For more than ninety years, the Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM) has served as “The Voice for Missouri Outdoors.” Join in our efforts to secure our stronghold as advocates for our state’s wildlife and natural resources by becoming a dedicated member of our Founders Circle.
Your contribution will play an influential role in preserving Missouri’s rich outdoor legacy.
Each year, earnings from the endowment will be used to support CFM’s education and advocacy efforts. Special recognition will be given to those who reach each level of giving. Additionally, memberships will be recognized at our annual Convention.
Make your contribution today, to preserving our state’s conservation legacy.
CFM Celebrates 90 Years and Counting
CFM family, for this edition, I want to share my remarks that I prepared with our members and guest at our 90th Anniversary Celebration, which was held at the Tiger Hotel on September 10, 2025. Enjoy.
What a historic night — and what an honor it is to be here with you. Thank you for the commitment you’ve shown to conservation and natural resources in Missouri. I could walk around this room and tell a story about every table and person, because each of you has made a difference for our state, for CFM, and for me personally. Your friendships and dedication mean the world. Together, you represent decades of passion, leadership, and service — and it is because of you that CFM is celebrating 90 years strong.
Ninety years is called the Granite Anniversary. Like granite, we are built on a solid foundation, shaped and strengthened by those who came before us. We have much to be proud of — and much to protect.
What makes tonight even more special is this room. Exactly 32,882 days ago, a group of citizens — about half the size of tonight’s gathering — met here with a vision bigger than themselves. While we may not know all their names, we know their courage. They believed the cause was worthy and just. Tonight, we honor their commitment by carrying that vision forward.
If given the chance, many of us would choose to live 90 healthy years — to grow, mature, face challenges, celebrate triumphs, and arrive with wisdom, scars, and a heart full of love. That’s CFM’s story. But the beauty of our 90 years is this: we are just getting started. Imagine beginning life again — with 90 years of experience. That’s where we stand today.
As we mark this milestone, we glance back with gratitude but keep our eyes forward. The challenges ahead are real and complex, but the strength and willpower in this room, and throughout our membership, are greater still. If we stay united and continue to meet people where they are, the sky is the limit.
I want to thank Bill Kirgan for his leadership and Ginny Wallace for stepping in next. To our officers, past and present Board Members, volunteers, staff, state and federal partners, businesses, students, mentors — everyone in this room — thank you. You inspire me and push me to work harder every day. This organization is powered by passion and dedication, courage and collaboration, and strong relationships built on clear communication.
So join me in a vision for the future where every citizen can hunt, fish, hike, bike, camp, bird, paddle, and breathe clean air and water. Join me where the outdoors nourishes hearts, minds, and bodies. Join me where every citizen has the chance to engage, learn, explore, and experience nature. Join me where we advocate in the halls of government, knowing that policy creates real and lasting change.
Advocacy sets CFM apart, and I couldn’t be prouder of the victories we’ve earned together. The stripes on our soon-tobe-retired logo were hard-earned. We retire them with pride and dignity.
What we are building together is more than an organization, it’s a culture of conservation. It is not the vision of one, but of all of us. It grows, adapts, and strengthens with each generation. And it must be experienced. So I dare you to dream with me: how far can we go if we continue working side by side?
Tonight, we celebrate all that has been accomplished. But we also recommit to the mission first set forth in this very space 90 years ago. When you sign your name to the rolls of this legacy, you pledge yourself to future generations.
Together, we will write the next chapter of Missouri conservation, stronger, louder, and more united, just as our founders intended. Thank you — and congratulations to the entire CFM family on 90 years of making conservation history.
Yours in Conservation,
Tyler Schwartze CFM Executive Director, Editor
Executive Director Tyler Schwartze addresses the crowd during the 90th Anniversary Celebration. (Photo: CFM)
STAFF
Tyler Schwartze - Executive Director, Editor
Micaela Haymaker - Director of Operations
Vacant - Membership Manager
Trisha Ely - Development & Events Coordinator
Taylor Hurley - Program & Comms Coordinator
Joan VanderFeltz - Administrative Assistant
Bill White - Grasslands Coordinator
Emma Kessinger - Creative Director
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Executive Committee:
Bill Kirgan, President
Ginny Wallace, President-Elect
Steve Jones, Vice President
Benjamin Runge, Secretary
Ryan Verkamp, Treasurer
Board Members:
Richard Ash
Mossie Schallon
Gary Van De Velde
Dick Wood
Jake Swafford
Emily Tracy-Smith
Jim Low
Ralph Duren
Katherine Brookshire
Leanne Tippett-Mosby
Adam Sapp
Emily Schrader
Jennifer Battson-Warren
Bill Cooper
Governor Jay Nixon
Wes Swee
David Urich
Dana Ripper
Zach Morris
Lisa Allen
Tom Westhoff
Mike Schallon
Katie Marsh
Kyle Carroll
Jean Nock
Jeff Meshach
Kathie Brennan
Laurie Wilson
William Hall
Michael Meredith
Alexander Scott
Ryan Coovert
April Hoffman
Eric Rahm
Dave Murphy
Kaley Brittain
John Hickey
Cydney Mayfield
Dr. Jane Williams
Kendra Varns Wallis
Pam Bollinger
Bill McCully
ABOUT THE MAGAZINE
Conservation Federation (ISSN 1082-8591), Copyright 1938, is published 6 times a year in January, March, May, July, September, and November by the Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM), 728 West Main, Jefferson City, MO 65101. Of each member’s dues, $10 shall be for a year’s subscription to Conservation Federation. Call (573) 634-2322 to become a member. Periodicals Postage paid at Jefferson City, MO.
POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to: Conservation Federation 728 West Main Jefferson City, MO 65101
FRONT COVER
The cover is the new logo that was unveiled on September 10, 2025 during CFM's 90th Anniversary celebration, which was held at the Tiger Hotel in Columbia, Missouri.
Gold
Doolittle Trailer
G3 Boats
Thank you to all of our Business Partners.
Pure Air Natives
Redneck Blinds
Silver
Forrest Keeling Nursery
Lilley’s Landing Resort & Marina
Missouri Wildflowers Nursery
Bronze
Association of Missouri Electric Coop.
Black Widow Custom Bows, Inc.
Brockmeier Financial Services
Burgers’ Smokehouse
Central Electric Power Cooperative
Iron
AJ's Automotive & Air Conditioning
Bass Pro Shops (Independence)
Bee Rock Outdoor Adventures
Best Shot Insurance
Big Bear Butcher Shop
Boone Electric Cooperative
Cap America
Central Bank
Custom Promotional Branding
Dickerson Park Zoo
Mitico Quaker Windows
Rusty Drewing Chevrolet
Roeslein Alternative Energy, LLC
Starline, Inc.
St. James Winery
Drury Hotels
HMI Fireplace Shop
Hodgdon Powder Company, Inc.
MidwayUSA
Missouri Wine & Grape Board
NE Electric Power Cooperative, Inc.
NW Electric Power Cooperative, Inc.
Ozark Bait and Tackle
Woods Smoked Meats
Farmer’s Co-op Elevator Association
FCS Financial
Gascosage Electric Cooperative
General Printing Service
GREDELL Engineering Resources, Inc.
Heartland Seed of Missouri LLC
Hulett Heating & Air Conditioning
Independent Stave
Joe Machens Ford
Lewis County Rural Electric Coop.
Marble Graphics II LLC
Midwest Mailing Services
ModernLitho Jefferson City
Moneta Group
On Time Toner and Supplies LLC
Peapod Learning Center LLC
Remembrance Forest
Truman’s Bar & Grill
United Electric Cooperative, Inc.
Your business can benefit by supporting conservation. For all sponsorship opportunities, call (573) 634-2322.
"The Voice for Missouri Outdoors"
Mission: To ensure conservation of Missouri’s wildlife and natural resources, and preservation of our state’s rich outdoor legacy through advocacy, education and partnerships.
In 1935, conservationists from all over Missouri came together to form the Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM) with the purpose to take politics out of conservation. The efforts of our founders resulted in the creation of Missouri's non-partisan Conservation Commission and the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). Since then, CFM has been the leading advocate for the outdoors in Missouri.
Over 100 affiliated organizations
Share the Harvest
Corporate & Business Partnerships
State & Federal Agency Partnerships
National Wildlife Federation Affiliate
Operation Game Thief
Operation Forest Arson
David A. Risberg Memorial Grants
Missouri Stream Team
Education
Conservation Leadership Corps
Missouri Collegiate Conservation Alliance
Confluence of Young Conservation Leaders
Affiliate Summit
Scholarships for youth and students
Governor’s Youth Turkey Hunt
National Archery in the Schools Grants
Conservation Federation Magazine
Partnerships Advocacy
Legislative Action Center
Resolutions to lead change
Natural Resource Advisory Committees
Conservation Day at the Capitol Staff and members testify in hearings for conservation and natural resources
Ways You Can Support CFM
Support our efforts to promote and protect conservation and natural resources in our state Members will receive our magazine six times a year, event information, our bi-weekly enewsletter, and the opportunity to grow our voice
Membership
CFM provides the platform for a diverse group of organizations to have their conservation voices be heard Affiliates have the opportunity to apply for grants, receive educational training and promote the mission of their organization
and Grant Support
Business partners will enjoy recognition in each magazine issue along with opportunities to reach and engage with our active membership Ask us about our different Business Partnership levels
Event Sponsorship and Product Donation
All of our events have raffles with both silent and live auctions The contributions of in-kind products and services not only assists in raising funds for conservation, but also promote the businesses that support CFM Scholarships
CFM provides scholarships to graduates and undergraduates We also provide grant funds to youth education programs and to affiliate projects Contributing will help future generations initiate boots on the ground projects
President's Message
Bucks and Blondes
If you were to ask most people to describe a deer hunter, they’d most likely describe the stereotype of a man with a few days’ growth of beard who looks like he has just spent several days in the woods. As the pictures accompanying this article attest, that is not necessarily the case! The joys of hunting and being in the woods are not confined to the male gender.
I had admired the pictures of these ladies on Facebook with their trophies and asked them about their deer hunting experience, what they enjoyed most about it, and a little history. Here is what I found:
Finally, my next hunter is Brittany, who works as a registered nurse. She is also Logan’s sister. Brittany happened to be on vacation when I asked for her thoughts, so instead of visiting with me she wrote her thoughts down, and they are so on point:
My first interview was with DeAnna, the self-described Head Cowgirl at the cattle farm she and her husband own. DeAnna came to hunting recently after many years of observing the deer on their property. After seeing several large bucks one fall, she decided to try her hand at hunting. With her first trophy kill, she was hooked. Now, along with working on their farm, she relishes taking the time to sit quietly and enjoy all the wildlife around her as she waits for a trophy. As with, I suspect, all hunters, she said the heartpounding thrill of the approaching buck never gets old.
My next interview was with Logan, a nurse practitioner and mother of two young children. Logan began hunting with her father at age 6 (a testament to the youth hunting season) and relishes the memories of the one-on-one time with him growing up. She started as a gun hunter but, as she has grown up and become strong enough, she is now a devoted bow hunter. It is no coincidence that she and her husband named their son Archer. Logan says that the deer stand also serves as a church for her, where the quiet time in nature brings her closer to God. Finally, because most of her family hunt, she enjoys the competition of who will harvest the biggest buck every year.
“There’s something deeply personal about deer hunting to me, especially with a bow. Unlike rifle season, getting within bow range of a mature deer takes preparation, strategy, and more than a little luck. Bow hunting demands patience, stealth, and a true connection with the woods. Every sound matters, every movement counts, and every decision can make the difference between success and going home empty-handed. For me, it’s not just about the harvest, it’s about the entire experience. Sitting in the stand as the sun rises, listening to the world slowly wake up, I feel more connected to nature and God than any other time. Bow hunting teaches discipline, sharpens focus, and builds a bond between hunter and the land. There’s nothing like catching the first glimpse of a deer slipping through the woods and realizing it’s coming your way. Your heart pounds so hard you swear the deer can hear it, your breath catches, and every nerve in your body is alive. When everything finally comes together—the draw, the release, the arrow finding its mark—it’s one of the most rewarding feelings I know. When everything finally comes together, the feeling is unforgettable. If you’ve never experienced it, you’re missing out on a rush that can’t be explained, it has to be lived.”
I hope the thoughts, feelings, and observations of these ladies help to change the stereotype of the burly deer hunter. Actually, their common observation of the value of their time in the woods communing with nature is universal with all the hunters I know.
Finally, I encourage you to find an outdoor passion to pursue nature in a manner that is right for you. Whether it’s deer hunting, turkey or fowl hunting, hunting mushrooms, fishing, or trying to capture the perfect picture, Missouri is blessed with so many opportunities to become one with the natural world. At CFM, we work daily to protect those opportunities for now and future generations.
Bill Kirgan CFM President
2025 Events Schedule
50/50 Online Raffle - January - April - July - October
Take your chance at half the pot during our quarterly 50/50 raffles.
th
89 Annual Convention - Virtual - Feb. 25-27, March 4-6; In Person - March 7-8
Let your voice be heard at the Annual Convention. The event will include meetings, awards, auctions, and so much more. Held at the Lodge of Four Seasons in Lake Ozark.
Conservation Day at the Capitol - April 2
Join conservationists from across Missouri on the radio for a day of celebrating and supporting conservation and natural resources. The broadcast will air from 6 am to 10 am on 96.7 FM or KCMQ.com.
Conservation Federation Banquet: Springfield - April 10
Join us for a fantastic meal while networking and supporting CFM.
