Vol68 no1 2007

MISSOURI

Wildlife

JANUARY 2007 VOL. 68, NO. 1

5 8 12 15

NEWS & ISSUES

Duck Season

CONSERVATION JOURNALISTS

Future Generations CFM ANNUAL CONVENTION

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VIEW FROM THE STONE HOUSE

MISSOURI

Wildlife

A Tracking Snow he fantasy of every hunter/naturalist serious about reading sign recently came to life for many of us in northeast Missouri. A significant snowfall during muzzleloader season! The afternoon prior to the storm, I made the long, slow, treacherous drive up to our farm alone. Though the solitude was welcome, it was bitterly cold and too windy as gear was unloaded, sleeping bag and heavy clothing were prepared and all the carefully planned details of the hunt were checked off the mental list.

By midnight, the blizzard came. None of the usual wild coyote howling, owl hooting or even mouse doings could be heard. A steady, throbbing, living serious storm arrived in all its grandeur. All of us, including those with feathers and fur, curled up tightly in the warmest spots we could find and waited.

Up at 4:30 for poptarts and coffee.

Into all the clothes, on with all the gear…but the lower doors both North and South were drifted shut! Maybe a foot of snow in most places had drifted deeply around the barn. I climbed out through the top half door and began the hour and a half hike through knee deep powder to my stand. Not a track did I see or a trail did I cut along the way.

As day broke, I could pick out 16 wild turkeys nearby, still on their roosts. They remained in the tree long after I did. I came down and hiked out before noon without having seen a deer or a track.

The freshly white-washed fence looking landscape was unblemished all the way

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back to the barn, save my shuffling mile of hard-earned tracks.

The sun came out in all its brilliance.

The tractor thankfully started so I could push snow out of the way all along our drifted lane. After lunch I drove a tour of the farm looking for sign and reveling in the beauteous splendor of the big snow. I found a trail with some use and dug out a place to set up a ground blind downwind.

Then I put in a folding chair and catalytic heater, drove the tractor back to the barn, geared up and began my hike back to the ground blind. Wildlife was slowly becoming active after the great snowfall. I slipped past a nice 8 point 21/2 year old buck who stood up in his bed at 75 yards.

He watched me, and I him, as I skirted around him…each fully aware of the other, neither anxious to do anything other than resume our quests for does and solitude.

Tucked into the blind, cozily nested in for the afternoon, I watched cardinals working the tops of grasses and forbs still above the snow. At twilight a covey of quail called softly, picked up from my fencerow and flew across the snowy field in front of the blind. They were visible for a couple hundred yards. They pitched in together beneath dense cedars, where there was little snow and good access to coralberry and other fruits and seeds.

I am in awe of the intimate knowledge of the minute details of home range with which all wildlife are absolutely familiar.

Their survival and prosperity depends entirely, at crucial times, upon this knowledge.

January 2007 Vol. 68, No. 1 OFFICERS Don Johnson President Glenn Chambers First Vice President Mike Schallon Second Vice President Duane Addleman Secretary Randy Washburn Treasurer

With all the time in the blind I had opportunity to ponder how very similar this condition is to what we face as conservationists in Missouri. We must know all the details, mechanisms, procedures, trends and possibilities of all agencies, legislatures, and other organizations which impact our mission. Although there may be many needs to address, we still have the time, resources and ability to act. It is good that this winter storm came along to simplify absolutely and immediately the mission of wildlife on my farm. Even I could understand the real message: the first need is to survive. The rest, at that point, is extravagant luxury.We find ourselves at CFM, thanks to you, well beyond survival. Wildlife and folks who value wildlife have a numerically strong and fiscally healthy “lobbyist” in CFM. May the holidays bring you and yours great joy! May the New Year bring you prosperity and tremendous experiences in our great outdoors.

Seasons Greetings!

Dave Murphy Executive Director, CFM

STAFF Dave Murphy Executive Director/Editor Lynne Jensen Lampe Design & Production Laurie Coleman Admin. Associate/ Membership and Managing Editor Leigh Love Admin. Associate/ Accounting Missouri Wildlife is the official publication of the Conservation Federation of Missouri, Affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation.

ISSN 1082-8591

728 W. Main Jefferson City, MO 65101-1559 Phone • 573-634-2322 Fax • 573-634-8205 Email • dmurphy@confedmo.org Online • http://www.confedmo.org

MISSOURI WILDLIFE (USPS 012868) is published bimonthly in January, March, May, July, September and November for subscribers and members of the Conservation Federation of Missouri, 728 W. Main, Jefferson City, MO 65101-1559. Of each member’s dues ($20 minimum) $2.00 shall be for a year’s subscription to Missouri Wildlife. Periodical postage paid at Jefferson City, MO. and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to MISSOURI WILDLIFE, 728 W. Main, Jefferson City, MO 65101-1559.

COVER: Inside, underground and cozy… a constant 56o F… visit a Missouri cave this WINTER. Photo is compliments of Bill Elliott , Missouri Department of Conservation.

Spring Turkey Season Set he Conservation Commission has finalized the 2007 Spring Turkey Season. The bag limit (2 birds) and the season length (3 weeks) remain unchanged. But the formula used to set the opening day was changed to the third Monday in April.

That means this year’s season will open April 16th and close May 6th. Under the old formula, the Monday closest to April 21st, the season would have opened April 23rd. Moving the season ahead one week will better adjust season timing across the state. A late cold spring delays gobbling activity and an early spring can get gob-

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blers in the mood ahead of schedule. Setting the season timing to please the north Missouri hunter in Scotland county and the ridge running hunter in Iron county is not easy. Not to mention making sure substantial opportunities for turkey breeding occur before the season starts.

Does Missouri’s spring turkey hunting season match the second peak of turkey gobbling activity? That is one of several questions Resource Scientist Jeff Beringer hopes to answer with the help of the Missouri Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), CFM members, and a battalion of volunteer

gobble counters.

Volunteer listeners will count the number of gobbles and the number of gobbling birds during a 20-minute period before sunrise twice a week between March 15 and May 15.“Gobbleteers” will choose their own listening locations.

The study will begin this spring and run through 2011. Beringer said it is important for people to volunteer only if they will be able to participate for the full five years. To sign up, e-mail Beringer at Jeff.Beringer@mdc.mo.gov.

Type “Gobble Study” in the subject line, and provide your name, address, and

county in the body of the e-mail.

Tom turkeys are most vocal just before hens become receptive to mating and just after hens begin incubating their eggs, so there are two peaks in spring gobbling.

Volunteer reports will help Beringer determine whether the current timing of spring turkey season puts hunters in the woods during the second peak in gobbling.

The study also seeks to discover any relationships between gobbling and other factors, such as weather and spring leafout. The results will be published in Missouri Wildlife and on the MDC and NWTF Chapter websites.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Conservationists For Life Charles Abele, Saint Louis Duane and Nancy Addleman, Springfield Richard Ash, Saint Charles Dane Balsman, Perryville Jim Tom Blair, Saint Louis Ron Coleman, Saint Albans Mark Corio, Columbia Dave Kolb Grading, Saint Charles John Enderle, Kelso Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Fleming, Columbia Howard & Sara Fleming, Moberly Mr. & Mrs. Matt Fleming, Moberly Allan Hoover, Pleasant Hill Don Johnson, Festus Roger & Debbie Johnson, Humansville Duane & Cosette Kelly, Independence Sara Knight, Charlotte, NC Carl Kurz, Leawood, KS Jay Law, Saint James

Be Cautious, Have Fun In Strange Missouri Weather

Gerald Lee, Kansas City Joel LeMaster, Fulton Leroy Logan, Arnold Chip McGeehan, Marshfield Cynthia Metcalfe, Saint Louis David Murphy, Columbia Abe Phillips, Saint Louis Gerald Ross, Jefferson City Mike Schallon, Ballwin Timothy Schwent, Jackson Charles & Winnie Stribling, Mexico Barbara VanBenschoten, Kansas City Al Vogt, Columbia Randy Washburn, Jefferson City Stephen Wilson, Hartsburg Dick Wood, Saint Louis Howard Wood, Bonne Terre Robert Ziehmer, California

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When will you add your name to the list?

