MDC invites public to dedication of renovated Rocky Forks Lake Shooting Range

Dedication ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 10, at the range.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Mid-Missouri shooting sports enthusiast and hunters have a newly renovated place to practice their shooting skills. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) welcomes the public to come and view the modifications recently made to Rocky Forks Lakes Conservation Area's (CA) unstaffed shooting range in Boone County. MDC will hold a dedication ceremony at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 10, at the shooting range, located approximately six miles north of Columbia on Highway 63, and one-half mile east on Peabody Road.  

The Rocky Forks Lake Shooting Range now sports a pistol range with a two-person shooting booth with moveable targets set at 7, 10, and 15 yards. It now also offers two rifle ranges with shooting benches and seats for shooters, with shooting distances of 25, 50, 75 and 100 yards. Additionally, shotgun shooters will no longer need to stand in mud after wet weather thanks to new concrete pads installed on the shotgun field. This will also help improve the shooting experience by making it easier to position portable clay target throwers to throw between two red barber poles in the field.

Safety modifications made to the range consist of re-facing the main backstop to prevent erosion and to reduce the potential for ricochets, and increasing the height of the berm to the recommended 20 feet. Other conveniences now in place include ADA-accessible parking and sidewalks and re-graded grounds to decrease standing water after rain.

“The Conservation Department is happy to provide this new and improved unstaffed range for Mid-Missourians to use,” said MDC Hunter Education and Shooting Range Coordinator Kyle Lairmore. “The improvements made here are the model of what we plan on doing throughout Missouri for future renovations to our existing shooting ranges.”

MDC manages five staffed and 70 unstaffed ranges throughout the state. All unstaffed ranges are safety-inspected at least twice yearly to ensure their maintenance and continued safety. To learn more about the MDC shooting ranges and outdoor education centers, visit http://mdc.mo.gov/node/6209.

MDC, DU to dedicate newly renovated Duck Creek Conservation Area

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and Ducks Oct. 11, at the area’s headquarters, beginning at 10 a.m.

Unlimited (DU) invites the public to attend a celebration and dedication of the Duck Creek Conservation Area (CA) in Bollinger, Stoddard, and Wayne Counties, celebrating the renovations completed to date. The dedication will be held

“This will be a special day to celebrate our wetland restoration efforts at Duck Creek Conservation Area,” said Matt Bowyer, MDC’s southeast wildlife regional supervisor. “It will also be a special day as we recognize and say thank you to the people who’ve supported this project and made it possible.”

Plaques will be unveiled with names of recent Missouri Ducks Unlimited Greenwing Legacy members, as well as the names of Ducks Unlimited Major donors and others who gave generously to make the wetland restoration project possible as part of the Mingo Basin Partnership. There will also be a tour of recent project activities immediately following the dedication ceremony.

The Golden Anniversary Wetlands Initiative, launched in 2004, is an ambitious partnership to rehabilitate and enhance wetlands at five of MDC’s oldest wetland conservation areas. Managers at these areas face an array of challenges as they have reached, or soon will reach, their 50th anniversary. The original infrastructure of these areas has outlived reasonable life expectancy, according to Bowyer. In addition, extreme landscape changes have had unforeseen and devastating effects on certain aspects of these areas. Moreover, the science and art of wetland management and engineering, design, and construction capabilities has drastically evolved from five decades ago.

“Projects like these are a testimony to the relationship between Ducks Unlimited, their volunteers, the Missouri Department of Conservation and numerous other partners.” said Mark Flaspohler, DU manager of conservation.  “This ‘Big Rivers’ part of the country is critical to waterfowl making the grand passage from the breeding grounds down to wintering grounds to the south.”

Major efforts are necessary to restore the wetland management functionality of these areas, and their rehabilitation is the focus of Missouri’s Golden Anniversary Wetland Initiative, under the following objectives:

·         Devise and finalize plans for rehabilitating MDC’s oldest wetland management areas.

·         Incorporate 21st Century wetland and ecological science into restoration approaches while avoiding a “repair” mentality in planning needed restorations.

·         Assemble diverse partnerships necessary to fund the efforts.

·         Implement the improvements/modifications over the twelve year period from 2005-2017.

To get to the Duck Creek CA headquarters, take MO-74 W from Cape Girardeau (exiting off I-55) and drive 5 miles; turn right onto MO-25 S and drive 1.8 miles; at traffic circle, continue straight to stay on MO-25 S and drive 15.9 miles to Advance Missouri; turn right onto State HWY C/S Ruth Street, continue to follow State Hwy C for 9.8 miles; turn left onto MO-51 S and drive approximately 3.5 miles to Duck Creek Conservation Area Headquarters, destination will be located on your right.

For more information on Duck Creek CA, go to mdc.mo.gov.

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MDC seeks public input for the Riverlands Conservation Areas

A draft plan is available for public review from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31.

COLUMBIA— The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is in the multi-year process of updating Conservation Area Management Plans and is seeking public input on how conservation areas are important to Missourians. A draft plan for the Riverlands Conservation Areas (CA) is available for public review from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31.

To preview the draft management plan and to share comments online, visitwww.mdc.mo.gov/areaplans.

The Riverlands CA are a series of publicly owned or managed properties on both sides of the Missouri River between river miles 110 and 195. They include Diana Bend CA, Franklin Island CA, Marion Bottoms CA, Plowboy Bend CA, Smoky Waters CA and Tate Island CA. With the exception of Franklin Island, these areas were purchased after the Missouri River floods in 1993 and 1995.

The purpose of these conservation areas is to reconnect the Missouri River with its floodplain, where practical; restore aquatic, wetland and terrestrial habitats; and provide recreational opportunities in a manner that will complement other conservation efforts along the river. These areas are managed to maintain a mixture of riparian habitats to provide for a variety of wildlife.

