Missouri Outdoor News for August 23rd, 2013

Bats at Onondaga State Park

August 31st offers interested members of the public an opportunity a chance to learn about bat conservation at Onondaga State Park.  The festivities will run from 11 am to 3 pm, and will offer the public a chance to also comment on park operations.  For information on the program, call the park at 573-245-6576.  Onondaga is located near Leasburg, MO off of I-44.

Open House at Knob Knoster State Park

Located near Whiteman Air Force base in Missouri, Knob Knoster State park is a beautiful place to visit.  They will offer an open house for the public from 2-4 pm on August 31st.  Please call 660-563-2463 to get details from park officials.

Hunter Education

Hunters born after January 1, 1967 are required to be hunter education certified before they can legally hunt in Missouri.  Also, some hunters who will act as mentors to younger hunters also require this certification.  If you have never taken the course, it is a great idea for any and all who hunt in Missouri.

There is a variety of options for completing the training, and the information can be found at http://www.mdc.mo.gov/node/11416. Don't delay in getting your certification before Fall hunting seasons get into full swing.

Waterfowl Reservations

If you want to hunt ducks on land managed by the MDC, you can start applying on September 1st.  To apply or get more information on this opportunity, visit http://mdc.mo.gov/node/3806

Related articles

• Planning Deer Hunts on Public Land (kansas-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• Finding Public Hunting Land in Kansas (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)

Weather gives endangered prairie chickens a nesting boost

Courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation

Dry weather and good nesting and feeding habitat brought surge in brood counts and number of chicks reaching self-reliant size.

By Bill Graham, MDC

KANSAS CITY, Mo -- Missouri’s endangered prairie chickens got a major lift this summer from dry weather in June and continued refinement in how native grasslands are managed.

The Missouri population dipped to a critically low number of about 100 prairie chickens sighted on mating grounds this spring, in a state that once had hundreds of thousands. However, favorable weather helped hens on MDC-managed prairies hatch and rear their young this summer.

“We had an apparent nesting success of almost 80 percent, which is phenomenal,” said Max Alleger, grassland bird coordinator for the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). “Most studies show that nesting success in stable populations is usually 50 percent.”

Habitat loss since the 1800s reduced the state’s prairie-chicken numbers to dozens in scattered flocks as this century began. Starting in 2007, cool and rainy weather caused severe chick mortality during nesting and brood-rearing seasons, causing problems for a struggling species where adults have an average life span of two to three years due to predators and natural mortality.

In 2008, MDC crews began trapping prairie chickens in Kansas and releasing them at the Wah’Kon-Tah Prairie near El Dorado Springs. A small native flock survived at the Taberville Prairie Conservation Area to the north, but no prairie chickens remained at Wah’Kon-Tah as the translocation project began. The Kansas birds began a new flock, but torrential rains and unseasonably cool temperatures limited nesting success each spring through 2010.

Then relatively dry weather this June coupled with good variety in nesting and feeding habitat brought a welcome surge in brood counts and the number of chicks reaching a self-reliant size by summer’s end.

MDC crews located 29 prairie-chicken nests this summer at Wah’Kon-Tah and Taberville prairies in St. Clair County. Of those, they determined that hens in 23 nests hatched broods. Biologists and students from the University of Missouri-Columbia directly observed 52 chicks during field work.

“It’s encouraging,” Alleger said, “and we’ve seen the same thing with turkeys and quail. I think the dry weather helped all the ground-nesting birds.”

Three broods were raised by hens hatched at Wah’Kon-Tah since 2008. Hens from translocations in earlier years reared eight broods, and 16 hens translocated from Kansas this spring produced young.

Crews are able to monitor prairie chickens because many are outfitted with small radio transmitters. Biologists track them in the fields and chart on maps what habitat they use for feeding, nesting, loafing and roosting.

“The birds have shown a real preference for cattle-grazed areas, both on our native prairies and on neighboring private pastures as well,” Alleger said.

Prairie chickens are fast flyers but they spend most of their time walking, running, feeding and resting on the ground. Grazing opens up paths and open areas that are easy for prairie chickens to move about amid grasses and wildflowers, and they are easier places for small chicks to catch bugs while feeding. But the ground dwellers also need dense cover for nesting or to escape from predators such as hawks. The public prairies are being managed in 40-acre patches so that grazed, burned and undisturbed areas are side by side, offering what biologists call a soft edge.

“The chicks need to be able to get out in the sun in the morning and let the dew dry off,” Alleger said. “But when the hawks fly over, they also need places to hide.”

