September 2003

Conservation lake is a lifesaver for farmers

Gentry County farmers are pumping about 4,000 gallons of water daily from the Conservation Department's Limpp Lake. The water is an economic lifesaver for livestock producers whose normal water supplies have evaporated in a three-year drought. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo)

Limpp Lake has become much more than a fishing hole for farmers in northwestern Missouri.

KING CITY, Mo. -- To look at Limpp Community Lake in southwestern Gentry County, you wouldn't think it was a mainstay of the local economy. But ask one of the farmers whose cattle are being sustained by the lake's waters, and you discover how versatile and important conservation areas can be.

Like much of northwestern Missouri, the King City area is in the grip of a severe, long-term drought. Precipitation has been far below normal in the region for three years. Recent rains have greened up pastures, but every drop soaked into the parched soil. Many creeks and ponds remain bone dry. For livestock producers, that can spell financial disaster.

Cattle need water. When local supplies run dry, livestock producers have two choices. They can sell their stock at bargain-basement prices, or they can buy water and haul it to their farms. But the cost of water (about 25 cents per hundred gallons), combined with the cost of hauling it, quickly cuts into farm profits.

In the past, farmers have turned to King City, which has its own drinking water supply reservoir. Mayor Jim Gillespie is sympathetic to farmers' plight. They are his neighbors. Besides, as the farm economy goes, so goes King City's economy. Anything that helps farmers helps the city, too.

However, city residents already have cut back on water use to conserve dwindling supplies. City officials were afraid they might run out of drinking water if they allowed farmers to continue drawing from the city reservoir.

Looking around for alternative water sources, Gillespie thought of Limpp Lake, a 29-acre fishing lake owned by the Missouri Department of Conservation. When the city ran out of water in 1990, they got permission to supplement their needs from Limpp Lake. So he called State Rep. Jim Guest (R-King City) and asked if he would contact the Conservation Department about using water from the lake again.

A farmer himself, Guest has raised crops, cattle and hogs in the King City area. "I totally understand the dilemma these people are in," he said. "Several years ago my ponds dried up, and I had to find water for my hogs. It's not easy."

So, early this month Guest called the Conservation Department in Jefferson City. "I got very good cooperation. We had permission to pump water in a couple of days."

James Washburn is one of the cattlemen who are using water from Limpp Lake. He said his ponds dried up last year, and he has been buying water ever since. "These ponds have never dried up since the 1960s," he said. "We have never faced this situation before. It's kind of like the flood in 1993."

Before getting access to Limpp Lake's water, Washburn was spending about $20 a day to buy water and spending 4 hours daily hauling it to his 400 white-faced black Angus cattle.

Donald Eiberger also has been hauling water from Limpp Lake. His pond dried up last January, and he had to buy water from King City and haul it to his land the rest of the winter and throughout the summer. During the hottest weather, his 60 head of Angus cattle were consuming 1,500 gallons of water daily.

Not having to pay for the water is saving Eiberger money. Just as important, Limpp Lake is only half as far from Eiberger's farm as the King City reservoir. The dump truck he uses to haul water gets 2 to 3 miles per gallon of fuel, so cutting hauling distance is a significant savings.

"I hope they keep it up as long as I need water," said Eiberger. "I know it's going to be really hard to haul water this winter if my pond is still dry, but I'm going to do it if they'll let me. I could sell my cattle, but I don't want to do that."

Fisheries Regional Supervisor Harold Kerns said he was very glad to be able to help "We looked at what they were using, and we saw that we could meet the need without endangering the fish in Limpp Lake, so we authorized the removal of up to 1.62 million gallons of water from the lake."

The Conservation Department provided a pump, and King City assigned a city employee to help with pumping operations and keep track of the amount of water removed from the lake. Since Sept. 3, farmers have been pumping about 4,000 gallons of water from the lake daily. At that rate, Kerns calculates they can pump water for a very long time without lowering the lake's level by even a foot.

"This is a case where the Conservation Department has an asset for fishing and recreation, and in an emergency it can be used to help Missourians in other ways," said Guest. "It's a good use for water that belongs to all the people of Missouri. If we don't get substantial rain before next summer, we may be back asking to pump water for King City residents."

- Jim Low -

Resident geese are plentiful, cagey

Missouri's early Canada goose season is a great opportunity for hunters who take time to learn where birds are and get permission to hunt there.

JEFFERSON CITY - Waterfowl hunters will have plenty of birds to pursue during Missouri's early Canada goose season again this year. The challenge, as always, will be discovering the big birds' haunts and getting permission to hunt there.

