Vol76 no1 2015

January 2015 VOL. 76, NO. 1

Executive Director

Conservation Federation Prepares to Defend MDC Funding

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efore the 2015 Missouri Legislative Session could even begin, bills were pre-filed to repeal the conservation sales tax and to eliminate fees for fishing, hunting and trapping permits. If this incredulous proposed legislation were to become law, conservation as we know it in Missouri would cease to

exist.

Representative Craig Redmon (4th District) introduced House Joint Resolution 8. It calls for a complete repeal of the conservation sales tax through a ballot measure. This means, “That at the next general election to be held in the state of Missouri, on Tuesday next following the first Monday in November, 2016, or at a special election to be called by the governor for that purpose, the next time there is a general election held in the state of Missouri,” voters will decide whether to sustain or repeal the conservation sales tax.

First of all, it is vitally important to understand what the conservation sales tax is. In Missouri, our general state sales and use tax is 4.225 percent, which is distributed into four funds to finance portions of state government.

Those are: general revenue (3.0 percent), education (1.0 percent), conservation (0.125 percent), and parks, soils and water (0.1 percent).

So when you spend $8 on taxable goods, one penny of the sales tax collected goes to conservation (8.0 x .00125 = .01). Over the course of MDC’s fiscal year 2014, those pennies added up to $107,076,440. The sales tax revenue makes up 59 percent of MDC’s funding. It provides woodlands filled with wildlife, waters teeming with fish, public shooting ranges, hiking trails, rural fire protection, native species restoration, education centers, seedlings, Missouri Conservationist and Xplor magazines, and so much more.

Without the conservation sales tax, we would lose all of this.

Most of the rest of MDC’s funding comes from permit sales and federal reimbursements. Those funding sources are also under threat of elimination.

Senator Brian Munzlinger (18th District) introduced Senate Bill 56. It reads, “The department of conservation and its permit issuing agents shall not charge a permit fee for the acquisition of a hunting, fishing, or trapping permit for a Missouri resident.”

Eliminating fees for hunting, fishing and trapping permits would strip another $40,000,000 from the Depart-

ment’s funding. MDC would not only lose the permit fees, but also associated federal reimbursements.

The Department of Conservation’s budget represents less than one percent of the entire state budget, and the Department receives no state general revenue. If HJR 8 and SB 56 were to pass, the Department would be left with basically nothing to fund the programs, places and pastimes you and your family cherish.

Here are just a few examples of losses Missouri citizens will endure if these bills pass: • Closure of Department shooting ranges • Closure of Department Nature Centers • Elimination of partnerships with rural fire departments • Closure of fish hatcheries • Elimination of public and private fish stockings • Closure of Department maintained boat accesses • Significant reduction in habitat work on conservation areas • Significant reduction in resource enforcement by conservation agents • Most fish and wildlife research projects and monitoring will end • Significant reduction in efforts to control invasive species • Limited support for the Share the Harvest Program Why attack our Department of Conservation? The Department is the catalyst of recreation for millions of Missourians. And hunting, fishing, trapping, outdoor recreation and forest management supports 100,000 Missouri jobs and has an economic impact of over $12 billion dollars. Conservation works in Missouri. It is one of our most powerful economic engines in the state.

Missourians cannot stand idly by and let these catastrophic losses occur. These blatant attacks on our Department of Conservation must end. It is going to take a significant amount of citizen involvement. The Conservation Federation of Missouri, along with our over 80 affiliated organizations and our strong business alliance, will work tirelessly in defense of the greatest state conservation agency operating in America today.

If you haven’t done so already, please join us. We need you. Missouri needs you.

Brandon Butler Executive Director, CFM MIS S OURI

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MISSOURI

Wildlife January 2015 Vol. 76, No. 1

Contents 6 CFM 2015 Annual Convention 11 Applications Still Being Accepted for Charles P. Bell Conservation Scholarship

Officers President Al Vogt 1st Vice President Ron Coleman Gary Van De Velde 2nd Vice President Secretary Nicole Wood Treasurer Randy Washburn

Staff

12 Sharing a Lure Legacy

Brandon Butler

22 A Letter From the National Wildlife Federation CEO about the Federal Duck Stamp Act

Rehan Nana Emma Kessinger

Communications Specialist

Micaela Haymaker

Office Manager Membership Director/ Managing Editor Creative Director

24 Lance Ramsey Built His Company Around A Passion for Duck Hunting 25 Stream Teams Making a Splash State-wide

Executive Director/ Editor Deputy Director

Laurie Coleman

30 Backyard Biodegradation 32 Life After CLC - Where Are You Now? Mark Corio

Joe Pendergrass

34 Why I Became a Life Member of CFM

Mission Statement: Missourians for Conservation of Natural Resources and Protection of Our Outdoor Heritage.

news, updates and columns 3 From The Stone House 5 President’s Message Agency News – Missouri Department of Conservation 20

November Deer Harvest Up From Last Year

21

MDC Habitat Calendar Has 12 Months of Management Tips

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Conservation Commission Approves Firearms Deer, Turkey Season Dates

Department of Natural Resources – 28

The Journey of Natural Resources Protection

29

Spotlight on Missouri State Parks — Hawn State Park

Member Information: 8 14 26

Business Alliance Members Calendar CFM Affiliates

11 15 33

New Members Honorariums & Memorials Member Memories

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 Email • lcoleman@confedmo.org Online • www.confedmo.org

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MISSOURI WILDLIFE (USPS 012868) is published bi­ monthly in January, March, May, July, Sept­ember and November for subscribers and members of the Con­ ser­ vation Federation of Missouri, 728 W. Main, Jef­ ferson City, MO 65101-1559. Of each member’s dues ($25 minimum) $10.00 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 Front Cover: FIRST SNOW; North American river otter pups. Credit: Glenn Chambers © Glenn D. Chambers 2015 www.glenndchambers.com

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president’s message

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Follow the Leader Outdoors

FM is challenged to address a deficiency of generational diversity in conservation. In a recent survey we learned that only 8 percent of CFM’s membership is under 30 years old. While we are confident this 8 percent will become conservation leaders of tomorrow - like you - a sustained, increased participation of next generations in conservation is essential.

Why has this situation developed? What is CFM doing about it?

Richard Louv in “Last Child in the Woods”, (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill 2008) offers that today’s youth are engaging less in traditional experiences with nature. CFM strives to address this deficiency by engaging youth in activities that will imprint a love and appreciation for the outdoors and conservation into their developing hearts and minds. Personal experiences tell us once the conservation spirit has been infused in youth, they remain imprinted with an interest and concern for the environment as adults, in whatever careers they pursue like you.

CFM participates in a variety of programs designed to stimulate lifelong conservation connections within today’s youth. One example is the Conservation Leadership Corps (CLC), a multi-year program that provides high school and college students with hands-on experiences in developing fact-based resolutions to address conservation issues.

CLC strengthens confidence, networking awareness and personal skills, including teamwork, needed to develop into conservation leaders of tomorrow - like you.

CLC students also gain valuable experiences as they work with conservation professionals to develop and conduct service projects. The Prairie Fork Conservation Area near Williamsburg, Missouri has become an important location for CLC student conservation projects.

CLC student-oriented programs give participants outof-classroom conservation experiences to lead them into becoming active conservationists - like you.

CFM supports the National Archery in Schools Program (NASP) which was created to boost student involvement in outdoor activities in a school setting. The structured experiences through NASP improve student motivation, character and attention in classrooms as they develop their conservation interests - like you.

CFM interacts with numerous conservation projects that engage youth. Some of those include: Stream Teams, fishing in high schools, 5K run for conservation, tree planting, sport clay shooting, preparing nature trails, and helping educate younger kids - like you.

Descriptions of CFM involvement in youth conservation programs are available on CFM’s web-site at www.confedmo.org.

Conservation needs you to help inspire future conservationists. Try this. It will be enjoyable. Remember Louv’s observation - take some kids outside. Let them experience some of your favorite first personal childhood outdoor experiences like hooking your first scrappy bluegill, seeing a first morel or the excitement of flushing your first covey of quail. Enjoy describing to us what you shared with the kids and how they reacted. Send your notes to ekessinger@confedmo.org for us to relay to others.

Let’s start “Follow the Leader Outdoors” with our youth. I can’t wait to hear from you.

CFM Board Members and Staff Wish Everyone a Splendid New Year in Conservation!