Share The Harvest Golf Tournament - June 9
Tee off for a great cause at our golf tournament at Oak Hills Golf Center in Jefferson City to support
Share the Harvest!
CFM Life Member Event - June 28
CFM will be hosting its 4th annual life member only event.
Conservation Federation Banquet: Columbia - July 10
Join us for an unforgettable evening at our Columbia banquet at Bass Pro, featuring great food, exciting auctions, and a chance to support CFM!
Pull for Conservation: Central - August 9
Take your best shot at the 19th annual Central clay shoot at Prairie Grove Shotgun Sports.
Mega Raffle - Starts in August - Drawing December 5
Enter our Mega Raffle for a chance to win big prizes and support CFM!
Fall Online Auction - September 8-19
Enjoy a fun and interactive online auction with many great trips and prizes.
90th Anniversary Celebration - September 10
Join us at the historic Tiger Hotel, the birthplace of the CFM, as we commemorate this significant milestone. Enjoy special events and activities.
Affiliate Summit - September 10
CFM affiliate organizations are invited to network and learn.
Holiday Online Auction - December 1-12
Bid on many exciting items just in the time for the holidays.
Event dates are subject to change. Please visit www.confedmo.org or follow us on social media for the most up to date schedule.
CFM MISSION:
To ensure conservation of Missouri's wildlife and natural resources, and preservation of our state's rich outdoor legacy through advocacy, education and partnerships.
Life Memberships Help All: Tessa Poolman
Iwas fortunate to receive the gift of a Conservation Federation of Missouri Life Membership from two other Life Members. People who knew just how meaningful it would be to me and how hard I was striving toward this goal as I grew in my career. They recognized how deeply I wanted to be part of an organization that works tirelessly to ensure all Missourians have access to nature and to a strong conservation legacy.
Growing up in Missouri, I always felt there was something special about the natural world here; our forests, rivers, prairies, and the people who dedicate their lives to protecting them. That connection shaped my path and inspired me to devote my own work to conservation and education.
Being a Life Member of CFM is important to me because I believe Missouri has some of the best natural resources in the country, and they deserve to be protected, celebrated, and shared with all Missourians. CFM provides the voice, the leadership, and the community to make that happen.
I strongly believe in CFM’s mission, and I know our conservation successes depend on Missourians working together. Becoming a Life Member is not just an honor, it is a commitment to ensure that future generations will know, love, and benefit from Missouri’s great outdoors.
In Memory & Honor
Wood
Dick
Joyce Eshelman Donna Ringwald
Don Brunnert Mr and Mrs Bill Kirgan
Tessa teaching students with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City how to identify and observe birds. She is passionate about inspiring younger generations to discover and care for Missouri’s wildlife. (Photo: Kathleen Savaiano)
Best Shot Insurance
Best Shot Insurance (BSI) provides asset and liability protection to business owners that provide outdoor services. Hunting/Fishing Guides, Hunting Perseveres, Shooting Sports, Lodges, Campgrounds/ Resorts and more. Many of these folks are strategic partners to the long-term preservation of MO lands/ streams and providing guests the ability to enjoy the best of what MO has to offer. That stems to their partnership with BSI in giving back and supporting outdoor organizations through BSI's support of CFM in Missouri's future in the outdoors.
At Best Shot, we specialize in providing tailored insurance solutions exclusively designed for the outdoors industry. Our primary focus is on empowering sportsmen businesses with the most effective coverage from the get-go. We're dedicated to optimizing your insurance plan to not only save you money but also to offer extensive coverage that safeguards your operations comprehensively.
By prioritizing prevention and proactive measures, we strive to keep your business shielded from potential headaches and mishaps. This unwavering commitment to excellence sets us apart as the premier choice for business insurance in the outdoors sector.
To learn more, visit bestshotinsurance.com
Starline
At Starline, we pride ourselves on producing the highest quality brass case available. With a production process focused on quality not quantity. Starline makes the finest brass and has for more than 45 years. It is our unique manufacturing process and the commitment of our team of employees that distinguish us from the competition.
Starline is a family owned business and prides itself on producing the highest quality brass case available. With a production process focused on quality not quantity, Starline makes the finest brass and has for more than 45 years. It is our unique manufacturing process and the commitment of our team of employees that distinguish us from the competition.
To learn more, visit starlinebrass.com.
LIFE MEMBERS OF CFM
Charles Abele
* R. Philip Acuff
* Duane Addleman
* Nancy Addleman
Tom Addleman
Nancy Addleman
* Michael Duane Addleman
James Agnew
Carol Albenesius
Craig Alderman
* Allan Appell
Victor Arnold
Bernie Arnold
Richard Ash
Judy Kay Ash
Carolyn Auckley
Debbie Audiffred
Doug Audiffred
Ken Babcock
Bernie Bahr
Michael Baker
* James Baker
Dane Balsman
Timothy Barksdale
Lynn Barnickol
Jamie Barton
Michael Bass
Robert Bass
Don Bedell
Troy Beilsmith
Thomas Bell
David F. Bender
Rodger Benson
Leonard Berkel
Barbi Berrong
Jim Blair
John Blankenbeker
Amy Bloomfield
Tom Bloomfield
Andy Blunt
Jeff Blystone
Kim Blystone
Glenn Boettcher
Arthur Booth
* Dale Linda Bourg
Stephen Bradford
Marilynn Bradford
Robin Brandenburg
Mark Brandly
Kathie Brennan
Robert Brinkmann
Virginia Brizendine
Lon Brockmeier
Katherine Brookshire
Donald R. Brown
* Scott Brundage
Bill Bryan
Misty Bryan
Alan Buchanan
Connie Burkhardt
Dan Burkhardt
Charles Burwick
Brandon Butler
Randy Campbell
Brian Canaday
Dale Carpentier
Joe Cater
* Glenn Chambers
Bryan Chilcutt
Ed Clausen
* Edward Clayton
* Ron Coleman
Denny Coleman
Rhonda Coleman
Liz Cook
Bill Cooper
Elizabeth Copeland
Mark Corio
* Bill Crawford
Todd Crawford
Andy Dalton
DeeCee Darrow
Brian Davidson
Mike Dempsey
Ryan Diener
Joe Dillard
Randy Doman
Tim Donnelly
Cheryl Donnelly
Ron Douglas
Chuck Drury
* Charlie Drury
Tom Drury
Ethan Duke
Mike Dunning
William Eddleman
Karen Edison
John Enderle
Theresa Enderle
Joe Engeln
Marlin Fiola
Fred First
* Mary Louise Fisher
Howard Fisher
Andrew Fleming
Brian Fleming
* Charles Fleming
David Fleming
Howard Fleming
Kailey Fleming
Lori Fleming
Matt Fleming
Paula Fleming
Sara Fleming
X. Daniel Forte
Bob Fry
Manley Fuller
David Galat
Gene Gardner
Matt Gaunt
Jason Gibbs
Timothy Gordon
Blake Gornick
David Graber
Tim Grace
Jody Graff
Richard & Sally Graham
Timothy Graven
* Joseph Gray
Tom Gredell
Tyler Green
Jason Green
Gery Gremmelsbacher
Debbie Gremmelsbacher
Jason Gremmelsbacher
Bernie Grice Jr.
Mark & Kathy Haas
Tom & Margaret Hall
Christopher Hamon
* Deanna Hamon
J. Jeff Hancock
Herman Hanley
Keith Hannaman
Elizabeth Hannaman
Lonnie Hansen
Bryan Hargiss
John Harmon
* Milt Harper
Jack Harris
David Haubein
Tanya Haubein
Jessica Hayes
* Susan Hazelwood
Mickey Heitmeyer
* Loring Helfrich
* LeRoy Heman
* Randy Herzog
Todd Higgins
Bill Hilgeman
Jim Hill
John Hock
April Hoffman
Mike Holley
Rick Holton
CW Hook
* Allan Hoover
Amanda Horne
John Hoskins
Todd Houf
* Mike Huffman
Wilson Hughes
Larry Hummel
* Patricia Hurster
Kyna Iman
Jason Isabelle
Jim Jacobi
Aaron Jeffries
Robert Jernigan
Jerry Jerome
Roger & Debbie Johnson
* Don Johnson
* Malcolm Johnson
* Pat Jones
Steve Jones
John Karel
Thomas Karl
Jim Keeven
* Duane Kelly
Cosette Kelly
Junior Kerns
Todd Keske
Robert Kilo
* Martin King
Bill Kirgan
* Judd Kirkham
* Ed Kissinger
Sarah Knight
TJ Kohler
Jeff Kolb
Chris Kossmeyer
Chris Koster
Dan Kreher
Carl Kurz
* Ann Kutscher
Larry Lackamp
Kyle Lairmore
* Jay Law
Michael Leach
* Gerald Lee
Debra Lee
Mark Lee
Randy Leible
Wade Leible
* Joel LeMaster
* Norman Leppo
* John Lewis
Phil Lilley
Bill Lockwood
Leroy Logan
Christine Logan - Hollis
Bob Lorance
Ike Lovan
Wayne Lovelace
Kimberley LovelaceHainsfurther
Jim Low
Mark Loyd
Bill Lyddon
Mary Lyon
Emily Lute-Wilbers
Martin MacDonald
Michael Mansell
Steve Maritz
Katie Marsh
Danny Marshall
Brenda Martien
Larry Martien
Edward Martin
John Mauzey
Cydney Mayfield
Bill McCully
Chip McGeehan
Teresa McGeehan
Justin McGuire
William McGuire
Nathan "Shags" McLeod
Jon McRoberts
Richard Mendenhall
Tom Mendenhall
Donna Menown
John "Mitch" Mertens
Cynthia Metcalfe
Walter Metcalfe
Larry Meyer
Stephanie Michels
Brooks Miller
Mitchell Mills
Joshua Millspaugh
Davis Minton
Bill Moeller
Lowell Mohler
John Moore, Jr.
Gary Moreau
Johnny Morris
Mary Morris
Zachary Morris
Butch Morrissey
Keri Morrissey
John Mort
David Mosby
Leanne Mosby
Steve Mowry
Diana Mulick
David Murphy
* Dean Murphy
Richard Mygatt
* Steve Nagle
Rehan Nana
Robert Naumann
Phil Needham
J. Roger Nelson
Jeremiah (Jay) Nixon
Gary Novinger
Frank & Judy Oberle
Larry O'Reilly
Charlie & Mary O’Reilly
Beth O'Reilly
Anya O'Reilly
Jeff Owens
Austin Owens
Jeffrey Panchot
Sara Parker Pauley
Scott Pauley
Randy Persons
Edward Petersheim
Albert Phillips
Jan Phillips
Glenn & Ilayana Pickett
Jessica Plaggenberg
Becky Plattner
Zach Pollock
Tessa Poolman
* Jerry Presley
Albert Price
Nick Prough
Andrew Raedeke
Kirk Rahm
Kurtis Reeg
John Rehagen
David & Janice Reynolds
Carey Riley
Kevin Riley
Mike Riley
Dana Ripper
John Risberg
Mary Risberg
Ann Ritter
Charles Rock
Derrick Roeslein
Rudy Roeslein
Charles Rogers
Kayla Rosen
Gerald Ross
Pete Rucker
Benjamin Runge
Tyler Ruoff
William Ruppert
Tom Russell
Jacob Sampsell
Bruce Sassmann
Jan Sassmann
Frederick Saylor
Michael Schallon
Mossie Schallon
* Evelyn Schallon
Thomas Schlafly
Pamela Schnebelen
Emily Schrader
Don Schultehenich
Deb Schultehenrich
Tyler Schwartze
* Ronald Schwartzmeyer
Timothy Schwent
Travis W. Scott
George Seek
Arlene Segal
* E. Sy Seidler
* Sara Seidler
Joshua Shadwick
Anita Siegmund
Emily Sinnott
Douglas Smentkowski
Gary & Susanna Smith
Zachary Smith
* M.W. Sorenson
Jeff Staake
* Ed Stegner
Jeff Stegner
Everett Stokes
William Stork Jr.
Robert Stout
Winifred Stribling
Norm Stucky
Mary Stuppy
* Mark Sullivan
Jacob Swafford
Jim Talbert
Norman Tanner
Stephen Taylor
Tim Taylor
Travis Taylor
Richard Thom
Don Thomas
Tim Thompson
Jim Thornburg
* Jeff Tillman
Robert Tompson
Mike Torres
Matt Tucker
David Urich
Jennifer Urich
Alex Uskokovich
Gary Van De Velde
Barbara vanBenschoten
Lee Vogel
Albert Vogt
Frank Wagner
Ray Wagner
* Julius Wall
Ginny Wallace
Mervin Wallace
Jennifer Battson Warren
Randy Washburn
Mary Waters
* Henry Waters, III.
Daniel Weinrich
Michael Weir
* Robert Werges
Evelyn Werges Bennish
Tom Westhoff
Gary Wheeler
Georganne Wheeler Nixon
Rayburn Whitener
Mark Williams
Dennis Williams
Dr. Jane Williams
Stephen Wilson
Michael Wilson
Laurie Wilson
Jonathan Wingo
Jon R. Wingo
James Winn
Michael Wiseman
Daniel Witter
Brenda Witter
* Addie Witter
Olivia McKinney Witter
Owen Witter
Shirley Wolverson
* Dick Wood
Howard Wood
Joyce Wood
Nicole Wood
Charles M. Wormek
Brad Wright
Evan Wright
Suzanne Wright
David Young
Judy Young
Dan Zekor
Daniel Zerr
Jim Zieger
Robert Ziehmer
Emily Ziehmer
Lauren Ziehmer
Colton Zirkle
Ethan Zuck
Guy Zuck
Mark Zurbrick
*Deceased
Ozark Land Trust: Protecting Lands Across the Bioregion
It was the intersection where people meet the land that drew Diana Sheridan not only to her career but, more recently, to join the nationally accredited Ozark Land Trust (www.ozarklandtrust.org).
