Missouri Outdoors and Conservation News for September 17th, 2016

Have a big nice Christmas tree for the governor?  If you do, the Missouri Department of Conservation would like to hear from you. Get your entry in by September 30th.  Here's where to get more info or enter a tree: https://goo.gl/qOmnp9

Missouri deer hunters who harvest deer and use Telecheck will get some new questions you probably should be prepared for.  Telecheck will ask deer hunters who harvest does if the distance from the edge of the eyeball to the edge of the nostril is greater than 4.5 inches. For deer hunters who harvest antlered bucks, Telecheck will ask if the circumference of an antler one inch above the base is greater than 2.5 inches (the approximate circumference of a nickel). The measurement request will not apply to hunters who harvest button bucks. The info will be used to determine age classes of harvested deer so they can manage the herd better,  

The MDC is seeking comments on management at Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area in Christian County.  You need to get your two cents worth in this month (September) and you can get the details at https://goo.gl/QwiP1z.

There has been initial approval made by the Conservation Commission on Smallmouth Bass and Rock Bass (known as Goggle Eye in Missouri).  There will be a comment period beginning in October.  The new regs will change length and possession limits in certain waters and the Commission hopes these changes will ensure a sustainable fishery for future generations.  MDC makes reg proposals based on sound science, and often local interests find them objectionable because they might change the way things have been.  We encourage readers to educate themselves on the reg changes and give their input.  More info is at https://goo.gl/lzrS6a.

One of the largest public land areas in Missouri is Current River Conservation Area, and MDC is also seeking

input on its management.  The comment period ends September 30th.

This area is rich in outdoor opportunities including paddling, fishing, hunting, hiking, and camping.  Let MDC know what you'd like to see happening in the area. Info is at https://goo.gl/QwiP1z.

The MDC has designated a new State Champion Tree - a chinkapin oak tree in Columbia, as the largest of its kind anywhere in the state.  

MDC Community Forester Ann Koenig took an official measurement using a uniform formula to assess a point value to big trees. The formula, which accounts for the tree’s height, crown spread, and trunk size, scored 310 points for the tree Russell nominated – dethroning the previous state champion chinkapin oak in St. Charles County by only 17 points.  See this beautiful tree below.

If you are interested on improving habitat on your property, particularly for quail, get a copy of the Covey Newsletter from MDC at https://goo.gl/Kb1AeW

If you are looking for some family outdoor fun on September 24th, check out Family Outdoors Day in Lee's Summit.  Exhibits and teaching stations will be set up throughout the Reed Wildlife Area at 12405 S.E. Ranson Road. Also serving as co-sponsors this year are Nathan’s Catch, a non-profit effort providing fishing rods and reels for youths, and the J.E. Fehsenfeld Family Foundation in memory of Jan M. Dillow.

Fishing gear and instructors will be available at a Reed Area lake. MDC staffers and volunteers can provide hands-on instructions on how to cast bait or a lure with a rod and reel. Loaner gear and bait will be provided for fishing. MDC experts can also answer questions about fish populations in the region’s lakes and streams.

It will run from 10 until 3 and more info is available by calling 816-622-0900.

With the Missouri deer season now underway with the archery season going, hunters are encouraged to help the less fortunate by utilizing the Share the Harvest program.  

The program works by deer hunters donating their extra venison -- from several pounds to whole deer -- to participating meat processors throughout the state who grind and package the deer meat. The packaged venison is then given to food banks and food pantries for distribution to Missourians in need of food assistance.

Processing fees are covered entirely or in part by numerous local sponsors, along with statewide sponsors that include: MDC, CFM, Shelter Insurance, Bass Pro Shops, Gateway Area Chapter of Safari Club International, Missouri Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, Midway USA Inc., and the Missouri Food Banks Association.


Funds are available to help with processing costs when a whole deer is donated during all portions of the archery and firearms deer seasons. The Conservation Federation of Missouri reimburses processors a pre-determined amount for each whole deer donated. This allows processors to reduce processing fees to hunters. In addition, many processors have local funds available that allow deer to be processed for free or at a reduced cost. Hunters should contact individual processors to determine what funds are available. The cost of processing is the hunter’s responsibility when funds to help cover the full cost are not available.