Al Vogt President, CFM

Douglas Tallamy, author of “Bringing Nature Home - How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants,” is a plenary speaker at the Missouri Natural Resources Conference, February 5, 2015, Tan-Tar-A Resort, Osage Beach.

Register for the plenary session only, or more at mnrc.org.

Missouri Wildflowers Nursery

mowldflrs@socket.net www.mowildflowers.net 9814 Pleasant Hill Rd, Jefferson City MO 65109 573-496-3492, fax: 573-496-3003

You need our excellent catalog - by mail or online.

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Conservation Federation of Missouri 2015 Annual Convention

The Conservation Federation of Missouri would like to thank you for your contributions and generous support in 2014. We hope you will make plans to join us March 20-22 at our 79th Annual CFM Convention in Jefferson City at the Capitol Plaza Hotel. We are making preparations now for our biggest and best convention ever. It is the only time each year where we gather to share fellowship, present awards, and craft resolutions to improve the outdoors.

Each year many businesses, affiliates and individuals contribute to our success by underwriting part of our costs for the weekend. We are deeply grateful for this incredible generosity. If you are planning to attend and have any items or ideas for our use in fundraising please get them to us at your earliest convenience. This will allow us time to plan for their effective use.

So, mark your calendar, then bring yourself and a bunch of friends along to share this March weekend with us in Jefferson City!

March 20-22 2015

Resource Committee Meetings

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Come Home To Conservation 79th CFM Annual Convention - REGISTER NOW! Capitol Plaza Hotel ~ Jefferson City, MO

CONVENTION HIGHLIGHTS

Annual Conservation Awards Ceremony Natural Resource Committee Reports Banquet

Meet Conservation & Natural Resource Leaders Affiliates Luncheon Silent & Live Auctions

CONVENTION-AT-A-GLANCE SUNDAY, MARCH 22

SATURDAY, MARCH 21

FRIDAY, MARCH 20 2:00 - 5:00 pm

Registration Open

7:00 - 8:00 am

Breakfast (on your own)

5:00 - 6:30 pm

Dinner Break (on your own)

7:30 - 5:00 pm

Registration Open

6:30 - 7:30 pm

Social Hour

8:00 - 8:45 am

Keynote Session

7:30 - 9:30 pm

Annual Conservation Awards Ceremony

9:00 - 12:30 pm

Resource Committee Meetings

12:30 - 2:00 pm

Lunch Break (on your own)

12:30 - 2:00 pm

Board Members & Affiliate Leaders Luncheon

2:00 - 4:00 pm

Resolution Committee Meeting

5:00 - 6:30 pm

Social & Silent Auction

6:30 - 8:00 pm

Banquet

8:00 - 9:30 pm

Live Auction

7:00 - 8:00 am

Breakfast (on your own)

8:00 - 10:00 am

General Assembly

Immediately Following General Assembly

CFM Board & Business Meeting

Subject to change

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

REGISTRATION FORM (clip & mail) (#1) Member Package - All sessions, Awards Ceremony, Access to exhibits/silent auction. (#2) Non Member Package - All sessions, Awards Ceremony, Access to exhibits/silent auction, One year CFM Membership.

ACCOMMODATIONS

Lodging arrangements must be made directly with the Capitol Plaza Hotel at (573) 635-1234 or (800) 338-8088 Room rates are $88/night for single or double occupancy while room block lasts

* No registration fee for spouses NOT attending meetings * No registration fee for children 18 and under to attend meetings * Banquet fees are separate

First Time Attendee

2015 Awards Ceremony is sponsored by Bass Pro Shops Award Ceremony RSVP ~ Number of Guests _____

Name(s): ______________________________________

Registration Packages

Address: _____________________________________

(#1) Member Pkg ~ $40.00/person

$

_____________________________________________

(#2) Non Member Pkg ~ $60.00/person

$

Telephone: ___________________________________

Banquet ~ $40.00/person:

Email: _______________________________________

Capitol Ribeye Steak

$

Credit Card #: _________________________________

Maple Lacquered Salmon

$

Expiration Date: ________________________________

Pasta Primavera (Vegetarian Option)

$

Signature: _____________________________________

Children Banquet ~ $15.00/person:

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

Quantity Registration Fee

Chicken Strips and Fries Total Registration:

$

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Thank You! Business Alliance Members Our sincere thanks to all of our Business Alliance members.

Your support of CFM is making a difference for Missouri outdoors!

Platinum

Gold

Bronze

MidwayUSA

Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives James T. Blair IV Missouri Petroleum Council Missouri Wildflowers Nursery NW Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. Sierra Bullets, LLC

Alps OutdoorZ

Silver CZ-USA G3 Boats Learfield Communication, Inc.

Iron Bee Rock Outdoor Adventures, LLC

General Printing Service

Quality Forest Management, LLC

Black Widow Custom Bows, Inc.

Goodwin Brothers Construction Company

REMAX Boone Realty

Bob McCosh Chevrolet Buick GMC

Greenbrier Wetland Services

Sapaugh Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac

Brown Printing

Grundy Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Second Creek Deer Blinds

Cap America

Hornbuckle Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, Inc.

Shade Tree Service, Inc.

Hulett Heating & Air Conditioning

Shafer, Kline & Warren, Inc.

Citizens Telephone Company Columbia Daily Tribune

Hunting Works for Missouri

Consolidated Electric Cooperative Dickerson Park Zoo

Land & Water Partners, Inc.

Farm Management Service (Dan & Cheri Erdel)

Lewis County Rural Electric Cooperative McRoberts Farm, Inc.

Farmer’s Co-op Elevator Association

Meramec Bison Farm, LLC

Fast Yeti

Midwest Mailing Services

Forrest Keeling Nursery

Missouri Conservation Pioneers

Friends of Ryan McKenna

Pure Air Natives, Inc.

Shady Lane Cabins & Motel Tabor Plastics Company The Bank of Missouri Thirty 3 Bar & Grill Thomas Industrial Coatings, Inc. United Electric Cooperative, Inc. White River Valley Electric Cooperative, Inc.

To learn more about how your business can benefit from supporting conservation call Rehan Nana at the CFM office, 573-634-2322.

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WELCOME C F M N E W members

Arthur Booth, Richland Larry Cain, Saint Louis Robert Coffing, Catawissa Ross Davis, Saint Louis Lesly Detmering, Webb City Bruce Drecktrah, Sweet Springs Doug Dunlap, Owensville William Groth, Saint Louis John Igleheart, Columbia

John Jansen, Kelso David & Rita Jenkins, Edwardsville, IL Charlotte Lenz, O’Fallon K. Lewis, Kirkwood O. Litzinger, Saint Louis John Mendicino, Saint Louis Dorothy Moes, Saint Louis Loy Moon, Defiance Mark Morgan, Columbia J. Nelson, Saint Louis Michael Postal, Festus Thomas Schlafly, Saint Louis

Kathleen Slane, Columbia Thayne Smith & Jeannie Farmer, Claremore, OK Judy Strodtman, Fayette Janice Stumpe, Fenton Kenneth Suelthaus, Saint Louis Tara Vogt, Decatur, GA Brian Waldrop, Arnold Vernon Wallner, Beaufort J. Wellington, Columbia Steve Willcox, Lancaster Earl Williamson, Hallsville

CFM would like to thank the 319 members that renewed since our last publication.

Applications Still 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 2015 Charles Bell Conservation Scholarships.

In the 2015 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 later 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, 2015.

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 visit or website at www.confedmo.org.

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Sharing a Lure Legacy

Missouri-made fishing tackle historian donates his collection

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here seems to be no rhyme or reason to Dean Murphy’s fishing tackle collection. There are rods and reels, baits and lures, tackle boxes, minnow buckets and who knows what else.

But this is no random collection of piscine paraphernalia, no arbitrary accumulation of angling odds and ends. Every piece has been made in the Show-Me State.

During the past 30 years, the Jefferson City resident has built what is arguably the most comprehensive collection of fishing equipment manufactured in Missouri. Along the way, he’s become the unofficial historian of the topic, which he is determined to share with others. The 92-year-old is donating his collection — which contains more than 2,000 individual pieces, represents more than 350 different companies and chronicles more than a century of manufacturing — to the Missouri Department of Conservation.

“It’s the only one in the country. I didn’t want to put it on the market,” he says.

“I just want to share what a diversity there was. There’s a lot of fishing equipment made in Missouri that people don’t know about.”