The early season gives hunters a chance to pursue Canada geese that live in Missouri year-round. The Missouri Department of Conservation monitors these birds' numbers through annual population surveys. This year's survey found approximately 62,800 Canada geese in the Show-Me State. That is down slightly from the 64,200 counted last year. Resource Scientist Dave Graber, who tracks the state's Canada goose population, says the difference isn't significant.

"When we started watching resident goose numbers in 1993, we had about 30,000," he said. "We saw a steady increasing trend through the year 2000, when we had something like 77,000 resident geese. Since then, we have counted as few as 50,500, but for the past two years it has been in neighborhood of 60,000."

Overall, said Graber, it looks like another good year for early goose hunting for those who take time to learn the big birds' haunts and habits. He said the stabilization of goose numbers is a good thing.

The early goose season runs for a total of 16 days (Sept. 27 through Oct. 12) in the North and Middle zones again this year. In the South and Southeast zones, hunters can take Canada geese from Oct. 4 through Oct. 12.

Hunters need three permits to hunt Canada geese and other waterfowl - a Missouri Small Game Hunting Permit, a Missouri Migratory Bird Hunting Permit and a federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation (Duck) Stamp.

During the early season, the daily limit is three birds, and the possession limit is six. Although brant are seldom seen in Missouri, they do occasionally turn up. Because they closely resemble Canada geese, they are included in the early and regular Canada goose seasons. The limits on brant are two daily and four in possession.

The Missouri Department of Conservation instituted the early season on an experimental basis in 1992. The idea was to develop a way of selectively harvesting giant Canada geese. This subspecies, Branta canadensis maxima, lives in Missouri year-round, and they are so abundant in some areas that they create nuisance problems. The early season allows hunters to keep numbers of the resident birds in check with minimal effect on other, less numerous Canada goose subspecies, most of which don't migrate into Missouri until later in the fall.

Giant Canada geese have grown particularly plentiful in some areas, following the Conservation Department's restoration program, which began in the 1960s. Suburban areas are havens to resident geese. Large expanses of mowed lawns provide nutritious food for grass-eating geese. Natural predators are absent, and geese feel safe in the open landscape because they can see dogs or other threats in time to escape to nearby lakes and ponds.

Where geese are abundant, their droppings can foul residential lawns, parks and ponds. They sometimes hurt water quality in city water supply lakes, and their grazing on grass can cause extensive damage to golf courses or suburban lawns.

"Hopefully the stable trend we have seen in the past few years means that hunting, and urban and suburban population control efforts are working," said Graber. "It looks as if we have stopped the population growth, at least for now."

Giant Canada geese often visit sand bars on big rivers. The flat, open terrain surrounded by water is ideal for roosting overnight, secure from predators. Farm ponds in the middle of open pasture provide the same safe haven.

During the day, or on moonlit nights, giant Canada geese often can be found scavenging waste grain in harvested crop fields. Fresh plantings of grass or crops also draw hungry geese.

Hunters who discover these giant Canada goose feeding and resting spots and get permission to hunt them can put geese in the freezer with relative ease. Geese have excellent memories, however, and quickly desert places where they are disturbed. This requires hunters to remain alert for new hunting areas.

"Goose hunting isn't a public land thing," said Graber. "Geese have good memories, and once they have been shot at in a particular area they aren't likely to be caught off guard there again."

Graber noted that resident geese have practically unlimited habitat to use and are quick to desert an area at the first sign of danger. Hunters must find the food source or refuge a particular flock is using, get permission to hunt, and surprise them. The next day, they will be somewhere else.

"Because they hang out at golf courses and subdivisions, it's easy to get the idea that these are tame birds and will be easy prey. That's way off the mark. Hunting resident Canada geese is extremely challenging. You can't just learn a few tricks and then consistently kill geese from then on. You have to constantly be doing your homework."

- Jim Low -

One of Missouri's unluckiest motorists offers fall driving tips

Increased activity of deer during the mating season makes caution a must for drivers. Deer-vehicle accidents are most likely at dawn and dusk, but can happen any time of day. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo)

Having hit five deer with her vehicles, this Columbia resident knows a thing or two about where, when and how such accidents happen.

COLUMBIA Mo.--Janice Erickson's husband dreads the ring of his cell phone from October through December. When she leaves work after 5 p.m. in the fall, friends remind her to drive carefully. You see, Erickson is a little accident prone.

Most Missourians will never hit a deer with their car. To date, Erickson has hit five.

"I don't know why," she says. "I guess I'm just unlucky when it comes to deer."