Get more info on Share the Harvest at https://goo.gl/hf7OVM

MDC offers quail habitat field day in Livingston County

Chillicothe, Mo. – Bobwhite quail thrive when management practices provide sheltering

vegetation and food. Often those practices dovetail nicely with production agriculture. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and Quail Forever will offer a field day 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27, on private lands in the Poosey Quail Focus Area. The field day is free. Lunch and resource materials will be provided.

   Land owners and property managers are invited to learn about habitat management that boost quail populations. Topics will include practices that provide good nesting and brood rearing cover, quail biology, cost share programs for habitat improvements and how to form landowner cooperatives to raise quail numbers within rural neighborhoods. Good quail habitat can also benefit other ground-nesting birds, too. Participants will tour private properties with habitat improvements.

   The field day will begin 10.5 miles west of Chillicothe off Missouri 190 highway. Watch for tour signs.

   Interested land managers are asked to make reservations by Sept. 19. Contact Scott Roy, MDC private lands conservationist, 660-359-5685 ext. 114, james.roy@mdc.mo.gov; or contact Andrew White, Quail Forever biologist, 660-646-6220 ext. 116, awhite@quailforever.org.

   Missouri is a great place to enjoy wildlife and hunt game birds. MDC helps people participate in healthy conservation practices. For information on all programs, http://www.mdc.mo.gov.

Missouri’s small-game hunting forecast

Here’s what to expect when you head out to hunt

quail, pheasants, rabbits, squirrels, and furbearers.

When everything comes together, bird hunters and their four-legged partners share a moment of satisfaction.

By: Jim Low

JEFFERSON CITY– Hunters wondering about prospects for quail, rabbits, squirrels, and other small game in Missouri will find many answers in the past two years’ weather.

The fortunes of wild animals always depend heavily on weather. But what’s good for one game animal doesn’t always favor others. Squirrels and quail offer a good example of the contrasting effects of weather.

Bobwhite quail build their nests on the ground. Immediately after hatching, bobwhite chicks are barely larger than bumblebees, and their downy plumage is not waterproof. This makes them extremely vulnerable to death by hypothermia. Consequently, quail nesting success falters when cool, wet weather lingers into summer. Drought doesn’t exactly help quail, but they are much better adapted to hot, dry conditions than to wet and cold.

In contrast, gray and fox squirrels generally rear their young in hollow trees, where they are protected from the elements. By the time they emerge from den trees six or seven weeks after birth, they are half grown and well equipped with insulating fur. Damp summers don’t bother them much. However, they depend heavily on acorns and other nuts for food. In years when acorns are scarce – as they were across much of southern Missouri in 2012 because of drought – squirrels go hungry. That means fewer squirrels survive the following winter. And because squirrels go into the next breeding season in poor physical condition, they tend to raise only one litter of young instead of two. So the effects of a bad nut crop are felt for at least two years.

That scenario is exactly what is unfolding this year.

“The effects always are more severe in southern Missouri,” says Lonnie Hansen, a resource scientist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. “That is because acorns and other nuts make up so much of the food base for squirrels and other wildlife in heavily forested areas. A poor nut crop is less detrimental in northern Missouri, where row crops like corn and soybeans help create a more diverse and stable diet.”

Nevertheless, Hansen says his and others’ observations indicate that squirrel numbers are down in northern Missouri, too.

“I think there has been somewhat of a crash, especially in the Ozarks,” he says, “but they will come back.”

Resource Scientist Beth Emmerich says the news for quail is better. In spite of a couple of major snow events, the winter of 2012-2013 was fairly mild, allowing good carry-over of bobwhites for the 2013 nesting season. A late spring meant quail got a late start, with the peak hatch occurring in July. However, the warm, dry conditions that prevailed after that were ideal for bobwhite nesting.

“The record rainfall of 2008 made things extremely hard for nesting quail,” says Emmerich. “2009 and 2010 also were cooler and wetter than normal, continuing the trend of bad news for quail and quail hunters. But the summers of 2011 and 2012 were dry and warm, and quail made some gains.”

