December 2002

Christmas trees have year-round utility

You don't have to burn your Christmas tree or send it to the landfill. Instead, use it to benefit fish or wildlife. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo)

Don't burn your Christmas tree or send it to the landfill. Instead, turn it into habitat for fish and wildlife.

JEFFERSON CITY -- The best thing about a natural Christmas tree is the smell. The worst thing is the problem of how to dispose of it when the holidays are over. It doesn't have to be a problem, though. The Missouri Department of Conservation has several ideas for turning old Christmas trees into fish and wildlife assets.

If you enjoy feeding birds during the winter, you can turn your tree into a bird-feeding station. Birds are skittish about exposing themselves to predators while eating. Putting your Christmas tree outside and hanging food items on it gives birds a sense of security while they eat.

Place the tree near a window so you can watch. You can leave it in the stand you used inside or put the trunk in a bucket of sand. Then "decorate" it with strings of popped popcorn or cranberries. Cutting beef suet into half-inch cubes and stringing them between the cranberries creates a bright contrast while providing a food item that nuthatches and woodpeckers will adore.

Fruit-eating birds appreciate hand-me-downs from your refrigerator. Apples or oranges that are past their prime make a feast for waxwings, bluebirds, robins and mockingbirds. You can also cut apples into wedges and string them with needle and thread, alternating with raisins or Cheerios. When you're finished scooping sections out of a grapefruit, fill it with corn or sunflower seeds and hang it from a limb. Carrots and other vegetables add color and nutritional variety.

Don't throw out stale bread. Use a cookie cutter to make festive shapes and hang them on the tree with thread. Old doughnuts or bagels can be hung on the tree just as they are.

You can make other edible ornaments by smearing peanut butter on pine cones and then rolling them in sunflower seeds. Another idea is combining equal parts of melted suet with corn syrup. Cool the mixture and form into small balls with a loop of yarn sticking out before rolling in a commercial bird seed mix.

Your tree still has value, even when the food is gone. You can build a rabbit condo in your back yard by collecting neighbors' trees and piling them two-deep. A brush pile built with Christmas trees should be placed on large rocks, logs or other bulky material to leave open space for small animals to move around underneath. Tree branches left over from pruning chores make excellent brush pile bases.

If brush piles don't fit your landscape decor, let the tree dry in the back yard for a week or two, then shake off the needles and remove the branches with pruning shears. These make excellent kindling for your next camping trip. The left-over trunk will make a good tomato stake for your garden next spring.

You can also use your Christmas tree underwater. Brush piles that are built properly and placed in favorable locations provide excellent fish habitat. Fish will linger there, making them easier to find with rod and reel.

Don't sink your tree too deep. To do the most good, underwater brush piles should be placed in 5 to 10 feet of water. The top of the pile should be only 2 to 4 feet underwater during fishing season.

Some areas are naturally attractive to fish. Your brush pile will be most effective if you build it in a sheltered cove or where a point of land juts into the water. Another natural fish gathering point is where a gently sloping bottom takes a sudden drop-off into an old creek channel. In small ponds, the corners near dams are fish magnets, too.

Anchor fish attractors with concrete blocks, coffee cans filled with concrete or rocks. Polypropylene rope, plastic banding or aluminum wire are the best materials for tying trees to weights. Where possible, place groups of three fish attractors in a triangle. This pattern attracts fish better, because it offers them better cover.

The easiest time to place fish attractors is before a pond or lake fills or during low water. The next easiest is when the water is frozen. Just leave the trees in the desired spot and wait for a thaw. Don't do this by yourself, though. Tie a rope to your waist and bring a friend to stay on the bank and haul you in if the ice breaks. You can use a boat to position the trees, too.

You'll be glad you recycled your tree when you catch a nice crappie over your fish attractor or watch a flock of cedar waxwings feeding at your outdoor Christmas tree.

- Jim Low -

Play it safe with camp appliances

Heaters and other appliances fueled by propane or white gas can be dangerous if improperly used.

JEFFERSON CITY -- "All portable heaters are not created equal," is a good rule for outdoors persons to remember when attempting to warm up during cold winter days afield. Operating a heater designed for outdoor use in an unventilated blind, tent or cabin can result in death caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.

