MDC announces additions to Linscomb Wildlife Area in St. Clair County to boost native grasslands

Partners and donors have made it possible for MDC
 to add two land tracts to the Linscomb Wildlife Area in
 St. Clair County. MDC will restore it to
native wildflowers and grasses, similar to the nearby
 Wah’Kon-Tah Prairie Conservation Area.
Both areas are in MDC’s Upper Osage Grasslands,
 a priority geography for native grassland restoration.

New tracts will be added with help from donors and conservation partners

El Dorado Springs, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will purchase additional land tracts for the Linscomb Wildlife Area with the help of conservation partners and donors. This addition will provide new opportunities to enhance native grassland ecology and will provide new opportunities for hunting, hiking, and birding in southern St. Clair County.

MDC will add 510 acres in two separate tracts to be purchased from Quail Forever and Pheasants Forever. The Missouri Conservation Commission approved the purchase on July 9. The tracts border the southeast corner of the Linscomb area. They will provide new public access to the south portion of the area. The acquisitions will help restore a piece of western Missouri’s prairie heritage.

Tallgrass prairie once dominated the landscape near Linscomb. Slopes sometimes transitioned into open woodlands with trees or bottomland forest. The Linscomb area’s north boundary is the Osage River. But the uplands were dominated by open prairie.

The NeVada P. Linscomb Trust deeded the initial 1,728 acres for the
 Linscomb Wildlife Area in 1998. In 2003,
the Linscomb Trust purchased 146 additional acres.
 The Missouri Conservation Commission on July 9 authorized
 the purchase of an addition 510 acres, which was made possible
 in part by conservation partners and the
generous donations for prairie preservation
by the late Harry and Lina Berrier of Columbia.

The new tracts appear to have some sandstone glades with few trees, said Stasia Whitaker, MDC wildlife management biologist. They match well with adjoining acres where MDC has successfully restored native wildflower and grass species. This addition will dovetail into prairie restoration efforts in the Upper Osage Grasslands, an MDC priority geography. Conservation partners including private landowners are incorporating native species into practices that benefit native plant and wildlife species.

“Vegetation on the new tracts indicate native species still grow there,” Whitaker said. “They could be significantly restored following a management plan that includes prescribed fire, invasive species management, conservation grazing, and woody vegetation control.”

Less than one-tenth of one percent of Missouri’s once-vast tallgrass prairie remains. Similar changes in land use nationwide have made grassland birds among the nation’s most threatened and imperiled species. Prairies are havens for ground feeding and nesting birds from bobwhite quail to Henslow’s sparrows.

Portions of the new additions for the
Linscomb Wildlife Area have sandstone glades,
 like this lichen-rich glade in winter dormancy
at the nearby Taberville Conservation Area in St. Clair County. 

“These new tracts will boost efforts to preserve and enhance native grassland ecology in the Upper Osage Grasslands,” said MDC Director Sara Parker Pauley. “This also gives people more opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. We are very grateful to our conservation partners for making this possible, and we’re especially thankful for the generous donations the Berrier family made through the years on behalf of prairie preservation.”

Purchase of the new tracts were made possible in large part with donations from the late Harry and Lina Berrier to MDC. The Berriers, of Columbia, for many years donated portions of proceeds from their Show-Me Bar-B-Q sauce business towards prairie preservation and native grassland management.

The purchase was also aided by MDC’s conservation partners.

“Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are excited to have had the opportunity to play a part in permanently protecting this vital piece of tallgrass prairie,” said Chris McLeland, director of field operations for the organization’s south region. “As a conservation partner and a habitat organization, we do all we can to assist in creating and protecting rare and declining habitats. This project is a first of its kind for us in Missouri, and we are beyond excited to see it added to Linscomb Wildlife Area and under MDC stewardship.”

Restoring functioning native grassland ecology will require public and private partnerships in the years ahead.

"The Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF) congratulates the Conservation Commission and MDC on this purchase of native grassland," said Carol Davit, MPF executive director. "MPF was pleased to contribute the cost of a market analysis for this property, which assisted Quail Forever in acquiring it. Expanding native grassland habitat is extremely important for grassland-obligate birds like Henslow's sparrows and meadowlarks, and is important in safeguarding our state's natural heritage, which belongs to all Missourians."

For more information on the Linscomb Wildlife Area, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/Z8E.

Information about prairie in Missouri is available at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZxM. Ranchers can learn about conservation grazing at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZnX.