Reports from the field lead Emmerich to believe another warm, dry summer allowed quail to build on recent years’ success.

“People report seeing more quail and pheasants compared to last year,” says Emmerich. “Areas that likely had a noticeable increase in quail were northwest Missouri, the Ozarks, and southeast Missouri. I’ve heard good reports on pheasant production in the northern part of the state, where pockets of pheasant populations still exist.”

Rabbit population changes tend to mirror those of quail because their habitat needs are similar. Larger size and fur make cottontails slightly less vulnerable to weather, so their population swings are less dramatic. But warm, dry weather favors rabbit reproduction, so rabbit hunters get good news this year, too.

Emmerich says lack of suitable habitat continues to be the biggest obstacle to increasing quail and rabbit populations.

“Good brood-rearing habitat is most limiting statewide,” she says. “Quail chicks need bare ground to be able to forage effectively, with weedy plant species providing food as well as overhead protective cover."

Trappers and furbearer hunters have a bright outlook this fall. Resource Scientist Jeff Beringer says populations of all commercial fur-bearing species in Missouri are stable or slightly increasing.

According to Beringer, favorable weather and strong fur prices resulted in high participation by hunters and trappers during the 2012-2013 season. The Conservation Department sold more than 9,000 trapping permits, which was a 25-year high. Last year’s bobcat harvest was an all-time record, with 5,059 harvested. The otter harvest was the second-largest on record, and the coyote harvest was the largest in 25 years.

Raccoons bucked the trend, with a 12-percent decrease in the combined trapping and hunting harvest from 2011-2012 to the 2012-2013 season. The decline was in line with archery hunter observations, which showed a 35-percent decline in raccoon sightings. Beringer attributes the decrease to deaths of young raccoons during last year’s drought.

Meanwhile, last year’s red and gray fox harvests increased by 18 and 41 percent, respectively. Beringer said this probably occurred because the value of bobcat pelts was high last year.

“A lot of foxes are taken incidentally by trappers targeting bobcats and coyotes,” says Beringer. “We have seen a long-term decline in both red and gray fox numbers, probably due to competition with coyotes and bobcats. Distemper might have played a part in this decline, too. However, archer observations and sign-station surveys suggested increases for both fox species from 2011 to 2012.

Recent survey data indicate that more than 13,000 hunters pursued raccoons in Missouri last year and more than 25,000 hunted coyotes last year. Beringer says he expects the trend toward greater participation in furbearer trapping and hunting to continue.

“I look for a big furbearer harvest this year and large numbers of trappers and predator hunters,” says Beringer. He said he expects more than 10,000 trappers and 20,000 furbearer hunters to take to Missouri’s fields, woods, and waters this year.

Permit requirements, season dates, bag limits, and other details of trapping and small-game hunting seasons are found in the 2013 Summary of Missouri Hunting & Trapping Regulations. This booklet is available wherever hunting permits are sold, at Conservation Department offices and nature centers, or online atmdc.mo.gov/node/11416.

Related articles

• Iowa Pheasants Take a Hit in 2013 Upland Game Survey (family-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• North Dakota Youth Pheasant Weekend Oct. 5-6 (family-outdoors.blogspot.com)

Quail Forecast has bright spots

Image via Wikipedia

Population surveys on Quail Emphasis Areas and private land

present a different picture than those for the state as a whole.

JEFFERSON CITY–Results of Missouri’s annual statewide quail population survey give quail hunters little to rejoice about. However, bobwhites are holding their own in some areas and making gains in others where landowners and the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) have made quail management a priority.

One way the agency tracks quail is through roadside surveys. Each August, conservation agents count quail along 30-mile routes in 110 of Missouri’s 114 counties. Only Clay, Jackson, St. Louis and St. Charles counties are not surveyed. The 2011 roadside surveys recorded an average of 1.4 quail per 30-mile route. That is 36 percent lower than last year and 56 percent below the average over the past 10 years. Results from the roadside survey are consistent with other measures that document a continuing, long-term decline in bobwhite numbers statewide and throughout most of their range.