CFM Life Membership Application Name: _____________________________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________________ Phone: _______________________Email:_____________________________ Payment Method (circle one):

Cash

e are entering our glorious winter season in the state of Missouri. We have already seen some of the coldest and strangest weather that we have experienced in the past several years. Snow and ice storms have covered our state from border to border. The ice storms that we have encountered have been particularly hard on our trees in our great state.

Many have been toppled and others have received a large amount of branch damage. Hopefully, we will recover from this and use the opportunity to enhance the forests in our state.

We have recently completed the firearms deer season here in Missouri.

The Missouri Department of Conservation noted a record harvest for this year. They expect this to help our management efforts across the entire state.

We unfortunately encountered several accidents during this season and I would take this time to notify all going

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afield to be especially careful with the winter season and slippery conditions upon us.

Good luck in the remainder of our winter activities. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.

Don Johnson President, CFM

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AGENCY NEWS

Launching A Good Neighbor Policy any of us have friends and family who we enjoy being with, doing projects with or having as our own support group in times of crisis.

Good neighbors and close family members are usually willing to lend a hand when a job needs to be done or simply call us to make sure everything is all right and everyone is healthy.

Our environment – where we live, what we breathe, what we drink and what we see and hear – is part of what draws us together as human beings, as citizens and as family members and as good neighbors. The issues involved in maintaining a good, healthy environment can raise vigorous discussion or even an argument or two, but the goal is primarily the common good of our nation, state, community, friends and family.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is well known as a state agency charged with protecting our environment, but over the past year, we have launched several initiatives

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that are helping the public see the department as an advisor and friend when it comes to discussing environmental issues.

Like neighbors who have had a falling out, a communication breakdown between the department, the general public or the regulated community may create a host of problems.

As a former state legislator, I have learned that keeping the lines of communication up and running is the most effective way to learn what is on people’s minds and work together to deal with troubling issues.

It is not enough to have the department’s contact numbers posted near your phone. If people don’t think that a call will be welcomed and a response made quickly, they probably won’t call, even if a crisis is developing.

Since starting my job as director of the Department of Natural Resources in January 2005, I have learned that many times what people complained about regarding their relationship with the department was based on stories passed down over the years with the facts often embellished with misinformation, myth or rumor. We can’t change the past, but we can impact the

future. With that in mind, we have established a corps of seven ombudsmen who travel within their regions to meet with the public, local government officials and business people.

During their first year on the road, the ombudsmen have contacted more than 2,000 persons. As of late December, I have joined them at 70 town meetings and visited with another 1,000-plus people.

Along with a new Field Services Division, we also launched a compliance assistance initiative to address concerns from the regulated community. Rather than using site inspections and hefty fines to make a point about environmental stewardship, we are now doing Environmental Assistance Visits, or EAVs. EAVs help applicants for permits better understand Missouri’s environmental laws and regulations and guide them through their unique permit process so they can discover and deal with problems early and avoid future conflicts. In a recent survey, it was found that 99 percent of respondents felt well served by department staff who visited their operations during EAVs. Finally, to work more closely with

our neighbors and reduce the amount of windshield time our staff spends on Missouri’s highways, we have opened satellite offices and located staff at Maryville, Rolla, Portageville, Harry S. Truman State Park near Warsaw, Willow Springs and Fredricktown. A temporary office that was opened in Carthage to address a local environmental concern has now become a permanent satellite office. With these additions over the past year, there are now 22 regional, satellite and project office locations to serve Missouri citizens in their local areas.

Regional offices now issue most routine state operating permits. Many department forms and manuals are now posted on the Internet pages at www.dnr.mo.gov. The folks who need these can now complete forms electronically and update them as necessary.

We have come a long way, and with your continued involvement, we expect to remain good friends and neighbors with all who enjoy and benefit from Missouri’s remarkable natural resources.

Doyle Childers Director, DNR

Second Annual Missouri Wildlife Art Festival Nation’s best wildlife artists participated he Second Annual Missouri Wildlife Arts Festival held at the Foundry Arts Centre in Historic St. Charles was a success again this year.

The event, which was held November 3rd through the 5th, attracted 30 of the nation’s top wildlife artists and more than 600 visitors. Art sales topped $40,000, of which a percentage goes to support the work of the Open Space Council and its partnering sponsors, including the Conservation Federation of Missouri, the Greenway Network and the Missouri Wildlife Artist Society.

The date for next year’s Wildlife Art Festival has be set for November 3-4, 2007.

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TAW N Y K I N G P H O T O S

From left: Larry Ruff (Greenway Network), Eileen Melton (Artist), and Gerry Boehm (Greenway Network).

Wildlife artists from around the country set up booths at this year’s festival and donated a percentage of their sales to conservation organizations..

Luke Buck (Artist), Ron Coleman (Executive Director, Open Space Council) and Larry Ruff (Greenway Network).

NEWS

predators or protection from the elements, Pierce said.

“The best places to create brush piles are where two habitats come together,” he said. “This would include areas such as fencerows where agricultural fields and woodlots come together.”

Trees can be added to refresh existing piles or to create new ones. “Either way, they’ll get used well after the Christmas season is over,” Pierce said.

A COLLECTION OF STORIES FROM AROUND THE STATE

2007 NATIONAL CAVE & KARST MANAGEMENT SYMPOSIUM OCTOBER 8-12, 2007

AND ISSUES

Heather Priest

Hoyt Scholarship Winner The 2006 College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Scholarship Luncheon was held October 23.

This years recipient of the Ann Weber Hoyt and Earl H. Hoyt Scholarship was Heather Priest.

Give The Gift Of Wildlife Habitat Whether it’s a Douglas fir, a Colorado blue spruce or Scotch pine, all Christmas trees can make great wildlife habitat after the holidays, a University of Missouri specialist said.

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, Americans purchase 30 to 35 million real Christmas trees each year. These trees all have the potential to become fish or wildlife habitat, said Bob Pierce, MU Extension fish and wildlife specialist.

“One Christmas tree alone won’t provide a lot of habitat, but three or four trees grouped together can make great habitat in a pond for young bluegill, crappie and even catfish,” he said.“They also can provide protective cover for wildlife.”

Bundles of brush and trees “provide an opportunity for the entire food chain to exist,” Pierce said.“The structure attracts aquatic insects, which attract the larval fish, which attract the predatory

fish, which attract the fishermen.”

While any time is a good time to install brushy habitat in ponds, Pierce said the current drought offers a unique opportunity.

“Because many ponds around the state are several feet below normal, areas that are usually underwater are now visible, offering you a chance to really see and assess your existing habitat,” he said. Missouri ranks No. 2 in the nation in the number of manmade impoundments, around 500,000 ponds and small lakes in all.