Each year Americans die from using radiant heaters, camp stoves, lamps and lanterns fueled by propane, butane, kerosene and other petroleum fuels and other gases, in enclosed areas. The appliances use oxygen and emit carbon monoxide. So, not only do they reduce the amount of oxygen available for you to breath, they also poison the air.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless, toxic gas. Upon entering your body, it reduces the blood's ability to carry oxygen. Initial symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, sleepiness and confusion. Other symptoms include heart flutters and shortness of breath. Low blood oxygen levels caused by carbon monoxide also can result in loss of consciousness and death.

People experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning should turn off any possible source of the gas and move to an area where there is fresh air. Those who develop flu-like symptoms while using a heater afield should seek medical attention because carbon monoxide poisoning, which often is mistaken for a cold or flu, often is detected too late.

Proper use of radiant heaters and other appliances is the best way to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Never use appliances designed for outdoor use in enclosed areas. Always follow manufacture's instructions for ventilation, and never leave the devices on while sleeping.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently approved a new generation of heaters designed to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. The new heaters are equipped with an oxygen depletion sensor (ODS). If oxygen levels start to fall, the sensing technology automatically shuts down the heater before it can produce serious levels of carbon monoxide. The new heaters can be identified by packaging labels stating that the device is designed for indoor use and equipped with an ODS.

While heaters with sensing devices are considered safe to use indoors, consumers are advised against operating them while sleeping.

- Arleasha Mays-

Osage County judge made poachers pay

Retired Osage County Associate Circuit Court Judge Ralph Voss earned a reputation for being tough on Wildlife Code violators during his 23 years on the bench. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo)

A recently retired judge reflects on wildlife law enforcement.

LINN, Mo. - Ralph Voss didn't set out to be a crusading judge. He says he strove to ensure that everyone got a fair shake in his courtroom. But when he presided over poaching cases, he saw them a little differently than many other judges, and the difference earned him a reputation as being tough on poachers.

Voss served as Osage County associate circuit judge from Jan. 1979 through Jan. 1, 2002. In those 23 years, his tough attitude toward hunting and fishing violations became well-known.

Sitting in his office at the Linn Unterrified Democrat newspaper during a recent interview, Voss said he guessed his reputation for being tough on wildlife code violators was deserved. Those who were caught shooting deer out of season or pulling big catfish from hollow logs in Osage County knew they probably would get the maximum fine, and Voss didn't hesitate to impose jail sentences on repeat offenders.

"My philosophy is that a penalty should be strong enough to reward the work that goes into making a case," said Voss. "Penalties also should be strong enough to discourage poachers."

He said that a conservation agent who finds an illegal trap might have to stake out that spot for several days to catch the person who set it. Furthermore, wildlife code violators know that their chances of getting caught are very small. "The penalty has to be pretty severe to make the agent's work worthwhile and to make the violator think twice before he breaks the law," said Voss.

He contrasts this with the relative ease of catching some other kinds of law breakers. "Driving faster than the speed limit is just as serious, maybe more so, because a speeder could kill someone" Voss said. "But a state trooper can set up on a stretch of highway and make dozens of cases in a day."

Voss said the fine for speeding could be $25 or $500 and people would still pay it so they can keep driving. "It's the points on their licenses that get their attention," he said. "They know that if they get too many speeding tickets, they will lose their driving privileges."

A soft-spoken man whose fashion preference runs to flannel shirts and faded jeans, Voss said he doesn't fault judges whose personal views of wildlife violations aren't as tough as his own.

"Every judge's attitude toward sentencing for a certain crime is influenced by his experience" he said. "My feelings about wildlife code violations probably have something to do with a memory of my dad. Forty-five or 50 years ago he and some of his friends caught a 22-pound catfish. They were still talking about that fish many years later, and that impressed me.

"I wondered, what if a kid had caught that fish with his grandpa? What kind of memories would that have been? How do you put a price on that? A guy with a trammel net or an electric generator can go out and catch 10 big fish in one night. That's depriving others of a whole lot of pleasure."

Just as drivers fear suspension of their driving privileges more than fines for speeding, Voss said the punishment that wildlife violators fear most is loss of hunting and fishing privileges. When prosecutors brought repeat offenders into Voss' court, they often asked him to suspend their hunting privileges, and he always complied.

"A lot of people who think nothing of violating the law really love to hunt and fish. Losing their ability to do those things for a year hurts them much more than a $500 fine.

Among the cases Voss took most seriously during his tenure on the bench was hunting from roads with spotlights. "It violates all the reasons you have game laws," said Voss. "It's unsporting, it takes game from law-abiding hunters and it's very dangerous to landowners and others who live there."