Agricultural Wildlife Ecologist Beth Emmerich, who analyzes bobwhite quail population data gathered by MDC field staff, says that while Missouri’s quail picture is not rosy, it isn’t as bad as the roadside survey numbers make it seem. Shenotes that quail populations vary significantly in different parts of the state and even locally. Some of those variations reflect differences in weather patterns. Others show where MDC and private conservationists have been at work.

“Quail counts in northwest Missouri are up 63-percent compared to last year,” said Emmerich, “while counts in the Mississippi lowlands, which had severe and extended flooding this year, show a 92-percent decline over the same period. Looking at the roadside survey numbers, you might think it wasn’t worth getting your dog out of its pen, but that is absolutely not true.”

Emmerich said roadside quail surveys occur on the same routes every year. They document quail population changes in those areas over time. However, they don’t take into account quail population trends in areas where work is underway to create quality quail habitat. That is why MDC conducts fall covey counts at 19 conservation areas (CAs) that have been designated Quail Emphasis Areas.

Starting in mid-October each fall, MDC biologists visit randomly selected plots on Quail Emphasis Areas early in the morning and listen for calling quail. They record the location of each covey in earshot. They flush some of the coveys to get an idea of how many birds are in each. Feeding these data into statistical population models allows biologists to estimate area quail populations. Covey counts are a practical way to evaluate the effectiveness of habitat management efforts.

Emmerich said results from this year’s covey counts are not all in yet, and she won’t finish analyzing those data until next year. But early results already document some quail-management success stories. They also illustrate how weather affects quail populations. 

On Oct. 11, Resource Assistant Chez Kleeman flushed a covey of quail at Bois D’Arc CA in Greene County. Some of the birds were sparrow-sized and barely able to fly. Quail that successfully raise early clutches sometimes nest again and raise a second brood that year. Seeing small birds in October indicates Bois D’Arc’s quail may have “double-clutched.” Backing this up are reports from Bois D’Arc staff that quail numbers are up this year.

According to Private Land Conservationist Mike Gaskins, landowners in Dent and Shannon counties also have reported are seeing late-hatched quail and turkey broods in recent weeks.

Resource Forester Phil Sneed, who manages Poosey CA in Livingston County, also reported seeing very young quail in some covey counts, so portions of northern Missouri have experienced late quail nesting success as well.

Sneed also reported hearing coveys in new locations. That is a sign of good habitat conditions. Average covey size on Poosey was 11 to 12 quail, with two 20-bird coveys.

Dave Hoover, manager of the Seat CA in Worth County, reported covey counts slightly better than the last year. However, he cautions that quail numbers remain low there, due to extremely difficult weather conditions that plagued ground-nesting birds from 2007 through 2010. 

Staff at Whetstone Creek CA in Callaway County and William White Memorial CA in Lincoln County reported covey counts 50 percent smaller than in 2010.  Heavy snow that lingered throughout much of last winter in parts of central Missouri may have cut into this and some other local populations.

Private Land Conservationist Nathan Mechlin called 2011 a good quail-production year for Clinton, Caldwell and Daviess counties. He said both quail and turkey brood sightings are up from previous years. Those results are spotty, however, and landowners in some areas report seeing very few birds.

Each year, MDC makes habitat improvements on more than 75,000 acres on CAs. These improvements benefit quail and other wildlife that share the bobwhite’s habitat needs. Roadside quail counts occur along routes established before this work began and are not designed to measure the success of quail management on CAs.

Just as the roadside survey fails to capture information about Quail Emphasis Areas, it also does not reflect progress made on private land. Emmerich said hundreds of Missourians are working to restore quail habitat. Some have organized cooperatives to work with MDC and other agencies in dozens of Quail Focus Areas around the state.

“The Conservation Department is making a significant investment in quail management on private land each year through cost-share and landowner incentive programs,” said Emmerich.  “One partnership we are especially proud of is the Habitat Challenge Grants program. This summer, the Department awarded a total of $133,000 in funding to Quail Forever, the Quail  and Upland Wildlife Federation, Quail Unlimited and the National Wild Turkey Federation. Through habitat challenge grants, each of these conservation organizations provides matching funds to help landowners complete habitat work on their land.”