A former MDC deer biologist and division chief, Dean began collecting lures in earnest around the time he retired in 1984. He held a “tackle-trading” party at his house and invited his fellow

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Dean Murphy and his collection of Missouri lures.

biologists.

“You brought a six-pack of beer and your tackle box, and you played cards and traded lures,” he says. “There was a fisheries biologist up from Arkansas who was a lure collector. He probably made out like a bandit that night. And none of us knew it.”

Dean began by collecting lures produced by Pflueger, one of the “Big Six” companies of vintage lure collecting. When the next lure to add to his collection cost more than he was willing to pay, Dean set his sights on a new challenge. He began collecting fishing tackle of all kinds — but only from Missouri manufacturers.

While these items were less expensive to collect, the thrill of the hunt was just as great. Dean scoured old sporting goods magazines and hardware catalogs, seeking out products created by Missouri-based companies. He’d copy the advertisements he found and create “Murphy’s Want List,” which he passed out

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to fellow collectors at trade shows. He also would place newspaper ads in towns where companies used to operate with the hope that someone might remember.

Sometimes, it paid off, as was the case when uncovering what remained of Berry-Lebeck Manufacturing Co. in California, Mo. Paul Lebeck was a cabinetmaker who could build fishing lures. Robert Berry was a salesman for Wohl Shoe Co. who could sell them. In the 1940s and 1950s, they built and sold lures under the Ozarka brand name until Berry’s death in 1951. The remains of the company were stashed in the attic and forgotten. That is, until Dean ran a newspaper ad, which the new owner of the building just happened to see.

“Next morning, he called me and asked if I wanted to come see all the stuff,” Dean says. “I bought the remainder of that company that afternoon. Biggest deal of my collecting career.”

By 1993, Dean had

amassed so much knowledge that he decided to publish a book, “Fishing Tackle Made in Missouri.” A second, more complete edition of the guide would follow a decade later.

“I really got more fun out of tracking people down, finding out the stories behind the tackle,” he adds. “I was surprised by the number of companies and amazed by the ingenuity of the people.

Some of their designs were mechanical wonders.”

Many types of modern fishing equipment have roots in Missouri. The depth finder and electric trolling motor are two such examples.

In 1957, Carl Lowrance invented the first consumer depth finder, the “Little Green Box,” in Joplin. In 1963, Phantom Products Inc. of Kansas City introduced one of the first electric trolling motors, the Phantom Bantam.

While most tackle manufacturers were based in St. Louis and Kansas City, they could be found statewide. Dean considers the C.A. Clark Co. of Springfield to be the company that best represents Missouri.

In existence from 1936 to 1957, Clark produced more types of lures than any other Missouri manufacturer.

Another company, the Talbot Reel and Manufacturing Co. of Nevada, Mo., built what Dean describes as the “Cadillac of reels” around the turn of the 20th century.

“Bill Talbot was a watchmaker and jeweler by trade,” Dean says. “Casting

competitions were big in those days, and he built custom reels for all the casting champions.”

Dean found other successful companies scattered across rural Missouri — Bill Herrington Bait Co. in Green City, Spurgeon Lures in Eminence and Swamp Fox Lures in Sikeston, to name a few.

“Dean’s always been on a mission to preserve Missouri tackle history,” says Ed Bryant of Gravois Mills, an antique lure collector and member of Co-Mo Electric Cooperative. “It’s incredible what he’s compiled, and I’m thrilled his collection will stay together. He’s been the ultimate mentor. He’s maintained the integrity of the art of lure collecting.”

MDC exhibits coordinator Martha Daniels has worked

with Dean in recent months to catalog his collection. Once the state takes possession, the plan is to create several displays.

“It’s an incredible collection. There are beautiful and amazing pieces that are just works of art,” she says. “We felt the best approach was to tell the story regionally, and we’re hoping to incorporate the collection into as many of our nature center facilities as we can with items from those regions.”

The first exhibit is slated for Runge Nature Center in Jefferson City and will feature tackle manufactured in central Missouri. The exhibit should be on public display by the fall of 2016, she says.

Jason Jenkins jjenkins@ruralmissouri.coop

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CALENDAR MISSOURI FESTIVALS AND AFFILIATE EVENTS

AFFILIATE EVENTS AUDUBON SOCIETY OF MISSOURI JAN 1: Public Field Trip, Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, Columbia (9:00am - 12:00pm) JAN 24: Public Field Trip, Whetstone Creek Conservation Area, Columbia FEB 14: Public Field Trip, 2nd Annual Great Backyard Bird Count Bird Feeder Crawl FEB 21: Public Field Trip, CAS Lake Tour FEB 28: Public Field Trip, Location to be determined - Columbia BURROUGHS AUDUBON SOCIETY OF GREATER KANSAS CITY JAN 10: Bird Banding, Fleming Park, Blue Springs (10:00am - 1:00pm) FEB 7: Bird Banding, Fleming Park, Blue Springs (10:00am - 1:00pm) MID MISSOURI TROUT UNLIMITED FEB 20: Annual Banquet, Stoney Creek Inn, Columbia (5:30pm) MISSISSIPPI VALLEY DUCK HUNTERS ASSOCIATION JAN 14: Monthly Board Meeting, American Legion, Brentwood FEB 11: Monthly Board Meeting, American Legion, Brentwood MISSOURI ASSOCIATION OF MEAT PROCESSORS JAN 10: Board Meeting, Columbia MISSOURI DELTA WATERFOWL JAN 31: Howard County Chapter Annual Dinner, Saint Joseph Reception Hall, Fayette (5:00pm); Joe Miller (660) 621-2374 MISSOURI DUCKS UNLIMITED JAN 24: Lexington Dinner, Adkins Auction and Riverview Realty (5:30pm - 10:00pm); John Christopherson (660) 232-1434 or Craig Rodekohr (816) 699-5109 JAN 30: Lamer/Barton County Dinner, Theibaud Auditorium, Lamar (6:00pm - 10:00pm); Jared Chesnut (417) 262-0168, George Nichols (417) 214-7124 or Kelly Madison (417) 682-5531 JAN 31: Kearney Dinner, Annunciation Community Center, Kearney (6:00pm - 9:30pm); Jody Williams (816) 985-9314, Ryan Doll (816) 200-8015 or Lee Setser (816) 813-3417 JAN 31: Warrenton Dinner, Lions Club, Wright City (6:00pm - 10:00pm); John Molitor (314) 920-2011 FEB 7: 35th Annual Longview Spring Dinner, Turner German Club, Belton (5:00pm - 9:30pm); Jeff Donovan (913) 747-2265 or Tim Donovan (816) 763-6602 FEB 7: Montgomery City Dinner, Knights of Columbus Hall, Montgomery City (5:30pm - 9:00pm);

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Steve Grimes (573) 590-3110 FEB 21: Gateway Greenheads Dinner, Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, Town and Country (6:00pm - 10:00pm); Steve LaFrance (314) 2888456 or Tom McCrackin (636) 405-1033 FEB 28: Saint Charles Dinner, Stegton Regency, Saint Charles (6:00pm - 10:00pm); Dunstan Disselhorst (636) 699-9869 or David Williams (636) 699-7154 FEB 28: Odessa Dinner, Community Building, Odessa (5:30pm - 9:30pm); Vic Barker (816) 4566100 or Artie Lett (816) 699-9299 MISSOURI HUNTER EDUCATION INSTRUCTOR’S ASSOCIATION JAN 18: Board Meeting, Bass Pro Shops, Columbia (10:30am) MISSOURI HUNTING HERITAGE FEDERATION JAN 9-JAN 11: Youth Hunter Education and Chuckar Hunt, Hedge Hollow Ranch, Adrian; Dan Margita (816) 797-3714 JAN 18: Annual Membership Meeting, Bass Pro Shops - Conservation Room, Independence (2:00pm - 4:00pm) MISSOURI NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION FUNDRAISING BANQUETS JAN 16: Shaky Ground Gobblers, Southern Comfort, New Madrid; Walter Campbell (573) 380-7928 JAN 17: Union Covered Bridge Gobblers, Community Building, Madison; Bruce Mills (573) 721-2268 JAN 17: Current River Callers, Winona School, Winona; Troy McAfee (573) 325-4475 JAN 17: Dent County Thundering Toms, Indian Trail Archery, Salem; John Steelman (573) 7299217 JAN 17: Springtown Wattlenecks, American Legion, Smithville; Troy O’Dell (816) 628-4254 JAN 24: Indian Creek Chapter, Lampo Building, Neosho; Matt Friend (417) 825-3305 JAN 24: Delta Bootheel Gobblers, VFW, Kennett; Lynn Smith (573) 888-0054 JAN 24: Southern Ozark Longbeards, His Place, Doniphan; Sam Griffin ((573) 996-2148 JAN 24: Honey Creek Strutters, Community Center, Cameron; Chad Foreman (816) 632-2017 JAN 30: Rogersville Strutters, First Baptist Church, Rogersville; Cody Wilson (417) 753-3164 JAN 30: Willard Thunderin Gobblers, The Round Barn at Clear Creek, Walnut Grove; Carrie Bussard (417) 827-0782 JAN 30: Salt River Sharp Spurs, Father Buhman Center, Shelbina; Jason Pollard (573) 248-4976 JAN 31: Clearwater Longbeards, Trinity Methodist Church, Piedmont; Richard Ayers (573) 223-2356 JAN 31: Ray County Shortspurs, Veterans Memorial Building, Richmond; Mark McCorkendale (816) 217-7496 FEB 6: Tabo Creek Thunderin Toms, American Legion, Higginsville; Kevin Whitworth (660) 584-7352 FEB 6: Heartland Longbeards, Civic Center, Oak Grove; James Drake (816) 718-1100 FEB 6: Walt Beumer Memorial Chapter, The Boeing