In 1995, the Missouri Conservation Commission responded to landowner and hunter requests and made it illegal to shine a light from a roadway. The new regulation exempted landowners so they could check on their livestock and property. However, the change still flew in the face a long-standing tradition of legal spotlighting in Osage County.

"Families would go out just to look at deer," said Voss. "You could stop 10 vehicles, and not one of them would have a gun."

Voss said Osage County Conservation Agent Mark Haviland handled the situation perfectly, giving lots of warnings and publicizing the new rule and the reasons behind it in his newspaper column and radio show. Haviland's patience paid off with a change in attitudes and citizens who understood and supported the new law because they understood why it was important.

Asked what he considers the biggest challenge to wildlife law enforcement, Voss said that poaching is a tradition in some families and even in some communities. Young hunters and anglers learn from their elders that it's okay to break the law. He said hunter education is a great opportunity to reach hunters in their formative years and instill better values, or at least make them aware that most people don't approve of wildlife code violations.

Voss said that he believes the vast majority of Missourians support wildlife laws. He said such support is critical to enforcing the laws.

"Way before I was a judge, I always had a lot of respect for the Conservation Department and its policies. By and large, I think they have earned that respect. Occasionally a guy who supports wildlife laws will exercise poor judgment - catch a few extra fish or start frogging season early because, (Voss laughed here) because they are afraid the poachers will beat them to it. That doesn't excuse breaking the law, but I really believe that if we could remove a small group of people who are habitual poachers you would have very few violations by others."

Voss said his tough-on-poachers approach was possible partly because of the two conservation agents with whom he was privileged to work. Gary Howard was Osage County's conservation agent from June of 1967 until 1995, when he turned the job over to Haviland.

"I don't know if you could ever begin to estimate the contribution Gary made to conservation during the 28 years he spent here," said Voss. "He is the kind of person who could stop somebody for a wildlife violation and write them a ticket and make them a friend."

Besides a natural, genuine friendliness, Howard had remarkable integrity, according to Voss. He wouldn't go to court unless he had a strong case, and he never overstated facts to gain a conviction. Over time, his reputation spread, and it made him even more effective.

"I shouldn't admit it, but sometimes I kind of felt sorry for people who had to face Gary in court. When he told a jury something, they just believed him - period."

Summing up Howard's career, Voss said, "He is kind of an Osage County legend. Mark (Haviland), is following in his foot steps, and that's quite a compliment. Gary left some pretty big boot prints."

Asked if he had any advice for conservation agents, Voss said the most valuable asset for any law enforcement officer is credibility. "If you write a ticket and you get to looking at it later and decide the case isn't as strong as you would like, either reduce the charge and plead it out or ask the prosecutor to dismiss it. If you go into court and have to overplay your evidence, that judge will never believe you again.

"If you have a reputation for honesty, people will respect you. It's a lot easier to take a ticket from someone you respect than from someone you know will cut corners."

- Jim Low -

Missourians set eight fishing records in 2002

You can find current fishing records and a record application form online.

JEFFERSON CITY - Missourians set eight fishing records in 2002, and many more received recognition for their angling efforts under programs sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

The State Record Fish program recognizes those who catch the largest fish from species included on the State Record Fish list. To qualify, fish must be caught by legal methods from Missouri waters. They have to be weighed on certified scales, and the fish's weight and species must be verified by a Conservation Department fisheries biologist. Applications for state fishing records must be accompanied by a color photo of the fish. Qualifying anglers receive engraved plaques.

The Conservation Department recognizes state record catches in two categories - pole line and lure (PLL) and alternative methods. The first record of the year came in the alternative method category. Three Boone County residents, Nathan Dietiker, Scott Lipscomb and Dane Thomas, used a trotline to capture an 8-pound, 2 ounce largemouth bass Feb. 16 at Country Boy Estates.

Table Rock Lake was the place to fish for records in March. On the opening day of the paddlefish season, March 15, George Russell of DeSoto snagged a 139 pound, 4 ounce paddlefish from the lake, setting new PLL and alternative method records for that species. On March 19, Scott Flood of Billings reeled in a record with his catch of a 5-pound, 6-ounce white bass from Table Rock Lake.