“Building relationships with farmers, other landowners, and the partners who work to protect and conserve our resources across Missouri and Arkansas is what has made my journey so gratifying,” said Sheridan, OLT’s new executive director. “The most unique and wonderful thing about OLT, which I’ve learned after only a couple of months, is the passion, depth, and breadth of experience of both the board and staff.”
Sheridan joined OLT from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) just after the nonprofit completed the Moore Cave project, which exemplifies the collaboration she describes—securing a cave entrance to protect the endangered grotto sculpin that resides only in the well-known karst complex of Perry County, MO. The Conservation Fund, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Missouri Department of Conservation, L-A-D Foundation, and the Mysun Charitable Foundation were all essential to completing the transaction.
For 41 years, OLT has worked to protect lands and waters across the Ozarks. Started as a bioregional effort by Gregg Galbraith and his colleagues in 1984, it has grown to protect more than 32,000 acres of farms, watersheds, forests, scenic landscapes, and more, with over 5,000 additional acres in process for future protection.
“Our mission remains largely the same, but our tools, resources, and our ability to work with a variety of partners have grown considerably,” said Debbie Gittinger, OLT’s board president. “We work with federal, state, and local agencies, with other nonprofits, and with foundations to implement our mutual conservation goals.”
Succeeding Larry Levin, who remains a consultant to OLT, Sheridan was an ideal fit for the organization’s future plans. She will work with OLT’s 18 board members across the Ozarks and lead its seven-person staff, who span a wide geography from southern Missouri to St. Louis.
While OLT owns land like Moore Cave, it protects thousands of acres through perpetual conservation easements, which allow landowners to remain on their property for home, work, and recreation, while OLT ensures the land will forever maintain its natural character. The organization also partners with landowners to implement conservation practices that preserve and restore the natural resources of their property.
As part of a nationwide and statewide conservation movement, OLT belongs to the national Land Trust Alliance (www.landtrustalliance.org) and the Missouri Land Trust Coalition (www.missourilandtrusts.org). OLT is proud to be an affiliate member of CFM!
Affiliate Organizations
Anglers of Missouri
Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives
Basshole Bass Club
Bass Slammer Tackle
Burroughs Audubon Society of Greater Kansas City
Capital City Fly Fishers
Chesterfield Citizens Committee for the Environment
Columbia Audubon Society
Conservation Foundation of Missouri Charitable Trust
Dark Sky Missouri
Deer Creek Sportsman Club
Duckhorn Outdoors Adventures
Festus-Crystal City Conservation Club
Forest and Woodland Association of Missouri
Forest Releaf of Missouri
Friends of Rock Bridge Memorial State Park
Gateway Sustainable Farmers Alliance
Greater Ozarks Audubon Society
Greenbelt Land Trust of Mid-Missouri
Greenway Network, Inc.
James River Basin Partnership
L-A-D Foundation
Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance
Land Learning Foundation
Legends of Conservation
Magnificent Missouri
Mid Mo Prescribed Burn Assn.
Mid-Missouri Outdoor Dream
Mid-Missouri Trout Unlimited
Midwest Diving Council
Mississippi Valley Duck
Hunters Association
Missouri Association of Meat Processors
Missouri B.A.S.S. Nation
Missouri Bear Foundation
Missouri Bird Conservation Initiative
Missouri Birding Society
Missouri Bluebird Society
Missouri Bow Hunters Association
Missouri Caves & Karst Conservancy
Missouri Chapter of the American Fisheries Society
Missouri Chapter of the Wildlife Society
Missouri Coalition for the Environment
Missouri Conservation Corps
Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation
Missouri Conservation Pioneers
Missouri Consulting Foresters Association
Missouri Disabled Sportsmen
Missouri Ducks Unlimited- State Council
Missouri Environmental Education Association
Missouri Forest Products Association
Missouri Grouse Chapter of QUWF
Missouri Hunting Heritage Federation
Missouri Master Naturalist
- Great Rivers Chapter
Missouri Master Naturalist
- Hi Lonesome Chapter
Missouri Master Naturalist
- Osage Trails Chapter
Missouri Master Naturalist
- Springfield Plateau Chapter
Missouri National Wild Turkey Federation
Missouri Native Seed Association
Missouri Outdoor Communicators
Missouri Park & Recreation Association
Missouri Parks Association
Missouri Prairie Foundation
Missouri River Bird Observatory
Missouri River Relief
Missouri Rock Island Trail, Inc.
Missouri Rural Water Association
Missouri Smallmouth Alliance
Missouri Society of American Foresters
Missouri Soil & Water Conservation Society-Show-Me Chapter
Missouri Sport Shooting Association
Missouri State Parks Foundation
Missouri Taxidermist Association
Missouri Trappers Association
Missouri Trout Fishermen's Association
Northside Conservation Federation
Open Space Council of the St. Louis Region
Outdoor Skills of America, Inc.
Ozark Chinquapin Foundation
Ozark Fly Fishers, Inc.
Ozark Land Trust
Ozark Rivers Audubon Chapter
Ozark Riverways Foundation
Ozark Trail Association
Ozark Wilderness Waterways Club
Perry County Sportsman Club
Pomme De Terre Chapter Muskies
Quail & Upland Wildlife Federation, Inc.
Quail Forever & Pheasants Forever
Renew Missouri
River Access Coalition
River Bluffs Audubon Society
Scenic Missouri, Inc
Scenic Rivers Invasive Species
Partnership (SRISP)
South Side Division CFM
Southwest Missouri Fly Fishers
St. Louis Audubon Society
Stream Teams United
Student Air Rifle Program
The Conservation Fund
Tipton Farmers & Sportsman's Club
Tri-Lakes Fly Fishers
Turtle Conservation Group
United Bowhunters of Missouri
Veterans Outdoor Therapy Foundation, Inc
Wild Bird Rehabilitation
Wild Souls Wildlife Rescue Rehabilitation
WildHERness
Wonders of Wildlife
World Bird Sanctuary
Conservation Leadership Corps 2025 Float Trip
This past July, 15 Conservation Leadership Corps (CLC) students collected 92 pounds of trash from the Niangua River at Bennett Spring State Park near Lebanon, Missouri. Over the course of a 7-mile float, seven canoes were filled with debris of mostly small items pulled from the river’s winding bends.
The evening before, students camped at Bennett Spring State Park, where introductions, campfire conversations, flyfishing, and, of course, s’mores set the tone for the event. Between discussions of careers, school, and life events, students began forming connections that carried into the float.
With CLC’s annual Fall Workshop approaching from September 13th to 15th, the river trip served as both an icebreaker and a first opportunity to welcome new members to the program. Of the 15 participants, nine were brand new to CLC, and for some, this was their first time in a canoe.
The float gave them a chance to practice paddling skills, sharpen species identification, and build confidence outdoors. Wildlife sightings included turtles, frogs in multiple stages of development, songbirds, a glade, and an array of native plants.
CLC’s team of officers also used the opportunity to highlight upcoming events and opportunities, including the Fall Workshop, internships, the Confluence of Young Conservation Leaders (CYCL) scheduled for next year in St. Louis, the annual convention, and more.
Volunteer service is central to CLC’s mission. Whether collecting trash, spotting wildlife, or mentoring new members, students embraced the challenges of conservation. Keeping Missouri’s rivers clean isn’t easy work, but it’s work worth doing, and the CLC is proud to be part of the effort.
Micaela
Haymaker
Looking Back Missouri’s Conservation History
Missouri Got its Goose Cooked
Missouri got her “Goose Cooked” on April 19, 1920. The day the Supreme Court ruled that the United States sets the rules for migratory waterfowl and not Missouri.
This all got started with the passage of the Migratory Bird Act treaty (MBAT*) by Congress and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on July 3, 1918. It gave the United States jurisdiction over waterfowl hunting and not the individual states. Of course, Missouri must be shown so the Missouri Legislature passed a resolution asking the attorney general to test the validity of that law.
The “feathers” really began to fly on a blustery March 17 Day in 1919, when several shooters were merrily popping away at mallards and bluebills in a marsh near Nevada, Missouri. It was a really distinguished party, including Attorney General of Missouri Frank McAllister; J. R. Reynolds of Kansas City; E. S. Vilmoare of Kansas City and M.S. Bodine and Clarence Evans of Paris, Missouri.**
You can almost guess what happened next. Yep, in stepped Ray Holland, a federal game warden, who arrested them in violation of the MBAT and seized their 76 ducks and one goose.
(Mr. Holland was subsequently arrested by the county sheriff for not having a state game license but the case was later collapsed in the state courts.) The party was arraigned at Clinton, Mo. McAllister took the case to court, asking for an injunction to restrain federal game wardens from enforcing the law. Missouri Western Federal Judge A. S. Van Valenburgh held that MBAT was constitutional. Then, Missouri, still wanting to be shown, appealed the case to the United States Supreme Court.
(Meanwhile, Missouri’s State Fish and Game Commissioner at that time, Tim Birmingham, instructed his game wardens to not cooperate with the federal agents. According to news reports, over 30 states had decided to comply to the migratory bird act and set their seasons to conform to the Federal Government.)
The Supreme Court of United States did accept and argued the case (STATE OF MISSOURI v. HOLLAND, UNITED STATES GAME WARDEN. on March 2, 1920, with Mr. J.G.L. Harvey and Mr. John T. Gose, Assistant Attorney Generals, representing Missouri. The grounds of the bill were that the MBAT was an unconstitutional interference with the rights reserved to the States by the Tenth Amendment, and that the acts of the defendant done and threatened under that authority invade the sovereign right of the State and contravene its will manifested in statutes.
The Supreme Court countered by stating that the Missouri’s claim of sovereign power over possessions is not stronger than the authority a treaty is granted under the Constitution. The birds are not in the possession of anyone and possession is the beginning of ownership. Under Article 6 of MBAT the Constitution, and laws of the US made in pursuance thereof are the supreme laws of the land. If the treaty is valid then there is no dispute about the validity of the statute that is to execute the treaty.
The national interest is keeping migratory birds is high because they are a food supply and also protect forests and corps. The birds are only transitory within Missouri and have no permanent habitat there.
A majority of the Court held that both the treaty and the statute were valid. The president and Congress followed the procedures set forth in the Constitution to validly enact the treaty. Thus, the treaty was the supreme law of the land, and Congress had the power to pass any law necessary and proper to give it effect. Thus, the Supreme Court decided on April 19, 1920 that the Western District Court’s judgment was affirmed. In a 7-to-2 decision authored by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, the Court upheld the exercise of the treaty power and found no violation of the Tenth Amendment. The Court reasoned that the national interest in protecting wildlife could be protected only by national action.
Case closed. Missouri’s goose cooked.
Author note: The phrase your goose is cooked is said to come from a 15th-century story about a man named Jan Hus, who was burned at the stake for heresy. (“Hus” translates to goose in his native Czech language.) It was a harsh time back then!
* The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) prohibits the take (including killing, capturing, selling, trading, and transport) of protected migratory bird species without prior authorization by the Department of Interior U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
** Iron County Register (Ironton, Missouri) –Thursday July 8, 1920 Page 3.
Joe G. Dillard
Uncle Sam enjoying a meal of cooked Missouri goose. (Photo: Mike Wolf- MikeWolfArt.com)
Conservation Federation of Missouri Celebrates 90th Anniversary at Historic Tiger Hotel, Unveils New Logo
The Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM) proudly celebrated its 90th anniversary on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, with a special event at the Tiger Hotel in Columbia — the very place where the organization was founded in 1935. Affiliates, members, and supporters from across the state gathered to honor nine decades of conservation leadership and to witness the unveiling of CFM’s new logo.
Earlier in the day, Affiliates gathered to connect with one another, share experiences, and strengthen partnerships. They heard many powerful presentations that sparked new ideas and inspired collaboration. Together, we are growing our collective voice and impact for conservation across Missouri.
“CFM has been making a vitally important impact on Missouri conservation and the outdoors for 90 years,” said Tyler Schwartze, Executive Director and Editor of CFM, “I’m very excited about the history of what we’ve accomplished, and equally optimistic about what lies ahead for the members of the Federation protecting our precious resources for generations to come.
Since its founding at the Tiger Hotel 90 years ago, CFM has grown into Missouri’s largest citizen-led conservation organization, uniting individuals, businesses, and partner organizations to protect the state’s fish, forests, and wildlife resources.
The 90th anniversary not only celebrated historic achievements but also marked the start of a new chapter as CFM continues to engage Missourians in conservation for the future.
“The Conservation Federation of Missouri is the leading advocate for thriving wildlife, clean air and water, and vibrant lands throughout the Show Me State,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation.” This new logo not only captures the breadth and depth of the Conservation Federation of Missouri’s mission, but also their deep history and dedication to conservation across the state. We’re excited to see the Conservation Federation of Missouri — one of NWF’s 52 state and territorial affiliates — build off this achievement and continue to help wildlife and people thrive for future generations.”
About the Conservation Federation of Missouri: The Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation and preservation of Missouri’s wildlife and natural resources. Founded in 1935, CFM represents thousands of individuals and more than 100 affiliated organizations across the state.
