Places to Go: Emmet and Leah Seat Memorial CA

Emmet and Leah Seat Memorial CA

Bag a turkey; cast a line; watch a bird

As spring turkey season winds down in early May, northwest Missouri’s Emmet and Leah Seat Memorial Conservation Area (CA) transforms into a place where anglers and birders alike can succeed in their pursuits.

Located on nearly 3,500 acres in Worth and Gentry counties, Seat Memorial CA draws hunters, anglers, and birders, said Wildlife Biologist Jonathan McCulley.

“In May, turkey season is just closing off, so you have a little bit of turkey hunting there at the beginning of the month, but then it’s mostly just people coming in and fishing the area,” McCulley said.

With 17 fishing ponds, ranging from one-half acre to nearly 6 acres, Seat Memorial CA offers options for casting a line, whether one wants to increase their odds at one of the three stocked ponds or is looking for quiet solitude at one of the smaller, remote ponds.

Seat Memorial CA’s terrain and more than 12 miles of mowed maintenance roads opens the area to those interested in watching the migrating grassland species that make the area their home in the spring. It’s also time for MDC staff to do their own birdwatching.

“We do our spring bird counts,” he said. “We’re listening for grassland birds and quail calls.”

Emmet and Leah Seat Memorial Conservation Area consists of 3,479 acres in Gentry and Worth counties. From Albany, take Route C north 11 miles, then Route M east 1 mile.