservation's Wildlife Division. "The money passes through state agencies' budget process. By the time it shows up as a grant to a conservation group or a line item in a wildlife biologist's budget, it no longer says 'State Wildlife Grant.'"
That is unfortunate, said Erickson, because people need to know how important SWGs are and what a huge role Teaming With Wildlife continues to play in ensuring that SWG funding continues. To support the program, people have to know about it.
"The range of groups in the Teaming With Wildlife coalition is just astounding," said Erickson. "It includes national hunting groups like the Wild Turkey Federation, local gun shops, nature-study and conservation groups like the Audubon Society and the Izaak Walton League of America. We have hundreds of wildlife-based businesses - from Bass Pro Shops to Orscheln Farm and Home - who realize that conservation is good for Missouri's economy and good business. We have Girl Scouts, chambers of commerce, Stream Teams - you name it. But if people don't realize the groups they belong to have been working through Teaming With Wildlife and what the money is used for, support for State Wildlife Grants would weaken, and funding could disappear."
That funding has become a mainstay of many states' conservation programs. Missouri alone has received more than $7.3 million in SWG money since the program's inception. Examples of how this money is being used include:
* Helping build a sewage system for the Mark Twain R-VIII Schools in Taney County. This helped the school keep its doors open and protected water that sustains the Tumbling Creek cave snail, an endangered species. Other federal, state and local partners joined in to make the deal work.
* Boosting prairie conservation and tourism around Cole Camp, Mo. Historically, this area was home to the now state-endangered prairie chicken. SWG money is helping area landowners and tourism businesses restore a more natural balance that benefits wildlife and boosts the local economy through more profitable agriculture and eco-tourism.
* Working with the Kansas City Wildlands Diversity Initiative to enhance the wildlife value of limited green space. Thousands of volunteers and dozens of local organizations clear brush, eradicate exotic plants and restore native plants to refuge areas.
"Missourians have always taken a long view on Conservation, and this program fits our state's farsighted outlook perfectly," said Erickson. "The accomplishments that State Wildlife Grants are making possible today are going to make a difference in the lives of all future generations of Missourians."
For more information about State Wildlife Grants and Teaming With Wildlife, visit www.teaming.com/, or contact the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, 444 N. Capitol Street, NW Suite 725, Washington, DC 20001, (202) 624-7890, teaming@fishwildlife.org.
-Jim Low-
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| Missourians will have a chance to see hundreds of bald eagles at Eagle Day events from December through February. For more information, contact the Missouri Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180, (573) 522-4115, ext. 3289, or visit www.mdc.mo.gov/events/eagledays/. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
Hunters topped last year's figure by 21,726.
JEFFERSON CITY-Hunters checked 124,271 deer Nov. 11 and 12. The harvest during the opening weekend of the 11-day firearms deer season is 21,726 more than last year.
The opening-weekend harvest is the second-largest opening-weekend harvest on record in Missouri. It fell 8,865 (6.7 percent) short of the record set in 2004.
Top counties were Benton with 2,621 deer checked, Callaway with 2,559 and Pike with 2,334. The Missouri Department of Conservation recorded four nonfatal hunting accidents and one fatality during the opening weekend.
Resource Scientist Lonnie Hansen predicted a larger deer harvest than last year's. He based that prediction on the fact that last year's total firearms deer harvest was down 9 percent from 2004, and the doe harvest was down 11 percent. One factor likely to hold down this year's deer harvest is the second bumper crop of acorns in a row. When acorns are plentiful, deer do not have to move around as much to find food, and so are less exposed to hunters.
The November portion of firearms deer season continues through Nov. 21. It is followed by a muzzleloader portion Nov. 24 through Dec. 3 and an antlerless portion Dec. 9 through 17. Archery deer hunting will reopen Nov. 22 and continue through Jan. 15.
-Jim Low-
Supplies are limited, so order early.
LICKING, Mo.-Now is the time to order tree seedlings from the Missouri state forest nursery for delivery next spring. Early ordering is advisable, since supplies are limited.