When installing structure in a pond, the larger the pile the better, Pierce said.

“It’s better to group your trees and brush together than to spread everything out,” he said.“Placing one large brush pile for every 2 to 3 acres of water is a good rule of thumb for larger lakes.”

When placing structure,“sink the brush with rocks or concrete blocks in a vertical position in no deeper than 10 to 12 feet of water,” Pierce said.“This way, the fish will be able to use the cover yearround.”

He added it’s important to be mindful of normal water depths so that structure isn’t placed too deep in the pond.

Natural structure such as Christmas trees will decompose over time in a pond, so it’s important to periodically add new trees and brush. “Softwoods like pine will last about seven years, so if you haven’t added structure to your pond for several years, it might be time to consider adding more,” Pierce said.

For more information on pond management, Pierce said the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Missouri Pond Handbook is the “singlebest publication out there.” The handbook is available online at www.mdc.mo.gov/documents/fish/pon dhb.pdf Christmas trees also make effective cover for wildlife such as rabbits, quail and other birds because the trees’ limbs create usable space for hiding from

Cave & Karst Conservation In The Ozarks

Fisher Cave, Meramec State Park, is our destination for the National Cave & Karst Management Symposium (NCKMS) field trip on Oct. 10, 2007.

The 2007 National Cave & Karst Management Symposium will be held October 8-12, 2007 at the Holiday Inn SW & Viking Conference Center, 10709 Watson Road, St. Louis, MO 63127, about 2 miles from Powder Valley, 800-682-6338. Nearby is the Missouri Department of Conservation’s beautiful Powder Valley Nature Center (PVNC), where a free public event will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 9, including a cave photo exhibit and a speaker panel, followed by refreshments in the lobby.

A block of rooms will be reserved for the symposium at the Holiday Inn SW & Viking Conference Center. Rates are currently $89 single or double, roll-away bed $10. There are many good restaurants in the area, and it is one hour from caving areas on the Meramec River.

There is also camping at Babler State Park west of St. Louis and Meramec State Park near Sullivan (lots of caves).

Field Trip: On Wednesday, Oct. 10 we will take a bus trip to Meramec State Park one hour away, with walking tours of Fisher Cave, a great destination for a symposium trip. There are wild caves nearby, where we can arrange for caving trips.

MDC is doing a lot of innovative cave conservation and restoration work in Missouri, and we are working on big karst problems, financing recharge area delineations, studying springs, conserving endangered species and other species of concern, and working with landowners and cavers.

We will showcase what we do here, and draw in regional cavers and conservationists who want to know more. MDC has a great national reputation as a leading state wildlife agency.

Attendees visit Fisher Cave during the 2000 Natural Areas field trip.

It’s Officially “Duck Season”!

National Wildlife Action is dedicating the holiday season to ducks this year. If you’re a duck hunter, duck eater, or just someone who cares about waterfowl, check out www.targetglobalwarming.org for the month-long celebration of all things winged and wet.

From the drying up of the prairie potholes to warming winter and longer summers changing migration patterns, ducks are affected by global warming more than any other game species.

Find out more and test your knowledge of ducks (while entering to win a free “Outdoor Adventure”). Take the quiz at www.target- globalwarming. org.

Welcome!

CFM New Members Jon Beetem, Jefferson City Scott Combs, Belleville, IL Donald Demsky, Ballwin Jim Edwards, Cedar Hill Walter Gonzales, Imperial John Hammond, Manchester Don Henderson, Lake Ozark Jim Hoerr, O’Fallon Tim Koehler, Saint Louis Arthur Meister, Saint Louis Jerry Mercurico Sr., Arnold Jerry Mercurico II, Crystal City Paul Passanante, Saint Louis William Truebe, Saint Louis Bernie Urbas, Ballwin Dick vanBenschoten, Kansas City Helen Wells, Saint Charles Brad Wiedlocher, Saint Louis Tony Wolf, Saint Peters Chris Wymer, Saint Louis

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Writing About Science As A Way To Learn hether it’s talking about technology, health issues or conserving our natural resources, we can’t deny that science topics are becoming increasingly part of mainstream conversations.

For this reason, it is important for scientists to connect and communicate with the public.

For most Missourian land owners, this interaction with scientists usually occurs with a university extension officer, who advises and educates landowners on how to be responsible stewards of the environment.

But now, college students are getting a chance early on to perfect this craft of simplifying scientific complexities into practical descriptions through a class that emphasizes written communication skills.

For six years University of MissouriColumbia (MU) soil science students in Dr. Peter Motavalli’s Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition class have sharpened their science skills through writing while gaining experience that could prepare them for the professional world.

One of Motavalli’s class assignments is designed to allow these advanced students to compose an article for an extensionstyle publication on soil nutrient management. The advanced students’ target audience is an introductory soil science class, and once the students complete their articles, those articles are posted on the internet for the introductory soil science students to evaluate and submit comments.

The evaluations from the introductory students are then returned to the individual authors of the articles among the advanced students with the idea that this feedback would help the advanced class improve how they communicate their scientific ideas. The project allows students to learn to write for different audiences.

Usually, students write mainly for their instructor, Motavalli said, and don’t have the chance to broaden their writing skills for different audiences or even with different styles of writing.

“Many in their profession are going to have to write proposals, position papers, technical articles or even write popular pieces for a non-technical audience,” he said. And the assignment is beneficial since most students going through MU’s natural resource programs will join public agencies, or will work in consumer-driven fields that require them to break down their knowledge about environmental and agricultural topics and communicate the practices with a variety of audiences – 6

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P E T E R M O TAVA L L I P H O T O S

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A screen shot of MU soil science students' work about corn and its importance.

MU students in Dr. Peter Motavalli's Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition class create an online extension-style publication.

from students to farmers to other colleagues.

Writing Intensive Background Motavalli’s assignment is a good example of a class that uses the educational approach called Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC). WAC is a movement that started at American universities during the 1980s as a response to improve literacy.

The idea is that writing can be a valuable learning experience that can help students analyze and understand the subject they are studying. It also allows students to develop a very practical skill that will be used to communicate across disciplines or even within their own discipline.

Dr. Marty Patton in MU’s English Department, who spent several years at the MU Campus Writing Center and whose work focuses on writing-in-thediscipline, said that about 30 years ago writing fell by the wayside in college classes, particularly science, which emphasized lab work that accompanied large lectures.

This prompted a trend of requiring writing intensive (WI) courses. MU graduates must take two WI course and one has to be in the student’s chosen discipline area.

“With colleges that have WI classes, the bottom line is that everyone has exposure to writing,” Patton said.“It’s ideal to ask students to go back and forth – to write to learn as you learn to write,” Patton said.

Translating the technical material into simpler terms forces students to understand the material, she said.

Motavalli enlisted Patton’s help to help him set up the soil science class.

“Motavalli is using this principle by engaging students in this discipline,” Patton said.

The Assignment Students in Motavalli’s class were given this assignment: put together an extension publication that provides information on soil fertility management for crops grown in Missouri. The finished publications were posted on a student Web site (see the attached visual) and critiqued by introductory soil science students in Dr. Randy Miles’ introductory soils class.

A survey revealed that most of the introductory soil students were majoring in a variety of disciplines including forestry, plant science, fisheries and wildlife, atmospheric sciences. The introductory students were given the choice of which publications they wanted to critique and then filled out a survey that marked how well informed they felt they were after reading the publication articles from the upper-class students.

