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KIRKWOOD, Mo. -- This year the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is celebrating 80 years of serving nature and you. MDC Director Sara Parker Pauley will be at a special open house event Thursday, Sept. 7 from 6-8 p.m. to share insights on the Department’s history, conservation priorities, and challenges on the horizon. The open house will take place at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center in Kirkwood.
MDC was founded by Missourians concerned by the state’s decimated fish, forests, and wildlife through a constitutional amendment passed in 1936 to create the nation’s first apolitical conservation agency in 1937.
Keeping with its tradition of citizen-based conservation, attendees are encouraged to give feedback on MDC regulations, infrastructure, strategic priorities, and statewide and local conservation issues.
"Citizen involvement and participation have always been important to the Department of Conservation,” said Director Pauley. “Whether through gathering input from hunters on deer season regulations, or hikers and birdwatchers on how a conservation area should be managed, we value public input. We want to hear from you."
No registration is required. Refreshments will be served. The first 80 attendees at the open house will receive a special gift from MDC.
Those who can arrive earlier can enjoy a MDC naturalist-lead program on Protecting our Pollinators from 4 p.m.-6 p.m. at the nature center. Learn about Missouri’s amazing pollinators and discover what you can do to help MDC’s conservation efforts. While supplies last, milkweed plants will be available to take home for starting a backyard pollinator garden.
Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center is located at 11715 Cragwold Road, near the intersection of I-270 and I-44.
For a complete list of MDC 80thh Anniversary open houses being held elsewhere around the state, go to https://goo.gl/trk3sx. Those who can’t make it in person to an open house are encouraged to share their comments online at mdc.mo.gov/openhouse.
For more information about the open houses, contact MDC Public Involvement Coordinator Michele Baumer at 573-522-4115, ext. 3350, or Michele.Baumer@mdc.mo.gov.