Erickson's husband, Dave, happens to be Wildlife Division administrator for the Missouri Department of Conservation. The irony of the situation isn't lost on him. At the retirement dinner for the previous Wildlife Division head, Ollie Torgerson, last year he asked, "Now who do I call when Janice hits a deer--myself?"

Admittedly, Erickson's risk of run-ins with hoofed pedestrians is increased by her 30-minute commute between Columbia and Hallsville, where she teaches school. Don't get the idea that her encounters with four-legged victims all have taken place on deserted blacktop roads, though. One of her mishaps occurred on Vandiver Drive, right in front of Dodge City Motor Co. in Columbia. Another happened in Columbia on Chapel Hill Road.

The in-town incidents happened at 5:30 and 7:15 a.m. This is consistent with statewide deer-car accident statistics, which show that most such collisions take place near dawn or dusk. However, Erickson has no illusions that she is safe when the sun is overhead. She has also killed deer in the middle of the afternoon.

It's a seasonal thing though, right? Nope. Erickson has hit (and occasionally been hit by) deer in the fall, winter and spring. Her summer record is unblemished so far, but she is watching the roadsides very carefully between now and first frost anyway.

So far, she has been lucky, at least in terms of personal injuries. Although her accidents have totaled one car and caused extensive damage to two others, she has only been hurt badly enough to need medical attention once. That was right before Christmas last year. A 250-pound buck came out of nowhere and crashed into the driver's side of her car as she was driving south on Route B near Hallsville. The deer went over the windshield of her car.

"All I could see was white, and I thought he was coming in, but I guess it was just the air bag."

Erickson escaped with nothing worse than severe bruises to her arm and a sprained thumb from the air bag. Nevertheless, it was a terrifying experience. She was driving 55 or 60 miles per hour on a two-lane highway in rush-hour traffic and couldn't see where she was going because of the inflated air bag. "Cars were whizzing past me on the left. I tried to steer to the right, but not too much. Some places there the road just drops off ."

After learning she was okay, many of those who came to help went off to admire the deer, a massive 10-pointer. Her nemesis hasn't always been a buck. One was a doe and another was a fawn.

"I'm kind of getting paranoid," said Erickson, "It's like I never know when one is going to come out of the woodwork."

In spite of the unpredictability of her encounters with deer, Erickson has some wisdom to offer other drivers:

--Be on your guard all the time. "The ones in town, you don't expect."

--Scan the road well to the sides of the pavement.

--Slow down if you see deer standing beside the road. They can dash back across the road in an instant, or others may cross the road to reach them.

--Wear your seat belt.

--Hold the steering wheel on the sides, not the inside. One of Erickson's friends suffered two broken wrists because she was holding the top of the wheel when her air bag inflated.

--Stay off the road at dawn and dusk if you can.

--Carry a cell phone to call for help if necessary.

If you do hit a deer, be sure to report it to a law-enforcement agency. This will be to your advantage if you file an insurance claim and will help track the frequency of deer-vehicle accidents statewide.

- Jim Low -

Fall colors will be muted in northern Missouri

Many trees north of I-44 already have turned brown or dropped their leaves as a result of Missouri's continuing drought.

JEFFERSON CITY - Missourians who want to enjoy the awe-inspiring glow of autumn vegetation will be smart to look south of I-44 this year, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Conservation Department foresters say the Show-Me State's continuing drought will put a damper on the blaze of fall color in the northern half of the state. Local conditions, such as soil depth, will produce pockets of normal fall color in northern Missouri, but overall the Conservation Department predicts fair to poor fall color there.

The outlook is brighter in southern Missouri. The area south of I-44 has received more normal rainfall than the northern half the state this year, and trees there are likely to show average to good color. Even in this part of the state, however, trees growing in areas with thin rocky soil are showing scorched leaves and won't have good fall color.

"Although the stage already is set, the weather over the next few weeks will ultimately determine the colors we see," said, Bruce Palmer, forestry education coordinator for the Conservation Department. "More rain in mid-to late September could help send trees into the fall in good shape. As the leaves start to change colors, clear, sunny days and cool nights will help intensify the colors."

Palmer said the peak of fall color likely will occur around Oct. 10 in northern Missouri. In central and southwestern Missouri, the Ozarks and around Kansas City and St. Louis, the peak will be the third or fourth weekend in October. Southeastern Missouri will see peak fall colors near the end of October.

Widespread, heavy rain over the Labor Day weekend hardly put a dent in the three-year drought gripping northern Missouri. Drought-resistant oaks there will still show some fall colors, but maples, elms, hackberries and other species won't be up to par. Many already have turned brown or dropped their leaves prematurely.