Machinist Building, Hazelwood; Brian Duckett (314) 574-9213 FEB 7: Bootheel Boss Gobblers, Bavarian Hall, Jackson FEB 7: Gateway Longspurs, Knights of Columbus, Saint Paul; Dan Zerr (636) 699-7000 FEB 7: Tick Ridge, Macon County Expo Center, Macon; Matthew Burks (660) 395-1404 FEB 7: Chariton River Full Strutters, Knight & Rucker Building, Brunswick; Jordan Harmon (660) 247-5306 FEB 20: Sand Burr Strutters, VFW, Sikeston; Allan Lynch (573) 887-1261 FEB 20: Lincoln Hills, Sacred Heart Parrish, Elsberry; Jay Herring (573) 898-5420 FEB 21: Grand River Gobblers, American Legion Post 216, Bethany; Bryan Gray (660) 425-3353 FEB 21: Hickory County Jakes and Jennies, Hickory County Senior Center, Wheatland; David Wright (417) 722-4488 FEB 21: Black Mountain Longbeards, Saint Michaels Catholic School, Fredericktown; Jason Wengler (573) 783-9988 FEB 27: Kingdom of Callaway Limbhangers, KC Country, Fulton; John Burk (573) 676-5994 FEB 27: Bayou Strutters, Top of the Town Banquet Hall, East Prairie; Clinton Wolford (573) 225-9084 FEB 27: Upper Meramec Longspurs, Knights of Columbus, Cuba; Shane Staples (573) 259-7405 FEB 28: South Grand River Gobblers, Cass County Elks Lodge, Harrisonville; Rodger Benson (816) 679-3119 FEB 28: Fabius River Fantails, Community Center, Edina; Jeremy Holman (660) 391-8823 FEB 28: Moniteau Monarchs, Knights of Columbus, Tipton; Brian Hill (573) 796-3885 FEB 28: Lead Belt Longbeards, Knights of Columbus, Bonne Terre; Donald Sparks (573) 760-3770 FEB 28: Young’s Creek Strutters, Nick and Noah’s, Centralia; Eddie Schultz (573) 682-1900 MISSOURI PARKS AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION FEB 3: TORO Maintenance Workshop, Central Maintenance District, Kansas City (8:00am) FEB 5: TORO Maintenance Workshop, Greene County Botanical Center - Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park, Springfield (8:00am) FEB 24-27: Conference and Expo, Springfield FEB 24: Board Meeting, Springfield MISSOURI PRAIRIE FOUNDATION JAN 3: Grow Native! Presentations at the Western, Crown Center, Kansas City MISSOURI WHITETAILS UNLIMITED JAN 10: Kids Outdoors Banquet, State Fair Ag Building, Sedalia JAN 17: River Hills Chapter Banquet, Osage Community Center, Cape Girardeau JAN 31: Harold Hoey Chapter Banquet, Saline County Fairgrounds, Marshall FEB 7: Central Missouri Chapter Banquet, Elks Lodge, Brookfield

FEB 7: Lincoln Whitetails Chapter Banquet, Warsaw FEB 21: Mid-Missouri Deer Camp, Holiday Inn Executive Center, Columbia FEB 28: Tall Tines Chapter Banquet, NEMO Fairgrounds, Kirksville OZARK WILDERNESS WATERWAYS CLUB JAN 10: Potluck Dinner, Swope Park, Kansas City (6:30pm 7:30pm) JAN 10: Business Meeting, Swope Park, Kansas City (7:30pm 9:00pm) FEB 14: Potluck Dinner, Swope Park, Kansas City (6:30pm 7:30pm) FEB 14: Business Meeting, Swope Park, Kansas City (7:30pm 9:00pm) QUAIL FOREVER & PHEASANTS FOREVER JAN 31: Northwest Missouri Banquet, Moila County Club, Saint Joseph (5:30pm); Dennis Sunderman (816) 387-7669 FEB 21: 3rd Annual Sportsman’s Banquet, Elks Lodge, Dexter (5:30pm - 9:30pm); Scott James (573) 418-0787 FEB 28: Moreau Valley Banquet, Saint Martins (5:30pm - 10:00pm); Vic Maurer (573) 230-6513 MAR 7: State Habitat Convention, Courtyard by Marriott, Columbia (8:00am - 9:30pm); John Wallace (937) 459-8085 RIVER BLUFFS AUDUBON SOCIETY JAN 3: Christmas Bird Count (6:30am - 7:30pm) ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION FEB 7: White River Chapter Big Game Banquet, Branson; Barbara Rowland (417) 334-5018 or (417) 443-3093 FEB 14: Ozark Chapter Big Game Banquet, Springfield; Mark Nash (417) 399-5767 FEB 21: Saint Louis Chapter Big Game Banquet, Saint Louis; Brett Grimm (314) 892-2666

FEB 28: Elk Prairie Chapter Big Game Banquet, Salem; James Pace (573) 729-5325 SAINT LOUIS AUDUBON SOCIETY JAN 3: Beginner Bird Walk, Forest Park, Saint Louis (7:30am 10:00am) JAN 3: Birds of Winter, Audubon Center at Riverlands (10:00am 2:00pm) JAN 4: Birds of Winter, Audubon Center at Riverlands (10:00am 2:00pm) JAN 10: Birding Field Trip, Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary (9:00am - 12:00pm) JAN 10: Birds of Winter, Audubon Center at Riverlands (10:00am 2:00pm) JAN 17: Eagle Days, Chain of Rocks Bridge, Saint Louis(9:00am - 3:00pm) JAN 17: Birds of Winter, Audubon Center at Riverlands (10:00am 2:00pm) JAN 18: Eagle Days, Chain of Rocks Bridge, Saint Louis (9:00am - 3:00pm) JAN 18: Birds of Winter, Audubon Center at Riverlands (10:00am 2:00pm) JAN 25: Birds of Winter, Audubon Center at Riverlands (10:00am 2:00pm) JAN 25: Mid Winter Open House, Audubon Center at Riverlands (3:00pm - 6:00pm) JAN 31: Birds of Winter, Audubon Center at Riverlands (10:00am 2:00pm) FEB 1: Birds of Winter, Audubon Center at Riverlands (10:00am 2:00pm) FEB 7: Birds of Winter, Audubon Center at Riverlands (10:00am 2:00pm) FEB 8: Birds of Winter, Audubon Center at Riverlands (10:00am 2:00pm)

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Honorariums Memorials In memory of Ann Kutscher

Walter & Mary Shull Tebbetts, MO

CFM EVENTS FEB 21: Inaugural Explore the Outdoors Event, Bass Pro Shops and Stoney Creek Inn, Independence MAR 20-22: Annual Convention, Capitol Plaza Hotel, Jefferson City

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agency news - department of conservation

November Deer Harvest Up From Last Year Hunters checked 167,205 deer during the 11-day November portion of Missouri’s firearms deer season.

Building on a strong opening weekend harvest, Missouri hunters went on to check a total of 167,205 deer during firearms deer season Nov. 15 through 25. The number exceeds last year’s harvest of 157,273.