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Take a walk on the wildflower side

Don't miss summer and autumn color at MDC's prairie remnants

Mount Moriah, Mo. – From bright purple to yellow, the colors that wildflowers splash against green grasses are changing this month at the Helton Prairie Natural Area. Tall blazing star still adds lavender, but their flower spikes are fading and transitioning to seed. Yet flowers such as rigid sunflower and black eyed Susan are in bright-yellow bloom, hinting that autumn is approaching, a time when the grasses like big bluestem turn a reddish-golden hue.

Colors change with the seasons at the 30-acre Helton Prairie, now a tiny botanical island in what was once vast native grassland in northwest Missouri. Botanists have identified almost 200 species of plants on that small acreage. Prairies are incredibly diverse in flora and fauna, and in the relationships between soil, roots and microorganisms. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) manages prairie remnants throughout the state to preserve the rich diversity.

Visitors are welcome at MDC-managed prairies. What a person sees one month, or even one week, is likely to be different the next. They are constantly growing and blooming in summer, and even while fading in winter the plant stalk shapes and seed pods are interesting.

Helton Prairie is especially valuable because very few unplowed prairie remnants remain in north Missouri. The deep soil enriched by prairies became fertile farm country. This remnant is in the northwest corner of the 2,560-acre Wayne Helton Memorial Wildlife Area in Harrison County. MDC is currently restoring grasslands at the wildlife area by removing some trees, planting native warm-season grasses, and conducting prescribed fires.

The Helton Prairie Natural Area can be viewed from the gravel roads bordering it. However, the best way to experience a prairie is to walk out in it. Colors, leaf shapes and flowers vary from one view to the next. Here is the round, spiny seed head for rattlesnake master raised skyward. There is a butterfly visiting a bloom. In August, in some places you can listen and hear and see bees in a startling variety. Some are tiny and others far bigger. Their wings beating out varying buzzing tonal pitches as they visit flowers and serve their valuable role as plant pollinators.

Prairie visitors should plan on using insect repellant. Ticks like the prairie as well as the woodlands. Prairies in late summer can be waist-to-head high and sometimes thick with growth, dress accordingly. Carry water in hot weather. Take your camera. And take your time, the slower you go and the closer you look the more you will see.

For information about Helton Prairie, visit http://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/places/helton-prairie. The area is east of Bethany and southwest of Mount Moriah. For information about prairies throughout Missouri, visit http://mdc.mo.gov.

Related articles

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Public input sought for prairie management plans

Nevada, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) wants to know what Missourians think about its nearly 1,000 conservation areas around the state. MDC is in the multi-year process of updating management plans for conservation areas and invites public comments. A draft plan for several conservation lands in northwest Missouri and the St. Joseph area will be available for public comment June 1 through June 30.

   To preview draft management plans and share comments online, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/areaplans.

   Management plans for seven conservation areas with a focus on tall grass prairie plants and wildlife are open for comment. They include: Taberville Prairie, St. Clair County; Wah’Kon-Tah Prairie, St. Clair and Cedar counties; Monegaw Prairie, Cedar County; Gay Feather, Bristow, Osage Prairie and Little Osage Prairie in Vernon County.

   Wah’Kon-Tah is owned by MDC and The Nature Conservancy and managed by MDC under

an agreement. Gayfeather Prairie is jointly owned by MDC and the Missouri Prairie Foundation.

   A variety of hunting, hiking and photography opportunities are available on the areas. Some rare or uncommon species that may be found include Mead's milkweed, prairie mole crickets, regal fritillary butterflies, northern crawfish frog, slender glass lizard, grasshopper sparrow, loggerhead shrike and northern harrier. Taberville and Wah’Kon-Tah prairies are at the center of preservation and restoration efforts for greater prairie chickens, which are endangered in Missouri.

   Statewide, MDC conservation areas cover almost one million public acres for the purpose of restoring and conserving forest, fish and wildlife resources, and for providing opportunities for all citizens to use, enjoy and learn about these resources. Most Missourians are within a 30-minute drive of an MDC conservation area.

   “Missourians care about conservation and use conservation areas for many different reasons,” said MDC Director Bob Ziehmer. “These areas help people discover nature through various activities, and help make Missouri a great place to hunt, fish, and enjoy other outdoor activities. We want to know how conservation areas are important to Missourians. Encouraging public comments on Conservation Area Management Plans is part of MDC’s ongoing efforts of working for and with Missourians to sustain healthy forests, fish and wildlife.”

   Conservation Area Management Plans focus on natural resource management and public use on conservation areas. The plans do not address regulations on hunting, fishing and other area uses, which are set by the Conservation Commission and enforced under the Wildlife Code of Missouri. MDC will consider all ideas received and will work to balance the issues and interests identified with the responsibility of managing areas for the present and future benefits to forest, fish, wildlife, and people. Decisions on which ideas to incorporate into area plans and on how to best incorporate them will be based on the property’s purpose, its physical and biological conditions and capabilities, the best roles of the property in its local, regional and state-wide context, and on the professional expertise of MDC staff.