A five-year prairie-chicken restoration program at Wah’Kon-Tah with translocated Kansas birds, radio telemetry monitoring and habitat studies concludes in 2012.

This summer’s brood success is a hopeful sign that with moderate weather and habitat management such as grazing, the iconic symbol of grassland birds can rebound there and be restored elsewhere.

“If we can get two or three years in a row with drier weather,” he said, “it could make all the difference in the success of the project.”

The Prairie Chicken in Missouri

Learn to enjoy the outdoors at WOW Kansas City Sept. 23-24

 JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Aug. 25, 2011 – Have you ever wanted to learn skills that will enhance your outdoor adventures?  If you answered yes, then WOW Kansas City is for you.  WOW Kansas City will be held in Swope ParkSept. 23-24 and registration is open now.

            The WOW National Outdoor Recreation and Conservation School is packed with opportunities for people of all ages to learn outdoor recreation skills. The event is sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources; Kansas City, Missouri, Parks and Recreation; Bass Pro Shops; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Missouri Department of Conservation; Wonders of Wildlife; the National Park Service and Missouri State University.  The event will begin on Friday evening with a camping opportunity, and will continue from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

            WOW Kansas City is designed to teach participants how to enjoy a wide range of outdoor recreation activities while practicing personal safety and outdoor responsibility. WOW will offer classes in a variety of outdoor skills including archery, fishing, canoeing, campfire cooking, camping and more. Participants will camp at SwopePark and participate in Saturday classes at James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife Area. Transportation to the wildlife area will be provided from Swope Park.

            Classes are open to anyone age nine or above; however, nine to 12 year olds must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to classes. The trained professionals provide hands-on instruction for people who may not be familiar with the outdoors and children who may be experiencing nature for the first time. The workshop is a great opportunity for families to learn activities together and take the "Children in Nature Challenge." 

            The cost to attend is $15 per person or $30 per family, making it an affordable day of family fun. Financial assistance is also available.  Advance registration is required and the deadline to register is Sept. 9.

            Camping on Friday night will be held at Camp Lake of the Woods in Swope Park and will begin at 4 p.m. with tent setup and a hands-on outdoor cooking experience (food is provided).  Evening activities will include an owl program and family activities and hikes.  Tents will be available to those who do not have one and can be reserved through the registration process.

            For more information or to request a registration packet, contact the Missouri Department of Natural Resources by calling toll free 800-334-6946 (voice) or 800-379-2419 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) or sending an email to moparks@dnr.mo.gov.  Registration information and forms are also available on the web atmostateparks.com/wow.

Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Second Annual BioBlitz June 4 & 5

Image by ImAges ImprObables via Flickr

Nature lovers of all ages are invited to help experts discover and document grassland plants and animals from Golden Prairie, a National Natural Landmark in Barton County.

By Carol Davit, Missouri Prairie Foundation

JEFFERSON CITY Mo -- In spring and summer, Golden Prairie is often carpeted with wildflowers as far as the eye can see. An original prairie remnant owned and managed by the Missouri Prairie Foundation, Golden is a peaceful place and haven for native prairie plants and wildlife.

On Saturday and Sunday, June 4 and 5, however, it will bustle with human activity as nature lovers statewide team up with biologists at the conservation organization’s free, second annual Prairie BioBlitz.

Barbara Van Vleck, a Missouri Master Naturalist from Kansas City, will definitely be there.

“MPF’s Prairie BioBlitz last year at Penn-Sylvania Prairie was the best outdoor event I have attended in 20 years,” said Van Vleck. “Cordial experts in many fields taught us at an appropriate level. A plant survey revealed blooms everywhere, including orchids! From a bat survey, herpetology talk to nighttime moth identification, it was an exciting two days. I wouldn’t miss it this year for anything.”

Across the country, nature lovers and professional biologists team up at “BioBlitzes” to identify as many species as possible (the “bio”) in an area over the course of 24 hours (the “blitz”). The Missouri Prairie Foundation is hosting its own version at Golden Prairie on Saturday, June 4, and Sunday, June 5.

Golden Prairie is in Barton County, about three miles from Golden City. The Missouri Prairie Foundation purchased the 320-acre Golden Prairie in 1970, and since then, 310 additional acres adjoining or near the original tract have been purchased and protected. More than 300 plant species are known from the original 320 acres of the prairie, but for many other groups of species, little information is known from any of Golden’s 630 acres.

“Today, ecologists consider temperate grasslands to be the most endangered, least conserved of any terrestrial habitat on earth, and no temperate grasslands are more threatened than tallgrass prairies,” said Carol Davit, the Foundation’s director of communications and development. “Collectively, our remaining prairies in Missouri support up to 800 plant species, dozens of vertebrates and thousands of invertebrates. We want to see how many of them we can find at Golden Prairie, and BioBlitz participants will help in that effort.”

