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A monthly publication about conservation in Missouri. Started in 1938, the printed magazine is free to residents of Missouri.
COLUMBIA, Mo. —The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) continues to seek public input as it enters the next phase of the planning process for Three Creeks Conservation Area in Boone County. From Dec. 1 through Dec. 31, MDC invites public comment on a draft version of the Three Creeks Conservation Area 10-year management plan.
In March of 2016, MDC gathered public comment regarding management of the conservation area. Over the past year and a half, MDC staff have developed a draft management plan for the area, taking the previous round of comments into account.
These efforts constitute MDC’s multi-year process of updating Conservation Area Management Plans using public input on how conservation areas are important to Missourians. To preview the draft management plan for Three Creeks Conservation Area and share comments online, visit mdc.mo.gov/areaplans.
Three Creeks Conservation Area contains 1501 acres in Boone County, halfway between Columbia and Ashland. Visitors can explore the rugged forest featuring scenic bluffs, intermittent streams, geologic formations, and old eastern red cedar trees. Three creeks flow into each other within the conservation area: Turkey Creek, Bass Creek, and Bonne Femme Creek. Additionally, the area offers bird watching, bicycling, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, outdoor photography, and wildlife viewing for all Missourians to enjoy.
MDC manages the property to maintain representative plant and animal communities and to provide outdoor recreational and educational opportunities in an urbanizing region of central Missouri.
Three Creeks Conservation Area is open for public use daily, from 4 a.m. -- 10 p.m., except for authorized camping, fishing, and hunting activities.
Statewide, MDC conservation areas cover almost one million public acres for the purpose of restoring and conserving forest, fish and wildlife resources, and for providing opportunities for all citizens to use, enjoy and learn about these resources. Most Missourians are within a 30-minute drive of an MDC conservation area.
Conservation Area Management Plans focus on natural resource management and public use on conservation areas. The plans do not address regulations on hunting, fishing, and other area uses, which are set by the Conservation Commission and enforced under the Wildlife Code of Missouri. MDC will consider all ideas received and will work to balance the issues and interests identified with the responsibility of managing areas for the present and future benefits to forest, fish, wildlife, and people. Decisions on which ideas to incorporate into area plans and on how to best incorporate them will be based on the property’s purpose, its physical and biological conditions and capabilities, the best roles of the property in its local, regional, and statewide context, and on the professional expertise of MDC staff.
