ROLLA, Missouri – Hunters who put up temporary deer stands on Mark Twain National Forest need to remove them.
Portable deer hunting tree stands are permitted to be placed on Mark Twain National Forest two weeks before deer season.
Portable deer hunting tree stands are to be removed no later than two weeks after the close of archery deer season, which ended on January 15, 2012.
Tree stands discovered on Mark Twain National Forest after January 30, 2012, are subject to seizure and impoundment under 36 CFR 261.58V.
Permanent deer stands are prohibited. Permanent deer stands are any wooden or metal structure that has been attached or fixed to a tree and used for the purpose of hunting deer when in season.
Any permanent deer stands found on Mark Twain National Forest will be treated as unauthorized structures, prohibited under law and regulation, and are subject to removal under 36 CFR 261.10A.
In addition, use of screw-in steps, screws or nails, and any material that would damage trees is also prohibited.
When using temporary portable deer stands on Mark Twain National Forest, the temporary portable deer stand must have the full name, address, and telephone number of the user. Stands that don’t have identifying information are unauthorized structures and can also be impounded by Mark Twain National Forest law enforcement personnel.
If you have questions concerning Mark Twain National Forest’s deer stand policy, please contact Toby Barton, Poplar Bluff Ranger District law enforcement officer; 1420 Maud Street, Poplar Bluff, MO, or by phone at (573) 785-1475.
You can also contact Sam Beaty, Eleven Point Ranger District law enforcement officer; #4 Confederate Ridge Road, Doniphan MO, or by phone at (573) 996-2153.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Big Springs Non-Profit Wins Grant to Clean Up Tires on Mark Twain National Forest
DONIPHAN, MO – Big Springs Resource Conservation and Development Council recently received a Missouri Department of Natural Resources grant to help clean up dumped tires on Mark Twain National Forest.
The grant from Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Solid Waste Management Program will focus on cleaning up Mark Twain National Forest around Ripley, Shannon and Carter Counties.
Raben Tire, Poplar Bluff, has partnered with Mark Twain National Forest and Missouri Department of Natural Resources and will be handling the collected tires for recycling.
Missouri citizens generate an estimated five million scrap tires a year; many wind up discarded on public lands.
“An environment free of scrap tires is important to public health and the environment,” said Mark Twain National Forest Eleven Point District Ranger Tim Bond. “Scrap tires harbor mosquitoes and snakes. Many disease carrying pests flourish in the stagnant water that collects inside tires.”
Chief culprits are mosquitoes that can carry deadly diseases such as the West Nile virus and encephalitis.
There are other, less visible costs.
“Dumped tires also contaminate our soils and waterway systems, are toxic to plants and wildlife, and then there’s the loss of aesthetic beauty,” Bond said.
“One of our organization’s objectives is to restore, improve, and protect the quality of the environment,” said Big Springs Resource Conservation and Development Council Manager Becky Paxton. “This is a worthwhile project because it will help reduce dumped tires on Mark Twain National Forest on three counties in our district.”
Recycled tires are used as fuel; they are also recycled into products such as rubber-modified asphalt on Missouri highways.
Mark Twain National Forest is the largest public land manager in Missouri with 1.5 million acres in 29 counties in southern and central Missouri. Mark Twain National Forest’s mission is to continue to restore Missouri’s natural communities and maintain a healthy, working forest.
The grant from Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Solid Waste Management Program will focus on cleaning up Mark Twain National Forest around Ripley, Shannon and Carter Counties.
Raben Tire, Poplar Bluff, has partnered with Mark Twain National Forest and Missouri Department of Natural Resources and will be handling the collected tires for recycling.
Missouri citizens generate an estimated five million scrap tires a year; many wind up discarded on public lands.
“An environment free of scrap tires is important to public health and the environment,” said Mark Twain National Forest Eleven Point District Ranger Tim Bond. “Scrap tires harbor mosquitoes and snakes. Many disease carrying pests flourish in the stagnant water that collects inside tires.”
Chief culprits are mosquitoes that can carry deadly diseases such as the West Nile virus and encephalitis.
There are other, less visible costs.
“Dumped tires also contaminate our soils and waterway systems, are toxic to plants and wildlife, and then there’s the loss of aesthetic beauty,” Bond said.
“One of our organization’s objectives is to restore, improve, and protect the quality of the environment,” said Big Springs Resource Conservation and Development Council Manager Becky Paxton. “This is a worthwhile project because it will help reduce dumped tires on Mark Twain National Forest on three counties in our district.”
Recycled tires are used as fuel; they are also recycled into products such as rubber-modified asphalt on Missouri highways.
