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| When wildlife gets a little too close for comfort, the Missouri Department of Conservation has help. Visit www.mdc.mo.gov/landown/, and click on "Wildlife Management," then "Nuisance Wildlife" to access a wealth of information about dealing with troublesome wildlife from bees to bears. Map (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
The Conservation Department can turn a photo and the details of young hunters' first deer kills into permanent reminders of the events.
JEFFERSON CITY-Hunters may kill many deer in their lives, but they never forget their first. The Missouri Department of Conservation has a program to help make those memories tangible.
The First Deer Program gives participants commemorative certificates suitable for framing. If the application includes a photograph of the hunter with his or her first deer, the photo is incorporated into the certificate, and the photos are returned with the certificate.
The agency started the program three years ago to recognize young hunters' achievement. Youngsters get a kick out of seeing a reminder of their first successful hunt on the wall. The certificate is a good (and free) substitute for a taxidermist's mount.
The Conservation Department issues several hundred certificates each year. Parents and mentors of first-time hunters often seem as thrilled with the certificates as the hunters themselves.
Any hunter age 15 or younger who kills his or her first deer can get a certificate. You can download an application by visiting www.mdc.mo.gov/hunt/deer/index.htm and clicking on "First Deer Hunting Award." Or contact First Deer/Turkey Certificate, Missouri Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180, phone 573/522-4115, ext. 3293.
The Conservation Department offers the same service to first-time turkey hunters.
-Jim Low-
The Missouri Conservation Commission will hold its next meeting Feb. 1 and 2 at the Conservation Department's Northeast Regional Office, 3500 S. Baltimore, Kirksville.
The Commission will meet in closed session Feb. 1. It will meet in open session at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 2.
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 Jan. 18.
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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| A strong deer population and good weather throughout the 36 days of firearms deer seasons allowed Missouri hunters to set a new record for firearms deer harvest this year. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
Youngsters with a flair for art can win cash and learn why biological diversity makes for healthier forests.
JEFFERSON CITY-It isn't too late to enter the 2007 National Arbor Day Poster Contest, but don't delay; the deadline is approaching fast.
The Missouri Department of Conservation and the Missouri Community Forestry Council invite fifth-grade students in the state to enter the Fifth Grade Arbor Day Poster contest. The contest theme is "Trees are Terrific...and forests are too!"
Through the contest and accompanying curriculum materials, children in more than 75,000 classrooms nationwide learn why healthy forests need a diverse mix of tree species. Instructional materials are designed to meet national standards for science, geography and education.
The contest is open to fifth-graders in public, private or parochial schools and home-schooled children. Competition begins in individual schools. Only entries from schools will be accepted. Each school's winning poster advances to the state competition. The Conservation Department plants a tree in the state winner's honor in his or her community. The state winner also receives a $50 savings bond and advances to the national contest, where prizes include a $1,000 savings bond and an expense-paid trip to the 2007 National Arbor Day celebration. The winner's teacher will receive $200 for classroom materials.
The deadline for state Arbor Day contest submissions is Jan. 12. Teachers can get contest packets from Donna Baldwin, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102, Donna.Baldwin@mdc.mo.gov. The national winner will be announced on National Arbor Day, April 27.
For more information about Arbor Day programs, contact the National Arbor Day Foundation, 100 Arbor Ave., Nebraska City, NE 68410, phone (888) 448-7337, or visit www.arborday.org/index.cfm.
- Jim Low -
This year's theme is "Conserving All Natural Resources: Implementing the Comprehensive Wildlife Strategy"
JEFFERSON CITY-Participants in the 2007 Missouri Natural Resources Conference (MNRC) will hear keynote addresses from the directors of a national grassroots biodiversity initiative and the Conservation Federation of Missouri and a vice president of the National Audubon Society (NAS). Those addresses, along with dozens of informational sessions, will focus on implementing Missouri's Comprehensive Wildlife Strategy.
The event will take place Jan. 31 through Feb. 2 at Tan-Tar-A Resort, Lake of the Ozarks. The annual event allows conservationists with government and nongovernmental agencies and the public to share information about ongoing projects and new trends in resource management. This year's theme focuses attention on the Comprehensive Wildlife Strategy prepared so Missouri could qualify for State Wildlife Grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Plenary session speakers are: Naomi Edelson, Wildlife Diversity Director and Teaming with Wildlife Director for the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, which led a national campaign to secure federal funding for state conservation programs.