The Missouri Department of Conservation reports the top harvest counties were Howell, with 3,418 deer checked; Franklin, with 3,338 and Texas, with 3,170.

This year’s harvest is 6-percent larger than last year’s figure and 10 percent below the previous 5-year average for the November portion of firearms deer season. When added to the previous, urban, and early youth portions of this year’s firearms deer season the November portion harvest brings the year-to-date total to 185,890.

Twenty-five days of firearms deer hunting remain in the antlerless, alternative-methods and late youth portions of deer season. Archery deer season runs through Jan. 15.

The white-tailed deer is Missouri’s most popular game species and one of the most prolific, with an estimated population of more than 1 million free-ranging deer statewide. Missouri has nearly 520,000 deer hunters and almost two million wildlife watchers who enjoy deer.

Activities related to deer hunting and watching annually contribute $1 billion in economic activity to state and local economies, and support more than 12,000 Missouri jobs. Many Missouri meat processors, taxidermists, hotels, restaurants, sporting goods stores, and other businesses rely on deer hunting as a significant source of revenue.

The Show-Me State’s white-tailed deer resource also helps feed needy Missouri through the Share the Harvest (STH) program. STH brings together thousands of deer hunters, more than 130 participating meat processors, the Conservation Department, the Conservation Federation of Missouri, and numerous supporting organizations to channel ground venison to tens of thousands of hungry Missouri families each year through donations to local food banks and food pantries. Since 1992, Missouri hunters have donated more than 3.1 million pounds of venison to the needy through STH. Thousands of private landowners manage their land for deer and deer hunting, and rely on deer and deer hunting to maintain property values.

Jim Low News Services Coordinator, MDC 2 0

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Hunters checked 167,205 deer during the November portion of Missouri’s firearms deer season. Photo credit: MDC

agency news - department of conservation

MDC Habitat Calendar Has 12 Months of Management Tips With this calendar on your wall, you won’t forget seasonal steps to better wildlife habitat.

One challenge for busy landowners who want to increase quail and other grassland wildlife is keeping track of seasonal management needs. When should you delay haying because chicks are hatching?

When do you burn, plant, spray and disk? The answers to those and many other questions about grassland wildlife management are found in the Quail and Habitat Management 2015 Calendar from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

The wall calendar has daily notes to help

landowners meet their wildlife management goals.

It notes key events, such as the start of quail nesting season, average dates of first and second brood hatches and other important milestones in the bobwhite quail’s year. Also included are reminders about the best times for management activities, such as planting food plots and the last day for managing fields enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program.

The calendar has tips for easy habitat creation, ranging from placing old Christmas trees near existing

The Quail and Habitat Management 2015 Calendar has loads of helpful tips for landowners who want to encourage quail and other wildlife.

Photo credit: MDC

brush piles in January to sowing wildflower seeds atop newly fallen snow in December. Added features include notes about forming a quail management cooperative, quality deer management,

prescribed burning, and additional sources of habitat management information.

Wildlife illustrations by Conservation Department artists accompany each monthly page.

To receive a free copy of the calendar, call the nearest Conservation Department office and ask to speak to a private land conservationist, or visit mdc. mo.gov to find the nearest office.

Jim Low News Services Coordinator, MDC

Conservation Commission Approves 2015 Firearms Deer, Turkey Season Dates Spring turkey season opens April 20, and the November portion of firearms deer season opens Nov. 14.

At its regular meeting today in Jefferson City, the Missouri Conservation Commission set dates for the 2015 firearms turkey and deer hunting seasons.

Full details of 2015 deer and turkey hunting regulations will be published on the Conservation Department website, www.mdc.mo.gov, and in hunting regulation guides available from hunting permit vendors statewide before the seasons.

Jim Low News Services Coordinator, MDC

Firearms turkey season dates are: Spring youth season – April 11 and 12 Regular spring season – April 20 through May 10 Fall firearms season – Oct. 1 through 31 Firearms deer season dates are: Urban portion – Oct. 9 through 12 Early youth portion – Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 November portion – Nov. 14 through 24 Antlerless portion – Nov. 25 through Dec. 6 Alternative-methods portion – Dec. 19 through 29 Late youth portion – Jan. 2 and 3 MIS S OURI

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A Letter From the National Wildlife Federation CEO About the Federal Duck Stamp Act Somewhere Ding Darling is smiling as he doodles a Blue Goose…

Today, the Senate passed (via unanimous consent) H.R. 5069, the Federal Duck Stam p Act, which is a huge WIN for wildlife conserva tion! The bill by increases the price of duck stamps from $15 to $25 and would generate addi tional dedicated funding for wetland cons ervation.

The National Wildlife Federation and our fantastic state affiliates strongly supported the price increase (we unanimously adopted a Reso lution supporting an increase last year at our Annual Meeting), as did the hunting community at large. The bill alrea dy passed the House so it is on to Presiden t Oba ma’s desk to be signed!

Duck Stamps are licenses required for hunt ing migratory waterfowl and also serve as an entrance pass for national wildlife refuges and are bought by hunters and birders alike. More importantly, thes e stamps are one of the most critical tools for the conservation of wetlands , wildlife, and natural resources—ninety-eigh t cents out of every dollar generated goes directly to purchase or lease wetland habitat for protection in the Nati onal Wildlife Refuge System.

National Wildlife Federation’s founder J.N. “Ding” Darling conceived of the idea of usin g Duck Stamps to raise money for the purchase of wetlands and he also illustrated the very first stamp.

It's a great example of conservationists coming together to fund critical conservation (the North American conservation model in action).

Since 1934 over $800 million has been gene rated to preserve over 6 million acres of criti cal wetlands habitat in the United States as part of the National Wild life Refuge System. Wildlife refuges not only serv e as habitat for ducks and geese, but they provide countless benefits such as flood mitigation, water filtration, and habi tat for more than 700 bird species, 220 mammals, 250 reptiles and amphibians, more than 1,000 fish species, and onethird of endangered or threatened species. Refuge visitor spen ding also generates billions of dollars ever y year for local communities.

As the Duck Stamp celebrates its 80th anni versary, its buying power has never been lowe r. The price of the Duck Stamp was last increased 23 years ago in 1991 and since then the price of land has tripled.

Even though this bill does restrict the revenue generated from the $10 increase from being direct to fee-title land acqu isition, the base price of $15 can still be used for land acquisition and the extra revenue can be used for conserva tion easements.

I personally want to thank our great team at the National Advocacy Center, and espe cially Bentley Johnson, Josh Sachs, and John Gale for their hard work on this issue on the Hill and I want to than k the many Affiliates that weighed in with their Members of Congres s to advocate passage. This is a great exam ple of our federation at its best--combining our longtime support of conservation finding (since Ding helped crea te it!) with our mobilized and unified Federation to help ensure legislativ e passage.

Thank you all for your hard work for wild Collin O'Mara

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life!

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Lance Ramsey Built His Company Around A Passion for Duck Hunting

ecessity was the mother of invention for Lance Ramsey, founder of BUST’EM Boat Blinds.

After being introduced to duck hunting at 15, Ramsey went on the hunt – the hunt for an affordable blind that was also functional, rugged and lightweight. Being an avid DIY’er, he sat down and went to work designing and building his own boat blind. He has since made a career out of creating custom boat blinds for other duck hunters sharing his passion.

Ramsey needed a product to convert his fishing boat into a duck hunting machine, but only for the season. He, like many other hunters, need their boats to adapt back for fishing in the spring. His blind consists of a welded tubular frame that is covered with a tough ABS shell and wire mesh. The blind is also equipped with various large doors, flaps and overhead concealment providing protection and storage. Because the frame is one piece, the entire blind can be easily detached after the season is over.

Ramsey created this successful boat blind business with his brother Eric and wife Beverly. It has become a family business, with every member of his family involved in some aspect.

It was Ramsey’s passion that fueled his company. His love for duck hunting and the outdoors powered his hope for blinds to allow longer, more successful hunts. “It does me good to feel that I am legitimately enhancing their experience on the water, and allowing them to share those treasured times with children and friends,” Ramsey said.

Operating in Missouri has been an important aspect of his company. The central location allows a wide variety of clients. It has also led to a business partnership with G3 boats, which will offer a fish/hunt combo featuring BUST’EM Boat Blinds on one of their nationally distributed boats.