Owned by the members they serve, Missouri’s electric cooperatives do more than provide reliable and a ordable electricity. They are active in their communities, concerned for the well-being of their neighbors and devoted to the rural way of life that makes the Show-Me State a special place to live, work and play.
Missouri’s electric cooperatives are dedicated to protecting the land, air and water resources important to you and your quality of life.
Learn more at moelectriccoops.com
The Conservation Federation Nominations
Article/Nominating
Committee Ballot
The Nominating Committee received 13 applications for board positions. Upon review, the Committee found that all applicants met the requirements specified in the CFM bylaws. Candidates are listed below for the review of CFM members. Each candidate's bio and short video is available on the CFM Website: www. confedmo.org/boardelections
At-Large Board Positions (4 positions open):
Billie Cooper
Cary Creach
Timothy Graven
Dave Polley
Erin Reinhart
Allan Roach
Cade Schmitz
Executive Committee (2 positions):
Steve Jones
Michael Meredith
Zach Pollock
Secretary (1 position):
Ethan Duke
Vice President (1 position):
Kyle Carroll
President Elect:
Ginny Wallace
Voting in the 2026 election will take place electronically in January. The results will be announced before the CFM Annual Convention. They will serve a 3-year term. If you have any questions, please contact the CFM office.
Thank you for being the “Voice for Missouri Outdoors”
The Conservation Federation of Missouri Advocacy Action Team (A-Team) was created to provide a rapid response to federal issues that impact Missouri’s outdoors. Our focus remains on the most urgent priorities related to CFM’s mission.
Over the past few months, one of the most pressing threats was a proposal to mandate the sale of millions of acres of federal public lands in several Western states. Thanks to the efforts of CFM members, along with millions of conservation voices nationwide, this harmful provision was removed from the reconciliation bill before it passed in July.
We are also cautiously optimistic that Congress will continue funding the United States Geological Survey’s Ecosystems Mission Area (EMA), which develops critical science and data to:
• guide hunting and fishing management,
• inform responses to natural disasters,
• shape land management strategies,
• combat invasive species and wildlife diseases, and
• address environmental contaminants.
CFM extends its sincere thanks to all members who contacted lawmakers on these and other issues. Your actions truly make a difference for conservation in Missouri and across the country. These recent successes underscore the importance of staying engaged and making your thoughts known to elected officials.
Looking ahead, the A-Team is closely monitoring several additional issues. Below, we highlight two pieces of federal legislation we are following:
• S. 2608 – CRP Improvement and Flexibility Act of 2025: The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a cornerstone of conservation, helping Missouri farmers reduce soil erosion, improve water quality, and provide wildlife habitat since 1985. While procedural rules kept it out of the recent reconciliation bill, CFM is advocating for this bipartisan legislation to ensure CRP continues. We do have concerns about provisions allowing emergency haying of CRP lands, which could affect bird populations. However, the bill restricts this to a two-week window, which we believe is a fair balance between conservation and producers’ needs during hardship.
• H.R. 3898 – Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today (PERMIT) Act: The goals of the 1972 Clean Water Act—making all waters fishable and swimmable, and eliminating pollution discharges—remain essential to protecting public health and wildlife. The PERMIT Act threatens to erode this progress by enabling more pollution discharges and reducing accountability for polluters. CFM is actively engaging Missouri’s Congressional delegation to share our concerns about this harmful legislation.
We are excited about these early successes but ongoing vigilance is critically important to ensuring a sound conservation legacy is preserved for future generations. Through your continued advocacy, we can honor the work of conservation leaders who came before us and ensure CFM remains the “voice for Missouri outdoors.”
The Advocacy Action Team
Great Blue Heron at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area. Eagle Bluffs is an intensively managed wetland that accepts treated wastewater from the city of Columbia treatment plant. This innovative partnership provides countless opportunities for outdoor recreation while improving water quality. (Photo: Leanne Tippett Mosby)
Since 1992, Share the Harvest has helped deer hunters donate surplus venison to Missouri families in need through local food banks. Thanks to the generosity of hunters and processors, thousands of Missourians have received high-quality, lean protein—and the positive impact continues to grow every season.
Support this vital program by making a donation today! Support this vital program by making a donation today!
Your gift helps cover the cost of meat processing and ensures no good meat goes to waste. Your gift helps cover the cost of meat processing no good to waste.
Idon’t necessarily subscribe to the myth of the “good ol’ days,” there’s a lot about the right now, today that’s pretty amazing. Yet, the mystique and charm of the “good ol’ days” lies deep within reminiscence. Longing for a time and place and people that can never be experienced again, sometimes grabbing at our hearts while we skim too quickly through the seemingly unlimited pages of our own book of life.
Which brings me to the topic of duck boats.
A few years ago I purchased a handmade wooden layout boat. The boat’s provenance was known, designed and constructed by Don Humburg in the mid-1980s, the father of a friend, and built by request for a friend of another friend, all of them avid waterfowlers. These wooden marsh layout boats, sometimes called Hummers, were an innovation 40 years ago and their proliferation transformed shallow water duck hunting in Missouri.
The boat I acquired, stored in the barn of another fervent duck hunting friend, was used but well maintained. I did not hesitate when it was offered for sale and I am now its caretaker. While boat occupancy is limited, space for memories and imagination are boundless and some mornings as I load my gear I give these men more than passing recall, speaking names aloud so the marsh will once again know their presence.
More recently I acquired a second boat once belonging to Mike Olson of Minnesota, a man I did not know but with whom I have begun to develop an ethereal connection. The old AlumaCraft Ducker is a little older than I am and with a passing glance may be in better condition. Mike acquired the boat in the 1970s, likely the second or maybe third owner of this old-timey classic; I’ll be the third or maybe fourth.
By all accounts, Mike, an autobody man and painter, was an avid waterfowl hunter and good wing shot. His brother, Dave, told me Mike got hooked on hunting early in life, remembering how he used to like reading hunting and fishing stories, especially those by Robert Ruark and Nash Buckingham.
“He loved the outdoors and spent a lot of his time hunting. I always thought maybe he hunted too much,” Dave said. “It was almost like he worked so he could hunt.”
This is an idea hard for some to fathom but perfectly understood by the infected. Countless stories have been written attesting to the contagious magic of the rod and gun. A small sign that hung behind Mike’s workbench provided some clarity to his outlook on the topic: I spent most of my life hunting. The rest of it I’ve just wasted.
Hunting partner Steve Boller, ten years his younger, confirmed this passion. Just out of high school, a bonding friendship developed between the two as Mike became a bit of a mentor to Steve. Interest in trapping was an early relationship builder, including a #0 gopher trap challenge prank which was abruptly ended by Mike when Steve maybe got a little too good at hiding traps where fingers might go. Over time there would be crow hunting, waterfowl hunts in North Dakota and Saskatchewan, many Thanksgiving holidays chasing pheasants, fishing trips to Lake of the Woods, and even a chance for Steve to guide Mike to his first black bear.
Unfortunately, Mike passed away too soon in 2008 of heart failure at the young age of 59.
“Mike’s passing took the wind out of our sails,” Steve said. “And the kids just don’t have the time or same interest the way we did.”
A common story heard as the youngest Baby Boomers age out, life rearranges priorities, and time levies its toll on us all.
The old duck boat sat outside on a trailer for many years until Mike’s widow asked for help with removing it. The boat’s cover broke down from exposure to the elements as debris and water accumulated inside amongst a few old decoys still within. For Steve it was a little like opening a time capsule, freeing the spirit and memories of an old friend long gone. Memories of hunts, travels, motels, hunting with the kids, family and friends, bird dogs, cattail marshes, hardbottom potholes, lugging decoys, and a couple old duckers in tow.
The old photos tell a story too. Mike, as a young man, Filson jacket and hip boots, a Winchester Model 12 nearby, and the prize of the day draped along the gunwale of the ducker. Another picture, much later, of a father with his son, the dog, the boats, the prairie, and the ducks.
Cover Photo Provided by Olson family. Left - Decoy and sign. (Photo: Dan Zekor)
A duck hunter has many reasons for doing what he does. Books have been written and stories told for eons. But for the well-seasoned waterfowler, the real reasons most often have little to do with the killing of ducks. This is the camp to which I belong, and so in November, 2025, Mike’s boat will float in the duck marsh once again. There will be fresh paint and new camo. It won’t be North Dakota or Saskatchewan, and probably not as many decoys in the spread as Mike liked. But when the poling is done, the decoys are in place, and the camo is set up, there will be a quiet but audible announcement as I pitch out one last decoy, a canvasback once belonging to Mr. Mike Olson of Minnesota.
I will proclaim your return to the marsh, Mike. You’ll now be an unofficial member of a North Missouri duck club - you probably didn’t see that one coming - and when the first ducks drop their feet and the gun is raised from within your old ducker, I hope you’ll be smiling. And at the end of the day, I’ll make a brandy old fashioned in your honor and recall the hunt with my wife and friends. I hope to say I shot well, at least half as well as they say you could, and I’ll send a picture to Dave and Steve so they can see the machinery of dreams and memories still at work.
If they look closely with a squint, maybe they’ll see what I’ll see - you standing nearby, model 12 in hand and your dog Maggie sitting close.
Epilogue: Once chained to a spruce tree, somewhere north of Minneapolis, MN another ducker has been liberated. Steve mentioned it would be nice for the boats to be together again and I agreed. A negotiated release was achieved, and on July 27, 2025, Steve’s boat was freed and moved to Missouri to begin a new life. My wife will be the pilot.
“The best thing about hunting and fishing,” the Old Man said, “is that you don't have to actually do it to enjoy it. You can go to bed every night thinking about how much fun you had twenty years ago, and it all comes back clear as moonlight.” The Old Man and the Boy, -Robert Ruark
Dan Zekor
Mike Olson with his son Joe, and dog Maggie. (Photo: Olson Family)
Woody Invasives to Treat in Fall
Not all invasive plants are most effectively treated at the same time of year, and treatment methods can differ according to the seasons. Highlighted below several woody species to treat in fall—the primary method for most of them being “cut-and-treat”: Stems/ trunks are cut, and immediately after, the cuts are treated with herbicide to reduce resprouting. Adding a dye to the herbicide identifies treated stems/trunks. You can find treatment guidelines for many invasive plants other than those highlighted below at moinvasives.org.
Note: Treatment methods may differ considerably if invasives are found in otherwise intact, highly biologically diverse areas, in disturbed areas/altered landscapes, or if invasives are found in or near water. When using chemicals to treat invasives, always read label instructions.
Bush honeysuckles (Lonicera maackii and other nonnative Lonicera shrub species) are large, upright shrubs reaching 15 to 20 feet tall at maturity. In early summer, white flowers emerge and change to a pale yellow over time, producing bright, red juicy berries in early fall.
Leaves are opposite, 1 to 3 inches long, and narrowly oval with a pointed tip. The bark is grayish brown and tight with grooves that run vertically.
These shrubs spread through wooded communities, dominating the understory and shading out native herbaceous plants as well as native shrubs and native tree seedlings. The abundant red berries are readily consumed by migrating birds in the fall. They are high in carbohydrates but are lacking in fat, which is needed by birds that migrate long distances.
Recommended control varies depending on shrub size and density, as well as landscape type. Small plants can simply be pulled by hand, as they are shallow-rooted. For larger plants, cut stems/trunks with loppers or a saw and then daub the cut stems with a 10% to 20% solution of glyphosate. No surfactant is needed when applying herbicide to cut stems/stumps. Be sure to paint or daub the cut stems with herbicide as soon as possible after cutting the trunks/stems.
Feature Story
Bush honeysuckle holds its yellow-green leaves for several weeks after the first frosts, making fall an ideal time to easily identify and locate them in woodlands. For more on control methods, including basal-bark treatment, visit moinvasives. org.
Non-native privets (Ligustrum sp.) are multi-stemmed shrubs reaching up to 16 feet tall at maturity. Four species occur in Missouri.
Leaves are small, opposite, with smooth margins, and at nearly a right angle to the stem. The leaf surface is glossy on top and pale green underneath. Chinese privet has a hairy mid-vein on the lower surface, while European privet is hairless on the underside of the mid-vein. White flowers appear May to June and are abundant and fragrant. Fruits appear in late summer in clusters near the ends of branches. As the fruit ripens, it turns from pale green to dark purple or nearly black.
A 3% to 4% rate of glyphosate with ammonium sulfate and surfactant is adequate for control, ensuring that herbicide covers most of the leaves on the shrub. It is not necessary to spray the leaves to the point of runoff.)
Wildlife (primarily birds) consume the fruits, thereby spreading the seed and contributing to future invasions. Privet also spreads clonally through the roots. Dense stands often form near creeks, fence rows, and in the understory of woodlands. Leaves remain green for several weeks after the first fall frosts.
Cut stems/trunks with loppers or a saw and then daub the cut stems with a 10% to 20% solution of glyphosate. No surfactant is needed when applying herbicide to cut stems/stumps. (Another recommended treatment is a foliar application of glyphosate after the first hard frost.
Burning bush (Eunoymous alatus) is spreading rapidly into forests and woodlands. In fall, it is readily identifiable by its brilliant red leaves.
This deciduous shrub can grow to 20 feet. Two to four corky ridges often form along the length of young stems, though they may not appear in shaded areas or closed canopies. The opposite, dark green leaves are < 2 inches long, smooth, rounded, and taper at the tips. The leaves turn bright crimson to purple color in the fall. The flowers are inconspicuous, greenish yellow, and have four petals. Flowers develop from late April to June and lay flat against the leaves. The fruits, which appear from September to October, are reddish capsules that split to reveal orange fleshy seeds.