Roger Still, Vice President for Mississippi River Programs for the National Audubon Society (NAS), who coordinates efforts to develop an integrated approach to Mississippi River conservation.
Dave Murphy, Director of the Conservation Federation of Missouri, which led successful drives to establish the Missouri Department of Conservation in 1936 and fund biodiversity initiatives with a dedicated, one-eighth of 1 percent sales tax approved by voters in 1976.
Workshops offered at the conference will cover the Comprehensive Wildlife Strategy as it relates to existing conservation programs, human dimensions of the Comprehensive Wildlife Strategy, the federal farm bill, conservation partnerships, grant writing, natural resource applications of geographic information systems, invasive species projects, understanding and managing biodiversity, stream advocacy and managing forests and woodlands for wildlife.
The MNRC also will include meetings of professional groups hosting the event. These are American Fisheries Society, the Society of American Foresters, The Wildlife Society and the Show-Me Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society.
Other attractions include a poster session and mixer the evening of Jan. 31, a 5K fun walk/run, a student job fair, and a conservation awards ceremony and dessert buffet with live entertainment. Conference program and registration information is available online at www.mnrc.org/.
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| Capturing birds in mist nets and fitting them with bands allows workers in the Missouri Ozarks Forest Ecosystem Project to track the number and variety of migratory birds under different forest management regimes. So far, the study seems to indicate that logging, as practiced by the Missouri Department of Conservation, does not adversely affect birds like this Kentucky Warbler. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
Livingston and Shannon counties are the latest locales with conclusive evidence.
CHILLICOTHE, Mo.-The Missouri Department of Conservation has confirmed the ninth and 10th documented mountain lion occurrences in the Show-Me State in modern times.
The most recent confirmed report of a mountain lion in Missouri came in the form of a photograph taken Dec. 7 by an automatic trail camera. A bowhunter, Joe Neis, placed the camera on private land in Livingston County north of Chillicothe to monitor deer activity. He told investigators he had no idea the cat was in the area before the trail camera captured its image.
Conservation Department Resource Scientist Dave Hamilton announced the confirmation after he and other members of Missouri's Mountain Lion Response Team visited the site where the photo was taken and verified that evidence at the scene confirmed the authenticity of the photo.
The photo shows an apparently healthy mountain lion walking past the camera. The cat has dark spots on the insides of its front legs, indicating it is less than 2 years old. Hamilton estimated its weight at 110 to 120 pounds.
The other confirmation was based on an incident that occurred in November on private land in Shannon County. A hunter shot a doe at dusk and decided to wait until the next day to track and retrieve the deer. When he did, he found the carcass had been partially devoured. Closer examination by Conservation Department investigators showed convincing evidence that the wounded deer had been killed by a big cat and then fed upon.
"We have long been expecting the next mountain lion sighting in Missouri," said Hamilton. "It was overdue. We were averaging about one a year, and we have missed three years. It looks like it is evening out."
The Mountain Lion Response Team, headed by Hamilton, investigates many mountain lion reports each year. The Conservation Department formed the group in 1996 to ensure that all citizen reports are recorded and that timely investigations are conducted where physical evidence may exist. Most reports either cannot be verified or are found to involve other animals, such as dogs, deer, coyotes and bobcats. Surprisingly, house cats often are misidentified as mountain lions.
"Dog tracks account for more mistaken reports of mountain lions," said Hamilton. "Unlike mountain lion tracks, which seldom show claw marks, dog tracks usually do. That is an easy giveaway. House cats can be tricky for some, though."
Domestic cats' body shape and behavior are enough like those of mountain lions to create the potential for mistaken identity. When seen at a distance in an open field, often through the lenses of binoculars, rifle scopes or cameras, the illusion can be convincing.
"While part of the team was investigating the two sightings we eventually confirmed, others were following up on a report from Clark County that involved a video tape," said Hamilton. "The tape had been around for a year or so and had been seen by a lot of people. It was widely viewed as being a mountain lion, but it turned out to be another of many videos of an ordinary house cat."
Techniques used to tell the difference between photos of mountain lions and house cats include analyzing the ratio of body and head size, thickness of body, the shape of the back when the cat is seated on its haunches, and other body conformation factors.
"Those tests are fairly simple to apply to photographs when you are sitting in an office," said Hamilton. "Trying to do the same thing with a living animal in the field sometimes is more difficult. It is not surprising that people get fooled."
