MDC partners with Lincoln University on Poplar Bluff Feral Hog Workshop

Free workshop addresses feral hog concerns and assistance available to landowners.

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has partnered with Lincoln University to present a free Feral Hog Workshop for landowners at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff. The workshop is July 12 at 6 p.m.

The workshop is cooperation between Lincoln University Small Farm Program, University of Missouri Extension, MDC and USDA APHIS Wildlife Services.

Presentations will address feral hog concerns, proper control and identification of damage, appropriate removal and public health concerns.

MDC and APHIS Wildlife Services will highlight assistance available to farmers, ranchers and landowners.  The workshop will also feature a trapping display.

The workshop will begin with a meal at 6 p.m. with the program to follow.  Registration is required and attendance is limited to 40 people.

To register, contact Erin Brindisi at Brindisie@lincolnu.edu, or (573)681-5312. For more information, contact David Middleton at Middletond@lincolnu.edu or (417)466-8056. Learn more about feral hogs at mdc.mo.gov/feralhog.

One Day, Two Deer, Three Hunters

By AJ Hendershott

Deer hunting has produced many good memories for me.  Most of those memories deal with

the circumstances of the hunt or things I was privileged to witness in nature.  This year, however, I experienced the most memorable of any of my hunts and both of my children were involved.

The 2014 youth season opened up the morning of Nov. 1, and my children and I had plans in place the day before.  Tags were in the back pack along with any necessary equipment.  The gun was clean and ready for ammunition.  Our clothing was laid out and we had a hunting schedule.   My daughter likes to sleep in so she was glad to give her younger brother the morning shift with me.  This meant she would hunt in the afternoon. 

Saturday didn’t produce any harvest, but both children were able to see deer and get their first feel for the excitement.  Sunday morning, Hunter and I got out bright and early, and took our seats in the brush blind.  I was impressed with how still he was this year.  He made few movements and he was pretty silent.  An hour into the hunt I heard a deer behind us and to the left.  If the deer followed its path, it would give my son a perfect quartering away shot at about 10 steps. 

“Get your gun up son,” I whispered. 

He obeyed not yet seeing what I did.  The doe needed to walk ahead about 20 feet and it would be in sight with an easy shot.  That deer walked about 18 feet further and stopped.  She was oblivious to our presence even at the close range. 

“Take the shot if you have it,” I instructed.

It seemed like an eternity passed before the doe twitched her tail and hurriedly scampered off. 

“What happened?” I asked trying to mask my disappointment.

“There was brush in my way.  It wasn’t a good shot,” he replied. 

I was glad to hear his reasoning and rewarded his restraint with a heartfelt, “good call son.”

Another chance presented itself a few hours later.  Three does came trotting down the ridge intent on making it to the bottom.   They made it to an open area when I whistled.  All three deer stopped and looked our direction.  Again, I encouraged him to take the shot if he had it. 

A thunderous “kaboom” erupted from the gun muzzle as the hind doe dropped.  My son’s grin was so big his orthodontist could have done a full check of his braces.  That grin stayed with him through the entire process of tagging, field dressing, dragging, checking, skinning and quartering. My son had harvested his first deer and I was there to see it happen.

Unbeknownst to me, there was more in store for me that day.

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Poplar Bluff man sets new state record with Spotted Sucker fish

A new state record was set April 3 when Tyler Goodale of Poplar Bluff reeled in a Spotted Sucker fish at Duck Creek Conservation Area (CA).  Goodale’s sucker fish weighed 3.65 lbs

. and measured 18.2 inches.  The former state record Spotted Sucker was caught in 1992 at Wappapello Lake and weighed 2 lbs., 1 ounce, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC).

The Spotted Sucker is a moderately slender, coarse-scaled sucker fish with a short dorsal fin containing 11 or 12 rays. This species is distinguished from other Missouri suckers by the presence of several parallel rows of prominent dark spots along the side. These fish are olive-brown on the back with dark edgings on the scales. Their sides are silvery or brassy-yellow. Adults are commonly 9.2 to 15.9 inches long and weigh about .3 to 2 pounds. 

Spotted suckers are common fish and generally distributed in the lowlands of southeast Missouri and adjacent sections of the Ozarks. Scattered populations occur elsewhere. This fish species prefers clear, warm waters with no to minimal current and an abundance of aquatic vegetation. 

For more information about record fish or fishing opportunities in Missouri, go online to mdc.mo.gov.

Mark Twain National Forest Proposing Project near Greenville, Missouri

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo.– Mark Twain National Forest’s Poplar Bluff Ranger District is proposing a resource management project involving harvest and other resource management activities on National Forest System lands in Wayne County near Greenville, Missouri.
The Northeast Lake Project area lies generally southeast of Greenville, on the east side of Lake Wappapello, and encompasses approximately 6,114 acres of national forest lands.
According to Poplar Bluff District Ranger Doug Oliver, “we are proposing numerous activities within the project area to bring it into compliance with Mark Twain National Forest’s 2005 Land and Resource Management Plan.
“Proposed activities include old growth designation, commercial timber harvest and wildlife habitat work, as well as pond reconstruction and maintenance,” Oliver said.
The project also includes road reconstruction and maintenance, as well as road decommissioning and clean-up of illegal trash dumps within the area.
“Any suggestions, concerns and ideas the public has regarding this project would be extremely helpful to us,” Oliver said. “We will use public comments to help refine the final project proposal, which the public will also have an opportunity to comment on later this summer under our National Environmental Policy Act process.”
Full details of the Northeast Lake Project are available on Mark Twain National Forest’s website at
http://www.fs.usda.gov/projects/mtnf/landmanagement/projects
Send written comments by June 29, 2012, to Paul Whitworth, Ph.D., NEPA Planner, Poplar Bluff Ranger District, Mark Twain National Forest, P.O. Box 988, Poplar Bluff, Missouri 63901 or electronically to: comments-eastern-mark-twain-poplar-bluff@fs.fed.us. Be sure to include “Northeast Lake Project” in the subject line.
Interested parties can also visit or call the Poplar Bluff Ranger District office at 1420 Maud Street, Poplar Bluff, Missouri.  Office hours are between 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday – Friday; the telephone number is (573) 785-1475.
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 great outdoors and maintain a healthy, working forest.