George O. White State Forest Nursery near Licking supplies millions of tree and shrub seedlings annually to Missourians who want to improve their land for wildlife. Greg Hoss manages the 748-acre facility near Licking for the Missouri Department of Conservation. Workers under his supervision begin digging up seedlings early in December and continue stacking the plants up in huge coolers until spring. Then, just in time for spring planting, the bundles are shipped all over the state.
This year's catalog lists dozens of species, including 13 different oaks, six pines, black walnut, pecan and more than a dozen shrubs. Other tree seedlings available this year include tulip poplar, sweet gum, bald cypress, silver maple, river birch, black cherry and Kentucky coffee.
This year the state forest nursery is offering extra-large white ash seedlings for the first time. These are approximately 3 feet tall. Other first-time offerings include serviceberry and nannyberry, a large flowering shrub that does well in shade or sun and produces fruits relished by birds.
This year's shrub selection includes flowering dogwood, smooth sumac, deciduous holly, redbud, wild plum, ninebark, elderberry, arrow wood, false indigo, witch hazel, blackberry, buckbrush and slender and round-headed bush clover.
Plants come in bundles of 25 seedlings for $3 to $24, depending on species. A $5 shipping and handling charge is added to each order, plus 5.725 percent sales tax unless the order is accompanied by a tax-exemption certificate.
The state forest nursery also sells bundles with plant assortments for specific purposes. These sell for $12 to $16. Special bundles include:
--The Conservation Bundle, with five seedlings of each of six species.
--The Wildlife Cover Bundle, with 10 seedlings of each of five species.
--The Large Nut Tree Bundle, with 15 large seedlings each of pecan and black walnut.
--The Quail Cover Bundle, with 15 seedlings of each of five species.
The nursery is now accepting orders. A full list of trees and shrubs available through the state forest nursery is available at www.mdc.mo.gov/forest/nursery. Or, you can call (573) 674-3229 and request a catalog by mail.
Missouri Conservation Heritage Card holders can receive a 15 percent discount up to $20 off their seedling purchases. To receive the discount, write your card number on the order form. The Heritage Card discount does not apply to handling charges and sales tax.
The Heritage Card can be purchased for $2 wherever hunting and fishing permits are sold. The card, similar in appearance to a credit card, makes applying for permits easier by storing registration information on a magnetic strip. The card also allows the owner to receive a 15 percent discount on selected retail merchandise sold at Conservation Department facilities. To order a Heritage Card by phone, call 1-800-392-4115.
-Jim Low-
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| Professional Timber Harvester classes offered by the Missouri Forest Products Association in cooperation with the Conservation Department are designed to help landowners get the most out of their forested acreage while observing sound conservation practices. For information about upcoming classes, call (573) 634-3252, e-mail moforest@moforest.org, or visit www.moforest.org. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
Holiday shoppers can visit conservation nature centers or regional offices statewide or shop online or by phone.
JEFFERSON CITY-Missourians looking for reasonably priced gifts for outdoorsy friends and family can browse through an abundance of possibilities at the Missouri Department of Conservation Nature Shop online or at more than a dozen locations statewide.
The Nature Shop has special discounts on several new items this year.
* Show-Me Bugs ($7.95) - Vibrant color is the hallmark of this guide to 50 cool insects. Macabre burying beetles, scary scorpion flies, terrifying tiger beetles and heroic-sized Hercules beetles inhabit this 132-page, hand-sized book, which also tells each species' life history. Buy this book at a Conservation Department gift shop during November or December and get a 20 percent discount.
* Central Region Seedling ID Guide for Native Prairie Plants ($6) - This pocket-sized book's pages are made of heavy card stock. It has photos of 40 prairie plants, plus notes about habitat. Seven pages are devoted to seed photographs.
* Trees of Missouri Field Guide ($7.50) - Color illustrations help you identify hundreds of trees. The backpack-sized book groups trees by leaf shape.
* Echoes of Outdoor Missouri ($8) - Experience the sounds of Missouri's natural habitats with this 70-minute CD. You will hear everything from the soothing sounds of an Ozark stream to the eerie dance of the prairie chicken on your auditory journey along rivers, prairies and forests.