Emmerich said MDC’s Landowner Assistance Program channels more than $1 million a year into habitat enhancements that benefit quail and other wildlife that share the bobwhite’s habitat needs. The agency also promotes federal farm bill programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program, which funds quail-friendly habitat work.

For locations and additional information about MDC’s Quail Emphasis Areas, visit mdc.mo.gov/node/3333. For more information about Quail Opportunity Areas and quail management, visit mdc.mo.gov/node/12606.

Related articles

• Hunting & Fishing Day events part of Missouri's winning hunting-recruitment strategy (missourioutdoors.blogspot.com)
• Severe drought dampens waterfowl outlook for some west-central MDC areas (missourioutdoors.blogspot.com)
• Conservation Action October 2011 (missourioutdoors.blogspot.com)
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Quail conservationists unite at Missouri Bobwhite Quail Summit

June 16 seminar seeks to improve quail and small-game populations by educating landowners

 Written by Rebecca Maples, MDC

 JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Quail are making a comeback, and conservationists will be flocking to the Missouri Bobwhite Quail Summit to help bring back these native birds. The summit will be held at the Bradford Research and Extension Center in Columbia on June 16 from 1 to 4 p.m. with field tours immediately afterward. It is open to all private landowners, wildlife enthusiasts, natural resource professionals and interested citizens.

Sponsored by the Conservation Federation of Missouri and the University of Missouri’s Bradford Farm, the event is an educational opportunity for landowners interested in improving quail and small game habitat. Seminar topics will include assessing land’s potential for bobwhite habitat, management strategies for restoration, effects of weather on quail numbers and how to fund quail restoration.

Missouri’s bobwhite quail population has been steadily declining due to changes in agricultural activity and land management.  The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) partners with various organizations to help restore the state’s quail population and proper habitat.

According to MDC Grassland Birds Coordinator Max Alleger, adding the summit to annual field tours at Bradford Farm is an attempt to involve new landowners in Missouri’s ongoing quail management plan.

“A truly unique aspect of this event is that all of our quail partners, including Quail Forever, Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation (QUWF), MU and NRCS [Natural Resources Conservation Service] are participating,” said Alleger.

Speakers at the summit will represent various organizations involved in Missouri’s quail management efforts.

“The summit has several purposes,” said QUWF Chief Wildlife Biologist Nick Prough. “One of the main ones is to bring landowners, biologists, agencies, organizations and interested conservationists all together on one day to discuss what has been done in the past for quail and quail habitat throughout Missouri, what has worked well in the past and what needs to be changed and done in the future.”

Following the discussion session, a panel of Missouri landowners will discuss their personal successes with quail management. More than 90 percent of Missouri’s land is privately owned, so landowners have an essential role in restoring quail habitat. MDC Private Land Services staff currently assist about 17,000 Missouri landowners with quail restoration and habitat conservation.

“The summit will share the latest habitat information with all the attendees so they can bring that information back to their local area and work with their partners to improve habitat locally,” Prough noted, emphasizing the importance of landowner participation.

To register for the summit, send your name, address and contact information by mail to MU BREC, 4968 Rangeline Road, Columbia, MO 65201-8973 or by e-mail to ChismT@missouri.edu, or call (573) 884-7945. For more information on the status of quail in Missouri, visit www.missouriconservation.org and search “Quail Management.”

MU to host Missouri Bobwhite Quail Summit and Quail Field Day, June 16

Image via Wikipedia

COLUMBIA, Mo. – This year’s University of Missouri bobwhite quail and native plant field day expands to include a Missouri Bobwhite Quail Summit, June 16 at MU’s Bradford Research and Extension Center near Columbia. Both events will be free.

The northern bobwhite quail, a once-abundant upland game bird, has suffered a steep population decline in Missouri and across its range during the past few decades, partly due to modern farming practices that have erased prime quail habitat. In recent years, MU Bradford Farm has served as a laboratory for implementing practices that integrate habitat management for bobwhites into modern farm operations.