"Early leaf fall is a self-defense mechanism," said Palmer. "The surface area of leaves is huge, and water continues to evaporate from that surface, even when the ground is dry. Dropping leaves reduces water loss."

Palmer said many trees that lose their leaves early this year will return to normal growth next spring. Some will die, however. Drought is one of many stresses a tree can suffer. When combined with disease or parasites, lack of water can sap a tree's vigor. The longer the drought continues, the more trees will die.

Homeowners can help trees on residential lots by deep soaking the soil once a week. One way to do this is to let a hose run at a slow trickle and move it every hour or so until the entire area underneath the tree's branches has been soaked.

- Jim Low -

Commission to meet Oct. 9 in Van Buren

JEFFERSON CITY - The Missouri Conservation Commission will meet Oct. 9 at the Ozark National Scenic Riverways headquarters, 404 Watercress Drive, Van Buren.

The Commission will meet in closed session at 8:30 a.m., followed by an open session.

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 Sept. 25.

People requiring special services or accommodations to attend the meeting can make arrangements by writing to the same address, or by phone at 573/751-4115.

Commission officers are: Stephen C. Bradford, Cape Girardeau, chairman; Cynthia Metcalfe, St. Louis, vice-chairman, Anita B. Gorman, Kansas City, secretary and Lowell Mohler, Jefferson City, member.

- Jim Low -

Mid Missouri conservation area helps provide flood protection and wildlife habitat

5,000-acre Overton Bottoms restores critically needed natural habitat to river bank.

ROCHEPORT, Mo -A newly dedicated Central Missouri conservation area will provide homes for wildlife and help protect human homes from flood waters. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) today unveiled Overton Bottoms Conservation Area (CA). The area, just south of Rocheport, Mo, is divided by Interstate 70 and lies on the west bank of the Missouri river. This area restores approximately 5,000 acres of natural habitat.

Overton Bottoms CA was purchased and developed by the COE as part of its Missouri River Mitigation Project. That project seeks to restore habitat lost from the deepening and narrowing of the river. Initiated in 1912, the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project has resulted in the construction and maintenance of a 9-foot deep by 300-foot wide navigation channel on the Missouri from Sioux City, Iowa, to St. Louis. The COE estimates over 400,000 acres of riparian timber, sandbars, wetlands, shallow water aquatic habitat and other habitats were lost due to the navigation project.

The 3,662 acres of Overton Bottoms south of Interstate 70 is managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation, while the 1,322 acres north of Interstate 70 is managed by the USFWS. The Congressional legislation that created the mitigation project requires the COE to provide 100 percent reimbursement for ongoing management.

Work on Overton Bottoms began in 1998 with acquisition of floodplain property from willing sellers. Many landowners found it economically impractical to undo landscape changes caused by the floods of 1993 and 1995. Flood damage to agricultural lands and riverside towns included destroyed levees, large scour holes and 7-foot-deep sand deposits.

A feature of Overton Bottom South that could greatly impact riverside communities is the moving of 4-1/2 miles of levee from the river's edge. Setting back the levee adds over 900 acres of floodplain, for a total of more than 2,000 acres, on which the river can spread out during flood events. The set-back levee will act as a pressure relief valve, increasing the areas flood storage capacity and reducing flood heights on downstream agricultural lands and communities.

The MDC and USFWS worked in partnership with the COE to create a habitat plan for Overton Bottoms. The agencies' shared goals for the project are to reconnect the floodplain with the Missouri River, restore aquatic and terrestrial floodplain habitat, and provide opportunities for the public to enjoy and use the area. Habitat features being restored include seasonal wetlands, bottomland forests and grasslands.

- 30 -

Columbia family builds boat and family ties

Mike Ortbals recently took his children out for a spin in the 12-foot skiff they built on Father's Day weekend. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo)

The weekend project yields countless hours of memories and outdoor fun.

COLUMBIA, Mo.--Mike Ortbals probably will remember Father's Day 2003 for the rest of his life. Chances are his wife and children will too. At the beginning of the weekend they started building a family boat. At the end of the weekend, they put it on the water for the first time.

The Ortbals family took on the project for several reasons. For Mike's wife, Lisa, it was a way of honoring a guy she considers a world-class dad. For the couple's children--Katie 12, Claire, 10 and Nathan, 6--it was a chance to try something completely new and get a sense of accomplishment. Mike says the project was a terrific way for him to spend quality time with his whole family.

Most families would build a boat in their garage or back yard. The Ortbals built theirs under the awning at the Columbia Holiday Inn Select. They were one of the main attractions for hundreds of outdoor communicators who gathered in Columbia last June for the Outdoor Writers Association of America's annual conference.

The Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation wanted a family to build a boat during the conference to show how doable and how much fun it is. A family friend who works at the Holiday Inn recruited the Ortbals because she knew Mike enjoyed taking his children fishing for bluegill and crappie. Up to that point, he had been taking them in a canoe.

The boat they built is a flat-bottomed 12-foot, wooden Bevin's skiff. It came as a kit from the Alexandria Seaport Foundation. "We had to shape the pieces of wood and fit them together," said Mike. "The kids did most of the actual work. I bent the plywood sides into place, but they did the hammering, cutting, planing and gluing. It was a neat Father's Day project."

As the Ortbals worked on their boat, writers, magazine editors, television producers and photographers stopped to visit, take pictures and interview them. Often they had boat-building stories of their own or shared childhood memories of fishing trips with parents or grandparents.

They worked about 8 hours on both Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday evening, the proud family launched their still unpainted boat in the Holiday Inn's swimming pool to the applause of outdoor communicators from all over the United States.

"We were all pretty excited about launching the boat," said Lisa, "The kids were a little concerned that it might leak, but it didn't. I think they really enjoyed all the attention."

The Ortbals eventually painted their boat royal blue on the outside and a light cream color inside. It is less tippy than their canoe, and it is big enough for Mike and all three children.

Mike, who manages the drafting department at Semco, Inc., in Columbia, is no stranger to weekend projects. He and Lisa have owned a couple of "fixer-upper" homes, so he has plenty of experience working with wood. However, he said the kit and instructions are simple enough for anyone to build with a few basic tools.

Lisa, who works as a neonatal nurse at Boone County Hospital, said building the boat made this Father's Day one of the best ever. She said the experience was such a positive one that their Cub Scout pack is considering building another skiff and auctioning it off as a fundraiser. "It's a great project," she said. "Kids don't get many opportunities to do something like that."

For more information about building your own boat, visit www.woodenboat.com/fbb.htm. or contact the Alexandria Seaport Foundation, P.O. Box 25036, Alexandria, VA 22313. Phone 703/549-6715. E-mail youcha@alexandriaseaport.org. The group's Web site, www.alexandriaseaport.org, has ordering information for the skiff kit or plans.

- Jim Low -

2003-2004 duck seasons remain liberal

Improved nesting conditions in the Canadian prairie haveenabled many duck species to make significant population gains.

JEFFERSON CITY--Duck and goose hunters will continue to enjoy long seasons and generous bag limits for the 2003-2004 hunting season. They will find restrictions on hunting pintails and canvasbacks, however.
Increased rain and snow in the prairie pothole region of south-central Canada helped mallards and most other duck species increase in numbers from last year. As a result, this year's seasons are similar to those that have been in effect since 1997, when growing waterfowl numbers prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to approve a 60-day duck season. That year, the Fish and Wildlife Service also approved bag limits that allowed hunters to take up to six ducks daily.

Missouri's 2003-2004 duck season will run for 60 days in each of the five management zones. In the North and Swan Lake zones the season will open Oct. 25 and run through Dec. 23. In the Middle and Southeast zones, opening and closing dates will be Nov. 1 and Dec. 30, and in the South Zone the season will run from Nov. 22 through Jan. 20.

The season on pintails and canvasbacks will be Oct. 25 through Nov. 23 in the North and Swan Lake Zones, Nov. 1 through Nov. 30 in the Middle and Southeast zones and Nov. 22 through Dec. 21 in the South Zone

The bag limit on ducks will continue at six daily and 12 in possession. As in recent years, hunters can take up to four mallards daily, including no more than two hens. The limit on pintails and canvasbacks is one each. The remainder of the bag limits can be filled out with other ducks. Bag limits for other ducks include three scaup, two wood ducks, two redheads, one black duck and one hooded merganser. The possession limit is twice the daily limit.

Youths will continue to have an opportunity to hunt ducks before adults hit the marshes, lakes and streams. The Youth Waterfowl Season will be Oct. 18 and 19 in the North and Swan Lake zones, Oct. 25 and 26 in the Middle and Southeast zones and Nov. 15 and 16 in the South Zone.

Participants in Youth Hunting Days must be age 15 or younger and must be accompanied by a licensed adult at least 18 years of age who will not be permitted to hunt ducks. Adults need not be licensed if the youth possesses a valid hunter education certificate card.

Coot season is concurrent with duck season in the respective zones, with a daily bag limit of 15 and possession limit of 30.

Shooting hours during the regular waterfowl season are one half hour before sunrise to sunset.

The season for white-fronted, blue, snow and Ross=s geese in the North and Swan Lake zones is Oct. 25 through Jan. 18. In the Middle, South and Southeast zones, it is Nov. 1 through Jan. 25.