For many of the introductory soil science students, this is their first and last course in soil science, Miles said. There is hope that the less experienced students could become enthusiastic enough to stick with the subject. Meanwhile, upper-level students receive feedback from students with less knowledge of the subject so they can better clarify their reports and write for different audiences.

Student Feedback Graduate student Adam Noellsch and his group compiled their extension publication in Motavalli’s class on corn and how nitrogen affects it. His group examined and reported on corn’s role in Missouri agriculture in ethanol production and using corn as cattle feed. Noellsch said he’s interested in working for an extension office and the assignment helped him prepare for the future.

Knowing other students would be rating the publication was also motivation. “It was good incentive to make a good paper,” Noellsch said.

Student Maria Bellrose said she learned that extension articles can be beneficial in many ways – whether you are researching for a paper, or for your backyard garden. Bellrose said that feedback from other students was helpful, but she wasn’t positive that the students took the evaluation process as seriously as they could have.

That is one of Motavalli’s concerns with the critiquing process. Another obstacle is the limited time of the fourmonth semester. Motavalli said he wishes there was a way to edit and return comments sooner to student authors.

There’s also student copyright protection laws that allows students to opt out of publishing their work on Web sites or share their assignments with anyone besides their teachers. But generally, Miles and Motavalli said that the assignment’s downsides outweighed the positive learning experience.

Looking Ahead Miles rated the experience as good for his introductory soil science students.

“Students thought it was by and large a good way to extend themselves,” he said.

“The experience “might serve as a springboard for those who want to do the same thing in their own way.”

Motavalli’s class has filled a void to have students interact with each other to keep learning momentum going, Miles said. The class also simulates extensionstyle work. “An extension role is to tailor technical information dissemination in an agency with a very distinct niche,” Miles said. The assignment simulated this dissemination well, he said.

Motavalli said he would eventually like to involve international students and other student groups within and outside the university as the target audience to provide different perspectives, but language barriers and timing differences are some of the challenges. Despite these challenges and the growing use of different communication technologies, the ability to write effectively is still an important job skill for the scientific professions.

“My hope is that this new teaching techniques will break the mold of solely writing for the instructor, and expand the classroom horizon to motivate students to write more effectively”, Motavalli said.

“The boundaries of the classroom and the people who participate in the course can be limitless, especially with use of the Internet.”

Traci Angel

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Beautiful CFM Notecards For Sale!

A unique partnership between CFM and Jim Rathert has begun. You can buy fantastic images of Missouri wildlife, caught in the act of living, by renowned photographer Jim Rathert.

Best of all, each of these vivid slices of Missouri wildlife will greatly benefit CFM. The cards are sold only in high-quality sets of 12. There are 3 copies of each of the 4 images in every set (whitetail buck, greater prairie chicken, belted kingfisher, eastern bluebird). Each card is 5 x 7 with a full color photo on the front, a nature note by Jim with our CFM logo, mission statement and contact information on the back and plenty of space for your message on the inside. High quality, matched envelopes accompany each card.

Please order your cards today! We are certain you will enjoy sending them as much as your friends will enjoy receiving them. A dozen cards are yours for only $19. If you order 3 or more sets, you pay only $16 per set. Prices include shipping and handling. To buy cards, use the form below, call (800) 5752322 or go to www.confedmo.org. Mail your payment to 728 West Main Street, Jefferson City, MO 65101.

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SCHOOL OF NATURAL RESOURCES

For this issue, I have turned over my space to a good colleague and friend, Mr. Bill Allen, assistant professor and coordinator of our College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources’ Agriculture Journalism program. I first met Bill when he was on the “conservation beat” for the St. Louis Post Dispatch. A colleague and I brought him to MU to help us in a course on “Environmental Research for Journalists.” Since Bill has joined the faculty in our College, we have continued to look for ways to collaborate.

We’ll be teaching an “Environmental Literature” course (with colleague Janice Faaborg) next year. We are also working together to find new opportunities to enhance the quality of media coverage of conservation issues—a critical need for an informed citizenry. But, I will let Bill tell that story…

Mark R. Ryan Director, The School of Natural Resources

n the fall of 1989, geologist Jim Vandike of the Department of Natural Resources sprinkled blood-red powder on Fourmile Creek in south-central Missouri. As water striders darted across the surface, the powder turned into milky green streaks in the creek. Vandike explained that the harmless dye streaks would find their way into cracks in the stream bed and then move down through the ground for miles. It was part of a study to find where the water flowed.

In the fall of 1992, biologist Rochelle Renken of the Department of Conservation held up a wriggling hog-

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BILL ALLEN PHOTOS

The Need for More and Bette

Jamie Ebbesmeyer, far right, and Lisa Potter, behind him in green shirt, explain quail habitat restoration to University of Missouri-Columbia students on a Monroe County farm in September as part of the first MU Field Reporting Institute. Ebbesmeyer is a private land conservationist with the Missouri Department of Conservation and Potter is a biologist with Quail Unlimited.

nose snake captured beneath forest floor leaf litter near Ellington. Renken explained how amazed she was by the sheer number of snakes, lizards, frogs, toads, salamanders and turtles that she and other biologists found that year in a survey for the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project.

Vandike was teaching me about the vast underground water networks in the Ozarks for a story I was doing for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about Missouri’s water resources. Renken was teaching me about the biological diversity of the state’s forests for a story on forestry practices.

In my 13 years with the Post-Dispatch, and during other writing jobs before and since, I’ve had the great fortune of learning about the planet’s

natural resources from Vandike, Renken and scores of other experts with government agencies, universities and nongovernmental organizations.

That education has helped me write better, more accurate, more meaningful stories about the environment and its complexities. Those stories, in some measure, helped shape the views of my fellow citizens. ow, as a teacher at the University of Missouri, I worry about the future of public understanding of our state’s precious environment and natural resources— and about the ability of the next generation of journalists to explain the many complex and crucial issues involved in maintaining them.

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That’s why we are attempting to broaden and strengthen MU’s capacity to train that next generation. Call it what you will—conservation journalism, environmental journalism, natural resources journalism—it is a branch of science journalism that focuses on the life sciences, politics, economics and social dimensions of land, water, air and biota … and the ecological connections that bind them. And it needs the support of many stakeholders.

From urban sprawl to river management to feral hogs, dramatic developments in conservation and natural resources are increasingly confronting a largely scientifically illiterate (if not science-phobic) U.S. citizenry. The ability of voters and consumers to

tter Conservation Journalism

Darren Berry, seated on steps, chief water plant operator for Vandalia, MO, explains the importance of working with farmers to keep herbicide levels low in the watershed.

Steve Hoepf, resource assistant at the Ted Shanks Conservation Area along the Mississippi River, gives MU students and faculty an overview of issues faced by the area’s managers.

MU Ag Journalism and Journalism students who attended the Field Reporting Institute pose inside on a rainy day at the National Great Rivers Museum at the Melvin Price Locks and Dam, in Alton, Illinois. From right they are Rebecca Townsend, Rachel Moten, Marilyn Simcoe, Sara Muri, Catherine Wolf, Christine Tew and Zack Ruesler.

Lisa Potter, left, a biologist with Quail Unlimited, prepares to describe quail habitat restoration to MU students, from left, Rebecca Townsend, Rachel Moten, Catherine Wolf, Marilyn Simcoe, Sara Muri, Christine Tew and Zack Ruesler.

make informed decisions about these issues is severely constrained by a lack of plentiful, quality lay-oriented journalism, a key challenge for our democratic society.