* Leaf Note Cards ($4.50) - Detailed drawings of oak and sumac leaves silhouetted against a soothing pastel green background create a beautiful package for whatever greeting you choose to pen inside. Ten cards and envelopes per package.
Also on sale is the 2007 Natural Events Calendar ($5). The lavishly illustrated 10x14-inch calendar covers Missouri's natural year in loving detail, with notes about outdoor occurrences from meteor showers to mink kits' birth. Photos range from spectacular seasonal landscapes to intimate nature details from every corner of the state.
These are only a few of the educational and entertaining items on sale through The Nature Shop. To shop and order online, visit www.mdcnatureshop.com. Call (877) 521-8632 to order toll-free and request information about sales tax and shipping costs. You also can request a printed catalog from MDC Nature Shop, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180, or by e-mailing publications.staff@mdc.mo.gov.
The Conservation Department has places where you can do your shopping in person, too. The agency's regional offices stock new publications and some other Nature Shop items. Gift shops at conservation nature centers (CNCs) have an even wider selection of gifts than is available online. Check out one of these locations near you:
ST. LOUIS
* St. Louis Regional Office at August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area, 2360 Hwy D, St Charles MO 63304.
* Powder Valley CNC, 11715 Cragwold Road, Kirkwood.
* Columbia Bottom Visitor Center, 801 Strodtman Road, St. Louis.
KANSAS CITY
* Kansas City Regional Office, 3424 NW Duncan Rd, Blue Springs.
* Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center, 4750 Troost Ave, Kansas City.
* Burr Oak Woods CNC, 1401 NW Park Road, Blue Springs.
SOUTHWEST
* Southwest Regional Office, 2630 N. Mayfair, Springfield.
* Springfield CNC, 4600 S. Chrisman, Springfield.
* Joplin Office, 705 Illinois St., Joplin.
CENTRAL
* Central Regional Office, 1907 Hillcrest, Columbia.
* Runge CNC, 330 Commerce Drive, (Highway 179) Jefferson City.
SOUTHEAST
* Southeast Regional Office, 2302 County Park Drive, Cape Girardeau.
* Piedmont Office, Highway 34 East, Piedmont.
NORTHWEST
* Northwest Regional Office, 701 James McCarthy Drive, St Joseph.
OZARKS
* Ozarks Regional Office, 551 Joe Jones Blvd., West Plains.
NORTHEAST
* Northeast Regional Office, 2500 S. Halliburton or 3600 S. Baltimore, (after Dec. 12) Kirksville.
* Hannibal Office, 653 Clinic Road, Hannibal.
-Jim Low-
JEFFERSON CITY- The Missouri Conservation Commission will hold its next meeting Dec. 14 and 15 at Conservation Department Headquarters, 2901 W. Truman Blvd., Jefferson City.
The Commission will meet in closed session Dec. 14. It will meet in open session at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 15.
Commission meetings are open to the public. Items to be placed on the agenda for presentations or other business should be sent in writing to Director, Missouri Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180, fax (573) 751-4467, at least 10 working days before the meeting date. The deadline for the next meeting is Nov. 30.
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: Stephen Bradford, Cape Girardeau, chairman; William F. "Chip" McGeehan, Marshfield, vice-chairman; Cynthia Metcalfe, St. Louis, secretary; Lowell Mohler, Jefferson City, member.
-Jim Low-
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| Hunters checked 11,920 deer in the youth deer season Oct. 28 and 29. That is the second-largest harvest in the youth season's six-year history. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
Conservation officials strive for an accident-free deer hunting season.
JEFFERSON CITY-If it is true that people who don't know history are destined to repeat it, then deer hunters should be very interested in past years' hunting accident reports. Those documents offer hunters the opportunity to learn from others' mistakes and dramatically increase their chances of having safe hunts.
The Missouri Department of Conservation recorded 10 firearms-related deer-hunting accidents last year. One was fatal. One of the most striking lessons to be learned from 2005 deer hunting accident reports is that hunters most often are injured by the person with whom they spend the most time hunting - themselves.