Cut stems/trunks with loppers or a saw and then daub the cut stems with a 10% to 20% solution of glyphosate. No surfactant is needed when applying herbicide to cut stems/stumps.
Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus) is a perennial shrub native to Eurasia. Stems (canes) grow to 15 feet before arching and trailing the ground for up to 40 feet. The leaves of the prima cane (first-year shoots) are 2.8 to 7.9 inches long and are palmately compound with 5 leaflets. In the second year, several side shoots are produced (flora canes), having smaller leaves with 3 leaflets. The leaflets are oval and toothed with thorns along the underside of the midrib. No flowers are produced in this plant’s first year of life. Flowering occurs in late spring to early summer—white to pale pink flowers develop on the flora canes. Flowers have five petals, numerous stamens, and are 0.8 to 1 inch in diameter. Fruits are an aggregate of drupelets that are black when mature and 0.5 to 0.8 inches in diameter.
Unlike most native blackberries, as Himalayan blackberry canes grow, bend, and touch the ground, they root at the nodes, forming new plants. Himalayan blackberries have leaves with 5 leaflets (on first-year canes) and 3 (on second-year side shoots), whereas native blackberries tend to have leaves with only 3 leaflets.
Himalayan blackberry leaves also tend to stay green longer into the fall than native blackberries. Himalayan blackberry can be controlled by spraying the leaves (while green) with a 1.5% solution of triclopyr. Stop spraying before runoff occurs. Depending on the weather, the leaves should remain green through most of November.
Learn more about the Missouri Invasive Plant Council and invasive plants in Missouri at moinvasives.org.
Carol Davit Chair, Missouri Invasive Plant Council, administered by the Missouri Prairie Foundation
Cover - Non-native, invasive Himalayan blackberries have leaves with 5 leaflets (on first-year canes) and 3 (on second-year side shoots), whereas native blackberries tend to have leaves with only 3 leaflets. (Photo: Courtesy of Grow Native) Right - Bush honeysuckle. (Photo: Courtesy of Grow Native) Left Bottom -Long a landscaping staple, burning bush is invading Missouri's forests and woodlands. Choose native shrubs instead. (Photo: Courtesy of Grow Native) Bottom - Fruits of non-native, invasive privet. (Photo: Leslie J. Mehrhoff, Bugwood)
The Adventures of Frank & Ed: Throw’n Rocks
There seems to be something natural about young ’ins throwing rocks into water. For that matter, chunk’n rocks into water is fun for any age. Heck, I still throw rocks into a lake, stream, or pond whenever I get the chance. There’s just something magical about a rock traveling through the air, arcing down, and hitting the water—the sound and splash when it hits, the ripples traveling outward in larger and larger circular rings—and best of all, you can do it again by just picking up another rock!
Frank and I started throw’n rocks from about the time he turned two years old. Two seems to be the right age— kids are toddling around and have developed pretty good throwing technique by then. We would go to the creek, pond, lake, or maybe even a little mudhole in the yard after a rainstorm to throw a rock or two into it. Frank couldn’t speak in sentences yet, but he would look at me and say, “Papa—Rock—Throw!” No mistaking that communication for sure. My job was to keep plenty of rocks piled up next to Frank. Whenever the pile ran low, Frank would say, “More!”
About that time, Frank and I started a tradition that I still carry on to this day. Whenever I travel, I’ll stop along the way, taking a picture or short video of myself throwing a rock into whatever body of water is close by and saying hello to the grandsons. The first one happened in Montana at Glacier National Park, where I threw a rock into Lake McDonald. Since then, I’ve thrown rocks and said hello to Frank, Ed, and Bert from Alaska to New York, from Canada to Mexico—even from Killarney, Ireland, into Lough Leane. That video was different because in Ireland they call lakes “loughs,” which is pronounced like “lochs.” When I sent the video, I had mistakenly said I was throwing a loc into the lake instead of a rock into the lake. I got a reply video later that day from Frank: “Papa, you said you were throwing a loc instead of a rock. That was funny,” he pointed out while laughing at me.
You may not know this, but there are different levels of rock throw’n. Each level happens progressively as the boys get older.
Level one is when they first start, and just getting the rock thrown forward and hitting the water somewhere is the goal and source of entertainment. Seems like these boys are kinda like a dog that loves to fetch a stick—as long as you want to toss that stick, the dog will chase after it, and if there are rocks to throw, these boys will keep throwing.
Level two is when they start throwing more than one rock at a time. Anywhere from two to a whole handful of rocks may get thrown into the water. Multiple splashes with different sounds and lots of rings seem to be the goal. A handful of small pebbles makes a much different sound and splash than four or five marble-sized rocks. At this level, there still isn’t much talking going on—just a fascination with chunk’n rocks into the water.
Level three is the BIG ROCK throwing level. Now, when I say big rock, I mean relative to the size of the kid. Around the age of four or five, the boys seem to want to find and throw the biggest rock they can lift to make the biggest splash “of all time,” as Ed likes to say. There is more talking going on at this stage. I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard, “Papa, watch this,” or “Papa, did you see that big splash?” This is also the level when you hear, “Ouch, I smashed my finger,” or “Hey, you splashed water on me.” The last phrase is usually said by me, as I now have become a splash target instead of a rock supplier.
Level four is the competition level. Brothers always compete in everything. I grew up with two younger brothers, and we were usually competing at something— or fighting. That’s just the way it is with brothers, especially if they are within a few years of each other in age. The goal at this level is no longer just watching the rock hit the water. Now it’s who can throw the biggest rock, make the biggest splash, or throw it farther than everyone else.
Level five is about as far as it goes when it comes to throwing rocks—at least into a body of water. This is the Skipping Rocks Level. Frank is just now getting to this level. I’ve now become a valuable source of information and a coach on how to select and throw the proper rock to achieve the most skips across the water.
Picking the right flat rock, holding it correctly, and throwing with the right trajectory to make that rock skip is truly an art. Remember that competitive thing? Well, the boy in me still comes out when I’m skipping rocks. I’m still the champion rock skipper between me and my grandsons! Frank is learning fast, though, so I may have a challenge soon.
Hope this adventure inspires you to take yourself and a small person outside to find a rock and a body of water to let the rock throw’n begin.
Meanwhile, Ed says, “Watch this, Papa!” and Bert just says, “More rocks.”
Jeff “Papa” Blystone
Cover - Ed throwing a big one. (Photo: Jeff Blystone) Top - Frank's skipping rocks form. (Photo: Jeff Blystone)
DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION
MDC Inducts Ken Babcock Into Conservation Hall of Fame
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Conservation Commission recently honored Ken Babcock of Jamestown in Moniteau County for his lifetime commitment to conservation. Babcock was inducted into the Department’s Conservation Hall of Fame during a special ceremony on Sept. 12 at the Stoney Creek Hotel in Columbia.
Babcock was nominated for the honor by former MDC Director Sara Parker Pauley with numerous letters of endorsement from other former MDC staff, a former commissioner, Ducks Unlimited (DU), and the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation (MCHF).
Babcock is the 48th inductee into the Missouri Conservation Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame honors living or deceased citizen conservationists, former employees of the Department of Conservation, and other conservation-related government agencies, universities, or organizations (including conservation law enforcement and conservation education-related activities) who changed the landscape of conservation in the state of Missouri in the field of fisheries, forestry, or wildlife resource management.
Babcock had an extensive and varied career in conservation after graduating from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, with a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1965 and earning his master’s degree in wildlife management from Louisiana State University.
“Throughout his career at MDC, Ken either led, influenced, or supported initiatives that had transformative implications for the agency,” said MDC Director Jason Sumners. “He had an early focus on integrating science, resource management, and the public's enjoyment of fish, forest and wildlife resources. He expanded partnerships with state and federal agencies, non-government agencies, and private landowners. He also was instrumental in implementing the Department’s 1976 Design for Conservation.”
After retiring from MDC as an assistant director, Babcock was recruited by Ducks Unlimited (DU) where he served various regional and national roles, culminating in his role as the Senior Director of Conservation Programs.
After his retirement from DU, Babcock joined the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation (MCHF) where he helped in leading and reinvigorating fundraising efforts. He served on the board for two terms and continues to serve as an advisor to the board. He was also a key force in MCHF’s efforts to partner with MDC and the University of Missouri in the development of the Johnny Morris Institute for Fisheries, Wetlands & Aquatic Systems. Babcock was named the MCHF’s 2024 Champion of Conservation.
Babcock has also received numerous other state and national conservation awards.
“Ken Babcock's legacy is defined by many things, but perhaps most notably it is his commitment to collaboration with diverse stakeholders that has ensured long-lasting conservation outcomes and a more enduring conservation ethic among the Missouri public,” Sumners said. “His lifelong commitment and dedication to stewarding our natural resources make him an exemplary candidate for the Conservation Hall of Fame.”
MDC and the Conservation Commission recently inducted former employee Ken Babcock of Jamestown into the Conservation Hall of Fame during a special ceremony on Sept. 12 in Columbia. Shown here are (l-r) Conservation Commission Chair Margy Eckelkamp, Conservation Hall of Fame Inductee Ken Babcock, and MDC Director Jason Sumners.
Three Men Connected to 2023 Shannon County Elk Poaching Sentenced on Wildlife Charges
Three Missouri men connected to the 2023 illegal killing of a bull elk have been sentenced in Shannon County court. The cases were a result of a months-long investigation by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the filing of multiple wildlife-related charges by the Shannon County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Michael K. O’Neail, of De Soto, pleaded guilty Sept. 3 to illegally killing and abandoning a bull elk. O’Neail was sentenced to 60 days in jail and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. Execution of the 60-day jail sentence was suspended, pending successful completion of two years of probation and full payment of the $10,000 fine within one year of his sentencing date.
The $10,000 fine was made possible by the 2019 enactment of Missouri House Bill 260, which authorizes judges to impose additional penalties for poaching wildlife. All fines collected go to the school districts in the county where the violation occurred. The passage of House Bill 260 reflects Missourians’ commitment to protecting their wildlife resources.
The two men not directly responsible for the elk poaching, Kevin B. Click and Travis R. Wadlow, both of Bonne Terre, each received a $500 fine plus court costs, and a mandatory $750 contribution to the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation for the illegal take or possession of white-tailed deer.
The cases were prosecuted by Shannon County Prosecuting Attorney William Seay.
MDC’s Protection Branch began its investigation after a 14-year-old deer hunter reported finding the dead mature bull elk near Klepzig Mill in Shannon County during the November 2023 opening weekend of firearms deer season. Over the course of a nine-month investigation, conservation agents from MDC’s Ozark, Central, St. Louis, and Southeast regions interviewed numerous deer hunters in the area and contacted local businesses. They also reviewed surveillance footage and elk-monitoring camera footage to help identify the suspects. As a result, five search warrants were served, numerous pieces of evidence were sent to forensics labs, and the three men were taken into custody.
In addition to the elk poaching, the trio was also charged for being in illegal possession of a deer they did not Telecheck.
MDC Protection Branch Chief Travis McLain thanked the public and Prosecuting Attorney Seay for contributing to the success of the investigation.
“The assistance from the public and support we received from the Shannon County Prosecutor during this investigation was critical for bringing these poachers to justice,” McLain stressed. “Tips from local residents and hunters, cooperation from area businesses, and community engagement played a major role in helping our agents identify those responsible.”
McLain added that poaching, which is the taking of wildlife out of season, without the proper permit, or in other violation of the Wildlife Code of Missouri, is not the same as legal hunting.
“Lawful hunters contribute to the conservation and management of our wildlife resources, while poachers do not,” he stressed. “Poaching is not a victimless crime; it hurts all of us.”
The Operation Game Thief (OGT) hotline allows Missourians to protect nature by reporting poaching. Please report possible violations of the Wildlife Code to your local conservation agent or call OGT at 800-3921111. Callers may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward. Learn more at https://mdc.mo.gov/about-us/ about-regulations/operation-game-thief.
Bats in the Bridge MISSOURI STATE PARKS
Imagine returning home after a long vacation only to find your home gone! That’s exactly what happened to some Indiana bats who used Locust Creek Covered Bridge as their summer home.
Locust Creek Covered Bridge was moved from its original location in northeast Missouri, down the road about 5 miles to its new home in Pershing State Park last winter. The bridge was in danger of being damaged beyond repair due to the watershed’s instability if nothing was done.
Before World War I, the bridge was a link over Locust Creek on America’s first transcontinental road, Route 8. Cars gradually replaced horse-drawn wagons and buggies, and in 1930, U.S. Highway 36 replaced Route 8, and Locust Creek Covered Bridge would no longer house a transcontinental road.
Over time, the road across the bridge was not the only thing missing. The creek itself had changed, leaving the bridge over dry land.
“The channel moved away from the bridge due to natural meandering,” said Ken McCarty, retired Natural Resources Management Program director with Missouri State Parks. “Once the bridge’s channel segment migrated eastward, that original channel and the floodplain itself filled with flood-borne sediments. The elevation of the floodplain raised year by year, with the original bridge piers buried at least 14 feet below the current ground surface.”
This left the bridge sitting isolated and vulnerable within a wide forested bottom between the modern, logjamprone creek to the east and the unstable, flood-carved banks of Higgin’s Ditch on the west.