Many reasons for this predicament exist. One partial remedy is to educate and train more and better public service journalists and communicators on

these issues—people who will help inform the public with thorough, unbiased, understandable reports. By helping to prepare young journalists and other communicators to take part in that effort, MU can make a significant contribution to a better society.

A major contributor to that effort is the Agricultural Journalism Pro-

gram, which combines the full experience of our world-renowned College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and our School of Journalism. In the program, our students get the background they need to pursue a career that combines journalism with special knowledge in the life sciences, conservation, natural resources, biotechnology, agriculture, the environment and the food system. Our graduates are uniquely equipped to report on these topics for magazines, newspapers, radio and TV stations and on the Web. They also can apply their communications skills as public relations, advertising and marketing professionals.

We are attempting to deepen that training in several ways. First, we are beginning to teach the intricacies of covering topics beyond traditional production agriculture. Second, we are encouraging our students to seek internships in conservation, environ-

ment and natural resources communication. Third, we are helping them experience such opportunities as workshops of the Missouri Outdoor Communicators, meetings of the Society of Environmental Journalists and special trips to places such as the Platte River Valley to learn about the migration of Sandhill cranes.

Fourth—and perhaps most important — we are launching new expedition-style courses to get our students out into the field to learn first-hand about the issues they will cover. For example, this past fall, we offered a course centered around the first MU Field Reporting Institute, an intensive three-day journey across the state examining the environmental, political, economic and human dimensions of corn agriculture. Next fall we plan a similar journey exploring Missouri River issues. issouri’s history of publicly supported, intelligent conservation and natural resource management is remarkable and wellknown around the nation. Our environment has long benefited from the foresight of leaders and citizens to allocate financial resources to conservation.

Our vision at MU, with your help, is to combine the world-class centers of agriculture, natural resources and journalism education and research into the world’s finest program for training future generations of conservation journalists. It would be, in my opinion, one of the best ways to ensure a citizenry knowledgeable about Missouri’s natural legacy and adamant about conserving it.

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Bill Allen Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Agricultural Journalism College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources University of Missouri Columbia

Turn the page for the companion article about the MU Field Reporting Institute

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SCHOOL OF NATURAL RESOURCES

A Laboratory For Better Conservation Journalism The Inaugural MU Field Reporting Institute n a sunny Saturday morning last September in Monroe County, Jamie Ebbesmeyer and Lisa Potter led a small group of journalism students and professors across a former livestock farm whose owner, Donald Simpson, had decided in recent years to cease farming large sections of the land and restore it to habitat for quail and other wildlife.

“When farming stopped it was amazing the amount of seed there was in the soil for native plants,” said Ebbesmeyer, a private land conservationist with the Missouri Department of Conservation based in Paris. Those plants, along with seeds of other natives sowed, have sprung up around the farm to enhance soil conservation, water quality and wildlife habitat, explained Potter, a biologist with Quail Unlimited who works with Ebbesmeyer.

Weeks before in a University of Missouri-Columbia classroom, the students had learned about Conservation Reserve Programs, including those that provide wildlife habitat. Now they were seeing, smelling and touching the results of such programs as part of the first MU Field Reporting Institute.

The Field Reporting Institute, or FRI, was an intense, three-day trip Sept. 1517 that formed the centerpiece of a new course on “Field Reporting in Food and Natural Resources” — Ag Journalism 3201. Funded with seed money from the

O

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College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, the course enabled “expedition-style” learning for Ag Journalism undergraduate students and Journalism graduate students.

We hope to offer similar courses in the future to continue to train the next generation of conservation journalists.

Our aim is to improve the quality of journalistic coverage of conservation, natural resources and the environment in Missouri and around the nation.

The Fall 2006 FRI focused on the farming, transport, politics, economics and environmental impacts of corn.

Over three days, the students traveled to 13 sites from Carrollton, Missouri, to Cahokia Mounds, Illinois.

Students found themselves on the road by 7 a.m. each day, talking with a wide range of experts at farms, labs, watersheds, grain elevators, an ethanol plant, a conservation area, public water

works, locks and dams and other places.

By 9 p.m. they were back at their motels, typing up notes and composing story leads.

This “immersion” experience gave them a taste of the art, science and discipline of professional-level news-gathering with an eye toward publication for a mass, non-science audience.

As we pulled back into Columbia late Sept. 17 (a Sunday night), the students said they were exhausted but strangely energized, changed forever by the intense educational experience. In the following weeks they wrote and revised in-depth stories about the issues they had encountered.

We had achieved the course goals: helping students become better field reporters, interviewers and writers of complex stories about food and natural resources. They also gained a better understanding of the challenges and

complexities of thorough, engaging explanatory journalism.

Our hope for next fall’s FRI is to center on conservation and natural resources issues involving the Missouri River. The aim is for students to experience on-the-ground and on-the-water learning about the science, politics and other aspects of the river system.

Our long-term hope is to establish the FRI as a preeminent training ground for the future generations of journalists who write about agriculture, conservation, the environment and natural resources.

Bill Allen Asst. Prof./Coordinator, Agricultural Journalism Program College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Adjunct Faculty, School of Journalism University of Missouri

Will you join today to help us conserve our natural resources for tomorrow?

Check the member category you prefer:

q $20–Individual

q $15–Student

q $30–Family

q $100–Corporate

Your membership dues include a one-year subscription to Missouri Wildlife, logo sticker, and membership card.

Please mail this application with your membership dues to: Conservation Federation of Missouri 728 West Main Jefferson City, MO 65101-1559 If you have any questions, call us at 1-800-575-2322 or visit us at www.confedmo.com.

Name __________________________________________________________________ Address ________________________________________________________________ City __________________________________State ____________Zip code __________ Work phone: ____________________________Home phone: ______________________ Fax number: ____________________________E-mail address: ____________________ Please make checks payable to the Conservation Federation of Missouri.* Or you may charge your membership dues to your MasterCard, Visa, or Discover.

and by always making sure

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your seatbelt is buckled.

Credit card number ________________________________Expiration date __________

BUCKLE UP

Signature of cardholder ____________________________________________________

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q $1000–Lifetime

UPDATE

CFM Strategic Planning Under Way Committee Shares Main Points And Suggests Vision Statement trategic Planning is really taking the CFM Mission and initiatives, then planning when and how to accomplish them within our means and to the best advantage of the Federation. Howard Fisher and Earl Cannon, Co-chairs of the CFM Strategic Planning Committee, met October 10, 2006 with several members of the CFM Executive Committee and Dave Murphy to explore things pertaining to (1) CFM five years down the road and (2) use of CFM Resource Committees. Following are some of the key points made during the meeting:

the means to donate and contribute, ask for their contribution and explain exactly what the money they might contribute will be used for. Our board members and other CFM members need to commit to doing this.

E. Need to establish a system or method for determining where money donated to the CFM or the Foundation will go and specifically what the money will be used for.

F. Regarding soliciting increased participation in funding or programs, we need to look at population groups and what interests the various age groups.

I. Stable Funding Source A. The size of our reserve fund was discussed with no conclusion as to maximum or minimum amounts.

B. Use of CFM grants should be examined for they get attention from the public and thus could be useful in attracting contributions. We could use some of our reserve funds for this purpose.

C. We need to establish a sound financial base and identify sources for major long-term funding. We need to achieve a situation where we do not have to tap our reserve funds to finance annual operations.