Missouri Prairie Foundation BioBlitz June 7 & 8

Outdoor enthusiasts of all ages are invited to enjoy a weekend on an original American landscape—the tallgrass prairie—at Gayfeather Prairie in Vernon County on June 7 and 8. At

this free event organized and hosted by the Missouri Prairie Foundation, adults and children with enthusiasm for the outdoors will team up with biologists to explore and document plants and animals of this 116-acre prairie, owned jointly by the Missouri Prairie Foundation and the Missouri Department of Conservation. In addition to the plant and animal fieldwork, there will be a potluck picnic dinner, stargazing, nocturnal insect observations, and free tent camping on the prairie.

“We are in our 5th year now of the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Prairie BioBlitz,” said Jeff Cantrell, technical advisor to the Foundation, “and it has created a ‘buzz’ among my friends and colleagues. The buzz used to be after the event—families, master naturalists, and neighbors talked about what a wonderful family-oriented learning event they had just experienced. Now, I see the buzz leading up to the weekend event on the beautiful prairie that will be our classroom and campsite. The learning is casual and fun, and I personally invite all who are interested in nature to participate. Come join us and see what the buzz is all about!”

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 Foundation’s version will begin June 7 at 2:00 p.m. and end the afternoon of June 8.

“Ecologists consider temperate grasslands to be the most endangered, least conserved of any major terrestrial habitat on earth—so Missouri’s tallgrass prairies have global conservation significance,” said Carol Davit, the Foundation’s executive director. “Collectively, our remaining prairies in Missouri support up to 800 plant species, dozens of vertebrates and thousands of invertebrates, but there is still much to learn. We want to see how many species we can find at Gayfeather Prairie, and BioBlitz participants will help in that effort.” Participants at past BioBlitzes at other Foundation prairies have documented blooming orchids, dozens of butterfly species, rare fish, and much more.

On the afternoon and evening of June 7 and the morning of June 8, biologists who study ants, bees, birds, butterflies, insect coloration, fish, moths, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, and soils will lead groups across the prairies to survey and inventory as many species as possible. Biologists with the Missouri Department of Conservation—Fisheries Biologist Tom Priesendorf, Natural Areas Coordinator Mike Leahy, Heritage Zoologist Debby Fantz, and Naturalist John Miller—will be group leaders. Other leaders include entomologists Dr. James Trager and Richard Thoma; botanists Darin Banks, Nels Holmberg, and Dr. John Atwood; ornithologists Dana Ripper and Ethan Duke of the Missouri River Bird Observatory; lepidopterist Phillip Koenig; and soil scientist Dr. David Hammer. In addition, Dan Johnson with the Astronomical Society of Kansas City will provide telescopes and interpret the night sky.

“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 plants and 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.”

Gayfeather Prairie includes 76 acres purchased by the Missouri Prairie Foundation in 1976 and 40 acres purchased by the Missouri Department of Conservation in 1984. A total of 305 native plant species has been documented from this high quality prairie, named for its high numbers of blazingstar or gayfeather wildflowers. The prairie is about seven miles east of Milo.

The Prairie BioBlitz is free, but participants must RSVP. For a detailed schedule, directions to the prairie, and to RSVP, visit www.moprairie.org, email info@moprairie.com, or call 888-843-6739.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Award $750,000 to Missouri Prairie Foundation

Prairie chicken. Photo by USFWS.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources have awarded the Missouri Prairie Foundation $750,000 to purchase and protect tallgrass prairie in southwestern Missouri.

The funds are the result of a Natural Resources Damage Assessment settlement with ASARCO, a lead mining and smelting company that polluted the environment while it operated in Jasper and Newton counties over the last century.  By-products of lead and zinc mining on the landscape have degraded the environment for many years and have contaminated streams with runoff from waste. Funds recovered from Natural Resource Damage Assessment settlements are dedicated to restoring natural resources in contaminated areas as well as other affected areas nearby.

Missouri Prairie Foundation will use the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service funds to purchase remnant prairies from willing sellers and reconnect existing prairies, or establish wildlife habitat easements. The foundation submitted the best proposal in a competitive process, and will use the awarded funds for work in Jasper and Newton counties.

“The Missouri Prairie Foundation is extremely grateful for this funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.” said Jon Wingo, President of the foundation’s board of directors. “The funding will allow us to purchase and protect perhaps several hundred acres of the fewer than 90,000 scattered acres of original tallgrass prairie remaining in the state. Our mission is to protect prairie gems that remain, which are part of Missouri’s rich natural heritage, and to reconstruct land to connect remnants, thereby building larger prairie landscapes. We invite individuals to learn more about our work and how they can contribute to the conservation of our 2,600 acres, and help us protect even more.”  