Mark Twain National Forest is the largest public land manager in Missouri with 1.5 million acres in 29 counties in southern and central Missouri. Mark Twain National Forest’s mission is to continue to restore Missouri’s natural communities and maintain a healthy, working forest.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Archery deer, turkey harvests up from last year
Counties bordering urban areas had the biggest totals.
JEFFERSON CITY–Bowhunters posted increases in both deer and turkey harvests during Missouri’s 2011-12 archery deer and turkey hunting seasons, topping the previous year’s figures by more than one-third.
Hunters checked 52,671 deer during the four-month archery season. That is an increase of 10,299 (24 percent) from the previous year. Archers checked 2,923 turkeys, an increase of 739 (33.8 percent) from the 2010-2011 season.
Jason Isabelle, a resource scientist for the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), said two factors probably contributed to the increased archery turkey harvest.
“I attribute the increase in harvest to the good hatch that we had last year in most of the state and to increased archery permit sales,” said Isabelle. “There were both more turkeys and more archers in the woods in 2011 than in 2010.”
MDC sold 110,647 archery hunting permits and issued another 82,486 no-cost landowner archer’s permits last year. The total of 190,133 archery permits is a record and continues a long-term trend of increasing interest in archery hunting.
“More people discover the enjoyment of archery season every year,” said Isabelle. “The challenge of bowhunting appeals to many hunters who start with firearms. For others, the attraction is a huge increase in hunting opportunity. For quite a few hunters, opening day of deer season can’t come soon enough and closing day comes too soon. Taking up the bow and arrow allows them to pursue their outdoor passion all fall and into winter.”
MDC Resource Scientist Jason Sumners said the reason for this year’s increased archery deer harvest is harder to nail down.
“Over the past decade we have seen a steady increase in the number of archery hunters and a resulting increase in archery harvest,” said Sumners. “However, that doesn’t explain the fluctuations we see in archery harvest from year to year. There are likely other factors at work that create annual variation in hunter effort or success. We had very mild weather last fall, and that might have caused hunters to spend more time pursuing deer. But there is still a lot we don’t know about the relationship between weather and hunter behavior and other factors that affect archery harvest.”
Sumners said he hopes to explore those factors in the future to gain a better understanding of what causes sizeable archery harvest fluctuations like those that have occurred over the last four years. For example, the deer archery harvest increased from 44,434 in 2008 to a record 51,972 in 2009 and went back down to 43,281 in 2010.
Missouri’s 2011-2012 archery and firearms deer harvests total 291,592. That is up 6 percent from the previous year. The 2011-2012 firearms and archery turkey harvests total 52,226, down 3.8 percent from the previous year.
The top archery deer-harvest counties were Jefferson with 1,092 deer checked, Franklin with 1,088 and Jackson with 1,040. Top archery turkey-harvest counties were Callaway with 76 turkeys checked, Franklin with 67 and Jefferson with 58.
All of the top counties for archery deer and turkey harvest were in or near metropolitan areas. Isabelle and Sumners agree this probably is largely because all four counties are within easy driving distance of large numbers of hunters. Also, Callaway and Franklin counties are larger than average, and both have excellent deer and turkey habitat.
“Those four counties are natural choices for folks who live in nearby cities,” said Isabelle. “Franklin and Callaway counties are between the St. Louis and Columbia-Jefferson City areas and have some of the best turkey habitat in the state. Jefferson and Jackson counties are right at the edge of the state’s two largest metropolitan areas, so it’s not surprising that lots of archers would spend time hunting there.”
MDC recorded eight firearms-related deer-hunting incidents during the 2011-2012 hunting season. One was fatal.
-Jim Low-
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Nikon ProStaff 3 & ProStaff 5 Rangefinders Video Interview at SHOT Show!
We have a lot of SHOT Show Video Interviews coming out today, so I’m going to keep on rolling them out as quick as I can. Here we have our second interview with Nikon representative Jon LaCorte. Jon shows Steve two new rangefinders displayed by Nikon at SHOT Show. Both models are part of the Nikon ProStaff line of products, and will give you quality performance at a great price.
Watch as Jon first shows off the Nikon Prostaff 3 Rangefinder. With one button operation, it doesn’t get much easier to operate, and it has a very fast processor for quick range finding. This is really important when you’re out hunting and finally spot a buck after hours of waiting. You won’t want to miss that shot because you were waiting for the rangefinder to figure out the distance. It has a great range of about 550 yards, and the optics are nice and bright, so you’ll have no trouble seeing your intended target. 6x power is just right for finding distance, and the tough construction is both waterproof and fog proof, so you don’t need to worry about it breaking on you when you need it!