James Dockery of Queen City caught a 1-pound, 7-ounce goldeye from the Des Moines River April 6 to capture the record for that species in the PLL category.
Blue Springs resident Tim Dernosek used archery method to earn the alternative method record for common carp. The record fish, taken from Lake Lotawana on May 28, weighed 55-pound, 1-ounce.

The new alternative method smallmouth bass record was set by Paul V. Elder of House Springs. He caught a 4-pound, 3-ounce smallmouth while jug fishing at Table Rock Lake Sept. 18. Jug fishing also was the method Camdenton resident Jason D. Kirk used to set a new alternative method record with a striped bass he caught at Lake of the Ozarks Oct. 11. Kirk's fish weighted 39 pounds, 8 ounces.
A grass carp weighing 69 pounds earned Jim Shull of Trenton a spot in the State Record Fish program's PLL category. He hooked the fish at Crowder State Park Nov. 13.

Anglers who catch lunkers that don't quite measure up to state-record standards can have their efforts recognized through the Master Angler Program. Anglers who catch fish that meet minimum requirements for eligible species receive certificates acknowledging their exceptional catches.

The Missouri Department of Conservation's First Fish program helps anglers celebrate catching their first fish. The program provides a certificate, suitable for framing, that details the date, size and location of the budding angler's first catch. If a picture was taken of the event, that too can be include on the certificate. The program is open to all Missourians regardless of the size of their first fish or the age at which they caught it.

To learn more about the First Fish, Missouri State Record Fish or Master Angler programs, contact Fisheries Division, Missouri Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102 0180. Current fishing records and a state fishing record application form are available at the Conservation Department's Web site, http://www.conservation.state.mo.us /library/fishery/fishrec.pdf.

No one is immune to hypothermia

Missourians who pursue hunting, fishing or other outdoor activities during the winter months should take precautions to avoid potentially fatal chilling, also known as hypothermia. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo)

Even seasoned outdoors people can fall prey to this insidious killer.

JEFFERSON CITY - When it comes to seasoned outdoors persons, Bryan Hendricks is among the most knowledgeable. A lifetime of honing outdoors skills and committing the rules of safety to mind has made the managing editor of the Missouri Conservationist Magazine a proficient outdoorsman. His skills were put to a harrowing test a few years ago when a spring fishing trip turned into a bone-chilling brush with hypothermia, a dangerous drop in core body temperature.

The May 1995 fishing trip began as many others Hendricks had taken to Arkansas' Ozark National Forest. The weather was mild, and the foot-deep waters of Cove Creek were clear and cool, but not too cool for shorts and short-sleeves.

The approach of sunset signaled the end of Hendricks' fishing excursion. As he and his fishing partner were leaving, Hendricks got a lure stuck in his finger. While standing in the creek trying to unhook his hand, he noticed the water getting murky. Then he heard a strange noise, like water crashing over a waterfall. As he turned to ask his fishing partner if he, too, heard the noise, a four-foot wall of water swept Hendricks downstream.

In an instant Hendricks' outdoor know-how kicked in. "One of the dangers of drifting in fast-moving waters is getting your feet tangled in rocks and debris on the bottom of the stream," Hendricks said. "A couple of weeks before, while whitewater rafting through the New River Gorge in West Virginia, an outfitter taught me to curl up into a ball - knees up and toes up, heels angled back. This helps keep you buoyant, but it also allows you to bounce off of rocks and other obstructions. I was carried down the stream about 75 yards until I was pulled into a small eddy. That slowed me down enough to let me crawl out on the opposite side of the creek."

With water raging between him and his truck, all Hendricks could do was wait in soaking wet clothes as his friend went for help. The minutes, then hours seemed endless. Hendricks tucked his arms inside his shirt and gathered leaves around him under a bush in an attempt to protect himself from off-and-on rain showers and a 20-degree temperature drop.

As day gave way to night Hendricks began shivering as his mental ability faded.

"What I remember most about the experience was an inability to think rationally as the night wore on," said Hendricks. "I started thinking that something had happened to my friend and he's not coming back, so I was going to have to find my way out.

Unfortunately, I had no idea where I was, or how I got there, but in that frame of mind, none of that mattered. It took every ounce of mental discipline I could muster to remember a basic rule that I know very well, that the worst thing you can do is leave the last spot where you were last seen."

Throughout the night, Hendricks was frustrated by what he thought were muffled voices echoing through the hollows. Several times he even thought he heard car horns blaring, but the sound of the torrent rushing by all but drowned them out. He was convinced they were hallucinations, so he resisted calling out to them. As it happened, he really did hear shouts and horns, but he ignored them until 3 a.m., when he saw a flashlight beam play through the trees on the other side of the creek.