D. Need to better educate ourselves as to how we get money, effective fundraising techniques to use and who to target. We will obtain a list of businesses in Missouri who make or sell sporting goods. We need to find ways to identify and contact people who have

II. Committee and Fund for Unfriendly Legislation

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A. We have a special fund to be used for passing or defeating legislation once the legislation gets on the ballot to be voted on by the public.

B. Inviting legislators to luncheons to help educate them on conservation may be worthwhile.

III. Conservation Leadership Corps (CLC) A. The CLC is progressing well.

Ninety students is considered the maximum number at this time and 30 new students each year is about what we can handle.

B. Need to look for more uses for this group.

C. Suggest “Teaming with Wildlife” program is a match. Getting the students involved in the Teaming with Wildlife Initiative would be very desir-

able because of student’s communications skills in using computers and the Internet.

D. CLC is not getting enough publicity.

IV. Need to Strengthen Missouri Department of Conservation A. Need more publicity of a positive nature. (General agreement that neither MDC nor CFM publicizes successes well enough.)

1. Suggest we talk with director of MDC about getting articles from CFM sent to MDC staff. Need to also get these articles placed in newspapers.

2. We need to better publicize our role in major achievements and successes such as the Katy Trail, Share the Harvest and other major achievements.

3. Need to feed newspapers and other news media with positive articles and news releases.

V. Resource Committees A. We need to get the CFM resource committees meeting more often than once per year.

B. We think it possible to invite some Resource Committees to quarterly meetings. These meetings could be held at same time and place of the quarterly board meetings.

C. Perhaps the resource committees could become involved in several of the actions involved in implementing the CFM Strategic Plan and/or with several items contained in the recent MDC strategic plan titled “The Next Generation of Conservation.”

VI. Mission Statement A. Needs work—Should be reviewed at intervals.

B. The current Mission Statement is much improved from the very lengthy one we had several years ago.

VII. Vision Statement A summary of the key points discussed could serve as the Vision for the CFM in its strategic planning process. A Vision statement applying to the next five years might be the following: “We visualize an organization consisting of (1) Lots of participation by citizens in programs and issues pertaining to conservation and CFM, (2) Increased awareness of conservation and CFM by all citizens through enhanced education and communications efforts, (3) CFM programs moving in a direction to increase resources to achieve what needs to be done, (4) CFM operating from a position of strength, (5) Continuing support by legislators through improved communication from constituents and news media on conservation issues, and (6) CFM annual income equaling or exceeding annual operating expenses.”

Next steps pertaining to our strategic plan will be (1) measuring the results achieved this past year by the actions implemented in the CFM Strategic Plan and (2) communicating the results to the membership at the next annual convention and in Missouri Wildlife.

Howard Fisher and Earl Cannon

Applications Now Being Accepted For The Charles P. Bell Conservation Scholarship The Conservation Foundation of Missouri Charitable Trust and the Conservation Federation of Missouri are pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for the 2007 Charles Bell Conservation Scholarships.

In the 2007 Bell Scholarship Program, eight scholarships will be awarded: one graduate ($600), one undergraduate ($500) and six for elementary, high school or youth groups ($250 each). In this latter category, CFM members who work with

Boy Scouts, 4-H, environmental clubs or youth chapters of their affiliate are eligible and encouraged to apply.

Graduate applicants must be enrolled in a field of study related to conservation, natural science or earth resources at an accredited college or university. Undergraduate applicants must have 60 credit hours or more and should have enrolled in an area related to conservation. Preference in all cases will be given to applicants enrolled in Missouri schools. The deadline

for applications is January 15, 2007.

These scholarships are named in memory of CFM past president Charles P. Bell, whose family provided major funding for this program.

For an application form write to: Conservation Federation of Missouri Bell Scholarships 728 West Main Street Jefferson City, MO 65101 or call (573) 634-2322 or (800) 575-2322

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Conservation Federation of Missouri 2007 Resource Committee Meetings

The Lodge of Four Seasons

Saturday, March 17

Plenary Session 8:00 - 8:45

Natural Resource Committee Meetings 9:00 - 10:30

Natural Resource Committee Meetings 11:00 - 12:30

Camping, Hiking, Trails & Water Sports

Archery

Chair: “Scoop” Peery

Chair: Jack Davis

Vice Chair: Linda Hanley

Conservation Education & Youth Activities

Ecology & Environment

Chair: Diana Mulick

Chair: Gary Baclesse

Vice Chair: Al Vogt

Vice Chair: Mike McDonald

Vice Chair: Duane Kelly

Deer, Wild Turkey & Ruffed Grouse

Fisheries & Water Resources

Chair: Eldo Meyer

Chair: Jim Noah

Vice Chair: Mark Stuppy

Forestry

Natural History & Wildlands

Chair: John Knudsen

Chair: Herman Hanley

Rivers & Streams

Parks

Chair: Burt Stewart

Vice Chair: Mark Van Patten

Vice Chair: Bruce Schuette

Vice Chair: Orlin Browning

Small Game & Furbearers

Waterfowl & Wetlands Chair: Bill Hilgeman

Chair: Ron Coleman

Vice Chair: Jim Rogers

Vice Chair: Bill Truebe

Chair: Rick Merritt

Vice Chair: Robert Wilson

Sportsmen’s Rights, Firearms & Hunter Safety Chair: Marvin Behnke

Vice Chair: John Hart

* Please call the Conservation Federation of Missouri at (800) 575-2322 if you have any questions concerning the committee meetings.

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Come Home To Conservation 71st CFM Annual Conference - REGISTER NOW! CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS Annual Conservation Awards Ceremony Hear Natural Resource Committee Reports Teaming With Wildlife Rally

Policy Discussions Meet Conservation & Natural Resource Leaders Banquet Auction

CONFERENCE-AT-A-GLANCE FRIDAY, NARCH 16

SATURDAY, MARCH 17

SUNDAY, MARCH 18

1:00 - 7:00 pm Registration Open

12:30 - 1:30 pm Lunch break (on your own)

7:30 - 8:30 am Breakfast (on your own)

3:00 - 5:00 pm Board Meeting

1:30 - 2:30 pm Resolutions Committee Meeting

8:30 am

Resolutions General Session

3:00 - 7:00 pm Exhibits Open

1:30 - 2:30 pm Teaming With Wildlife Rally Operation Game Thief Committee 2:30 - 3:30 pm Meeting Missouri Outdoors Communication 2:30 - 4:00 pm Meeting Annual Business Meeting of 4:00 - 5:00 pm Delegates

12:00 pm

Adjourn

5:00 - 7:30 pm Dinner Break (on your own) Annual Conservation Awards 7:30 - 9:00 pm Ceremony

SATURDAY, MARCH 17 7:00 - 8:00 am Breakfast (on your own)

5:30 - 7:00 pm Social Hour & Silent Auction

8:00 - 8:45 am Plenary Session

7:00 - 8:00 pm Banquet

9:00 - 12:30 pm Resource Committee Meetings

8:30 pm

Live Auction

Subject to change

Mail Registration To: CFM 728 West Main Street Jefferson City, MO 65101

10:00 - 5:00 pm Exhibits Open

REGISTRATION FORM (clip & mail) (#1) Member Pkg - All sessions, Awards Ceremony, Access to exhibits/silent auction. (#2) One-day Member Pkg - All Daily Sessions, Access to exhibits/silent auction. (#3) Non Member Pkg - All sessions, Awards Ceremony, Access to exhibits/silent auction, Oneyear CFM Membership. (#4) Non Member One-Day Pkg All Daily Sessions, Access to exhibits/silent auction, and One-year CFM Membership.