Missouri’s immense natural resources have also played a role in the success of Ramsey’s company. The state’s vast outdoor opportunities provide great prospects for his product. He also realizes the importance of protecting these natural resources. He said conservation is “the biggest key to maintaining the delicate balance of nature and wildlife with all of the hunting sports.” He believes education is a great tool to ensure conservation in Missouri. Ramsey works to spread the significance of conservation to his family, friends and those around him.

BUST’EM Boat Blinds is so much more than just a job to Lance Ramsey. It is a way to connect with other outdoorsmen over their shared passion for wildlife, water and the outdoors.

ey of f du ck s th ng us sh ow A g y do se s m hi y an d cr ed it : Ra La nc e Ra m se in ds . Ph ot o th ei r bo at bl g in us d lle ki ic s.

Ph ot og ra ph

An example of custom BUST’EM Boat Blinds are displayed on a G3 boat. Photo credit: Ramsey Photographics.

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Stream Teams Making a Splash State-wide

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n November, Governor Nixon declared 2015, “Year of the Water,” but that’s surely because stream stewards were so active in 2014. Here’s what each group in the Missouri Stream Team Watershed Coalition accomplished this spring through fall: St. Louis Stewards of Grand Glaize works in west county St. Louis, and you might see area Stream Teamers all over your video playlists soon. Its members are developing a chloride workshop and taking digital storytelling classes from Channel 9.

Winter’s coming, and that means road salt in our streams. The River des Peres Watershed Coalition is available for help keeping chloride in check.

They’re also coordinating a monitoring project with MSTWC, checking water quality for up to 50 sites, and just completed a “Bike with Your Boots On” trash bash, pulling 4.5 tons of trash from their stream.

The LaBarque Creek Watershed Association coordinates and supports ecological restoration along St. Louis rural areas in parks.

Greenway Network’s biggest activity is ShowMe Clean Stream, a 53-site cleanup that engaged 953 participants and pulled out 14,000 pounds of trash. The Network also

monitors water quality every place a road crosses Dardenne Creek. As an all-volunteer organization, they pay for their work through the Race and Ride for the Rivers fundraiser.

Northern Ozark Rivers Partnership hosted 250 Stream Teamers at its annual picnic at Meramec State Park. Its members also braved a 100-degree weekend to help Operation Clean Stream organize 2,225 volunteers.

Enjoying fishing during the Northern Ozark Rivers Partnership annual picnic, which hosted its annual Meramec Watershed Celebration in July. Photo credit: Larry Cain.

Southeast The Missouri Bootheel Stream Team Association works hard in a farmheavy culture. Its leader, Vannessa Frazier, speaks up for environmental health at county commissioner meetings, runs volunteer cleanup and planting events, and educates students in five counties about careers in the environment.

Central With help from a Fish and Wildlife Service Grant and The Nature Conservancy, the Mill Creek Watershed Coalition is restoring a spring area that houses endangered fish species and one of the top-10 birding areas in the state.

Hydrology is part art, part science, and they’re employing the best in the field to make it happen.

The Missouri River Communities Network is currently working on improving local food markets. What’s that have to do with streams? It improves local soil and water quality!

Missouri River Stream Team Association is proud of River Relief for completing its Clean Sweep, featured in last month’s River Hills Traveler! They touched more than a dozen communities this year, ending with an MRR and Sustain Mizzou campout.

Kansas City The South Grand River Watershed Alliance hosted two annual stream cleanups, ran an annual “Know Your Watershed” festival on the Harrisonville square, is advocating for stronger stream protection in a buffer ordinance in Belton, and plants native plans in riparian woodlands and banks. Sometimes they do that with third graders.

Little Blue River

Watershed group’s signature event is Blue River Rescue, a cleanup from which every community could take a few cues: 120,000 pounds of trash were cleaned from 34 dump sites along the river. They’re also making waves by giving high school artists onthe-river experiences that influence their paintings, performance art, sculptures and more.

And for an extra dose of cool, the LBRW office’s new rooftop prairie reuses racing skoals as planters.

Southwest Ozarks Water Watchers is made up of professional water quality organizations, including the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks and the James River Basin Partnership. Its members are educating thousands of people in their 19-county area, running big river and lake cleanups, gathering water quality data from 242 sites, rocking various grants, and exceeding goals with the state’s Clean Marina program.

To learn more about these Stream Team Associations, or to start your own, please visit www.mstwc.org Tina Casagrand This article first ran in the December 2014 issue of the River Hills Traveler.

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C o n s e r v a t i o n F e d e r a t i o n o f M i s s o u r i A F F I L IATES Anglers of Missouri, Inc. Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives Audubon Society of Missouri Bass-Hole Bassmasters of Missouri, Inc. Big Game Hunters, Inc. Burroughs Audubon Society of Greater Kansas City Capital City Fly Fishers Central Missouri Chapter Safari Club International Chesterfield Citizens Committee for the Environment Deer Creek Sportsman’s Club, Inc. Festus-Crystal City Conservation Club Forest and Woodland Association of Missouri Friends of Rock Bridge Memorial State Park Greenway Network, Inc. Heaven’s Anglers Jefferson County Coon Hunters, Inc. Katy Land Trust Meramec Area Sportsman Association Mid Missouri Outdoor Dream Mid Missouri Trout Unlimited Midwest Diving Council Mississippi Valley Duck Hunters Association Missouri Association of Meat Processors Missouri Atlatl Association Missouri BASS Federation Nation Missouri Bird Conservation Initiative

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Missouri Bow Hunters Association Missouri Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Missouri Chapter of the Wildlife Society Missouri Chapter Soil & Water Conservation Society Missouri Conservation Agents Association Missouri Conservation Pioneers Missouri Consulting Foresters Association Missouri Delta Waterfowl Missouri Ducks Unlimited State Council Missouri Forest Products Association Missouri Hunter Education Instructors Association Missouri Hunting Heritage Federation, Inc. Missouri National Wild Turkey Federation Missouri Native Seed Association Missouri Parks & Recreation Association Missouri Parks Association Missouri Prairie Foundation Missouri River Bird Observatory Missouri Smallmouth Alliance Missouri Sport Shooting Association Missouri State Campers Association Missouri State Chapter of the Quality Deer Management Association Missouri State University Bull Shoals Field Station Missouri Taxidermist Association Missouri Trappers Association

Missouri Trout Fishermen’s Association Missouri Whitetails Unlimited Mule Deer Foundation North Side Division Conservation Federation Open Space Council of the Saint Louis Region Ozark Fly Fishers, Inc. Ozark Regional Land Trust Ozarks Water Watchers - Stream Team Association Ozark Wilderness Waterways Club Perry County Sportsman Club Pomme de Terre Chapter Muskies, Inc. Quail & Upland Wildlife Federation, Inc. Quail Forever & Pheasants Forever River Bluffs Audubon Society Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation South Side Division Conservation Federation Southwest Missouri Fly Fishers St. Louis Audubon Society Tipton Farmers & Sportsman’s Club Troutbusters of Missouri United Bow Hunters of Missouri Walnut Council & Other Fine Hardwoods Wecomo Sportsman’s Club Wild Elk Institute of Missouri Windsor Lake Rod & Gun Club

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agency news - department of natural resources

The Journey of Natural Resource Protection

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ife is a journey with problems to solve and lessons to learn.

When we are faced with these challenges along the way we can react one of two ways – give up out of frustration or persevere and realize they are only temporary setbacks. How we chose to react and the decisions we make will determine the outcome of our journey.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources began its journey to protect our natural and cultural resources. Together with our many partners, such as the Conservation Federation of Missouri, we have tackled many of the conservation and natural resource challenges along the way. Our determination and commitment to protecting these precious resources have brought us to where we are today.

Last month, the department hosted the Governor’s Conference on Natural Resources to explore our legacy and chart our future.

Gov. Nixon provided the keynote address that highlighted the many partnerships and successes in natu-

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ral resource protection as well as declared 2015 as the Year of Water. Gov. Nixon challenged Missourians to take time out of their busy schedules in 2015 to explore our beautiful rivers, streams and lakes – they can even log a few paddling miles as part of the 100 Missouri Miles challenge.

Gov. Nixon and I also presented the very first Governor’s Natural Resources Awards of Excellence. The award winners were recognized for outstanding innovations and contributions in managing and protecting our state’s natural resources.

The following eight organizations, businesses and individuals received this prestigious award for their dedication.

Mid-America Regional Council (Community/Local Government Category) provides a venue for collaboration among local, state, federal, nonprofit and community leaders to collectively identify environmental protection strategies that also contribute to community and economic development.