The field day, 4-8 p.m., will feature wagon tours of habitat management techniques that have created the mixture of plant communities bobwhites need for nesting, feeding and protection from predators.  These practices have helped increase the population of bobwhites on the farm and surrounding area. 

“We’re going to talk about conducting management practices in stands of warm-season grasses so that they don’t become so overgrown and that encourage  a greater diversity of plants, such as legumes and other native forbs,” said Tim Reinbott, superintendent at the 591-acre research farm several miles east of Columbia. “We’ll also show how to renovate tall fescue to make it more wildlife-friendly.”

MU Extension agricultural economist Joe Horner will talk about the economics of integrating wildlife habitat and crop production. Other new topics this year include native pollinators, enhancing wildlife on small acreage, and pond and waterway management.

According to Bob Pierce, MU Extension fish and wildlife specialist, the field day will also include indoor workshops on quail ecology, habitat management, and population dynamics, including the impact of predators. Drinks and hamburgers will be served and visitors will have the opportunity to buy native plants.

There will be two sessions conducted during the Missouri Bobwhite Quail Summit.    The morning session will be organized specifically for wildlife and natural resource professionals.  The afternoon session, 1-4 p.m., will bring together private landowners, natural resource professionals and other interested persons to discuss the latest research on strategies and tools for conserving and restoring bobwhite habitat, learn about funding opportunities, and hear landowner success stories, said Pierce. 

Both events are free and open to the public. Registration is not required for the field day but people interested in participating in the afternoon session of the Bobwhite Quail Summit  should RSVP to MU BREC, 4968 Rangeline Road, Columbia, MO 65201-8973 or ChismT@missouri.edu, or call 573-884-7945.

For more information about these events, contact Bob Pierce at 573-882-4337 or PierceR@missouri.edu.

Field day sponsors are MU Extension; the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources; Lincoln University; Missouri Department of Conservation; the Missouri Soybean Association; and the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Sponsors for the Missouri Bobwhite Quail Summit include the Conservation Federation of Missouri, Quail Forever; the Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation; Quail Unlimited; the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative; MU Extension; and the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.

MDC offers wingshooting workshops for game-bird hunters

Image via Wikipedia

JEFFERSON CITY Mo – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will offer free workshops throughout the state to help migratory and upland game-bird hunters improve their shooting skills, especially with non-toxic shot. Topics will include ammunition and choke selection, improving shooting skills, improving range and distance-estimation skills, shotgun patterning and general information on the latest non-toxic shotgun ammunition.

Participants will need to bring a hunting shotgun, choke tubes if applicable, non-toxic shotgun ammunition to pattern, eye and ear protection and a stool or chair. Clay targets and 12- and 20-gauge non-toxic practice ammunition will be provided for range practice.

Workshop participation is limited, so pre-registration is required. Lunch arrangements differ at each site, so inquire when registering.

Dates, locations and contact information for regional workshop are:

Sept. 11 -- University of Central Missouri Range, Warrensburg

Contact Mark Miller: 660-530-5500

Sept. 18 -- Charles A. Green Conservation Area, Ashland

Contact Jeff Cockerham: 573-884-6861

Sept. 17-19 -- Jay Henges Shooting Range, High Ridge

Contact Jake Hindman: 636-938-9548

Sept. 26 -- Missouri Western State University, St. Joseph

Contact T.J. Peacher: 816-271-3100

Sept. 24-26 – August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area Shooting Range, Weldon Spring

Contact Eric Edwards: 636-441-4554

Oct. 2 -- 63 Gun Club, Macon

Contact Jeff Cockerham: 573-884-6861

Oct. 8-10 – Andy Dalton Shooting Range, Bois D’Arc

Contact Michael Brooks: 417-742-4361

Oct. 15-17 -- Fort Leonard Wood

Contact Larry Lindeman: 417-256-7161

Oct. 22-24 – Duck Creek Conservation Area, Puxico

Contact Dee Dockins: 573-290-5730

For more information on hunting seasons, permits and other related information, visit www.missouriconservation.org.


MISSOURI PUBLIC HUNTING