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| Missouri Conservation August News |
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| Saturday, 25 August 2007 | |
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1. Events help hunters with disabilities hunt deer (w/pic) 2. Women
invited to waterfowl hunting clinics 3. May flood proves costly for
Conservation Department 4. Hunters reminded of expanded nontoxic shot
requirement 5. Operation Small Fry a lasting tribute to lawman’s love
of kids, fishing. Visit www.missouriconservation.org/news to access text for these stories and Conservation Department news archives or to subscribe to this weekly news release package. Visit www.mdc.mo.gov/news/images/fullsize/20070824.jpg for a high-resolution jpg file of this week’s photo. Go to www.missouriconservation.org/seasons for the Conservation Department's weekly "Outdoor Calendar." News contact: Jim Low, , 573/522-4115, ext. 3243 "Achieving a relationship with nature is both a science and an art, beyond mere knowledge or mere feelings alone.”-John Fowles Cutline for 8/24/07 All Outdoors photo Hunters with mobility impairments can apply to take part in deer hunts specially designed for their needs. For more information, visit www.missouriconservation.org/news/out/. (Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo) Events help hunters with disabilities hunt deer (w/pic) Mobility impairments don’t have to stop hunters from enjoying this autumn tradition. JEFFERSON CITY-One of Missouri’s most cherished autumn traditions - deer hunting - once again will be available to hunters with mobility impairments, thanks to state and federal agencies and their local partners. Some hunters who use wheelchairs, crutches, braces or canes have trouble with the physical challenges associated with hunting. Special hunts on land owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provide help overcoming these obstacles. At the same time, handicapped hunters help the agencies keep deer populations in check. Details vary from event to event, but help of various kinds is available to participants in these hunts. Guides assist in getting hunters to the field and in getting game to the hunters’ vehicles. Hunt dates, locations and information contacts include: --Nov. 3-4 Clearwater Lake in Reynolds County, two openings. Contact Chris Alley, USACE, RR3, Box 3559D, Piedmont, MO 63957. Phone (573) 223-7777, ext. 230. Application deadline Sept. 14. --Nov. 3-4 Truman Lake in Benton, Henry and St. Clair counties, 22 openings. Contact Jason Hurley, USACE, 15968 Truman Road, Warsaw, MO 65355. Phone (660) 438-7317, ext. 3035. Application deadline Sept. 30. --Nov. 3-4 Stockton Lake in Cedar, Dade and Polk counties, 15 openings. Contact Stanton Rains, USACE Stockton Project Office, 16435 E. Stockton Lake Drive, Stockton, 65785-9471, (417) 276-3113, Application deadline Sept. 21. --Oct. 27-28 Wappapello Lake in Wayne County, 15 openings. Application deadline Oct. 1. Call James Gracey, (573) 222-8562, --Nov. 17-18 Mark Twain Lake in Ralls and Monroe counties, 35 openings. Contact Allen Mehrer, (573) 735-4097. E-mail Application deadline Sept. 10. --Nov. 17-18 Smithville Lake in Clay and Clinton counties, 56 openings. Contact Bruce Clark, USACE, P.O. Box 428, Smithville, MO 64089. Phone (816) 532-0174, ext. 10. E-mail Application deadline Oct. 19. --Oct. 6-7, Bois D'Arc Conservation Area in Greene County, 12 openings, Contact Mike Brooks, P.O. Box 1812, Bois D'Arc, MO 65612, Phone (417) 742-4361: Deadline Sept. 3. --Dec. 8-9 Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Chariton County, eight openings. Registration deadline Oct. 31. For reservations, contact Refuge Manager, 16194 Swan Lake Ave., Sumner, MO 64681. Phone (660) 856-3323. E-mail -Jim Low- 2. Women invited to waterfowl hunting clinic Sign up before it fills up. JEFFERSON CITY-A two-part Missouri’s O utdoors Women event in October and December will offer an introductory course in waterfowl hunting. Space is limited, however, and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. The clinic consists of two events, a training session on Oct. 7 and a guided hunt Dec. 1. Both will take place at Duck Creek Conservation Area west of Cape Girardeau. Up to 15 participants will be accepted for the tandem events, which are part of the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Missouri’s Outdoor Women program. Topics covered in the clinic will include: --North American waterfowl history and biology --Waterfowl hunting equipment and techniques --Waterfowl identification and hunting regulations --Wingshooting techniques Training will include classroom instruction and hands-on field experience. Materials, equipment and lunch are provided free of charge. Participants will be paired with guides for the Dec. 1 hunt on privately owned wetland areas near Duck Creek Conservation Area. No hunting experience is required, but participants must be at least 16 years old. Those born on or after Jan. 1, 1967, must have passed an approved hunter education course, and all participants must purchase Missouri small-game hunting and migratory bird hunting permits and a federal migratory bird hunting and conservation stamp. There is no charge for the clinic or the hunt. However, participants must post a $25 reservation fee, which will be refunded at the event. The registration deadline is Sept. 17. For registration forms and additional information, contact Missouri’s Outdoor Women, Waterfowl Hunting Clinic, Missouri Department of Conservation, 2302 County Park Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 or contact Mic Plunkett, (573) 495-2737, -Jim Low- 3. May flood proves costly for Conservation Department High water on the Missouri River proves costly for conservation. JEFFERSON CITY-Flooding along the Missouri River