Mountain lions also are called cougars, pumas or panthers. So far, confirmed sightings support the theory that mountain lions seen in Missouri migrated here from western states. Hamilton noted that young males typically leave their birth areas looking for territories of their own, and often wander hundreds of miles before settling down.
"That is consistent with what we have documented in Missouri," he said. "A wealth of evidence leads us to believe that Missouri does not have an established, breeding population of mountain lions, just individuals filtering in from the west."
In addition to evidence that cougars found in Missouri are mostly young males, Hamilton points to a significant lack of evidence of an established population in Missouri. "In areas with breeding populations, physical evidence is very easy to find," he said. "You see lots of tracks. You find deer carcasses with the unique signs of mountain lion kills, and you see cougars of all ages, from cubs to adults, killed by cars. We don't see any of those things in Missouri."
Hamilton also said that with hundreds or even thousands of trail cameras like Mr. Neis' in use around the state, if cougars were present in significant numbers, he would expect to see many photos, not just one.
Most telling, says Hamilton, is the extremely small number of road kills in Missouri. Even states with small mountain lion populations record frequent road kills. South Dakota, where the statewide population is estimated at 200 cougars, has had over 20 road-killed in the past two years. In Florida, where the panther population is estimated at 70 to 100, 11 have died on roads this year.
Darrell Land, statewide Florida panther coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, called roadkill "an effective sampling method," though regrettably not one that permits returning "sampled" animals to the population.
Missouri's first confirmed mountain lion sighting in modern times came in 1994, when two men illegally killed a cougar near Eminence. Since then, five other cougars have been documented on film and video cameras. Two more, both young males, were killed by motorists. One was killed in the Kansas City area in 2002, the other near Fulton in 2003.
Mountain lions are not the only wildlife that wanders into Missouri from the west. Earlier this fall, the Conservation Department confirmed sightings of at least two elk in northwest Missouri.
Nor is Missouri the only state where dispersing mountain lions turn up. Cougars-mostly young males-also have wandered into Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas and Oklahoma after decades of absence. Some of these animals carried radio collars and were known to have traveled up to 700 miles from their original capture sites.
-Jim Low-
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| Craig Allee's tree clipper allows him to clear more land in a day than a landowner with a chainsaw could clear in a week. He is one of dozens of private contractors who provide professional wildlife management services in Missouri. To find a conservation contractor near you, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/programs/contractor/, and click on "Contractors Database," or contact MDC, Private Land Services Division, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180, phone (573) 751-4115. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
The Natural Resources Conservation Service has help for landowners who want to keep flood-prone land without risking annual crop losses.
SUMNER, Mo.-Elizabeth Montgomery didn't want to sell 305 flood-prone acres of her family farm in Chariton County. On the other hand, she didn't want to keep losing money on it, either. Then the Natural Resources Conservation Service offered her an alternative that was too good to pass up. Today, the low-lying land is paying dividends that will continue to benefit her family for generations to come.
Montgomery, 77, is one of dozens of Missouri landowners who have enrolled land in the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP). WRP is part of the federal farm bill and is aimed at taking land with marginal agricultural value out of production and restoring its enormous value as fish and wildlife habitat. At the same time, the program reduces erosion, protects water quality and gives landowners new choices about where to farm and how to use their land.
WRP became especially interesting to Missouri landowners in the early 1990s, when widespread flooding devastated many farms. The program offers cash payments in return for 30-year or permanent easements on land along rivers and creeks. Participating farmers retain ownership of the land, but agree not to plant crops or engage in other activities that would prevent flood waters from reaching the land or otherwise impair its value as wetland.
For many farmers along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, WRP was a godsend. Payments for land with broken levees, huge scour holes and thick blankets of river-washed sand enabled the owners to buy land and continue farming in new locations.
Montgomery's situation was different. Her acreage along Locust Creek was a small part of the family farm, so frequent floods that made cropping an annual gamble did not threaten her livelihood. Still, when the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) first suggested enrolling the overflow acres in WRP the first time, she declined. A few years later, with changes that made the deal more attractive, she decided the program offered the best use of her land.
"It's overflow land," she said. "We had tried to farm it and we decided that Wetland Reserve would be the best for the land and the animals and everything, so that's what convinced us to do it." All the acres were flooded in 1993, and much of it flooded in less extreme years.
"We can sell the land if we want to or lease it or log it with their permission and supervision," said Montgomery. "I imagine we will lease some of it for hunting eventually, but right now it is just my family hunting there."
Unlike some WRP participants, Montgomery didn't want to buy more land. She used payments from the program to make needed improvements to her home, pay off debts and install terracing to protect her remaining acreage.