"It wasn't until I was inside my friend's truck that I noticed the uncontrollable shaking," Hendricks said. "My speech was badly slurred, and at some point, I fell into this uncontrollable, hysterical laughing fit. I didn't really get myself together until about six o'clock when I went to the hospital to get the hook taken out of my hand, and I didn't feel warm until I woke up from a long nap later that afternoon."

Bryan Hendricks experience is among the most common scenarios for hypothermia -- an unexpected soaking under cool weather conditions. But any combination of factors that increase exposure to the chilling effects of air or water can lead to hypothermia. Three-quarters of all hypothermia deaths occur when the air temperature is between 30 and 50 degrees.

The best cure for hypothermia is prevention. Be extra careful when boating in winter. Don't take chances when an accidental soaking could leave you more than a few minutes from help. To avoid a soaking, never overload your boat. Also, don't head out in bad weather, and start for home at the first sign of worsening weather conditions.

Clothing is your first line of defense against hypothermia. Hunters who venture out in boats should invest in floatation suits, which provide extra insulation along with the floatation of a life jacket. Since hypothermia can be a killer even without being tossed in the drink, go prepared for the worst possible weather. Take a rain poncho, even if there is no rain or snow in the weather forecast.

Choose garments that retain their insulating properties when wet. Wool and synthetic insulating materials are good choices. Cotton and down feel great when they are dry, but are virtually useless when soaked.

Following his experience with hypothermia, Hendricks has added new safety measures to his fishing and hunting routines. He advises anglers and hunters to leave an itinerary with someone who is expecting them to return from hunting or fishing trips. Be as specific as possible about your location, so rescuers can find you quickly if necessary.

Hendricks also recommends carrying a disposable lighter, double wrapped in sealable storage bags to keep it dry.

"Fire can save your life in two ways in an emergency," he said. "Of course it can help warm you, but it also gives you a task to focus on. Concentrating on keeping a fire going can prevent you from wandering off or following the other irrational thoughts that could cost you your life."

You or a friend may become chilled in spite of these precautions, so it is important to know the symptoms of hypothermia. The first is uncontrollable shivering. Begin treating for hypothermia immediately when you see this warning sign. Delaying could prove fatal.

Get the victim to a heated shelter and into dry clothing. If no dry clothes are available, leave the wet ones on. Even soaked clothing has some insulating value. If no shelter is available, build a fire. Better yet, build two fires and put the victim between them. Or take advantage of others' body heat by putting the victim in a sleeping bag with one or two other people.

Warm drinks are one of the best treatments for hypothermia. Always carry a thermos of hot coffee, cocoa or soup for emergencies. If food is available, have the victim eat to replenish lost energy. Don't offer liquor. Alcoholic beverages actually make hypothermia worse.

As hypothermia worsens, victims exhibit slurred speech, stumbling, confusion and drowsiness. People with these symptoms may appear drunk. This is no laughing matter. They need help immediately. Loss of consciousness is the final symptom before death.

- Arleasha Mays -

Scholarships help students make a difference for conservation

Scholarships honoring the memory of a citizen conservationist help students of all ages contribute to Missouri's conservation tradition.

JEFFERSON CITY - As a college student at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Nathan Mills worried about the decline of frog populations worldwide. He wondered if pesticides in the environment might be contributing to that decline. A grant from the Charles P. Bell Memorial Scholarship Program enabled him to link pesticides and frog deaths.

Another MU student, Hayden Mattingly, wondered what factors determined why the endangered Niangua darter - a pint-sized fish related to the walleye - inhabited some stretches of stream in Western Missouri and not others. The same scholarship program helped him identify habitat factors critical to the fish's survival.

The scholarship program bears the name of a Columbia resident who was president of the Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM) at the time of his death in 1989. He also served as treasurer of the CFM Charitable Trust.

Bell's family cooperated with the CFM to set up the scholarship program in Bell honor. Each year since 1990, Bell scholarships have demonstrated to students from grade schoolers to Ph.D. candidates that their passion for state's wild resources is important.