Half of last year's firearms-related deer hunting accidents involved self-inflicted gunshots. The percentage varies from year to year, but self-inflicted injuries consistently account for approximately half of Missouri deer-hunting accidents.
Two hunters suffered self-inflicted injuries last year because they violated one of the most commonsense rules firearms safety - don't put your hand over the muzzle of a gun. In one case, a 13-year-old hunter participating in the youth hunting season had leaned his rifle against a tree. When he picked it up, he put his hand over the muzzle while trying to secure the safety. His accident ended a perfect safety record for the youth hunt, which had never been marred by a shooting mishap since its inception four years earlier.
The other hand-on-muzzle incident involved a hunter who was so excited by the appearance of an 11-point buck that he grasped his pistol by the barrel with his left hand.
All five deer-hunting accident victims who did not shoot themselves knew the people who shot them. Three were described as "friends." One involved brothers. In the remaining case - last year's only deer-hunting fatality - a nephew shot his uncle.
"It's important to realize that all these people were friends or family," said Bryan Bethel, hunter education coordinator for the Missouri Department of Conservation. "I think people might be more careful if they knew that they are the ones who are statistically most likely to cause this kind of suffering or even the death of a friend or family member. It's hard to imagine anything worse."
Two factors tied for the dubious honor of playing a part in the most deer-hunting accidents last year. Two people were injured, and one was killed during deer drives. Another three hunters were injured while loading or unloading, cocking or uncocking firearms, or putting safeties on or off.
Deer drives can be conducted safely. The trick is to plan them so all participants know each other's location at all times and then following the plan carefully. However, this often turns out to be more difficult in practice than it is in theory.
In last year's deer-drive accidents, one hunter shot and killed his uncle, whom he mistook for a deer. Another victim was out of sight of the shooter but was in the line of fire when deer appeared. In the third incident, the shooter and victim lost sight of each other, and fragments from a bullet struck the victim after ricocheting off of a tree.
The three loading/unloading, cocking/uncocking accidents were very different. In one, two hunters got into their vehicle with a loaded gun. One reached over to unload the rifle, but the gun went off because the safety was not on. The result was a wound to the gun owner's foot.
Loaded guns in and around vehicles is a common theme in deer hunting accidents. The lesson here is to keep firearms unloaded except when actually hunting.
Another loading/cocking/safety incident involved a hunter who fumbled with the hammer of his rifle when a deer jumped up in dense cover. He had his finger on the trigger and the hammer fell forward before he could shoulder the rifle. Again, the result was a gunshot to the foot.
Rifles or shotguns are most deer hunters' choice for a primary deer hunting firearm, but a significant number also carry handguns. These sidearms were involved in four of the 10 accidents recorded during the 2005 deer season. All four occurred on opening weekend.
On opening day, a hunter was putting a holstered .22 cal. pistol on his belt when the hammer caught on his clothing, causing an accidental discharge.
Another hunter wounded himself with a .357 cal. pistol after his rifle misfired. Grabbing his handgun in haste, he attempted to cock it and caused a misfire.
The third deer hunting accident involving a pistol occurred when a hunter taking part in a deer drive fired at a deer emerging from a brushy draw during a deer drive. The shot struck a hunting companion who was out of sight of the shooter.
The fourth handgun related accident involved the hunter who grasped his pistol barrel before firing.
Each year, one or two deer hunting accidents usually occur when a hunter stumbles or falls. Last year's accidents included one in which two friends were walking side by side and one lost his balance. This caused him to shoot his friend in the foot, an injury that could have been avoided if the rifle's safety had been on.
Bethel said it is easy to lose sight of the fact that deer hunters have a good safety record.
"Hunter education has cut the annual number of deer hunting accidents to a fraction of what it was 20 or 30 years ago," said Bethel. "If you think about it, having 10 hunting accidents during a 36-day season, with 475,000 licensed deer hunters is a remarkable achievement. I'm not sure what the accident rate would be for the same number of people driving cars for that much time, but I suspect deer hunters would look pretty good by comparison."