The benefits of WRP enrollment did not end with these investments, however. The NRCS also paid for wildlife improvements.
"The NRCS did a lot of work down there this summer. They put in two lakes, so it should be really good for duck hunting in the future. Of course, there's a lot of deer and turkey in there, too."
Montgomery no longer has to decide whether to plant crops each year, or worry about whether her investment in planting will be lost when it rains. "It floods when it floods," she said.
The value of the land for wildlife also goes beyond Montgomery's acreage. Hers is among more than 1,000 acres of private land enrolled in WRP adjacent to 7,000-acre Fountain Grove Conservation Area (CA), one of the Conservation Department's oldest and largest wetland areas. In combination with more than 10,000 acres at Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge, 3,500 acres Pershing State Park and 600-acre Yellow Creek CA a few miles north, the WRP land forms a sprawling wetland complex that sustains ducks, geese and other migratory birds and provides enormous hunting opportunities.
To learn more about WRP, contact local US Department of Agriculture service center or visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/WRP/.
-Jim Low-
Some hunters probably got all the deer they wanted during the record-setting firearms deer season, and heavy snow probably kept others indoors during the closing weekend of the muzzleloader hunt.
JEFFERSON CITY-Weather and an unusually successful November deer season helped keep Missouri's muzzleloader deer harvest down this year, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
The agency reported that hunters killed 9,436 deer during the muzzleloader deer season Nov. 24 through Dec. 3. That is down 679 (6.7 percent) from last year's figure of 10,115 and 2,502 (21 percent) from the record of 11,938 set in 2004.
Resource Scientist Lonnie Hansen said he had expected the record-setting November firearms deer harvest of 235,054 to depress the number of deer taken during the antlerless deer season Dec. 9 through 17, but not the muzzleloader season, when hunters are allowed to shoot antlered deer.
"I suppose it is possible that some hunters got all the deer and deer hunting they wanted in November and sat out the muzzleloader season," said Hansen, "but I also think weather might have been a factor."
Deep snow blanketed a wide swath across the middle of the state, and temperatures fell to single digits during the final weekend of the muzzleloader season. Hansen said those conditions kept him from hunting as much as he might have under less extreme conditions, and other hunters might have been similarly affected. He said deer also are less active during severe weather, making them less visible to hunters.
Top muzzleloader deer-harvest counties were Franklin, with 227 deer checked, Osage with 218 and Ste. Genevieve with 212.
The Conservation Department recorded no firearms-related hunting accidents during the muzzleloader season.
-Jim Low-
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| Youngsters from as far away as Illinois got an introduction to hunting and fishing at the Land Learning Foundation's second Youth Game Fair in Chariton County in August. The Foundation works to build a love of nature and field sports among youths. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) |
Trips afield energize students and create teachable moments.
JEFFERSON CITY-Teachers who want to bring biology classes to life and get students excited can draw on the Missouri Department of Conservation's Field Trip Grant Program to make it happen. Applications are open now for more than $200,000 in grants for field trip transportation.
School budgets always are tight, and transportation costs are a significant obstacle to teachers who want to offer off-site learning opportunities for their classes. The Field Trip Grant Program is aimed at removing that roadblock to learning.
Educators in all Missouri elementary and secondary schools-including public, private, parochial and home schools-may apply for grants under the program. The Conservation Department reimburses travel expenses of up to $700 per application, with a $1,400 annual limit per group or school. To be eligible, field trips must take place after award notification and before May 25, 2007. Trips cannot exceed 100 miles one way, and they must take students to fish, wildlife or habitat-related sites in Missouri. Field trips also have to address specific goals connected to classroom instruction. The per-student cost of transportation cannot exceed $7 per student, and at least 20 students must participate.
Field trip grants provide reimbursement for actual travel expenses. Schools that receive grant approval will submit transportation receipts and narratives describing the trip accomplishments and benefits. Documentation must be received by the Conservation Department within 15 business days after the field trip is taken or by June 4, whichever is earlier.
Field trip sites eligible for grants include, but are not limited to:
* Conservation Department nature centers and interpretive centers.
* Conservation Department shooting ranges or outdoor education centers.
* Conservation areas or natural areas.
* Fish hatcheries.
* State parks.
* National wildlife refuges or national forests.
* City or county parks.
* Sites that contribute to the understanding of fish, wildlife and habitat.