Mills used a $600 Bell Scholarship to buy equipment for a scientific experiment as part of his work for a Ph.D. degree. He demonstrated that stress - in this case seeing a predator - multiplied the negative effects of pesticide exposure in gray tree frog tadpoles. This is small bit of knowledge about the environmental effects of pesticides, but it contributes to the growing body of knowledge that ultimately may help scientists discover why amphibian numbers are declining worldwide.

Mills' scholarship also helped him build a resume that landed him a job as an assistant professor of biology at Harding University in Searcy, Ark. "Graduate students are always searching for funding to do a little better project," said Mills. "The Charles Bell scholarship program is one of the best-kept secrets in Missouri."

Mattingly used his Bell scholarship to cover living expenses while he studied the Niangua darter's habitat preferences. "Money was really tight for me at that time," he recalls. "I was just starting out and had been working two jobs. The Bell grant was a nice financial boost, and it boosted my confidence, too. It was definitely motivating to have the importance of my work recognized.

Mattingly's work helped state and federal wildlife agencies design population monitoring and management plans for the Niangua darter. It also helped convince Tennessee Technical University in Cookeville, Tenn., to hire him as an assistant professor.

The CFM Charitable Trust awards one $600 graduate scholarship and one $500 undergraduate scholarship annually. It also awards six $250 scholarships to elementary or high school students or youth groups each year to support conservation projects.

Applications for Bell scholarships are due by Jan. 15. For scholarship application forms or information about tax-deductible contributions to the program, contact: Charles P. Bell Scholarships, Conservation Federation of Missouri, 728 W. Main St., Jefferson City, MO 65101. Phone: 573/634-2322 or 800/575-2322.

- Jim Low -

Students honored for anti-littering commercials

Three Seneca youths are the latest winners in the No MOre Trash campaign sponsored by the Missouri departments of Conservation and Transportation.

JEFFERSON CITY - Three Seneca High School students have been named winners in the second No MOre Trash! video contest, sponsored by the Missouri departments of Conservation and Transportation. The more than 60 video entries received ranged from funny to serious to quirky to dramatic.

"No MOre Trash" is Missouri's first statewide litter awareness campaign. Assisting in the effort is the Missouri Anti-litter Advisory Board established by Governor Holden and First Lady Lori Hauser Holden. The board is composed of government, business and nonprofit organizations. The campaign initially targets 16- to 24-year olds, the age group research shows is most likely to litter.

The campaign began in April with the launch of the "No MOre Trash" website and a 30-second ad that ran on cable networks through July. The campaign features television ads, an interactive website and a quarterly video contest offering cash prizes.

"It was definitely exciting seeing interest in the contest grow," said Stacy Armstrong, MoDOT roadside management specialist and one of the campaign coordinators. "There's a lot of talent and enthusiasm out there and we enjoyed seeing the many ways kids thought to educate their peers."

Chet Gaines, Caleb Jones and Reece Martin, students at Seneca High School, received the first-place $200 award for their "Harlem Globetrotter" litter ad. Students pass a can to the tune of "Sweet Georgia Brown," and bank it into its proper receptacle. Representatives of MoDOT and MDC will present the award to Gaines, Jones and Martin on Dec. 12 at Seneca High School.

Three other ads received honorable mention. Josh McKay and Jason Richards from Fort Osage High School in Independence won for their more-serious entry emphasizing the crime and punishment side of littering. A teenager is stopped by a police officer for littering and ends up having to take a ride in the back seat of a police car for his offense.

Matt Russell from Ozark Technical College in Springfield won for his commercial emphasizing the environmental hazards of littering. His ad reminds viewers that litter doesn't spontaneously combust and disappear.

Michael Saltzman and Sean Smith of Ladue Horton Watkins High School in St. Louis won for "The Can." Reminiscent of "The Twilight Zone," this video takes the viewpoint of the single and lonely can that isn't with its fellow trash in the proper receptacle.

Encouraged by the increase in video entries, the No MOre Trash! committee will continue the contest. The next deadline entry is Feb. 6. Anyone ages 16-22 is encouraged to submit a 30-second entry to convince other Missourians their age not to litter.
Entries (in VHS, digital video or other formats) should be sent by Feb. 6 to:

No MOre Trash!,
Attn. Lorna Domke
P.O. Box 180
2901 W. Truman Blvd.
Jefferson City, MO 65109.

For more information on the campaign or contest or to view the winning videos, visit www.nomoretrash.org.