Canada goose and brant season has three segments in the North Zone (except the Swan Lake Zone) - Sept. 27 through Oct. 12, Oct. 25 through Nov. 23 and Dec. 20 through Jan. 18. In the Swan Lake Zone, there are two segments, Oct. 25 through Nov. 30 and Dec. 20 through Jan. 18.

In the Middle Zone (except the Southeast Zone), Canada geese and brant may be hunted from Sept. 27 through Oct. 12, from Nov. 1 through Nov. 30 and from Dec. 27 through Jan. 25. In the South and Southeast zones, the season is Oct. 4 through Oct. 12 and Nov. 22 through Jan. 25.

The daily bag and possession limits include no more than 20 blue, snow or Ross=s geese daily (no possession limit) and two brant daily (four in possession) and two white fronted geese daily (four in possession).

In the North Zone (except Swan Lake Zone) and Middle Zone (except the Southeast Zone), the bag limit is three Canada geese daily (six in possession) during the Sept. 27 through Oct. 12 season; and two Canada geese daily (four in possession) thereafter. In the Swan Lake Zone, the bag limit is two Canada geese daily (four in possession).

In the Southeast Zone and South Zone, the bag limit is three Canada geese daily (six in possession) from Oct. 4 through Oct. 12 and two Canada geese daily (four in possession) thereafter.

Falconry season for ducks, coots and mergansers is Sept. 6 through Sept. 21 and Sept. 24 through Dec. 23 in the North Zone, Sept 6 through Sept. 21 and Oct. 1 through Dec. 30 in the Middle Zone and Sept. 6 through Sept. 21 and Oct. 22 through Jan. 20 in the South Zone. The daily bag and possession limits for falconers are three and six birds respectively, singly, or in the aggregate during both regular duck hunting season and extended falconry seasons.

Federal officials have extended the conservation order allowing harvest of blue, snow and Ross's geese under more permissive regulations. Persons who possess a valid migratory bird permit may chase, pursue and take blue, snow and Ross's geese from one half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset from Jan. 19 through April 30, 2004, in the North and Swan Lake zones and from Jan. 26 through April 30, 2004, in the Middle, South and Southeast zones. During the conservation order, hunters may use electronic calls and unplugged shotguns with no daily or possession limit.

- Jim Low -

Hobby farmer taking quail back to the future

Lamar Moore has turned back the hands of time on his 400-acre farm near Chillicothe. Quail numbers there have surged in response to management practices that mimic those of farmers 40 years ago. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo)

Quail are thriving under a management regimen that recreates conditions common on farms 50 years ago.

CHILLICOTHE, Mo.--Lamar Moore isn't a career farmer. He's also not a professional wildlife manager. But for the past two years he has been combining those two avocations on 400 acres south of Chillicothe. His primary crop is quail, and under his supervision, production is way up.

Moore is a "retired" farm equipment dealer. Trim and energetic at age 68, he always has a lot going on in his life. One of the most rewarding current projects is renovating what he calls "a poor hill farm, with lots of rocks, ridges and draws."

He bought the farm as an investment, and to provide a place for family and friends to hunt and fish. The farm isn't typical of Livingston County, where rich soil and row crops dominate. Much of his acreage is too steep for row cropping. Ponds dot the acreage, a legacy of its dairy farming history.

In the 1950s and 1960s, farms like Moore's harbored coveys of quail in every brushy corner. Today, most farmers are lucky to find one covey in the same acreage. But just in the past two years, Moore has seen his quail crop grow from five or six coveys to 10 or 12.

What's his secret? No secret, just good advice from the Missouri Department of Conservation and determination to make things happen. A little knowledge about how Missouri farms used to look doesn't hurt, either.

In the golden age of quail hunting, farming was done on a smaller scale than today. Farms were smaller. Fields were smaller, too, separated by hedgerows, weed-filled fence lines and woodlots. The edges between fields and woods were wide and cluttered with fallen trees, blackberry thickets and shrubby plants like sumac, plum and dogwood. The crops on a dairy farm typically included clover or other legume forage, warm-season grasses like little bluestem and small plots of sorghum and corn.

Although this style of farming was practiced for decades, the appearance of a particular plot of farm ground changed constantly. Pastures were hayed or grazed, thinning out accumulated vegetation. Crops were harvested, leaving bare ground.

When he bought it, Moore's farm was dominated by fescue grass. The fences, hedgerows and brushy draws that once separated fields were mostly gone. The edges of fields were razor thin, extending right up to roads, woods and ditches. Moore set out to recreate some of the conditions that made Missouri farms quail factories in the 1950s.