Prior to European settlement in Missouri, there were 15 million acres of prairie in the state.

The areas in which Missouri Prairie Foundation will be working to protect and restore prairie with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife award is  a focal area for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is part of the “Our Missouri Waters Initiative” for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. By protecting and restoring upland areas, downstream resources such as the Spring River will benefit.

Missouri Prairie Foundation is an established non-profit land trust that has operated in Missouri for nearly 50 years. This organization not only preserves 2,600 acres of tallgrass prairie for the benefit of wildlife and the public, but also reconstructs former prairie areas that have been converted to agriculture or other development and engages in prairie outreach and education statewide.  For more information, call Missouri Prairie Foundation at 888-843-6739, or visit their website at www.moprairie.org.

Related articles

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Suspends Operations in Missouri Due to Federal Government Lapse in Appropriations (missourioutdoors.blogspot.com)
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Re-Opens Following Government Shutdown (family-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endorses Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Lesser Prairie-Chicken Range-Wide Conservation Plan (family-outdoors.blogspot.com)

Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Fourth Annual BioBlitz Set for June 1 & 2

visit missouriprairie.org

Outdoor enthusiasts of all ages are invited to enjoy a weekend on an original American landscape—the tallgrass prairie—at the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Denison and Lattner Prairies in Vernon and Barton Counties on June 1 and 2. At this free event, adults and children with enthusiasm for the outdoors will team

“Like so many naturalists and field biologists, one of my constant sources of inspiration is certainly Aldo Leopold,” said Jeff Cantrell, Foundation Technical Advisor and Education Consultant with the Missouri

Across the country, nature lovers and professional biologists team up at “BioBlitz’s” to identify as many species as possible (the “bio”) in an area over the course of 24 hours (the “blitz”). The Foundation’s version will begin June 1 at 2:00 p.m. and end the afternoon of June 2. In addition to the plant and animal field work, there will be a potluck picnic dinner, stargazing, nocturnal insect and bat observations, and free tent camping on the prairie.

“Ecologists consider temperate grasslands to be the most endangered, least conserved of any major terrestrial habitat on earth—so Missouri’s tallgrass prairies have global conservation significance,” said Carol Davit, the Foundation’s executive director. “Collectively, our remaining prairies in Missouri support up to 800 plant species, dozens of vertebrates and thousands of invertebrates, but there is still much to learn. We want to see how many species we can find at Denison and Latter Prairies, and BioBlitz participants will help in that effort.” Participants at past BioBlitz’s at other Foundation prairies have documented blooming orchids, dozens of butterfly species, rare fish, and much more.

On the afternoon and evening of June 1 and the morning of June 2, biologists who study ants, bees, birds, butterflies, insect coloration, planthoppers, fish, moths, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, vascular plants, mosses, and liverworts will lead groups across the prairies to survey and inventory as many species as possible. Biologists with the Missouri Department of Conservation—Fisheries Biologists Tom Priesendorf and Kara Tvedt, Natural History Biologist Mike Arduser, and Naturalist John Miller—will be group leaders. Other leaders include mammalogist Dr. Vicki Jackson; entomologists Dr. James Trager, Dr. Stephen Wilson, and Richard Thoma; botanists Justin Thomas and Nels Holmberg; naturalist Bruce Schuette; 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 these prairies,” said Davit. “If you love plants and 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.”

Denison and the adjacent Lattner Prairies encompass 440 contiguous acres on the Vernon and Barton County line, three miles west of Sheldon. In 1993, the Foundation acquired the original 240 acres at the site, which is high quality native prairie with a total of 320 recorded plant species. Since that time an additional 200 acres were acquired and restoration is underway.

The Prairie BioBlitz is free, but participants must RSVP. For a detailed schedule, directions to the prairie, and to RSVP, email info@moprairie.com or call 888-843-6739.



The Missouri Prairie Foundation is a 47-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 more than 2,600 acres of prairie across the state and provides management services an on additional 1,500 acres owned by conservation partners. The Missouri Prairie Foundation is also home to the Grow Native! native plant education and marketing program.
Department of Conservation. “I’ll never forget my first walk through Denison prairie—I was immediately reminded of his passage regarding the compass plants tickling the bellies of the American buffalo. So I was pleased to see that the next Prairie BioBlitz will be hosted there and at the adjacent Lattner prairie. The event is always a fun, engaging experience with an old time family-gathering feel to it. I hope many have already marked their calendars.”

up with biologists to explore the prairie and document plants and animals of the 440-acres of these contiguous prairies.