So, what does this have to do with bats? Well, Indiana bats, a federally endangered species, normally don’t roost in structures, but it can happen…and happen it did! Over time, Locust Creek Covered Bridge became a summer home of an Indiana bat maternity colony. Last fall, it was confirmed to be the largest maternal colony yet discovered in the state.
The Indiana bat, a small insectivorous, migratory bat, usually hibernates in caves and mines in the winter. (A large population hibernates in a mine near Hannibal.) In spring, the hibernating bats disperse to maternity sites scattered across north Missouri and adjacent states. The summer colonies tend to be small, usually situated in dead trees in open areas where these local groups return yearly. Locust Creek Covered Bridge’s maternal colony had been in place for decades, numbering more than 300 individuals!
“This is a unique situation,” explained McCarty. “This is Missouri’s largest known maternity colony. The bats all hibernate at a mine site in Hannibal. They all don’t leave there at the same time, but at their individual pace, each would return to raise their young at Locust Creek Covered Bridge. They have a cohesive colony that they maintained year after year for at least several bat generations.”
Carrie Stephen, a natural resource ecologist with Missouri State Parks, assisted Indiana bat expert Vona Kuczynska from the US Fish and Wildlife Service to census the bats using this bridge. Stephen said the first thing they did was use a sound detector to verify the bats were in fact Indiana bats.
“Then we closed off one side of the bridge and used nose counts with an infrared and thermal imager and photos to determine how large the colony was. We figured we undercounted at 318. This maternity colony is where the females come to raise their pups,” she said.
“They all cluster in tight groups, scattered in the deepest shadows,” McCarty said. “Being so tiny and tightly packed, it’s hard to see or count them all without the thermal imaging and ultrasonic detection technology. So for years we have known they used the cave, but had no idea of the true number or that the bridge would prove to house Missouri’s largest known maternity concentration.”
Stephen and McCarty, along with the US Fish and Wildlife Ecological Services field office in Columbia and with technical advice from the Missouri Department of Conservation have been working diligently to find a solution since it was determined the historic bridge needed to be moved for its protection.
“It’s been a journey figuring everything out and operating in a short timeframe. We knew time is of the essence, not only the for the safety and integrity of the bridge, but also for the return of the bats.”
Stephen and McCarty have worked together brainstorming solutions and have settled on a couple to try.
“We didn’t want to lose the colony,” McCarty said. “The bridge’s new location would be just outside of the normal foraging range of the bats, meaning a good possibility was that the first returning bats wouldn’t find it, fly off looking for another location, and the colony that has persisted for decades would fragment and be lost. This really is a big deal as we don’t want to lose a colony of this size, or the critical maternity opportunity that the riparian bottoms in Pershing State Park have provided at this specific location.”
So, after much research Copperhead Environmental Consulting, a company that makes BrandenBark™, a unique artificial roost structure that provides bats with alternative roosting opportunities, came to light. This BrandenBark™ is basically synthetic bark attached to a utility pole to mimic a tree, Stephen said.
“This peeling bark will attach to the pole. Instead of the bats living in the bridge, we hope they will find a dead tree, like an oak where the bark is sloughing off. You can fit a lot of bats in exfoliating bark,” she said.
Copperhead Environmental Consulting’s research found Indiana bats using these structures in other locations. Missouri State Parks has installed some where Locust Creek Covered Bridge was located and in a few other locations nearby.
One thing is for certain, the solution requires being near water and being in trees, but not too dense as the bats need a clear flyway. The field near Higgins Ditch is an ideal location, McCarty said.
With the bridge moved and structures in place, Stephen said Missouri State Parks would be monitoring the location to see if the bats move to the new structures.
“We hope the bats come back and make their homes in the dead trees or in the alternative,” McCarty said. “We hated to move the bridge, but if we didn’t, that piece of history would be lost forever.”
It was confirmed that Locust Creek Covered Bridge would be the largest maternal bat colony yet discovered in the state. (All phtoos: Missouri State Parks)
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A Step Back in Time
Fishing today is about electronics, fast bass boats, and high-priced rods and reels. So, let us take a step back in time when fishing meant more than a sport.
I was ten years old in 1963 and had a great-grandfather who spent every possible moment with me. He and his buddy, Earl Stevens, a retired farmer, fished together in an old pay lake or at various farm ponds that dotted Northwest Missouri.
The two tough men fed their families through America’s most challenging days. There was little to eat during the Depression for most, and fish or game was more than welcomed and sometimes sold or bartered to other families.
Grandpa had dug a deep cellar where ice cut off farm ponds in blocks was stored under sawdust on the cellar floor. Meats, fish, and other perishable items were kept in the ice field. The wooden shelves were stocked with canned green beans and other garden delicacies, a practice they continued into the 1960s.
I was invited to visit their favorite abandoned pay lake with them. To anyone else they were just two poor old men who wore bib overalls and flannel shirts on a hot summer day with no wind and plenty of grass chiggers. To me they were legends.
That day I slipped in the backseat of Grandpa’s old 1928 Ford Model A, the only car he ever owned. The car was dusty from traveling up and down the gravel and dirt roads that threw up tons of dust.
The windows were down because there were no air conditioners in the old cars, and temperatures were in the lower 90s. Grandpa turned out of his old grass driveway and down the gravel road we went; the shocks on a 1928 car were non-existent. Mr. Stevens turned to laugh at me bouncing around in the backseat, giggling as only a ten-year-old kid can do.
We finally reached the closed pay lake that now belonged to a farmer who watered his cows in the lower end. I watched while both men unloaded their fishing equipment, including Ted Williams fiberglass rods with South Bend baitcasting reels purchased in the late 1940s. The reels lacked drag systems and were outfitted with green nylon line.
They had old metal tackleboxes with medicine bottles filled with weights they had made from old lead pieces. Mustad straight-shanked and treble hooks were in round metal cans that cost less than a dollar in the early 1960s.
Most of the bobbers were shaped out of some kind of wood that had been dried and rounded with a whittling knife. A wooden matchstick was stuck between the line and the painted wooden bobber to hold it in place.
Both men quickly cast out. Mr. Stevens had made some sort of carp bait from boiled Wheaties and strawberryflavored Jello that was formed on a treble hook before being cast out 15 or 20 feet, the casting limit of each reel.
I had a Zebco 202 with eight-pound monofilament test line and a straight hook with a fresh, wiggly garden worm. Grandpa said there might be a few catfish hanging around.
The two old men did not speak a word; they just stood on the bank and watched their rods, which were propped up on forked sticks they had cut off trees and whittled down to the bare wood. They both left a slight bit of slack in the line and watched it like a hawk watching a mouse.
There was not a hint of breeze, just hot sunshine beating down on the two weathered old men. They were where they wanted to be, and the conditions were of no concern. They stood like two statues, concentrating on their lines, a habit they had learned when fishing to feed their families. The theory of catch and release for many was still years away.
I realized movement from the corner of my eye and saw Grandpa’s line straighten out tightly in a blur. A big carp found his bait and took off, hooking itself on the sharp Mustad treble hook.
Grandpa fought for line as the big fish stubbornly stripped the minimal drag that was mostly thumb control, while making a sweeping turn towards my area. Mr. Stevens had told me to reel in early on, and happily I listened.
That big carp swept back and forth across the bank, looking for escape from the unknown power that would not let go. The carp seemed to have unlimited energy, especially compared to my 80-plus-year-old Grandpa, who stubbornly fought back. Eventually the ten-pound carp gave up and slipped into the ancient-looking net.
After that fight we moved down the shore a bit where the water and mud were not so stirred up. I managed to catch four nice yellow bullhead catfish on the garden worms. Mr. Stevens hooked the next big carp. I was treated to another good fight and given the privilege of netting the fish.
We eventually bounced back down the old gravel road in Grandpa’s car where it has been said the James Gang once rode when it was dirt and cars did not exist.
I could hear fish flopping in the small trunk behind my seat. Soon my great-grandma would fry up my catfish with homemade French fries and the blackberry cobbler she was baking when we left for the lake. Grandpa had picked the wild blackberries the day before. I can close my eyes and practically smell and taste that amazing meal.
I am the only one left now. The old lake was drained years ago, the Model A was sold before I was old enough to buy it, and those wonderful old men are fishing in a Heavenly Lake. I hope they save me a spot on that fishing bank where anticipation of a bite is a slice of their Heaven.
Kenneth L. Kieser
Sunshine Falls
Atwo-week-long camping summer vacation was an annual Urich family tradition. When our sons were older, we decided on a more challenging vacation adventure to the Colorado mountains in August, including hikes in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness and rafting through the Royal Gorge on the Arkansas River. Of course, lugging three sons across Kansas in the back seat of a station wagon was always challenging. But I learned frequent stops, preferably close to water, rocks, and mud, were helpful and eliminated some back seat tensions.
There was another issue on this vacation which required some innovative parental thought and experimentation. Our sons developed an irritating habit of asking mindless and tedious questions over and over despite answers from Mrs. Urich and me. I knew we had to extinguish this behavior before we both exploded. After some consideration, I came up with a solution: standard answers to all trivial questions.
For questions requiring a numerical response, the answer was always “6.” All questions beginning with how were answered with “carefully.” “French toast” was the answer to any question related to food. Questions beginning with when were answered with “tomorrow.” Questions beginning with why were cheerfully answered with “because it will explode.” It took time, and our sons were obviously irritated, but the trivial questioning was significantly reduced.
While driving across Kansas, I talked about the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. I knew a museum stop after a day and a half in the car was problematic for our sons. But there was a Tyrannosaurus skeleton in the atrium of the museum, plus there were some dioramas our sons would probably find interesting. All young boys like dinosaurs, and all three of our sons gazed at the Tyrannosaurus skeleton when we arrived at the museum. Then our oldest son blurted out loudly for all to hear, “Where’s the skin?”
We spent about two hours in the museum before pressing on to the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness.
Our station wagon was an older car with a carburetor needing adjustment for high-altitude driving. I didn’t make this adjustment before leaving home. By the time we got to the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70 at 11,150 feet, the car was only making 20 MPH. But lots of other drivers didn’t adjust their carburetors and were also traveling slowly.
We had a large canvas umbrella tent Mrs. Urich’s parents used for camping in the 1950s. I also had their Coleman stove and lantern from the same period. The tent was in excellent shape, but it weighed almost 80 pounds. We spent two days hiking at a lower altitude to get used to the thinner air. There were a number of streams our sons could play in, except the water was freezing cold from the snowmelt. On the third day, we headed to the top of one of the peaks. I knew dragging our sons up the mountain was going to be difficult. I loosened up on the standard answers to trivial questions to keep their interest up. Plus, I told them the snowfields near the top of the mountain would be fun and there was a Dairy Queen on top. They were skeptical since the trail didn’t seem big enough to get supplies to the top. But I said there was a cable car system on the other side of the mountain and the Dairy Queen only sold cones and shakes. They could have as much as they wanted. I even made up a Dairy Queen song, which we sang on the trail.
We finally made it to the top, and the view was outstanding. There was no Dairy Queen, which was a serious issue damaging my credibility with our sons, plus the snow was so mushy and wet they couldn’t even walk on it. I didn’t tell them the walk down the mountain was going to be just as exhausting as the walk up. They would find out soon enough, and they probably would not have believed me anyway.
We traveled to the Cañon City vicinity and checked into the Yogi Bear Campground for the rafting portion of the trip. Rafting through the Royal Gorge was a two-day adventure. We were picked up on the first morning by one of the first yellow school buses ever made. We had to sign pages of forms and releases basically stating rafting was dangerous and if we didn’t survive, it was our fault. The first day was spent rafting through Browns Canyon, a milder portion of the Arkansas River upriver from the Royal Gorge.
This portion of the trip was a training session to teach us to follow instantly the commands from the guide and to learn the difference between forward paddling, back paddling, the left side of the raft, and the right side of the raft. We also had to fall backward out of the raft and learn to float downriver with our feet in front, not our heads. The guide stopped at a 25-foot cliff next to the river to let our sons climb up the bank and jump off into the river. They liked this much better than hiking to the top of the Maroon Bells.
Our guide had several years of experience on the Arkansas River. He spent the winter in Chicago completing taxes for clients since he had a master’s degree in business and finance. Summers were spent guiding on various rivers in the West. There was a woman guide trainee with us who spent her summers rafting and winters teaching skiing. These were alternate lifestyles which didn’t include kids.
The next morning the same old yellow school bus picked us up at the campground, and we had to sign additional releases with more serious warnings than the previous day’s forms. This time we had to put on wetsuits and helmets.
The water was cold from snowmelt, plus the sun was blocked by the canyon walls. The water was noticeably swifter and rougher as we entered the Royal Gorge. After about an hour, the guide had us pull the raft up to the bank and we all got out to walk up a hill. On the other side of the hill was Sunshine Falls, which was about a seven-foot drop. We watched several rafts go over the falls and flip over. These rafts had the guide sitting on an elevated platform in the center of the raft with long oars to steer. It looked like a top-heavy, unstable design to me. I noticed none of the passengers or the guides in the water raised their legs and laid back to protect their heads. At the end of the rough water was a first aid station on the bank with people throwing ropes to those in the water.
I looked down at our sons and thought this portion of the rafting trip was a bad idea. But the guide assured me he had never flipped over and it was not going to happen today. The guide trainee was silent but looked concerned. We loaded into the raft and the guide shouted commands in rapid order. I understood the importance of the previous day’s training. Then we were airborne, and the raft went over Sunshine Falls.
