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MDC wants public input for select Southeast conservation areas
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is in the multi-year process of updating Conservation Area Management Plans, and is seeking public input on how conservation areas are important to Missourians. Conservation areas in Southeast Missouri with management plans open for public review from Aug. 1 to Aug. 31 are Coldwater Access CA, Iron Bridge Access CA, and Lon Sanders Canyon CA.
MDC invites comments from recreational users, neighboring landowners, conservation groups, elected officials, government agencies, and other interested persons or groups. To make a comment on an area plan, go online to mdc.mo.gov/areaplans.
MDC manages nearly 1,000 conservation areas covering almost one million public acres throughout the state for the purpose of restoring and conserving fish, forest and wildlife resources, and for providing appropriate public use, research and demonstration areas. Most Missourians are within a 30-minute drive of an MDC conservation area.
Conservation Area Management Plans document strategies for natural resource management and public use on specific conservation areas. Area plans also help communicate an area’s purpose and management direction to staff and interested citizens.
“It’s important that citizens have a chance to provide their input to their conservation areas,” said Joe Garvey, Forestry Regional Supervisor for the MDC’s Southeast Region. “We provide a service by managing these areas and we strive to develop quality habitat to promote wildlife health as well as outdoor opportunities for Missourians.”
Conservation Area Management 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.
Area plans are currently posted on the MDC website and available at MDC offices for public comment for a limited time.
“We encourage public comments and will consider all ideas we receive,” Garvey said. “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 state-wide context, and on the professional expertise of MDC staff.”
The enjoyments of activities on MDC conservation areas help enrich Missourian’s quality of life. Activities such as hunting, fishing, camping, boating and many others also enrich our economy through purchases of related goods and services throughout the state.