On the afternoon and evening of June 4 and the morning of June 5, biologists who study ants, bees, birds, beetles, butterflies, true bugs, moths, mammals, aquatic invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, land snails, vascular plants, mosses and liverworts will lead groups across the prairie to survey and inventory as many species as possible.

Several Missouri Conservation Department (MDC) biologists, including Mammalogist Debbie Fantz, Natural History Biologist Mike Arduser, Resource Science Division Field Chief Rochelle Renken, Fisheries Management Biologist Tom Priesendorf and Naturalist Shelly Cox will be group leaders. Other leaders include Shaw Nature Reserve Biologist and Entomologist Dr. James Trager, Botanists Justin Thomas and Nels Holmberg, Malacologist Ron Oesch, Lepidopterist Phillip Koenig and Naturalist Elizabeth Hamilton.

“We are thrilled that so many biologists are giving their time to help uncover the plant and animal treasures of this prairie,” said Davit. “If you love wildlife, this is a great opportunity to learn from experts passionate about their given subjects, and play a role in much-needed data collection as well.”

MDC’s Mike Arduser, who will lead the bee group, added, “The Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Prairie BioBlitz brings two important things together -- scientific data collection and the opportunity of nature enthusiasts at all skill levels to participate in this work, and also interact with each other. At the end of the weekend, BioBlitz participants go away with a greater understanding of prairie then when they arrived.”

Following the afternoon activities on June 4, there will be a potluck picnic supper, stargazing and free tent camping on the prairie. The BioBlitz is free, but participants must RSVP. For a detailed BioBlitz schedule, directions to the prairie, and to RSVP, visit the Upcoming Events page at www.moprairie.org, email info@moprairie.com or call 888-843-6739.

The Missouri Prairie Foundation is a 45-year-old membership organization that protects and restores prairie and other native grasslands through acquisition, management, education and support of prairie research. The organization owns 2,600 acres of prairie across the state and helps manage an additional 1,500 acres owned by conservation partners.

Prairie in Progress by Lia Heppermann, MDC Wildlife Biologist

Image via Wikipedia
Reprinted from:

St. Louis Regional Newsletter
MDC

June 2011

Visitors to the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area will notice many fields planted with native warm season grasses and wildflowers, or forbs.  This is an effort to restore, or more accurately reconstruct, the prairie once known as Howell’s Prairie, which was a part of this area many years ago.  It may be surprising to know that prior to European settlement more than one- third of the Missouri landscape was prairie.  With settlement however, the prairie was grazed and plowed and converted to farmsteads and agriculture. Additionally, settlers began to control the fires causing the prairie to gradually give way to trees.  Few examples remain today of undisturbed, unplowed remnant prairie, and those that do remain are invaluable to our natural heritage.  Instead, we are often left with the difficult prospect of restoring degraded prairie or trying to recreate prairie habitat where it once existed; both of which are poor substitutes for the real thing.  Natural prairie communities are filled with a diverse array of plant and animal life which unfortunately do not respond to the “if you build it, they will come” hypothesis.  Ecological restoration is more complicated than that.  In spite of this, doing nothing is not an option either.


Which brings us back to the reconstruction project at Busch.  Progress has been slow and there are many challenges.  Currently nearly 200 acres have been planted with seed from Missouri seed suppliers.  They provide seed that is native to, and grown in,  Missouri and therefore adapted to the local climate and its rainfall, soils, insects, and other herbivores.  Patience For more information on prairies visit:
http://mdc.mo.gov/landwater-care/plant-management/prairie-grassland-and-field-managment or http://www.moprairie.org is key since it takes many years before the wildflowers will bloom.  During the first few years, plants are developing deep root systems to survive drought, fire and grazing which were characteristic elements of natural prairies.  Controlling invasive exotic plants and implementing fire are additional challenges.  Unfortunately, herbicide is necessary to control sericea lespedeza and other invasive
plants.  The challenge is to remove one and leave the other.  Fire is implemented as often as possible to stimulate the growth and vigor of the grasses and forbs.  Happily, we are making progress, and when you visit
you can find pale purple coneflower, round-headed bush clover, purple prairie clover, lead plant, rattlesnake
master, rosinweed, compass plant and many others blooming among the tall grasses.