Green Circle Projects (Small Business and Industry Category) actively engages in promoting sustainable development in Springfield through its work with Farmers Park and the Trail Spring/Two Rivers Bike Park projects.

Missouri American Water (Large Business and Industry Category) embraced a special appreciation for river

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stewardship and partnered with several organizations to raise awareness and preserve the Missouri River – a significant source of our state’s drinking water supply.

Missouri State University (Institution/Public Sector Facility or Educator Category) officials are committed to using education and community outreach to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to be environmentally responsible and to consider the global ramifications of their actions.

cated service to Missouri Bootheel residents. Her qualifications, determination and dedication to her community and our natural resources are truly emblematic of a natural resources champion.

In addition to celebrating accomplishments and recognizing award winners, the conference also provided the opportunity to pause from our journey to check our map and reorient ourselves – a fork in the road if you will. Before we can chart our future, it was time

Harrison Creek Farm LLC (Agriculture Category) is owned and operated by the Brinker family. The farm is a state of the art facility designed to conserve the land for future generations.

Watershed Committee of the Ozarks (Service/Civic/ Nonprofit Organization Category) sustains and improves the water resources of Springfield and Green County through education and effective management of the region’s watershed.

Vannessa Frazier received the Natural Resources Champion award for her more than 35 years of dedi-

to reflect on our goals and objectives to ensure we are continuing to proceed down the correct path.

A significant portion of the conference was interactive. The department asked attendees to identify and discuss numerous topics and prioritize future actions. The department will include this information into its strategic plan ensuring we are capturing what the public believes to be the most important issues to be addressed in the coming years. We will continue to share more informacontinued here ———

agency news - department of natural resources

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Spotlight on Missouri State Parks – Hawn State Park

estern Ste. Genevieve County contains some of the loveliest vistas in the state, and Hawn State Park offers visitors one of the best places to experience this diverse natural landscape.

When schoolteacher Helen Coffer Hawn willed the state 1,459 acres of majestic hills and crystal streams, her gift became the centerpiece of one of the most outstanding recreational jewels of the state park system.

The park features an unusual landscape with canyonrimmed valleys, clear sandbottom streams and a mixed oak-pine forest. In places, the oak-pine forest gives way to pure stands of mature short-

leaf pine - Missouri’s only native pine species. In addition, Hawn State Park preserves one of Missouri’s best examples of the distinctive Lamotte Sandstone - a very old, coarse-grained sandstone overlying ancient igneous bedrock. It is one of the few places in the state where such a diversity of rocks is exposed at the surface. The sandstone’s unique ability to hold groundwater produces a variety of distinctive flowers and plants.

Much of the park is in the Whispering Pines Wild Area, which offers excellent opportunities for hiking, backpacking, bird watching and nature study. The majority of the wild area is covered with shortleaf pine, white oak, black oak and flowering dogwood. Wildlife abounds with turkey, white-tailed deer, raccoon, eastern gray squirrel and the broad-headed skink.

Visitors can hear the chirping and courtship of such birds as pine warblers, chickadees, owls and scarlet tanagers.

The park’s principal streams, Pickle Creek and River Aux Vases, meander across the landscape carving steep-sided valleys.

Several sandstone overhangs

along the streams create an environment that is cooler, damper and shadier than the surrounding hills. This provides a refuge for plants and animals normally found in more northern states.

More than 20 species of fish, including rainbow darter, striped shiner and silverjaw minnow, swim in the cool waters of the Pickle Creek Natural Area. Because of Pickle Creek’s high quality and pristine nature, it has been designated an outstanding state water resource.

The park contains some of the finest hiking trails in the state. Hikers on Whispering Pine Trail can explore many

of the park’s features as they wander through forests and along streams. The park features a campground with electric and basic sites, as well as modern restrooms, hot showers, laundry facilities, a dumping station and playground equipment.

The park has a great deal to offer in any season especially in the winter when the pines provide a splash of color against the freshly fallen snow. To learn more about Hawn State Park visit mostateparks.com.

tion with our partners during the next few months as we finalize the plan.

As the department’s 40th anniversary draws to a close, I’d like to extend our ap-

preciation for your continued support in our journey and pursuit to enhance Missouri’s natural resources. We all share a common goal of protecting these most precious

natural and cultural resources – because they belong to all of us. With your help, the department will continue to work to provide all Missourians a healthy environment in

which to live, work and enjoy the great outdoors!

Hawn State Park, located in Sainte Genevieve, is one of the loveliest parks in a system full of lovely parks.

Clear, sand-bottomed streams, wild areas ripe with orchids and awe-inspiring views combine to make Hawn a place that Missourians treasure. Photo credit: DNR

Missouri’s flowing waterways and lakes are important to our quality of life in Missouri and play an essential role in the state’s overall health and economic well-being. Governor Nixon officially declared 2015 the Year of Water. Photo credit: DNR

Sara Parker Pauley Director, DNR

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Backyard Biodegradation

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he green section of the local bookstore features titles like: Bring Elk Herds to Your Back Yard or Jurassic Suburbs, the idea being that you can enjoy the tooth and claw of raw nature with a little judicious planting.

The authors tell how they turned a typical suburban backyard, with crabgrass and moles into habitat for Bengal tigers. All it took was a bit of wildlife management (and the $30 book). “Biodiversity” is the catchword. Instead of just crabgrass, you encourage a multitude of noxious weeds some of which are capable of swallowing mature raccoons, and instead of just moles, you bring in bobcats, foxes and the occasional pit viper.

My former urban backyard? It looked like something Tarzan would shun. I don’t know if it was biodiversity or not, but it certainly was biodespicable, at least from the neighbors’ standpoint. When we moved to the real country, the old neighborhood held a block party that lasted for days (part of it involved the lighting of bonfires to keep the larger predators at bay).

I began planting trees a quarter of a century ago when we moved to a house on a dead end street, with two hundred acres of woodlands at the end of the road. As an employee of a conservation department, I got free seedlings, manna for a plantaholic.

By the time I moved, there was a huge cypress tree shading the dog pen--lovely, open shade that cooled the dogs in July. There was a white pine tree in the middle of the yard.

My five-year-old son found it after I’d accidentally dropped the seedling.

It had dried and looked as dead as Johnny Appleseed, but J.B. wanted to plant it. I didn’t think it would live, but he did and a small child’s faith is far stronger than that of an adult.

The tree grew more than five times 3 0

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taller than the kid.

Four apple trees hosted their own biodiversity--birds, wasps, yellowjackets, and a host of syrupsucking creatures. We didn’t spray them (either the trees or the insects) because I don’t believe in it and because I’m lazy (take your pick). We enjoyed a few knobby apples every fall and the Brittanies loved to chase thrown apples beginning in August.

They ate the green apples and threw up copiously, but never tired of the game.

A redbud sprouted under the canoe rack and I intended to transplant it, but I didn’t know where. All the holes were filled. The domestic grapes I planted below the dog pen were supplanted by poison ivy which did very nicely. Poison ivy berries make fine bird food so I left the plants in place. It was, to coin a pun, a rash decision.

My son, the same one who planted the pine tree, also made a wren house as a Cub Scout project about 30 years ago (he now is the father of three children). We hung the house on an outdoor clothes line pole and it had wrens every spring. The wrens melodiously cussed us for trying to dry our wash. Our cat was too arthritic to bother birds anymore.

The bird dogs pointed them once in a while, just to keep in practice.

I wonder what the buyers of the old house thought when they explore into my former biodiverse backyard, in the manner of explorer Henry Morton Stanley. Probably rev up the chainsaw and then place an emergency call to the ChemLawn people.

We moved to 40 acres in the country where I could exercise my mania for wildlife cultivation.

Everyone hangs hummingbird feeders and I did too. The dwarf buckeye I planted in town was too big to transplant and I missed it because

its red blossoms drew hummers like honey draws bees. But the feeders substituted admirably and it’s difficult to read on the deck if I’m wearing a red cap because the little rubythroats zip past my head with a disconcerting buzz.

For a while I buried the heads and guts from fish I caught in our oneacre pond. I learned in grade school that Squanto, a Wampanoag Indian, taught the Pilgrims to fertilize each hill of corn with a buried fish. That’s all I learned in grade school, except that Judy Miller, who sat one row over and two seats up, thought I was a jerk.

The bird dogs, who sometimes act as if they couldn’t smell a quail if it were stapled to their noses, can sniff out a buried gut pile, have it disinterred and rolled in before I can get through even half of my AngloSaxon vocabulary.