- 30 -

Rising tide floats new hopes at Ted Shanks CA

Hunting mallards in flooded timber is a thing of the past at Ted Shanks Conservation Area in Pike County. The Missouri Department of Conservation is working to make it a thing of the future. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo)

Planning for the future is more productive and more fun than wishing for the past at this once and future duck hunting hot spot.

HANNIBAL, Mo. - Steve Hoepf's memories of Ted Shanks Conservation Area go back to 1979, when he first hunted ducks in the area's flooded timber. Back then, it was a waterfowl hunter's paradise. Today, when he castes his gaze across the Flag Lake tract near the middle of the area, he sees dead trees and lost opportunities. Resource Forester Kristen Goodrich is more apt to see history in the making. She also sees a bright future for the next generation of hunters. Both visions are accurate, as far as they go.

Hoepf began visiting the 6,700-acre area adjacent to the Mississippi River in Pike County soon after the Missouri Department of Conservation bought it. He remembers standing among towering oak, ash, pecan and sycamore trees, watching mallards pour into the flooded timber by the hundreds.

"There was always plenty of ducks," Hoepf recalls. "We always had forty or fifty thousand. At the peak of the migration, there would be 119,000 birds on the area."

The ducks were drawn by the sheltering bur oaks, swamp white oaks, pin oaks and their acorns, a staple food for ducks. Now the trees are gone, replaced by hundreds of acres of reed canary grass, cattails, sedges, buttonbush and willows. "We went from a heavily timbered area with lots of flooded timber, where the birds were extremely close, to hunting open marsh, where you can see a bird half a mile away. When you look at it now, you almost want to cry."

The first hint of change at Ted Shanks came from a comparison of aerial photos of the area taken in the 1970s and again in the 1980s. The later photos showed many more dead trees. Area managers assumed the tree deaths were the result of their manipulation of water levels.

Then they compared two other sets of photos. One was taken in 1941, the other in 1956. Flag Lake doesn't appear on the earliest pictures, but it is clearly visible in the 1956 photos. They wondered where the extra water came from.

Ted Shanks' bottomland hardwood forest originally occupied land that stood a few inches or feet above the normal water level in the adjacent Mississippi River. Floods rose among the timber, but for most of the year, the forest floor was above water. That allowed the trees to thrive and enabled seedlings to survive, guaranteeing the future of the bottomland hardwood forest.

In 1942, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed its navigation system on the upper Mississippi River. Locks and dams turned the river into a series of lakes. At Ted Shanks, the water level rose nearly seven feet.

No one realized what effect the navigation project would have on the Shanks area's forest. It turns out the soil of the flood plain acted like an enormous sponge, soaking up water from the river/lake. Eventually, water beneath the soil rose to the river's new level.

The effects of the extra moisture were subtle and slow to appear. Few trees died outright. Instead, the increased moisture reduced trees' vigor and cut into survival of seedlings. Lower-lying areas, including Flag Lake, were affected first.

Then the slow decline took a catastrophic turn. The Great Flood of 1993 breached levees at Ted Shanks' north end, covering most of the area in several feet of water from June through October. Already stressed by decades of what amounted to low-level flooding, tens of thousands of trees died within a year.

This made the problem worse. Trees are constantly drawing water out of the soil and evaporating it through their leaves. A healthy forest removes nearly 10 inches of water from the soil annually. Dead trees don't remove any water. The death of 90 percent of the trees in some parts of Ted Shanks has had the same effect as an extra 9 inches of rainfall annually.

Goodrich, who has worked for the Conservation Department full-time for two years, never saw Ted Shanks in its heyday, but as a forester, she can see another heyday on the horizon. Although much of the area is too low and moist to support the forests of yesteryear, other parts of the area are more suitable than ever for growing trees.

"When the Department bought this area, most of it was being farmed," said Goodrich. "We have continued to grow corn and soybeans on 800 acres of the area to provide food for wildlife. Some of that land is at the right elevation relative to the water table for bottomland hardwood forest."

After carefully evaluating the suitability of various sites, Goodrich, Shanks Area Manager Keith Jackson and the rest of the Conservation Department's multidisciplinary management team in northeastern Missouri identified pilot sites for active forest restoration. So far, they have planted more than 10,000 5-foot oak, sycamore and pecan seedlings in the Cabin, Perry, Central and Nose Slough management units.