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.

MDC's Discovery Center plans nature photo exhibit

Photo submissions from public welcome

Kansas City, Mo. – Photographers find Missouri a great place to discover nature, from tiny

insects to wide vistas of woodlands or prairies. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is looking for photographers willing to share pictures of their favorite discoveries in nature.

   Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center welcomes photo submissions for a special display in November and December. The deadline for submissions is Oct. 31. Photos must be taken in Missouri and should be nature oriented. They can include people enjoying nature, such as a child discovering a frog, butterfly or flower.

    Photographers should submit high resolution jpeg photos via e-mail atdiscoverycenter@mdc.mo.gov. The e-mail system will accept photo file sizes up to five megabytes. Please include photographers name, photo subject, location where taken and date where taken. Those submitting photos chosen for the exhibit will be notified by e-mail.

   The public is invited to view the nature photography in the north hallway at Discovery Center, 4750 Troost Ave. in Kansas City. Learn more about connecting with nature in the heart of the city athttp://www.mdc.mo.gov/node/281. For more information on the photo exhibit call 816-759-7300.

Waterfowl Hunting and Wetland Conservation in Missouri - A Model of Collaboration

Jefferson City, MO | October 6, 2014 - Discover the unique history of the "Missouri Model" of

wetland and waterfowl management in this large format and richly illustrated new book.

 

The success of Missouri's waterfowl and wetland conservation is not an accident.  Careful planning, skillful execution of well-designed strategies, public and private partnerships, strong citizen support and dedicated funding have all led to the quality wetland habitats and migratory bird populations that we enjoy today. This new book chronicles and celebrates this success through gorgeous color photographs, reproductions of well-known waterfowl artwork and historic black and white photos.

 

The book's authors, many of them former waterfowl biologists and wetland managers, have donated their services to produce this book.  Sponsors, anchored by Bass Pro Shops, the Missouri Department of Conservation, Ducks Unlimited, the Conservation Federation of Missouri, the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation and private citizens, have covered all production costs.

 

This is a must have book for all serious migratory bird hunters, and all net proceeds from sales of the book will be dedicated to wetland and waterfowl conservation that benefits Missouri.

 

For more information about the book or to order a copy for yourself, visit the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation at http://mochf.org/2014/04/book-waterfowl-hunting-and-wetlands-conservation-in-missouri/

 

To learn more about the Conservation Federation of Missouri, visit www.confedmo.org.

Conservation Department teaches fish cleaning, cooking at Cape Riverfront Market

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- Fish cleaning and cooking may not be an intuitive skill, but it’s Saturday, Oct. 25, at 8:45, 9:30 and 10:15 a.m. Knuth will even have samples of the fish for the crowd to taste.

easy to learn. Dave Knuth, a fisheries management biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), will demonstrate how to properly clean and cook catfish, crappie and Asian carp at the Cape Riverfront Market,

“This is an opportunity for people who aren’t comfortable cleaning fish to see how easy it really is, and also for folks to try a taste of these fish,” Knuth said.

He said the trick to cleaning a fish is getting to know its internal structure.

“There are specific ways to clean different species of fish. For example, Asian carp have a very different bone structure than many of our native fish,” he said.

Knuth said these demonstrations are an effort to inform people of the benefits of properly cleaning fish and also to gain awareness for the invasive Asian carp. Asian carp populations are growing in many of our large rivers and are competing with some of our native fish, he said.

“Asian carp, specifically the silver carp, are not only causing declines in some of our native fish populations, but can also to be a  danger to boaters in the waters where they exist,” Knuth said.

Silver carp jump when they are frightened and many times will jump into the boat.

“I used to wear a football helmet to keep from getting hit in the head by them,” he said.

Knuth said Missourians can be an integral part in reducing the numbers of Asian carp by harvesting them. Knuth also said that because Asian carp are an invasive species, there’s no limit to how many anglers can keep. He and other conservation officials hope once people know how to clean and cook the troublesome fish, they will “kill the species with a fork.” The first step is getting people to try it and learn how to prepare it. Knuth said Asian carp have a very white and flaky meat and some even prefer it over tilapia or catfish.

“Sometimes people just need to see something firsthand to get the hang of it,” Knuth said, adding he will also take the time to interact with the crowd and answer questions.

Fishing is a time-honored tradition in Missouri and a great way to discover nature as a family. Educational programs like fish cleaning demonstrations help to continue that tradition for future generations.

The Cape Riverfront Market is open on Saturdays from  8 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the parking lot at 35 S. Spanish, next to Celebrations Downtown and across from Bel-Air Bar & Grill. For more information about the Cape Riverfront Market, please visit caperiverfrontmarket.com.

For more information on where to fish or how to clean and cook fish, go online to mdc.mo.gov.

MDC offers habitat management field day in Platte County

Weston, Mo. – A field day to help property owners manage for healthy woods and wildlife habitat will be offered by the Missouri Department of Conservation 9 a.m. to Noon on

Saturday, Oct. 18, at Jungk Tree Farm near Weston.

   Taking Care of Your Land Field Day is free. Participants are requested to RSVP to MDC Resource Forester Paul Whitsell at 816-655-6263, ext. 1345. The property is reached about a half miles south of Weston on Route JJ.

   Topics covered will include thinning timber for healthier trees and better wildlife habitat, timber harvest, erosion prevention on trails, growing shitake mushrooms, flood plots for deer, invasive species control and pond construction.

   The event will include a hike to observe the results of healthy forest management practices. For information on forestry in Missouri, http://www.mdc.mo.gov.