So far this school year, 183 schools have been approved for field trip funding totaling $59,689. Nearly 16,000 students already are scheduled to take field trips under the program this school year. Remaining funds will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
Further information is available by online at www.mdc.mo.gov/teacher/, or by contacting Nichole Baumhoer, Nichole.Baumhoer@mdc.mo.gov, (573) 522-4115 ext. 3807.
-Jim Low-
Solving water quality problems will require controls on where horses go, the kinds of trails and facilities they use and how many horses use a given area.
EMINENCE, Mo.-The burgeoning popularity of equestrian trail rides has managers of public lands along some of Missouri's most scenic rivers asking how they can balance riders' interests without destroying the very things they come to enjoy. The answers include providing better equestrian infrastructure, controlling where horses go and setting limits on the number of horses that use some areas.
Missouri leads the nation in per capita horse ownership. One of horse owners' favorite activities is cross-country trail rides that combine their love of horses and love of nature in huge social events. Such events have taken place on Conservation Department lands for decades.
Managers with the Missouri Department of Conservation have noticed changes at some areas as the popularity of trail rides has grown, and have acted to ensure that increased equestrian traffic does not damage the land or nearby streams.
Angeline Conservation Area (CA) in Shannon County is an example. The area hosts seven trail rides a year, some of them involving more than 3,000 riders and horses. Each event lasts seven to 10 days.
Late in the 1990s, Conservation Department staff noticed that trail rides were causing increased soil erosion on trails at Angeline CA. The worst problems were in areas with soil type and terrain that made them unsuitable for equestrian use. The agency closed some trails, but it worked to keep others open to riders by covering them with more durable surfaces.
The new trail system at Angeline CA has fewer stream crossings and new structures have been installed to reduce runoff. The cost of the improvements topped $270,000. While the Conservation Department has ongoing expenses for trail maintenance, trail-riding permits remain free.
The Conservation Department also is working to educate riders about ways to minimize the effects their activities have on land and waters. Some commonsense measures, such as letting horses rest and eliminate waste before crossing streams, can help. So can using only designated trails, especially at stream crossings.
At the same time that horseback riding on CAs has increased, businesses have sprung up on private land along several rivers, including the Big Piney, Current and Jacks Fork Rivers and their tributaries. Today, at least five major trail ride businesses operate in the Ozarks.
State and federal agencies have documented problems with water quality in the Jacks Fork, where one of the largest trail ride businesses operates. At times, levels of bacteria associated with animal waste exceeded federal guidelines for full-body contact. This was bad news for floaters, swimmers and the area's thriving tourism industry.
Water-quality sampling during peaks in trail riding, canoeing and other recreational activities on the Jacks Fork showed that horses were the largest source of bacterial contamination. DNA analysis of the bacteria confirmed the link between horses and stream pollution.
Conservation officials worry about the possible effects that continued growth of equestrian use may have on its areas and on streams. Without careful management, horses could degrade water quality, harming fish, wildlife and recreation.
"The goals laid out in the Conservation Department's new strategic plan include expanding and renovating trails for walking, hiking, bicycling and horseback riding," said Ozark Forestry Regional Supervisor Tom Draper. "We are committed to providing those kinds of recreational opportunities, but protecting the state's clean and healthy waters is an important part of the strategic plan, too. Balancing those goals is a challenge we take very seriously."
Draper said the Conservation Department selects areas for trail development carefully to ensure that the ecological integrity of the land and surrounding waters are not compromised. How susceptible the soil is to erosion, the steepness of terrain and other activities on the area all are factors in trail building and management.
The intensity and timing of equestrian activity are important considerations, too. One key to protecting streams where trail rides occur may be restricting the amount of riding activity on a daily, monthly and annual basis.
"Even with the best trail design and materials and with ethical users, there is a limit to how much traffic an area can handle without causing water-quality problems," said Draper. "You may be able to prevent erosion and stop soil from running into streams, but nutrients from horse manure are much harder to contain. You can't have thousands of horses defecating close to streams without affecting water quality."
The Missouri Conservation Atlas has information about conservation areas for horseback riding and other activities. Conservation Trails, a 102-page book describing trails on conservation areas statewide, also is an excellent resource for hikers, bikers and horseback riders. Both books are available at Conservation Nature Centers or regional Conservation Department offices statewide or from The Nature Shop, www.mdcnatureshop.com, phone (877) 521-8632. You 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.
To access the Conservation Atlas database online for no charge, visit www.missouriconservation.org and click on "Atlas."
-Jim Low-
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