There were thick rubber straps on the bottom of the raft for our feet. When the raft hit the water, the weight of our bodies compressed the rubber sides of the raft. The compressed air pushed back, but the foot straps held us in the raft. Unfortunately, our youngest son, Kirk, was a little too short to keep his feet in the straps and was bounced out of the back of the raft. As he flew by, the guide reached as far back as he could and grabbed Kirk by the arm, hauling him back into the raft. We didn’t flip over, but it was close.
We continued down the river, and the rapids were severe but not as bad as Sunshine Falls. I appreciated the importance of the wetsuits and helmets. We pulled over to the bank on a quieter portion of the river for lunch. Everyone was very thirsty. The ancient yellow school bus took us back to the Yogi Bear Campground, stopping first at the outfitter headquarters. There were photo enlargements on a big board of our trip through the Royal Gorge. Apparently, there were photographers along the bank I never saw. I didn’t understand how the enlargements could be made so quickly because digital cameras were not available. The enlargements were very expensive, but I bought one anyway. Unfortunately, there were no photos of our descent at Sunshine Falls.
On the trip home, our sons grilled me on why I lied to them about a Dairy Queen at the top of the mountain in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. Apparently, they were offended. I explained it was important for them to see the view from the top of the Rocky Mountains. At some point in their future, they would likely have to make major environmental decisions through public support and voting. I wanted them to be familiar with and amazed at the country’s magnificent natural resources so they could make informed decisions.
I explained it is tough to protect and appreciate marvelous environments and habitats without seeing and experiencing them. But I was a fair parent, and we stopped twice at a Dairy Queen on the long push east across Kansas. I watched our sons eat a disgusting amount of chili dogs, fries, and shakes.
Sadly, this was the only trip where I dragged all three of our sons to the roof of the Rocky Mountains to experience the views and to talk about these ecosystems. Events and circumstances prevented another mountainclimbing trip. Incidentally, my standard responses to trivial, irritating questions were so successful I adopted this technique as a regular feature in my child-rearing toolkit.
Pg 44 - Snowmass in Maroon Bells Wilderness, Colorado. Pg 45 - Tim Urich hiking in the Snowmass in Maroon Bells Wilderness, Colorado.
Pg 46 - Aaron Urich jumping into the Arkansas River above the Royal Gorge, Colorado. Pg 47 - The guide holding the raft with the Urich family on the Arkansas River up stream from the Royal Gorge, Colorado. All photos: David Urich
David Urich
Rolla Outdoor Collaborative School Launches New Year with Bee & Butterfly Fundraiser
The Rolla Outdoor Collaborative School (ROCS), a nonprofit outdoor preschool, homeschool, and afterschool enrichment program, is taking root in the community with a unique fundraiser that benefits both students and Missouri’s natural ecosystems.
To celebrate the start of the new school year, ROCS kicked off its Bee & Butterfly Fundraiser, inviting families, friends, and supporters to purchase pollinator seed packets cultivated and harvested by Missouri farmers. Proceeds from the fundraiser will support the creation of a new welcome center and meeting space for students during inclement weather, while also benefitting the Conservation Federation of Missouri and the farmers who grow and package the seeds.
Located at the Ozark Rivers Audubon Trails and Nature Center, ROCS serves more than 90 students, ranging from toddlers to high schoolers. The program is entirely outdoors, giving students the opportunity to learn, play, and grow within the center’s 70 acres of diverse ecosystems.
“The Audubon property is a living classroom,” said Director Gina Root. “Students explore everything from tallgrass prairie and oak savannah to glade and riparian habitats. It’s hands-on learning at its best, and it connects our children to Missouri’s natural heritage.”
The Nature Center’s five distinct ecosystems — dolomite glade, tallgrass remnant prairie, oak savannah, upland oak forest, and a spring-fed riparian zone — provide opportunities for environmental education, biodiversity studies, and habitat restoration. ROCS students regularly engage in conservation practices such as invasive species management, controlled burns, and native plantings. The property also provides habitat for many migrating bird species each spring and fall.
The Bee & Butterfly Fundraiser reflects this mission of stewardship. By planting these Missouri-specific wildflower seeds, community members not only contribute to pollinator conservation but also help foster the next generation of environmental leaders.
“This fundraiser allows our students to see that their efforts benefit both their school and the environment around them,” organizers shared. “Every packet planted becomes a living contribution to conservation.”
Seed packets are available for $5 each or four for $20. With every sale, ROCS families raise essential funds for their school while helping create more pollinatorfriendly spaces in their communities.
“Every packet sold helps build a stronger future—for our kids, for pollinators, and for the environment we all share,” said ROCS fundraising leader Morgan Scarborough. “We are supporting more than just our school, but our community, the local farmers, and our state’s conservation. That’s huge!”
By joining in, schools, clubs, and organizations across Missouri can also participate in this conservationfocused fundraiser. Each group earns 40% profit, while encouraging families to take part in planting pollinator habitat. It’s a win-win: raising needed funds while building a more sustainable environment.
The ROCS kick-off event set the tone for a school year rooted in stewardship, education, and community impact. And as their students return to outdoor classrooms and trails, they’ll see the results of their work not only in dollars raised—but in the wildflowers blooming across Missouri.
The Rolla Outdoor Collaborative School kicked off its Bee & Butterfly Fundraiser, inviting families, friends, and supporters to purchase pollinator seed packets. (Photo: The Rolla Outdoor Collaborative School)
A Bird in Hand is Worth Two in the Bush
Adowned game bird, be it quail, dove, duck, woodcock, grouse, chukar, or pheasant, can vanish right before your eyes into the habitat from which it flushed. The following methods will up the odds in your favor of finding that prize we call a “bird down.”
Every bird hunter dreams of the perfect day afield with crisp, cool fall mornings and antsy dogs anxious to wind that first bird of the new season. Picture-perfect points, flushes, shots, and retrieves to hand cloud our minds. However, every seasoned bird hunter has experienced the desperate disappointment of losing a downed bird, even though every aspect of the hunt had been flawless to that point.
Adaptive Camo –Game birds are a product of their environment. Eons of time have designed birds that remarkably resemble the cover in which they hide and thrive. Much bird cover is thick, almost impenetrable. Lady Luck plays a key role in hunters being able to see a bird flush from such coverts, much less knock one down. Judging distance is difficult in the thickets. A good rule of thumb to remember is that your fleeing quarry is usually closer than you might think. If you are not sure where your bird went down, begin your search by looking near to far.
After you connect and tumble a bird into dense cover, the work begins to make your best effort to recover it. Most often, a bit of work is in store for you. Downed birds have an uncanny ability to vanish before your eyes, even if you are at first and goal. Those birds have simply blended into the surrounding cover. A bird can skid, tumble, or flop into cover, around and through vegetative cover and forest floor duff, which will mask its presence. It is your duty as a hunter to find it.
More than one bird hunter has been astonished when his retriever returned with a bird he thought he had missed cleanly. Good hunting ethics require you to make an extra effort to look for birds, even if you think you missed. It may result in a bird in hand. At the least, you can continue your hunt with a clear conscience.
Making the Shot – Shooting well in tight cover takes skill. Skill is acquired through practice. Visit your local sporting clays range regularly prior to the season opener. When the long-desired flush comes, you will be happier with your performance and put more birds in the game bag. Increased accuracy and confidence in your shooting abilities will result in more clean kills as well. However, the best form does not prevent thick cover from swallowing up a bird just as you pull the trigger. This scenario haunts many bird hunters every season. Did you down the bird? Only a well-thought-out search plan will give you the answer.
Stay Cool – Fools rush in where seasoned hunters fear to go. The thrill of the moment overwhelms excited bird hunters. You make a perfect shot and watch the bird tumble from the sky. Instinct urges you to rush in and claim your prize. Haste makes waste in bird hunting situations, too. It is astonishing how quickly surroundings can change if you don’t locate your bird immediately. First, before taking a step, note the exact spot where you stood when you took the shot. This will be your reference point for the duration of your search. Mark the spot with your orange cap, trail tape, toilet paper, or anything easily visible.
Look for Floaters – Keep your eyes trained in the direction of the shot. Look immediately for feathers floating on the breeze. If the wind is blowing left to right and you shot the bird to the left, align the left edge of the drifting feathers with a landmark, such as a tall tree, to give you a line to strike for your search. If you have a hunting buddy along, the search is much easier.
Have him stand at the point of the shot while you strike the line to find your downed bird. You can easily return to your marked beginning as many times as needed.
Use Your Senses – Wild birds use all of their senses to escape predators. As a hunter, you must utilize all of your senses as well in order to consistently find and retrieve your downed game birds. You have already observed your bird’s path of flight. Listen closely for sounds of the bird falling through limbs, branches, and forest floor litter. You may hear a muffled thud when the bird strikes the ground. Also listen for the continued wing beats or thrashing of the bird once it goes down.
Search Here, Search There – If you fail to locate your bird where you thought it was, begin a dedicated search. Look around near the spot you thought the bird fell. First thoughts are surprisingly correct, and your bird may only be a few feet away. Hunters are keen predators and possess a sense of the presence of game. Practice improves this helpful attribute.
Scan the area around you in a complete circle. Move out a few feet and repeat the process. Watch for any telltale signs of the bird; tiny droplets of blood, a faint feather, or rustled leaves are clues to look for. Change the angle or position from which you are scanning the cover. Crouch down a bit, then kneel down. Lying down on the ground gives you an entirely different perspective of the cover around you. When all else fails, look up. Retrace your steps to your point of origin, all the while scanning the trees and bushes from eye level up. I have retrieved doves, ducks, and pheasants from trees. It is definitely worth the look.
Man’s Best Friend – There is no arguing that hunting with a bird dog greatly reduces losses of downed birds. Too, the hunt is more enjoyable while sharing the experience with a canine companion. However, as luck dictates, the dog is not always present at the shot. Your finder skills will greatly enhance the dog’s chances of locating the bird at this point. Combine your skills with the “dead bird” point of your dog and the two of you will be a keen dead-bird-down finding machine.
Final Shots – Days afield are too few. Our passions for new bird hunting memories drive us to the fields and forests when the time is right. Like a fine wine, a quality bird hunt must be nurtured from beginning to end. That includes the patience and ethics to execute a follow-up after the shot. As the old adage says, “A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.” And the succulent meat of our game birds complements a fine wine perfectly.
All photos: Bill Cooper
Bill Cooper
Holidays Like They Used to Be
World War II had finally ended. His Dad came home in March 1946. The end of the war brought about an unprecedented rise in birth rates. More babies were born that year than ever before. 3.4 million to be exact. They are called the “Baby Boomer” generation.
He was born on Christmas Day, 1946, in the living room of his Grandpa and Grandma’s old farmhouse. There was no electricity. Kerosene lanterns and a few candles lit the room. During winter, a pot-bellied wood stove helped keep them warm. There was no insulation, so they slept under piles of blankets with a metal iron heated on the wood stove and wrapped in a blanket at the foot of the bed.
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No doctor or nurse was there to deliver him. Only Grandma. A scraggly little cedar tree stood in a corner of the living room, decorated with handmade Christmas ornaments. No presents were under the tree.
During the rest of the seasons they would open all the windows and doors. The screens would keep most of the bugs out. The front porch was a favorite place at night when chores and meals were over. They would sit there and listen to sounds in the night.
The bathroom was down a path behind the house. You didn’t need to worry about flushing. They did worry about spiders and snakes. There was no water running through pipes from a well. It was carried to the house in a bucket from a cold spring on the hill by the barn.
Grandma cooked meals on a wood stove. She would spit on it and watch how it sizzled to know when it had reached the right temperature for cooking. Firewood for the stoves was split with a double-bladed axe.
A big phone hung on the wall instead of being carried in a purse or back pocket. You cranked a handle to get an operator who would then connect you to whomever you wanted to talk to.
They raised or grew all the food they ate. There was no grocery store close, no food delivery companies to bring it to their door. His Grandpa used mules and a wagon to harvest crops on the farm. Later, he was able to trade for an old Model A Ford that he used when they needed to go to town to get supplies.
When electricity came to the valley, lanterns and candles were no longer needed. The adults were amazed that all they had to do was flick on a switch to have light or run a fan to cool the hot air of summer. His Grandpa saved his money and bought a radio. It was wood and big. It sat on the floor near his rocking chair. They listened to the Lone Ranger, the Grand Ole Opry, and other shows.
Through his growing-up years on that farm, he gathered eggs for grandma and helped her kill and pluck a chicken or two for special Sunday meals with kinfolk. He also fed the pigs for grandpa and learned how to help butcher them, rub salt on them and cure them in the smokehouse.
He learned how to milk the old cow so grandpa could get other work done. He helped him gather hay and corn from the field. He helped Grandma in any way she needed.
When he wasn’t working, he spent his time outdoors wandering in the fields and forests around the farm. He was exploring and enjoying the nature around him. It was there that his love for the outdoors grew. It entertained and nurtured him. The outdoors shaped him into the man he became.
Grandpa saved what little money he could and bought him a single-shot .22 rifle and a box of shells. He gave it to him for Christmas that year. He told him to go hunt squirrels and rabbits, but to make sure he didn’t miss because he would have to buy his own box of shells the next time. He learned to skin them and save their pelts to sell for money. Grandma would fry them up for special meals.
There were very few deer and turkeys to hunt back then. He never saw a turkey but he did see a deer once. He wasn’t sure what it was since he had never seen one. That was before the Missouri Conservation Federation and the Missouri Department of Conservation worked to establish the populations we have today of both deer and turkey.