For starters, he began discing up 15-foot strips on either side of clean-farmed fencerows and planting them in oats and Korean lespedeza. This provided both food and cover where there had been none before.

Then he replanted hedgerows to divide large fields into the kind of small, intimate patches of habitat where quail flourish. These fencerows also created new travel corridors, encouraging quail to travel between islands of cover on Moore's farm, instead of flying across the road to reach the nearest brushy patch.

At present, Moore is concentrating more on increasing wildlife cover. He is converting fescue to native warm-season grasses with fire and herbicides. Along the edges of some fields he is letting foxtail, ragweed and other natural vegetation take over.

Moore is planting a greater variety of crops, too, including sunflowers and sorghum. He leaves several rows of these crops standing in the fall, to be disced under during the winter and spring.

Besides providing food and cover for quail and other wildlife, these buffer strips around fields trap sediment, nutrients and agricultural chemicals, improving water quality in ponds and streams.

Also among his current projects is creating "covey headquarters." These are small patches of shrubby cover located in the midst of other quail needs, such as bare ground, crops and grassland.

Covey headquarters can be created by planting plum or gray dogwood trees, but for Moore, an easier strategy is to simply cut down trees in 50-foot patches along field edges. The felled trees, which are small and stunted from overcrowding, create quail cover immediately. Low, shrubby growth develops naturally in these cleared areas, creating a wide, gradual transition zone between field and forest.

Quail move into these spots immediately, because they provide protection from predators and easy access to the places where they eat, build nests and raise their chicks.

"From a quail's point of view, cutting down these trees does the same thing that dairy farmers used to do when they would cut trees for fence posts," said Moore. "They would leave the tree tops in the woods along the field edges, and the quail would move in."

Moore says that creating covey headquarters, like cutting fence posts, is a continuous job. Felled trees decay and disappear over time, and trees eventually replace shrubby growth.

"This kind of habitat just naturally disappears if you quit working the land and actively manipulating vegetation. This part of the job will never end."

Fire is another tool that Moore uses on a continuing basis to maintain high-quality quail habitat. Periodic prescribed burns clear out dead vegetation that otherwise would clog grassland, making it too dense for quail to use. Burning also creates bare ground that quail need for dusting and foraging for insects.

Moore recovers some of the cost of his wildlife habitat work with farm income. He works with tenant farmers who grow crops on his land for a share of the harvest. One year, he let the local Future Farmers of America chapter farm some of his land "on shares." Recently, he has converted 80 acres of row crops to solid stands of little blue stem and Indian grass and harvested the seed for sale. He keeps about 20 acres planted in small wildlife food plots and manages sunflower fields for dove hunting and wildlife food

Another way Moore offsets the cost of his wildlife habitat work is through cost-sharing provisions in the federal farm bill. About one-third of his acreage is enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). This program pays farmers to plant grass or other permanent vegetation to stop soil erosion on highly erodible land. In many cases, they make more money on land enrolled in the CRP than they would if they were growing corn, soybeans or other crops that expose the soil to erosion.

New provisions of the CRP recognize that the value of enrolled grassland to quail and other wildlife diminishes over time without discing, burning or other active management. By helping landowners keep pastures from growing too thick for quail to penetrate, the program enhances both soil and wildlife conservation.

Moore and his Conservation Department advisors are convinced that his farm is poised to make substantial gains in quail management. Other wildlife has benefitted from his management, too. Deer and turkey are abundant on the farm, and a wide array of songbirds, furbearers, reptiles and amphibians find homes in the habitat he has provided.

Moore says he has even found a good use for fescue grass. "I have left strips of it all over the farm," he said. "I love to come out here and drive around in my truck, check on the work and watch the animals. The fescue makes great driving lanes. I enjoy watching what's going on about as much now as I do the hunting."

The Conservation Department's Private Land Services Division helped Moore develop a management program suited to his particular needs and interests. To find out how they can help you manage your land, call the nearest Conservation Department regional office, or dial 573/751-4115 and ask for the Private Land Services Division.

- Jim Low -

Public invited to comment on catfish management plan

The plan aims to increase the size and number of Missouri catfish.

JEFFERSON CITY--Missouri may never again produce a catfish like the one taken from the Missouri River near Portland in 1866. It weighed 315 pounds. Two years later, two anglers landed one near Hermann that tipped the scales at 242 pounds.

"Those days are long past," said Steve Eder, fisheries field operations chief for the Missouri Department of Conservation. "Chances are good that we won't ever see catfish that large again, but the new catfish management plan we have drafted may increase your chances to land a big catfish - a really big catfish."

