Places to Go: J.N. “Turkey” Kearn Memorial Wildlife Area

J.N. “Turkey” Kearn Memorial Wildlife Area

One area, three distinct habitats

Were one to go looking for a conservation area that is greater than the sum of its parts, the search might likely lead to west-central Missouri’s J.N. “Turkey” Kearn Memorial Wildlife Area (WA).

Located on 1,674 acres in Johnson and Pettis counties, Kearn WA consists of three separate units that are home to distinctively different habitats, including woodlands, lakes, and grasslands, said MDC Wildlife Biologist Joe Coy.

The area’s northernmost and heavily forested unit draws deer and turkey hunters, while the area’s second-largest unit — located just south of the largest — includes 25-acre and 9-acre lakes, making it a destination for anglers during warmer months and waterfowl hunters during the winter months.

It also can have something of interest for birders wanting to get a start on their big year.

“We are known to get the trumpeter swan,” he said. “The big lake was the very first place that we ever saw swans in the area.”

Located farther south and east, the third — and smallest — unit consists of grasslands undergoing habitat restoration for quail, making it ideal for other species as well, he said.

“All of our users that bird hunt, rabbit hunt, they love it.”