The goal of the Conservation Department and Missouri's more than 2,000 volunteer hunter education instructors is to have a deer season where no one gets hurt. Bethel said all of last year's accidents could have been avoided if hunters had followed the basic rules of safe firearm handling. Those rules include:
* Never allow a gun to point at or near another person or yourself.
* Treat every gun as if it were loaded.
* Don't load guns before hunting, and unload them immediately after hunting.
* Keep gun safeties on until you are ready to shoot.
* Always consider what else could be in your line of fire when deciding whether to shoot at game.
* Don't let excitement hurry your judgments or actions.
* Identify game positively, waiting to see the entire animal before raising your gun.
* Unload guns before crossing fences or other obstacles.
-Jim Low-
The Agricultural Policy Analysis Center says putting Conservation Reserve Program acreage back into production would have costly unintended consequences.
JEFFERSON CITY-A study exploring the likely effects of scrapping the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) predicts unintended consequences that would drop the price of soybeans, corn and wheat and cost the federal government more than $33 billion.
The study report, "Analysis of the Economic Impacts on the Agricultural Sector of the Elimination of the Conservation Reserve Program," comes from the Agricultural Policy Analysis Center (APAC) at the University of Tennessee. The study examined how elimination of the CRP would affect agricultural commodity prices and how those changes would affect other federal farm programs.
Congress created CRP in 1987 to address soil erosion and water-quality problems. The idea was to encourage farmers and ranchers to take highly erodible land out of production and plant grasses, trees and shrubs that would hold soil and slow runoff into lakes and streams. In the past 20 years, Congress has added provisions that add wildlife benefits.
According to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), no other program in history matches CRP's positive effect on wildlife conservation. The NWF notes that landowners have received payments to set aside nearly 36 million acres, an area larger than all the national wildlife refuges and state wildlife areas in the lower 48 states.
In spite of its conservation appeal, the CRP program is a likely target for budget cuts. More than one-third of CRP contracts with landowners will expire in the next nine years, with a possible removal of 12.6 million acres from the program. Nearly 9 million acres would go back into corn, soybean or wheat production.
The APAC study showed that this additional commodity production would result in price decreases of approximately 31 cents per bushel for corn, 63 cents for wheat and 90 cents for soybeans. Those drops would trigger federal payments to growers totaling $33 billion over the nine-year period. Savings on the CRP program would total $14 billion during the nine-year period for a net increase of approximately $19 billion in federal expenditures.
The APAC study was carried out by Dr. Daniel De La Torre Ugarte and Daniel Hellwinckel and funded by a grant from the American Corn Growers Association, Pheasants Forever, the National Farmers Organization, the American Agriculture Movement, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, the Wildlife Management Institute and the Energy Study Institute. For a summary of the APAC study, visit www.agpolicy.org/crp.html.
-Jim Low-
Missouri voters set up the Missouri Department of Conservation in its present form in 1936 by amending the state constitution.
JEFFERSON CITY-Recognizing seven decades of conservation achievement, Gov. Matt Blunt has proclaimed Nov. 3 "Seventy Years of Conservation Day."
The proclamation was timed to coincide with the date in 1936 when an overwhelming majority (71 percent) of Missouri voters approved Amendment No. 4 to the state constitution. That amendment vested sole authority for the management of Missouri's forests, fish and wildlife in a four-person, bipartisan commission appointed by the governor.
The proclamation said that "over the last seventy years, advancements in Missouri conservation have consistently brought national acclaim for accomplishments and professionalism in areas of species management, scientific research, beneficial practices on public land and private lands and conservation education" and noted that "Missourians' decision to protect and conserve our fish, forest and wildlife resources also provides an annual economic benefit to the state economy of over $7.5 billion and supports over 60,000 jobs."
Gov. Blunt's proclamation also noted that Missouri voters again amended the state constitution in 1976 to provide a one-eighth of one percent sales tax to fund conservation programs.
-Jim Low-
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