Name:

ACCOMMODATIONS Lodging arrangements must be made directly with the Lodge of Four Seasons (573) 365-3000 or (800) 843-5253.

Room rates are $70/night for single or double occupancy while room block lasts.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON FAMILY PROGRAMS

2007 Awards Ceremony is sponsored by Bass Pro Shops

________________________________________

Address:

______________________________________

______________________________________________ Telephone:

____________________________________

Credit Card #: __________________________________ Expiration Date: ________________________________ Signature: ______________________________________

Registration Packages

Pre-Registration (by February 11)

Registration Fee

(#1) Member

$20.00/person

$

(#2) One-day Member

$10.00/person

$

(#3) Non Member

$40.00/person

$

(#4) One-day Non Member

$30.00/person

$

Banquet

$40.00/person

$

Total Registration:

$

Special Needs (i.e. access, dietary): ________________ ______________________________________________

Dear Friends, I married Denny on July 17, 2006. I have known Denny for over 30 years. I never thought I would be married to him.We were together 7 months, married 7 weeks when he passed away. He introduced me to turkey hunting in March and was helping me to dove hunt. I have deer hunted before. He has helped so many young men in hunting and fishing, including my son James, who has worked at Denny’s store since he was 16 years old. He taught Jim how to trap also. He was such a wonderful man and I miss him terribly. I’m going deer hunting next week in memory of Denny and I hope to make him proud of me.

Thank you very much for the Denny Dennis Memorial.

Sincerely, Janet Dennis

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REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE

What Should You Do With The Tree After Christmas?

Missouri Department Of Natural Resources Offers Advice ith the holiday season approaching, many people in Missouri are looking forward to time spent with family, friends and good food. Part of the festivities may include a live Christmas tree, beautifully trimmed and with presents stuffed underneath, But what happens when the holidays are over? The tree has to go somewhere, and they are banned from going to landfills in Missouri. However, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has a few suggestions on what you can do with your Christmas tree.

One of the most popular options for managing old trees is to chip them for mulch or as an additive to a compost pile.

Mulch reduces weeds, helps to regulate soil temperature, and increases moisture retention. Many cities and towns offer treechipping services after the holidays, so check with your local Public Works or Sanitation Department to find out.

A unique way to deal with your tree would be to turn it into a fish habitat in your private lake or fishing pond. Once submerged, a Christmas tree provides a

W

Old Christmas trees make great mulch for the garden or form the basis for a fish habitat.

habitat for water insects, which attract smaller fish, which in turn attract larger fish. To make your tree into a fish habitat, secure a cement block to the stump end of the tree with quarter-inch nylon rope. Ideally, the top of the tree will be four to six feet below the surface.

If you do not have access to your own lake or pond, you may wish to contact both

private and public owners of lakes and ponds to see if they would be interested in creating a fish habitat. However, it should be noted that some such projects may require a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers, so check with the owner.

Another option would be to create a brush pile. Brush piles can be a home for small forest animals. In rural areas, the

ideal place for a brush pile would be near the border of an open field. In suburban areas, the undeveloped portions of backyards also make good locations for a brush pile. However, your town may have local ordinances regarding such projects, so check before beginning.

To construct a brush pile, begin with a large base such as big rocks, logs or stumps.

Stack the trees in a rectangular shape to height of about six feet. Obviously, this will require more than one tree, so try to work with friends and community members on building your brush pile, Some general things to remember about reusing your tree: • Remove all of the trimmings – most are reusable and could contaminate the environment or harm wildlife.

• Do not burn you tree indoors if it is still green – the resins could cause a flue fire.

• Flocking/artificial snow may be toxic and require special handling.

Through proper management, a reused Christmas tree may be a gift that keeps giving to the environment for years to come.

Bison Meat America’s Original Red Meat.

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POWoods Box 133 4509 Road Gray Summit, MO 63072 63039 Robertsville, e-mail: hmeier@onemain.com Visit our website: www.missouribowhunters.org SOUTH COUNTY ARCHERS IS PROUD TO SUPPORT CFM & MBH

Salem

(800) 827-3403 www.meramecbison.com

CONSERVATION FEDERATION OF MISSOURI AFFILIATES Anglers of Missouri Archery Big Bucks of Missouri Big Game Hunters Bridlespur Hunt Club Capital City Fly Fishers Central Missouri Chapter Safari Club Coldwater Outing & Game Preserve Festus/Crystal City Conservation Club Franklin County Wildlife Club Friends of Rockbridge Memorial State Park Greenway Network Heaven’s Anglers Jefferson County Coonhunters Kansas City Chapter Safari Club Kansas City Woodcarvers Lambert Field Rod & Gun Club Mark Twain Area Quail Unlimited

Mid Missouri Trout Unlimited Midwest Diving Council Mississippi Valley Duck Hunters Mississippi Valley Gun Club Missouri Association of Meat Processors Missouri Bass Federation Missouri Bow Hunters Missouri Conservation Agents Association Missouri Consulting Foresters Association Missouri Department of Agriculture Missouri Ducks Unlimited State Council Missouri Forest Products Association Missouri Parks & Recreation Association Missouri Parks Association Missouri Prairie Foundation Missouri Smallmouth Alliance Missouri Sport Shooting Association

Missouri State Campers Association Missouri State Council Quail Unlimited Missouri Taxidermist Association Missouri Trappers Association Missouri Trout Fisherman’s Association Missouri Waterfowl Association Missouri Whitetails Unlimited Missouri Wild Turkey Federation Missourians Outdoors MO Chapter American Fisheries Society MO Chapter Soil & Water Conservation MO Hunter Education Instructor’s Association MO State University Student Chapter of the Wildlife Society Monett Sportsman League Northeast Missouri Coonhunters Northside Conservation Federation

Open Space Council Owensville HS Hunting & Fishing Club Ozark Fly Fishers Ozark Mountain Paddlers Ozark Wilderness Waterways Perry County Sportsman Club Pomme De Terre Chapter Muskies River Relief, Inc. Saint James Civic Club Show-Me Clean Streams South Side Division Southwest Missouri Fly Fishers Tipton Farmers & Sportsman Club United Bow Hunters of Missouri Wecomo Sportsman Club Wild Elk Institute of Missouri Windsor Lake Rod & Gun Club

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CALENDAR MISSOURI FESTIVALS AND AFFILIATE EVENTS

AFFILIATE EVENTS KANSAS CITY SAFARI CLUB INTERNATIONAL FEB 16-17: 27th Annual Benefit Banquet and Auction, Overland Park Convention Center, Overland Park; Bob Bazin (913) 709-3101 MISSOURI BASS FEDERATION JAN 11-13: National Championship, Harris Chain of Lakes, Leesburg, FL JAN 21: Directors Meeting, Boone Tavern, Columbia (9:00am-12:00pm) FEB 23-26: Bassmaster Classic, Lake Toho, Kissimmee, FL MISSOURI DUCKS UNLIMITED JAN 20: Cape County Texas Holdem Tournament; Dave Parker (573) 382-3894 JAN 27: Texas County Inaugural Dinner, Golden Hill, Raymondville; Jason Henley (417) 372-0092 JAN 27: Lexington Dinner, Adkins Auction Center; Scott Anderson (660) 259-3618 FEB 3: Saint Louis Redlegs Chapter – 6th Annual Fun Night, VFW Hall, Saint Ann; Trudy Brandt (314) 368-7470 FEB 10: Poplar Bluff Dinner; Bill Paxton (573) 429-5193 FEB 17: Perryville Dinner, American Legion Hall; David Leadbetter (573) 824-9974 FEB 17: Blackwater – Warrensburg, Johnson County Fairgrounds; Dave Hakes (660) 747-6931 MISSOURI NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION FUNDRAISING BANQUETS JAN 13: Crowleys Ridge Limbhangers, Elks Lodge, Dexter; Dan Crippen (573) 6144717 JAN 13: Grindstone Gobblers, Lake Viking Club House, Gallatin; Alan Bradford (660) 663-3502 JAN 13: Ray County Shortspurs, Ray County Veterans Memorial Building, Richmond; Roger Cole (816) 805-8568 JAN 19: Bayou Strutters, Top of the Town, East Prairie; Tim Kavan (573) 823-6366 JAN 20: Brickyard Hill Drummers, Atchison