The Conservation Department is unveiling the draft plan at six public meetings this fall. Dates, locations and times are:
--Sept. 22 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Quality Inn and Suites Conference Center in Hannibal;
--Sept. 23 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the St. Louis Regional Office (Busch Conservation Area), St. Charles;
--Sept. 24 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Southeast Regional Office in Cape Girardeau;
--Sept. 30 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Parma Woods Training Center in Parkville;
--Oct. 1 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Conservation Department's Clinton office;
--Oct. 2 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Resource Science Center on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia.

The Conservation Department and other agencies conducted surveys among catfish anglers in 2001 and 2002 to learn their opinions and angling preferences. In one survey, almost 75 percent were in favor or strongly in favor of developing trophy catfishing opportunities. In another survey, nearly a third of respondents said catfishing in Missouri had declined in the last 10 years.

At the same time, catfish anglers complained about the number of small catfish and the lack of large catfish being harvested in major impoundments, such as Truman Lake and Lake of the Ozarks.
The draft catfish management plan addresses both issues, proposing new regulations intended to diversify and improve the quality of catfish angling in the state. The plan also calls for giving anglers more where-to-go information and learning their views on catfish management.

One of the proposed regulations would restrict the harvest of blue catfish statewide, while continuing to allow a liberal harvest of channel catfish. Survey results indicated that trophy anglers prefer flatheads and blues, whereas non-trophy anglers prefer channel catfish. This would allow blues more time to grow while permitting a continued liberal harvest of channel cats.

Another proposed regulation change would establish a special management area on the Missouri River with a minimum length limit on flathead catfish. Fisheries biologists believe a 30-inch length limit would produce a five-fold increase in the number of flatheads that are at least 34 inches long. The proposal would not apply to channel or blue catfish.

The plan also proposes changes in harvest regulations on blue and channel catfish in large impoundments where anglers say the quality of catfish angling is declining. An ongoing catfish research study at Truman and other large reservoirs will help shape potential new regulations at selected reservoirs.

Catfish anglers are invited to share their views about these and other proposed catfish management changes at the public meeting nearest them. They may receive a copy of the draft catfish management plan by contacting: Fisheries Division, Missouri Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, 65109-0180, telephone 573-522-4115, ext. 3594.

- 30 -

Arkansas records first mountain lion in modern times

An automatic camera picked up the cougar in west-central Arkansas.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.--A hunter's trail monitor has discovered what years of searching by state officials could not--the first mountain lion in modern Arkansas history.

Don Scott of Little Rock got the surprise of his life in August when he looked at pictures taken by the infra-red-activated camera he placed near Winona Wildlife Management Area between Little Rock and Hot Springs. They showed an adult mountain lion padding through the forest.

The sighting follows close on the heels of Missouri's second confirmed mountain lion occurrence in a year. Cougars killed by cars near Kansas City last October and Fulton in August brought to seven the number of officially confirmed cougars in the Show Me State since the first modern occurrence in 1994. The Arkansas sighting confirms that state's nickname, "The Natural State."

Officials with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission spent several years in the 1980s and 1990s identifying possible cougar habitat and then hired a professional hunter from Texas to scour those areas with his hounds. Hunter and hounds came up blank. This, together with the lack of road kills or other concrete evidence, led the Game and Fish Commission to conclude that Arkansas had no free-ranging mountain lions.

When the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approached Arkansas officials about the possibility of participating in efforts to restore the Florida panther, a rare subspecies of mountain lion that once roamed the Gulf Coastal states, they declined, noting the potential for conflicts with the state's human population.

Arkansas officials note that while the photos of the mountain lion confirm its presence, they don't provide any clue to the animal's origins. They say more than 100 cougars are kept as pets in Arkansas, and without more information they can't rule out the possibility that the cat in Scott's photographs either escaped or was released from captivity.

The Game and Fish Commission says The Natural State likely has some free-ranging cougars but how many and where they are coming from is still a mystery. That echoes statements by Conservation Department officials in Missouri. They speculate that mountain lions might be migrating east from Texas, Colorado or South Dakota, which have established cougar populations. The east-flowing Missouri and Arkansas rivers provide convenient travel corridors for young male cougars dispersing from their birth areas to establish territories of their own.

Arkansas once was home to the Florida panther, a Southeastern subspecies of mountain lion. The Game and Fish Commission maintains that this subspecies has been extirpated in Arkansas and no longer exists there.

"Any mountain lion in the wild in Arkansas is not an endangered Florida panther unless proven otherwise," said Game and Fish Commission Communications Director Nancy S. Ledbetter.

- Jim Low -