Prairie chickens make new stand at Wah’Kon-Tah

By Bill Graham, Missouri Department of Conservation

Photo Courtesy of the Missouri Department of Conservation

El Dorado Springs, Mo. -- On a recent spring afternoon, Kansas-born prairie chickens stepped cautiously onto Missouri soil bearing radio transmitters and biologists’ hopes for this endangered icon. The first two prairie chickens scanned the open skies above Wah’Kon-Tah Prairie. Suddenly they fluttered skyward, prompting a dozen more of the black and white speckled birds to leave the release box and glide over a knoll, out of sight but not beyond the telemetry equipment that will track them through the seasons.

The birds were captured where greater prairie chickens are plentiful in the Smoky Hills near Salina, Kan. But the species is critically endangered in Missouri.

Their release this spring at Wah’Kon-Tah will help the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) restore prairie chickens to a onetime stronghold and refine management to help all native grassland birds in decline.

“I firmly believe we will succeed,” said Len Gilmore, an MDC wildlife management biologist and prairie expert.

Prairie chickens and many grasslands birds are in peril because only small fragments of Missouri’s once-vast tallgrass prairies remain. The football-sized birds, a member of the grouse family, have dwindled from hundreds of thousands statewide in the early 1800s to less than 100 native birds in scattered flocks today.

But a year-round radio telemetry study at Wah’Kon-Tah is showing MDC biologists what types of ground cover prairie chickens prefer for nesting, raising broods, feeding and evading predators. That’s guiding how the area’s virgin prairie remnants and restored native grasses and wildflowers are managed with prescribed fire, grazing, haying or unaltered growth.

“Our telemetry has shown that we can’t just walk away from a prairie and let it sit,” Gilmore said. “You’ve got to do something every year to create disturbance and habitat diversity. The more diversity we can provide, the more success we’ll have.”

A small flock of prairie chickens lived in the Wah’Kon-Tah area north of El Dorado during the 1950s and 1960s, Gilmore said. But in recent decades they vanished, similar to how other small flocks at other prairie remnants in western and northern Missouri have declined.

Scientific studies at the Wah’Kon-Tah area aim to reverse that trend. That includes re-establishing a flock there as part of a translocation study, with almost 400 prairie chickens trapped in Kansas and released beginning in 2008. They are fitted with leg bands and a small, lightweight radio transmitter before release. That enables trackers using radio receivers to plot the birds’ movements through various habitats, and they can move miles in a day.

The 3,030-acre Wah’Kon-Tah is the largest protected tallgrass prairie complex in the eastern Osage Plains ecosystem. A large portion is owned by The Nature Conservancy, a private, non-profit conservation group. MDC also owns tracts and manages the prairie in cooperation with private partners.

An effort in the 1990s to re-establish prairie chickens at Wah’Kon-Tah with birds captured in Kansas was unsuccessful, Gilmore said.

But this time, changes in habitat management may make this effort successful and a model for long-term prairie chicken restorations statewide.

“We’re seeing evidence of successful reproduction,” Gilmore said.

Prairie chickens in early April use hilltop spots called leks as “booming grounds,” where males make a booming sound and drum their feet on the ground to attract females in a sunrise mating ritual resembling a dance.

Males are booming this spring on the Wah’Kon-Tah’s traditional lek sites and females are checking them out, said Stasia Whitaker, an MDC wildlife management assistant. Whitaker tracked the birds in recent years with radio telemetry. Prairie chickens also used the leks last year, and hens with chicks were spotted afterward. Some birds captured during studies do not have leg bands, which indicating they were hatched and raised at Wah’Kon-Tah.

“We’ve been doing lots of habitat work before releasing birds, and that’s helped them stabilize,” Whitaker said.

Managers used to simply let prairies grow, or they would hay large tracts or conduct large-scale prescribed fires.

But Gilmore and the MDC crew are using management practices on smaller, 40-acre units so prairie chickens have easier access to both open areas for feeding and dense cover for shelter. They need sheltered nesting cover but also open areas that are easier for chicks to travel in and find food.

Using prescribed fires followed by cattle grazing is boosting habitat diversity and the use of Wah’Kon-Tah by various bird species. One strong trend, the study shows prairie chickens like “high-clipped” grass where cover is mowed or grazed about a foot tall.

“Chicks and adults both have a hard time getting through grass when it’s tall and thick,” Whitaker said. “But at 10 to 15 inches, they can conceal themselves and also see out and watch for predators.”

Tree removal at Wah’Kon-Tah and on neighboring private farms also improves open vistas for prairie chickens. But it’s a mosaic of habitats with varying grasses and wildflowers that helps prairie chickens thrive as seasons change. Fire, grazing and haying are all tools to create that diversity.

“The more good habitat we can provide,” Gilmore said, “the more prairie chickens will survive.”