The Nikon ProStaff 5 Rangefinder was even more impressive. The ProStaff 5 is actually a fair bit smaller than any other Nikon Rangefinder, and as Steve points out, though you may not think about the size very often, it makes a big difference when you’re trying to put it in or take it out of a pocket. While the overall size of the Nikon ProStaff 5 is smaller, they made the ocular bigger, so you’ll have an easier time seeing your target. An additional feature that really sets the ProStaff 5 apart is the LED illumination. This LED can be turned on with a single button press, and your reticle will be illuminated for easier use. This is especially welcome in the morning or evening, when light is scarce.
I’ve been really impressed so far with everything Nikon brought to SHOT Show this year. I’ll have another video interview with Jon LaCorte up soon that talks about the Nikon Monarch 3 and Monarch 5 binoculars, so stay tuned!
Restoring southwest Missouri’s natural resources focus of meetings, restoration plan
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., JAN.24, 2012 – The Missouri Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have developed a regional restoration plan to restore southwest Missouri’s natural resources injured by hazardous substances. The agencies will hold a series of upcoming public meetings and are seeking comments on the restoration plan.
Representatives from the department and Fish & Wildlife Service will explain the Draft Springfield Plateau Regional Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment at public meetings in Springfield, Joplin and Neosho. During the meetings, the public will have the opportunity to ask questions and formally comment on the restoration plan, available online atdnr.mo.gov/env/hwp/sfund/nrda.
The Springfield Plateau ecoregion includes major portions of Cedar, Dade, Jasper, Newton, Lawrence and Greene counties; portions of Polk, Webster, Christian and Barry counties; and minor portions of St. Clair, Hickory, Barton, McDonald, Stone and Douglas counties.
The public meetings will be held:
· Jan. 25 in Joplin at MSU’s Billingsley Student Center, 3950 E. Newman Rd.
· Jan. 26 in Neosho at the Neosho National Fish Hatchery, 520 Park Street.
· Jan. 30 in Springfield at the Library Center, 4653 S. Campbell Ave.
The meetings will start at 6 and end at 8:30 p.m.
Written comments on the restoration plan must be postmarked no later than Feb. 24. Comments and questions or requests for copies of the plan can be directed to:
Frances Klahr
Natural Resources Damages Coordinator
Missouri Department of Natural Resources U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
P.O. Box 176
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176
573-522-1347
Copies of the restoration plan are be available for on-site review at the Joplin Public Library, 300 S. Main Street, Joplin; Neosho Public Library, 201 W. Spring Street, Neosho; Springfield Public Library, 4653 S. Campbell Ave, Springfield; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 101 Park DeVille Dr. Suite A, Columbia; and Missouri Department of Natural Resources, 1730 E. Elm St., Jefferson City.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service are charged, primarily through federal Superfund law, with assessing injuries to and restoring natural resources that have been injured by environmental hazards such as oil discharges and hazardous substances releases. This process is referred to as Natural Resources Damage Assessment and Restoration. Citizens have the right to use and enjoy natural resources and states have the duty and responsibility to protect these resources.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
CWD found in two free-ranging deer from Macon County
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| Image via Wikipedia |
Two positive results for Chronic Wasting Disease are first for free-ranging deer in Missouri.
JEFFERSON CITY Mo – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) received two positive test results for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) from 1,077 tissue samples taken from free-ranging deer harvested by hunters in north-central Missouri during the 2011 fall firearms deer season. Both positive test results were from adult bucks harvested by Missouri hunters in Macon County, and are the first CWD-positive results for free-ranging deer in Missouri.
MDC plans to obtain more tissue samples for CWD testing by harvesting additional deer in the immediate area where the two infected deer were harvested.
“Teamwork among landowners, hunters and MDC staff allowed us to detect this infection early,” said MDC Deer Biologist Jason Sumners. “We will be working with local landowners to harvest additional deer for tissue sampling. This is a first step and one of our best hopes for containing, and perhaps even eliminating, what we believe to be a recent localized event.”
MDC staff have contacted the two Missouri hunters who harvested the CWD-positive bucks to inform them of the situation and answer questions.
CWD is a neurological disease that is limited to deer, elk, moose and other members of the deer family, known as “cervids.” CWD is spread by animal-to-animal contact or by animal contact with soil that contains prions from urine, feces or the decomposition of an infected animal. Deer and other cervids with signs of CWD show changes in natural behavior and can exhibit extreme weight loss, excessive salivation, stumbling and tremors. CWD can spread through natural movements of infected animals, transportation of infected live captive animals, or the transportation of infected carcasses.
The Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) says there is no evidence from existing research that CWD can spread to domestic livestock, such as sheep or cattle. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (MDHSS) says there is no scientific evidence that CWD is transmissible to humans through contact with or the consumption of deer meat.
MDC conducted its tissue-sampling effort during the fall firearms season in November in response to two cases of CWD found in captive white-tailed deer at two private, captive-hunting preserves in Linn and Macon counties. A third captive deer at one of the preserves tested positive for CWD in December. The two earlier cases of CWD found at the private hunting preserves were detected in February 2010 and October 2011. The two free-ranging bucks that tested positive were harvested within two miles of the Macon County preserve.
CWD in deer can only be confirmed by laboratory testing of the brain stem or lymph tissue. Tissue samples collected by MDC were tested by the Southeast Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study Laboratory of the University of Georgia, Athens, with confirmation by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.
The disease was first recognized in 1967 in captive mule deer in Colorado. CWD has also been documented in both captive and free-ranging deer in neighboring Kansas and Nebraska. It has been documented in free-ranging deer in neighboring Illinois. CWD has also been documented in both captive and free-ranging members of the deer-family in Colorado, Minnesota, New York, South Dakota, Wisconsin and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Maryland, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming also have documented cases of CWD in free-ranging members of the deer family. Michigan and Montana have documented cases of CWD in captive members of the deer family.
CWD is transmitted through prions, which are abnormal proteins that attack the nervous systems of these species. These prions accumulate in the brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, and lymph nodes of infected animals. While there is no scientific evidence that CWD is transmissible to humans or animals other than deer and other cervids, health officials caution that consumption of these parts is not recommended. They also advise people to not eat meat from animals known to be infected with CWD or that exhibit signs of any disease.
While CWD is new to free-ranging deer in Missouri, MDC has been testing for it for years. With the help of hunters, MDC has tested more than 34,000 free-ranging deer for CWD from all parts of the state since 2002.
Missouri also has a Cervid Health Committee to address the threat of CWD to Missouri’s free-ranging and captive cervids. The Committee is composed of wildlife biologists, veterinarians and other animal-health experts from MDC, MDA, MDHSS and the USDA.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Capping pipes can save birds’ lives
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| Image via Wikipedia |
Open vertical pipes and posts take a toll on wildlife.
JEFFERSON CITY–Do you have a fence with hollow posts made of PVC or metal pipe? What about a metal sign post? Bird experts say these and other open vertical pipes can be death traps for birds and other wildlife.
Wildlife Ecologist Brad Jacobs with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) learned about the problem from Audubon California’s Kern River Preserve.
“They discovered it by accident,” said Jacobs. “Audubon staffers went to remove a 20-foot-long vent pipe that had rusted and fallen over. The lower seven feet of the 8-inch pipe were filled with the decomposed bodies of hundreds of birds and other animals that got inside and couldn’t get out. It was a horrible sight.”
Victims of the irrigation pipe, which had been in place more than 50 years, included bluebirds, woodpeckers and kestrels – small birds of prey. Other animals, such as lizards, also perished.
The death trap was part of an abandoned irrigation system. After the macabre discovery, the Audubon staffers began noticing similar hazards on their preserve and neighboring land. They found dead animals in pipes ranging from 1 to 10 inches in diameter and set to work removing or capping the pipes to prevent further carnage.
Jacobs says he fears that similar hazards exist throughout Missouri.
“It isn’t something we ever considered before,” he said. “But now that we know about it, I think it’s important to let everyone know, so they can take action to prevent needless losses of wildlife.”
Solutions include capping pipes or covering open ends with screen wire or hardware cloth. Removal is an option for pipes that no longer are needed. More information is available at www.ca.audubon.org/
Jacobs said anyone, even conservation groups, can unintentionally contribute to such problems. He noted that for several years MDC and Missouri Stream Team have encouraged concerned citizens to construct disposal bins for used fishing line at popular fishing spots. The bins consist of PVC pipe mounted vertically on posts with caps on the bottom and uncapped elbows on top. Anglers can place scrap line in the pipe, preventing it from becoming a hazard to wildlife.
“This was a commendable effort,” said Jacobs. “When it began, no one considered that the recycling bins might be hazards to cavity-nesting birds. However, tree swallows and prothonotary warblers have been found dead and entangled in fishing line inside similar receptacles in other states. The birds apparently explore the plastic tubes as potential nest sites and get tangled up in the used line inside.”
Line-recycling bins can be retrofitted with covers with a slit that still allows insertion of used fishing line without letting birds get inside. The covers are made from tire inner tubes or rubber roof sheeting held in place by pipe clamps. See http://mdc.mo.gov/node/16060/ for details. MDC is refitting all its fishing-line disposal bins.
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