The Conservation Department also is pursuing natural restoration of forest in sites where trees have managed to survive on their own. In some of these areas, natural regeneration is being suppressed by a tangle of exotic reed canary grass and other plants that took hold in the wake of flooding. The debris from fallen dead trees will complicate tree planting and regeneration work, but the Conservation Department hopes to encourage forest to re-establish itself on 900 acres in the Nose Slough and Horseshoe units.

In areas that no longer are suitable for forest, the Conservation Department will work to develop marshes with vegetation that benefits wildlife. Wildlife Management Biologist Keith Jackson says he would like to try growing rice on part of the area's remaining agricultural land to further enhance its attractiveness to waterfowl.

Dale Humburg, a waterfowl research biologist recently named to head the Conservation Department's new Science Division, said the importance of forest restoration at Shanks extends far beyond the substantial recreational benefits it promises to hunters and birdwatchers.

"When you get up in the air and fly over the Mississippi River valley, it's striking how little wildlife habitat is left in the flood plain," said Humburg. "Ninety-five percent of the historic wetland acreage has been converted to agriculture, highways, industrial parks and other developed uses. Every spring and fall, millions of waterfowl and other migratory birds fly up and down this corridor. Their survival depends on finding places to eat and rest."

"Twenty years from now, Ted Shanks is going to be an incredible spot," Humburg predicts.

Interestingly, although the number of ducks that visit Ted Shanks CA today is far smaller than it used to be, the success rate of waterfowl hunters there has remained essentially unchanged. This is because the number of hunters using the area has declined along with duck numbers.

Ted Shanks CA is one of the few areas in Missouri where hooded mergansers, pied-billed grebes and least bitterns nest each year. Three-quarters of the money used to purchase the original area came from the Pittman-Robertson Act, the federal law that hunters urged legislators to pass in 1937. The act provides for an 11-percent excise tax on hunting equipment and ammunition.

- Jim Low -

New farm bill will benefit Missouri Wildlife

Conservation will get a big boost from new federal farm legislation.

JEFFERSON CITY -The recently passed Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, also known as the 2002 farm bill, includes $39 billion over the next 10 years for programs that conserve soil, water, wildlife and other natural resources.

New farm legislation typically is created every five years. The first farm bill, enacted in 1933, helped American agriculture change as societal needs, world markets and other factors affecting farm production changed. Since the 1980s, conservation concerns have been strengthened in the legislation.

For the past 17 years, federal farm bills have better recognized the correlation between good farm management and the well-being of our wildlife and natural resources. Nearly half of the land in the United States is used for agricultural production. That land intertwines with our streams and natural habitat and provides food and cover for wildlife. The farm bill is designed to sustain a healthy farm economy while also enhancing and protecting natural resources, including wildlife.

Highlights of the 2002 farm bill include expansion of established conservation programs and creation of new land-management programs.

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is among the oldest efforts by the farm bill to address conservation concerns. CRP, established in 1985, pays landowners to take their land out of crop production and establish native grasses, and other cover that prevents erosion and benefits wildlife. This year's farm bill provides funds to enroll 39.2 million acres of land in the CRP program. A new eligibility requirement of the program is that the land must have been farmed four of the six years prior to enrollment.

The Conservation Security Program (CSP) is among the most innovative programs created in this year's farm bill. With CSP, landowners who manage their properties to address soil erosion, herbicide runoff, wildlife habitat and other important conservation issues can receive financial support for those conservation practices. Funding for this program will be determined by Congress annually.

Also new in this year's farm bill is the Grassland Reserve Program, which addresses conservation of prairies. It offers cash in return for easements or other long-term agreements from participants who maintain or restore native prairies. Enrolled lands can be hayed or grazed. The new farm bill provides funding to enroll 2 million acres in the program.

The Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) provides cash incentives for restoring wetlands. WRP has been very successful in Missouri, providing $75.6 million to restore 78,000 acres of wetlands. The 2002 farm bill calls for increasing national enrollment in WRP by 250,000 acres per year.

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP, helps defray the cost of implementing certain wildlife habitat management practices on lands that are actively managed to produce crops or livestock forage. EQIP will receive $400 million in funding this year and will increase to $1.3 billion annually by 2006.

The Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) provides financial assistance to landowners who manage land for wildlife. National funding for WHIP is $15 million in 2002. WHIP funding will increase to $85 million annually in 2005.

Also included in the 2002 farm bill is $100 million for the new Forest Land Enhancement Program (FLEP). FLEP provides funding specifically for forest needs, such as reforestation and management practices to improve the health of forest.

- Arleasha Mays -