If there are any errors in your name and address, if you’ve moved from this address, or if you plan to move, please notify us at Missouri Wildlife, 728 W. Main, Jefferson City, MO 65101 or call (800) 575-2322.

County Memorial Building, Rock Port; Charles Bolin (660) 736-4789 JAN 20: Current River Callers, Winona High School Gym, Winona; William Smith (573) 323-4379 JAN 20: Lincoln Hills, Lincoln County Fairgrounds, Troy; R. Jay Herring (573) 8985420 JAN 20: Union Covered Bridge Gobblers, American Legion Hall, Paris; Bruce Mills (573) 685-2374 JAN 25: Mid-State, Stoney Creek Inn, Columbia; Mark McGrath (573) 474-7121 JAN 26: Sand Burr Strutters, Eagles Club, Sikeston; Tony Beeson (573) 380-5433 JAN 26: Southern Ozark Longbeards, National Guard Armory, Doniphan; Alan Slayton (573) 857-2119 JAN 27: Benton County Thunderin’ Gobblers, Knights of Columbus, Warsaw; Josh Young (660) 547-2535 JAN 27: Delta Bootheel Gobblers, Eagles Club, Kennett; Lynn Smith (573) 8880054 JAN 27: Locust Creek Longbeards, American Legion Hall, Milan; Jeff Butler (660) 445-2292 JAN 27: Tick Ridge, Macon County Expo Center, Macon; Jamie Barton (660) 3959541 FEB 2: Lost Creek Longbeards, Innsbrook Resort, Wright City; Gary Janes (636) 2908310 FEB 3: Chariton River Full Strutters, Knights of Columbus Hall, Salisbury; George Schupback (660) 288-3168 FEB 3: Clearwater Longbeards, Patterson Community Center, Patterson; Jason Jensen (573) 223-4525 FEB 3: Cooper County Limbhangers, Knights of Columbus Hall, Boonville; Sabe Caton (660) 882-5705 FEB 3: Gateway Long Spurs, Knights of Columbus Hall, Saint Paul; William Bryan (636) 281-0296 FEB 3: Rogersville Strutters, Rogersville Middle School, Rogersville; Steve Tomlins

(417) 753-3081 FEB 8: Shaky Ground Gobblers, Sharps Banquet Hall, New Madrid; Bud Henry (573) 748-5999 FEB 9: Spring Creek Toms, Carthage Memorial Hall, Carthage; Kevin Dougless (417) 793-1210 FEB 9: Tabo Creek Thunderin Toms, American Legion Hall, Higginsville; Mark Lamphier (660) 584-6397 FEB 10: Bootheel Boss Gobblers, Baverian Halle, Jackson; Bronson Senn (573) 2432470 FEB 10: Dent County Thundering Toms, Salem City Hall, Salem; Cheryl Smith (573) 729-7083 FEB 10: Grand River Gobblers, American Legion Hall, Bethany; Ronnie Graham (660) 425-8126 FEB 10: Indian Creek Chapter, Newton County Fairgrounds, Neosho; Danny Bailey (417) 529-9666 FEB 10: Truman Lake Chapter, Benson Convention Center, Clinton; Danny Bailey (660) 477-3566 FEB 16: Kingdom of Callaway Limbhangers, Saint Peters Catholic Church, Fulton; John Burk (573) 592-7865 FEB 16: Meramec Valley Strutters, Eagles Club, Sullivan; Jeffrey Dierking (573) 8604614 FEB 16: Ozark County Hootin and Gobblin, Rockbridge Lodge, Rockbridge; John Phillips (870) 926-3619 FEB 17: Black Mountain Longbeards, Fredericktown Middle School, Fredericktown; Russ Parker (573) 783-6876 FEB 17: South Grand River, Lions Community Building, Peculiar; Mark Graber (816) 318-9616 FEB 17: Young’s Creek Strutters, Holy Spirit Multi Purpose Building, Centralia; Eddie Schultz (573) 682-1900 FEB 28: Little Platte Long Beards, Lathrop Community Center, Lathrop; Eric Dennis (816) 539-3558 CALLING CONTESTS FEB 10: Mid-America Open Wild Turkey Calling Championship, Saint Louis Boat and Sports Show, America’s Center – Edward Jones Dome; Steve Stoltz (314) 846-3435 WHEELIN’ SPORTSMEN BENEFITS JAN 6: Wheelin Sportsmen Show-Me

Awards, Lake Ozark; Bernard Grice (573) 445-6967 WOMEN IN THE OUTDOORS EVENTS FEB 10: Frye’s Pheasant Inc. Women Only Hunt, Blairstown; Deanna Thomas (660) 885-9095 MISSOURI PARKS ASSOCIATION JAN 2: Eagle Viewing, Roaring River State Park; (417) 847-3742 JAN 3-FEB 24: “Unlike Us” Exhibit, Jefferson Landing State Historic Site – Missouri State Museum, Elizabeth Rozier Gallery JAN 6: River Cave Tours, Ha Ha Tonka State Park MISSOURI PARKS & RECREATION ASSOCIATION JAN 17: Lyle B. Beaver Leadership Development Institute (1:00pm); (573) 636-3828 JAN 18: Lyle B. Beaver Leadership Development Institute (1:00pm); (573) 6363828 JAN 19: Lyle B. Beaver Leadership Development Institute (1:00pm); (573) 636-3828 JAN 23: Legislative Action Day; (573) 6363828 FEB 9: Planning Committee; Dave Ostlund (573) 636-3828 MISSOURI SMALLMOUTH ALLIANCE JAN 17: Regular Membership Meeting; Norman Leppo (314) 647-1616 FEB 21: Regular Membership Meeting; Norman Leppo (314) 647-1616 MISSOURI WHITETAILS UNLIMITED FEB 3: Central Missouri Chapter Banquet, Chillicothe Elks Lodge, Chillicothe OZARK FLY FISHERS JAN 1: 2007 Membership Dues Deadline JAN 27: Annual Banquet, Crowne Hotel, Clayton FEB 10: All Day Meeting OZARK MOUNTAIN PADDLERS JAN 11: Monthly Meeting Springfield Nature Center (7:00pm) FEB 8: Monthly Meeting, Springfield Nature Center (7:00pm) FEB 19: Outdoor Gear Swap Meet

CFM EVENTS JAN 6: CFM Board Meeting, Bass Pro Shops, Columbia; (800) 575-2322 MAR 16-18, 2007: CFM Annual Convention, Lodge of Four Seasons, Lake Ozark (800) 575-2322

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