There are oxeye daisies in the yard. I skirt them with my lawnmower, leaving little living bouquets here and there. I learned that trick from Charlie Schwartz the illustrator of Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, the Bible of all conservationists.

Charlie’s backyard always was diverse — full of geese and people and once a road-killed deer, staked down next to the patio so he could photograph feeding buzzards from his living room. It was a marvelous setup except on days when the wind blew across the decomposing carcass into the house.

I was fortunate to hang around with biologists who did things like that. My late prairie biologist friend Don Christisen planted his front yard with native prairie grass and forbs.

The city got after him for not mowing his lawn, but he faced them down by claiming it was a natural area.

Since none of them knew natural areas from sewer maintenance, they

scratched their heads and went away.

I do have brush piles for the rabbits that routinely eat my garden (which is within a few feet of the dog pen— apparently rabbits are super perceptive when it comes to canine incarceration).

I try to discourage the rabbits by spreading blood meal, but all that does is make the garden grow better so they can eat more of it.

There’s much I don’t know about planned planting for wildlife. I guess you’re supposed to make a detailed plan and my son could do it since he took a college course in landscaping, but mostly he tells me I should cut down some things which I can’t do because I planted them such a long time ago and we have grown older together. The more I look at my biodiverse backyard, the more I realize it’s mostly the result of neglect and poor planning.

But we do raise rabbits right in the middle of the garden and there are toads to eat some of the noxious

insects and there are fireflies in the summer evenings to illuminate our souls and the ripe smell of a compost heap to illuminate our nasal passages.

I established a mini-prairie with native plants. My favorite was Queen of the Prairie, a lovely name, but the Brittanies ran over it and broke it down to a stub, which died. This is a plant that survived the stampedes of the historic bison herds, but couldn’t hack it with a few bird dogs. The mini-prairie throbs with purple gayfeather in July and glitters with black- eyed Susan in August.

In a wet year, Indiangrass and big bluestem will be eight feet tall. I collected the seeds off a highway rightof-way, all the while worrying that a patrolman would stop and ask what I was harvesting and I would reply “grass seed” and he would handcuff me to the door handle while he called in a drug bust.

Once a patrolman did stop as I collected big rocks from a right-

of-way. “What are you doing?” he asked. I thought it was pretty obvious and a dozen smart aleck remarks sprang to mind (i.e. “folding parachutes”), but one doesn’t mouth off to those with guns and badges, so I told him I was building a rock garden and he told me about a nearby right of way that had better rocks.

A few years ago, I killed a gobbler on the ridge across the lake, and I missed a shot at a buck. The place is overrun with gray squirrels, and raccoons regularly visit the deck to snack on my sunflower seeds, the ones the squirrels don’t get. My cedar sauna, built with logs cut from our woods, has a resident black rat snake that fell on a visitor’s shoulder. It was not a Finnish snake.

The fellow didn’t say much after we pried him off the ceiling, but I think he believes I have just a little bit too much biodiversity in my backyard.

Joel M. Vance

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Life After CLC - Where Are You Now? Mark Corio:

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n 2005, a bill was put forth to sell tens-of-thousands of acres of national forest lands. The monies garnered from the sales would have gone into general operating funds and the land would have gone to private individuals. At stake, was one of Missouri’s crown jewels, Mark Twain National Forest.

Mark Corio, an 18-year old CLC student at the time, knew this was the wrong decision for Missouri and the wrong decision for conservation.

Together with other CLC students, Mark put forward a resolution at the CFM annual convention against the transfer of national forest lands.

On the CFM convention floor, the resolution was put to a vote and passed by the general assembly. This gave CFM a public stance against this legislation.

Shortly after Mark and his team’s resolution passed, a legislator on the bill’s review committee contacted CFM to discuss the various points of the bill. Because CFM had taken a stance on this issue, the organization was able to voice its concern and explain why the legislation was unsound. Shortly after the conversation, the bill was killed before it left committee and the national forest lands remained in public trust.

“When you’re 18 years old and you accomplish something like that and know you can make that big of an impact on the world around us, you think ‘What else can we do?’

After that, I was hooked on CLC,” said Mark.

Mark knew he wanted to have a career in conservation at an early age, deciding to “be a steward of the land” in eighth grade. He went to the University of Missouri, studying Parks and Recreation at the School of Natural Resources. Mark’s 3 2

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Photo credit: Columbia Missourian

professors recognized his passion for conservation and nominated him for the Conservation Leadership Corps.

He attended his first CLC conference in 2004.

“The first year was really good, but the second year when we passed the national forest lands resolution was great. I knew the CLC wasn’t just old ladies playing cards, it was the real deal,” said Mark.

Mark continued to be an active part of CLC throughout college and continued with CFM as the CLC board representative. He also became a life member of CFM. “I made an impact on CFM and CFM made a huge impact on me through shaping and guiding me and my career. I knew the best way for me to give back and stay connected was through a life membership,” said Mark.

Mark credits his involvement with CLC, CFM and the board of directors with helping him secure his first professional job as a biological services technician with the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife, fisheries division. During school and his time with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, he had an interest in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), which he continued to pursue. Now, Mark works as an intelligence analyst for the Department of Defense.

Having recently returned from Afghanistan, Mark plans to increase his involvement with the CLC as a graduate volunteer helping new CLC students find their own career path and conservation voice. When asked what about the CLC he liked most, Mark said, “You have the opportunity to actively make a change and take part in what goes on around you. The work accomplished by the CLC is something that will live on past you, past your kids and their kids. You can create your own legacy and do so at a young age.”

Rehan Nana Deputy Director, CFM

Member’s Memories Deer Hunting Edition

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Why I Became a Life Member of CFM Norm Stucky:

It was during third grade in a one-room schoolhouse that Norm Stucky first felt a pull towards conservation. A man from the Department of Fish and Wildlife brought around a wagon full of animals to talk to students about wildlife and conservation. Norm goes back to this moment when recounting how he became interested in conservation. He was mesmerized and captivated, and those feelings have stuck with him.

Norm says he is perplexed by friends and acquaintances he thought cared similarly for conservation, but won’t support it with a monetary backing. He became a life member because he felt it was his time to step up and show his support for conservation. He prioritizes the Conservation Federation of Missouri among the numerous other groups he is a member of because he believes they are key to protecting the immense natural resources in Missouri. “I feel very deeply about the importance of conservation and furthering the cause in Missouri, and believe supporting CFM is the best way to help,” Norm said.

He started enjoying the outdoors at a young age, making home-made bows, arrows and sling shots. Norm spends his time archery deer hunting and duck hunting in the fall, and turkey hunting in the spring. These days, he appreciates feeling connected to the outdoors through a peaceful, therapeutic walk in the woods.

Interview By: Emma Kessinger Communications Specialist, CFM

Bill Kirgan:

It seems to me that I have been a member of the Conservation Federation of Missouri for as long as I can recall, at least 25 years.

With that in mind, when it was suggested that I become a Life Member it occurred to me that I already was and would only be confirming that I would continue to be and how I would pay my dues.

For most of my membership, my participation was a passive monetary contribution that affirmed my appreciation for the great outdoor activities and beauty that Missouri provides. I am now a member of the CFM Board of Directors and recognize that the abundant wildlife, pristine waterways and our highly touted Conservation Commission are under attack by those whose self interest in profit outweigh their interest

in the common good. Recent efforts to take our deer population out of the control of the Missouri Department of Conservation and efforts to remove the waterways of the Current River from the protection of its status as a National Scenic River by those trying to profit from the commercialization of our natural resources is of great concern to me.

It is for these reasons that I felt it was time to step up not only my financial contribution to CFM but to make my voice heard in an effort to let our elected officials know that those trying to buy their vote at the expense of the rich history of success in making Missouri a leader in conservation would not be tolerated. I think we are at a tipping point in protecting Missouri’s great outdoors and I hope you will join me by making your voice heard and continuing to support CFM. Bill Kirgan Lifetime member, CFM

New Lifetime Members since the last issue.

Dan Burkhardt, Saint Louis

Bill Kirgan, Saint James

Connie Burkhardt, Saint Louis

Donald & Deb Schultehenrich, New Bloomfield

Tyler Green, Edina

Norm Stucky, Jefferson City

— 215 Life Members and growing —

To see the full list go to: http://confedmo.org/about/lifetime-members-2/ 3 4

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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.

Visit our website: www.confedmo.org