During this Thanksgiving season, we need to thank the men and women of the MDC and CFM for all they do for us who enjoy the many outdoor opportunities we have today. How about giving the Conservation Federation a gift of money for Christmas to support all they do for you? A fishing or hunting license from the Missouri Department of Conservation makes a great Christmas gift.
There are times when he wishes that he could go back to that time long ago. They worked hard. They helped each other. They had no television, computer, or smartphones to steal their time. They read books that took them to faraway places and listened to the radio. They learned about history and famous people.
Many people have no idea of the real reason we celebrate Christmas. What a better world it would be if everyone knew the story of Jesus and lived the life it teaches us to live in the Bible.
All this new technology is supposed to help make our lives easier. In many ways, it has. In others, it has not. He worries about kids and adults whose lives are controlled by it. They don’t get out and enjoy all there is to do in God’s great outdoors. They are all glued to screens.
He is now older than his grandpa was when he passed away. He thanks God that he raised his kids and grandkids to enjoy the great outdoors that he loves so much. Yes, they use technology every day, but they balance it with plenty of hunting, fishing, camping, and hiking.
Most of you cannot begin to imagine the way he grew up and lived. It was harder, but it was a simpler time without all the technology. Thanksgiving celebrations were spent with family and friends gathered around a table. It was a time when people were a lot more thankful. Today, we take it all for granted. Thanksgiving has become about football games.
Christmas sales now start before Thanksgiving with online and in-store Black Friday events. Christmas used to be a time of peace on earth and goodwill toward men in America, a time for going to church and celebrating the birth of Jesus. Now, it is about more football games and after-Christmas sales.
He prays for this world we live in today. All the new technology is good in some ways, but harmful in others. As hard as life was all those years ago, he tells folks he would go back to that time if he could—a time when there was more thanks in Thanksgiving and more Christ in Christmas. He wishes for holidays like they used to be.
Larry Whiteley
Photo Courtesy of Larry Whiteley
Lake of the Ozarks Fishing Creates Memorable Moments
My career as an outdoor writer has presented me with many opportunities to fish some of the finest lakes and rivers in the United States, but throughout the years I have discovered there is no place like home.
Many of my favorite fishing trips have taken place on my home waters of Lake of the Ozarks. My wife and I moved from St. Louis to the lake area in 1982, but I had already fished the lake with my dad, uncle, and some neighbors in the late 1970s.
In my fishing scrapbook, there are three photos of us holding stringers of crappie from our spring trips to the lake. I recall one particular day when we went out in the boats that morning, but the fishing was slow, so we decided to go back to the trailer and take a break until evening.
Refreshed from the break, we fished off the dock for a while before heading back out in the boats. We could tell a weather front was moving in because a breeze had picked up and clouds were rolling across the sky.
The four of us lined up along the dock and started casting Roadrunners and jig-and-bobber rigs out in front of us. The wind must have pushed a school of crappie into the area, because all of a sudden we were catching fish on nearly every cast.
“It’s like someone turned on the siren,” said my neighbor. It reminded us of the hot action that occurs when the siren blows to signal the start of fishing at the trout parks. Within 45 minutes, we all had our limits of 15 crappie apiece, and my neighbor even hooked into a sixpound bass that jumped once before breaking his line. The fishing was so good that we never bothered going back out in the boats that evening.
When I moved to the lake, I had heard about the spring white bass runs, so I picked out a local creek to try. My most memorable white bass trip happened one evening after work.
As I waded into the creek, I saw a huge mass of white bass swimming in a small pool next to some riffles. There were so many fish that some darted between my legs. I cast a Roostertail and immediately hooked a fish. As I reeled it in, other white bass kept bumping into it, trying to feed. I could feel their sharp fins hitting my line and worried they might cut it, but I managed to land the fish.
Having the whole pool to myself was like catching fish in a barrel. I caught white bass on 15 consecutive casts and had my limit within half an hour. Each fish weighed between 1 1/2 and 1 3/4 pounds.
Two bass fishing trips I fondly remember took place during the same autumn. In the two-day Alhonna Resort buddy bass tournament, my partner and I caught nine keepers, with our best five weighing 21.52 pounds.
What made that first day so special was catching nearly all our keepers on a buzzbait. Conditions were perfect— cloudy skies, a slight breeze, murky water, and a water temperature of 68 degrees. We retrieved our buzzbaits as slowly as possible along main-lake point seawalls and over brush piles. Waiting for that magic moment when the water exploded and the buzzer disappeared kept our adrenaline pumping all day.
At the weigh-in, we thought our heavy sack would put us in the lead, but we had to settle for second place as another team weighed in 23 pounds.
That same fall, during a Thanksgiving weekend tournament, I experienced another unforgettable moment. In practice, we discovered an unusual pattern— fish were hitting suspending stickbaits in the morning and buzzbaits in the afternoon.
On tournament morning, I was slowly twitching and pausing a clown-colored suspending Rattlin’ Rogue along a secondary point when my line jumped. I set the hook, and a hefty bass surged straight at me before diving under the boat. I kept steady pressure, and my partner netted an 8.10-pound largemouth—the big bass of the tournament and the largest I’ve ever caught at the lake.
Later that day, I learned how incredible the fishing can be here when I heard that two more bass over eight pounds—both weighing 8.30—were weighed in at other tournaments.
So, try the awesome fishing at Lake of the Ozarks, and you too may experience some of your most memorable trips on the water.
John Neporadny
Top - The author caught this 8-pound largemouth and won the big bass prize in a November tournament at Lake of the Ozarks. (Photo: Brian Maloney) Cover - Crappie provide plenty of memorable fishing trips for Lake of the Ozarks anglers. (Photo: Jim Divincen)
In the Intervals of Their Pursuits Watching Nature While Deer Hunting
When deer hunters gather for a coffee break, the first thing they talk about—other than possibly the weather—is deer. Someone got a quick, distant glimpse of that big buck that has shown up several times on the trail cam. Someone else saw a doe and fawns amble through a draw. Another watched a fork-horn crunch acorns right below the stand.
Still another noted how many shots he heard, from which direction, and how that compared to previous seasons. If the group was fortunate, someone might even have harvested a deer. That story will be more detailed. More frequently, though, reports of deer observations are covered quickly, because often there isn’t much to report. Seeing deer comprises a tiny percentage of a hunter’s time in the woods.
But conversation continues after talk of deer ends. “A squirrel came down the side of my tree, jumped onto my stand, and sat on my boot while it chewed on a nut.” Or “I watched a possum raid the gut pile near my stand.” Or “I listened to a bunch of turkeys scratching in the leaves for half an hour before they came over the hill and moved toward me.” Or “I watched a bobcat attempt to stalk a fawn.”
There are often more of these kinds of reports because, most of the time, the view from the stand does not include deer. In staying alert for deer, the hunter gets to study the lives of other animals that share the deer’s world. Enjoyment of these observations is limited only by the knowledge, curiosity, and attention of the observer. Other hunters are interested in these stories. They are fresh, authentic observations of nature from trusted friends.
Henry David Thoreau, a keen observer of nature, writes in Walden: “Fishermen, hunters, woodchoppers, and others spending their lives in the fields and woods, in a particular sense a part of nature themselves, are often in a more favorable mood for observing her, in the intervals of their pursuits…” This article is about what deer hunters see when they are not seeing deer, sitting or standing quietly for long hours in all kinds of weather, in the “intervals of their pursuit”—those long periods when no deer enter the picture, but nature continues to provide observations and stories.
I am a lifelong birder and naturalist. Unlike most of the hunters I know, I began deer hunting as an adult and had no exposure to it until years after college. I expected my new sport to provide some food for my family and a better knowledge of deer behavior. Before becoming a hunter, I would not have imagined that sitting quietly for hours during late fall and winter, in every kind of weather, would yield remarkable new nature perspectives. I soon learned that observing nature in this sometimes-uncomfortable way was a bonus of my new pursuit. In fact, I saw things while hunting that I had not seen in previous decades as an avid naturalist.
Squirrels provide frequent and sustained deer hunting diversions. They are often most active early and late, from before dawn to late dusk. They can be so busy and so noisy. When leaves are dry and crunchy, their activity creates a lot of sound that sometimes mimics other wildlife. A hunter intent on seeing deer can mistake their leaf crunching for approaching deer. I go into high-alert mode, only to find that squirrels are again responsible. But squirrel noises sometimes conceal the approach of an actual deer, and have caused me many surprises. Squirrels provide hours of entertainment during deerless intervals.
One of my favorite deer stands was a rough board platform high in the branches of a big, spreading white oak. It created a natural perch that made me feel part of that old tree. Birds and squirrels seemed not to notice me at all. Once several dozen rusty blackbirds flew into the branches around me. Some of the birds were almost within reach, and I studied the subtle plumage differences between the rusty brown males and the gray females.
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I stared into their pale, piercing yellow eyes and admired these pretty birds. They finally flew out of my tree to join a bunch of robins on the ground, where both species foraged in the leaves like turkeys.
It's always fun to see a heavy-bodied pileated woodpecker fly through the woods or land on a nearby tree. Their raucous, woody-woodpecker calls announce their presence even when they are out of sight. Once I watched a pair of them tear up a rotten stump with those powerful bills. Wood chips flew in all directions as they demolished the stump for the bugs hiding inside.
Cedar waxwings are social birds usually seen in flocks. As their name implies, they eat fruits and berries, especially favoring cedar berries in the winter. I see a lot of them while deer hunting.
I had read that this bird sometimes passes fruit back and forth, but I had never seen this behavior until I was hunting. A small flock of waxwings decided to feast on the red fruits of a deciduous holly tree in front of me. I watched several of them picking fruit and then passing it beak-to-beak to a neighbor in the tree. Often the recipient passed it back. This could continue for several exchanges until a bird finally swallowed the fruit.
I used to think that red-tailed hawks always hunted open country and would not hunt in the woods. But I see them often while hunting in the woods, and twice watched them dive at squirrels. In both cases the squirrels were on tree trunks. They saw the hawk in time to scurry around the trunk, leaving the raptor with tree bark instead of squirrel meat. Friends have related successful red-tail kills when the hawks caught the squirrels on the ground. I have also seen a red-tail land on a field-dressed deer and pick at the meat and fat along the fresh cut. I didn’t expect this bird to scavenge on a dead deer, but it was easy pickings for the hawk, and made sense.
The woods can seem quiet and empty for hours. Then you notice a couple of chickadees and titmice in the branches near your stand. Then downy woodpeckers and nuthatches join the group. You might see kinglets and Carolina wrens, and you are suddenly surrounded by small birds both above and below your stand. You notice a dozen different species, each looking for insects in its own part of the woods. You are in the middle of a mixedspecies feeding flock—a winter nature phenomenon. All the birds are foraging for insects, but all are hunting in their own specialized way. The kinglets are high in the small branches; the downy woodpeckers and nuthatches are on the trunks of trees. Other birds are flipping leaves and scratching the ground. If I am lucky, the flock includes a brown creeper. These small, inconspicuous winter residents are not rare, but I rarely see them. It is a treat to watch their peculiar search method of flying to the base of a tree and ascending the trunk in a spiral, checking for small insects and spiders concealed under the bark. In fifteen minutes, the flock moves on and silence returns.
Jays and crows provide lots of ambient sounds and activity. Once I watched a flock of crows feeding in a turnip field. One of them was sick or injured. A sharpshinned hawk, far smaller than the crow, was divebombing and harassing the injured bird. The other crows paid no attention to their fellow in his hardship.
I never learned if the hawk intended to kill and eat the crow, or was just enjoying tormenting it. I left before the long drama ended.
Hunting on a friend’s land about five years after a forest stand improvement project proved a good year to watch red-headed woodpeckers. I had not noticed this species in the past years on this property. But now that all of these tall, dead, rotting trees peppered the woods, the red-headed woodpeckers were highly visible and noisy. These birds cache acorns in tree cavities and then guard them from thieves such as blue jays. They remain in family groups with the year’s young. The families forage together.
Hunters sometimes see predators while waiting for deer. It’s not uncommon to see coyotes, bobcats, and foxes as well as hawks and owls. One season I frequently saw a red fox. I watched him discover a gut pile from the previous day. He quickly zeroed in on the liver and chewed off a big chunk. If foxes could smile, that’s what this little guy was doing as he trotted off with deer liver hanging from both sides of his mouth.
One perfectly still morning I heard a quiet rustling of leaves below my stand. I watched for a long time before I noticed the slightest movement in the leaves. Then, piece by piece, I saw parts of a little rodent as it moved around under the leaves. When I finally saw the part of it that included its short little tail, I knew that I was watching a woodland vole. This mouse-like mammal mostly lives underground and deep under leaf litter. This is the only time deer hunting that I ever saw a small rodent, and there are good reasons for that. Any of the aforementioned predators would instantly recognize a mouse or a vole as a tasty morsel—the same reaction I would have on seeing a Snickers bar while sitting in a cold deer stand.
Henry David Thoreau offers helpful advice for us hunters who want to gain the most from our vigils in the elements. Thoreau writes: “It is not what you look at that matters, it is what you see.” My corollary: If you are open to seeing the details of nature, you could have some remarkable wildlife observations while you are not seeing deer.
Rick Thom
Missouri Wildflowers Nursery
9814 Pleasant Hill Rd Jefferson City MO 65109
www.mowildflowers.net
mowldflrs@socket.net 573-496-3492
The original seed source of our plants is from wild populations found growing in Missouri. Our plants are as “wild” as we can possibly keep them.
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