MDC to hold pond management workshop in Gray Summit March 12

Gray Summit, Mo.—The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will host a Pond Management Workshop on Wednesday, March 12, from 6:30 – 9 p.m. at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit. The workshop will be held in the nature reserve’s Adlyne Freund Center building.

The Pond Management Workshop will be facilitated by MDC natural resource professionals and provide practical information for landowners wishing to construct, manage or stock fish in ponds on their property.

According to MDC Fisheries Management Biologist Denis Otto, ““MDC’s pond management workshops are a great opportunity for landowners and land managers to be able to discuss and learn directly from a fisheries biologist on how to manage their impoundments to create and sustain quality fish habitat and healthy fish populations.”

The workshop will cover pond site selection, construction and maintenance, fish stocking and fish population management, how to control aquatic vegetation, and what to do about fish kills and parasites. It will also explain how aquatic ecosystems function and how they are affected by pond turnover.

Light refreshments will be provided. The workshop is free but space is limited and advanced registration is required. To register, call MDC Private Land Conservationist Lia Heppermann at 636-583-2303, ext. 115.

To reach the Adlyne Freund Center take I-44 to Gray Summit, exit #253. Go to the south side of I-44 and begin to travel east on the South Outer Road toward Pacific. Then go right onto Old Gray Summit Road. Proceed down Old Gray Summit Road 1.5 miles and go through the stone pillars to the right. The Adlyne Freund Center will be the first building on the right.

The Missouri Department of Conservation works with and for Missouri landowners to sustain healthy fish, forest and wildlife.