Healthy Forests

Our Glorious Forests

Poosey Conservation Area

• Size of area: 5,738 acres
• Location: 13 miles northwest of Chillicothe in Livingston County
• Habitat types: Forests, grasslands, croplands, prairie, old fields and savanna.
• Facilities: Boat ramps, picnic area and pavilion, fishing dock, firearms and archery ranges, numerous fishing ponds, Indian Creek Community Lake and Hawthorn Natural Area. Equestrian riding allowed north of Highway A.
• Find more info: visit our online atlas, keyword "Poosey".

Poosey Conservation Area is a paradise for deer hunters. With its combination of hardwood forests and tallgrass prairie, the area’s thriving plant and animal community supports deer, turkey, raccoons, squirrels, quail, rabbits, coyotes, foxes and many other small animals and birds. To sustain this natural diversity, Poosey’s managers aim for a wide range of habitat types. Recently cut areas provide thick browse and escape cover. Older forests provide shade in the summer and protection from the wind in winter. Healthy oak-hickory forests provide hard mast in the form of acorns and nuts, which deer and other wildlife eat if other food is not available. While it is known for rolling uplands, Poosey’s riparian forests shelter its streams, ponds and watering holes, keeping them cool and clean. To learn more about this glorious north central Missouri forest, visit the area online through our online atlas.

Order Seedlings

State nursery provides low-cost seedlings.

If you’ve been planning to establish a windbreak or quail-friendly shrubs—or just make your home landscape a little more attractive to wildlife—now’s the time to order shrub and tree seedlings from the George O. White State Forest Nursery. Seedlings are sold from mid-November to the end of April, and bundles range from $4 to $30. Find the order form online after Nov. 15. The Web site also includes tips about selecting, planting and caring for your seedlings.

We All Live in a Forest

Missouri’s “mast” yields triple riches.

Save room for pecan pie after Thanksgiving dinner. Recent research shows that a diet containing pecans, a member of the hickory family, not only lowers total and “bad” LDL cholesterol, it helps maintain desirable levels of “good” HDL cholesterol.

Missouri is rich in trees that grow nuts—or mast—both in the wild and on farms. For example, more than 9,000 acres and 380 farms in Missouri produce pecans, and Missouri currently supplies nearly 70 percent of the world’s wild black walnuts. Although few people relish acorns, wildlife loves them. Missouri’s 21 species of oaks yield food for numerous wild critters, as well as timber for industry. So pass the pecans, hickories and walnuts, and give thanks for Missouri’s delicious, healthful and valuable mast.