this spring wasn’t nearly as bad as the Great Flood of 1993. Nevertheless, it damaged conservation areas (CAs) to the tune of $600,000. A storm system that stalled over Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa in May dumped so much water into the Missouri River Basin that experts predicted flood crests comparable to 1993. The Big Muddy crested well above flood stage all along its length in the Show-Me State, breeching several levees. Those breeches, while disastrous for landowners, helped keep downstream flood crests below predictions. Conservation areas, national wildlife refuges and land set aside by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers following the 1993 flood also provided an outlet for countless thousands of acre-feet of water that otherwise would have sloshed rapidly downriver, pushing up flood crests. Even at the lower levels, however, the flood of 2007 did considerable damage to state-owned facilities in the Missouri River flood plain. The most common type of damage, and the one of most immediate concern, was blanketing with mud. “People couldn’t get to parking lots and boat ramps for all the silt the river had dropped on them,” said Design and Development Chief Jeff Leftwich. “We brought in backhoes, frontloaders, excavators, whatever we could muster to get those facilities open as quickly as possible. The Memorial Day weekend was coming up, and we knew people would be wanting to use them. Our Design and Development guys answered the call and quickly went to work clearing the silt and repairing the damage.” Besides covering some roads with sand and mud up to 4 feet deep, the river washed away “countless tons of rock” that had to be replaced. As big a job as that job was, Leftwich said putting boat ramps, parking lots and roads back in service was a cake walk compared to what remains to be done. Swirling currents damaged or breeched at least nine levees on conservation areas. When the water receded, Conservation Department workers found yawning holes, some of which will take thousands of cubic yards of dirt to fill. At Platte Falls CA in Platte County, the river breeched three levees and damaged another, creating an estimated $28,755 in damage. Eagle Bluffs CA in Boone County lost two levees and tons of big rock “riprap” designed to stabilize the river banks. Early estimates put the damage there at $78,000. Cooley Lake Access in Clay County took the biggest hit, an estimated $83,442 for removing debris and silt, rebuilding a parking lot, resetting two water-control structures and pipes, repairing an entrance road and replacing a concrete privy. Rough estimates of damage to 27 CAs and 34 accesses during the May flood totaled $603,780. The Conservation Department is still working on estimates of damage from flooding in southwest Missouri in July. Leftwich said the silver lining in all this bad news is that none of the boat ramps installed along the Missouri River following the floods of 1993 and 1995 washed out in this year’s flood. “In terms of destructive power, this year’s event had the potential to be in the same class as those earlier floods,” said Leftwich. “We lost some riprap on our ramps, but they held up. We are just thankful that the river crested lower than predicted, and damage was minimized.” -Jim Low- 4. Hunters reminded of expanded nontoxic shot requirement Steel or other federally approved nontoxic shot is required for all shotgun hunting on 21 conservation areas this year. JEFFERSON CITY-The Missouri Department of Conservation reminds dove hunters that nontoxic shot is required on 21 conservation areas (CAs) this year. Concern for the health of waterfowl and other wildlife is the basis for regulations, approved by the Missouri Conservation Commission in August 2006, that expand the requirement that nontoxic shot be used for all shotgun hunting - including dove hunting - to 21 CAs. All 21 areas attract large numbers of migratory waterfowl and shorebirds. The requirement to use steel or other federally approved nontoxic shot on these areas applies to all hunting with shotguns. CAs affected by the regulation change include B. K. Leach Memorial, Black Island, Bob Brown, Columbia Bottom, Cooley Lake, Coon Island, Duck Creek, Eagle Bluffs, Fountain Grove, Four Rivers, Grand Pass, Little Bean Marsh, Little River, Marais Temps Clair, Montrose, Nodaway Valley, Otter Slough, Schell-Osage, Settle’s Ford, Ted Shanks and Ten Mile Pond. Possession of lead shot is prohibited on these areas. Conservation Department Assistant Director John Smith said the changes are based on research conducted in cooperation with the University of Missouri’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, Veterinary Teaching Hospital and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Division of Migratory Bird Management. Research findings indicate that lead shot is being deposited in quantities sufficient to cause birds to pick it up when foraging for food. They further show that ingesting lead shot causes many birds to die. Species found to be susceptible to lead poisoning include mourning doves, eagles, hawks, owls, quail, wild turkeys and shorebirds. Smith said the regulation changes focus on areas where nontoxic shot already is required for waterfowl hunting. -Jim Low- 5. Operation Small Fry a lasting tribute to lawman’s love of kids, fishing Sgt. John Wright’s friends and family are determined to preserve his legacy. KEARNEY, Mo.-Sgt. John Wright was known as a committed lawman, a caring mentor and a devoted conservationist. If his family and his many friends have anything to say about it, he will be remembered as a man who gave his all to make sure that children had positive role models and wholesome outdoor fun. Wright, a deputy with the Clay County Sheriff’s Department, died of a heart attack May 17. His co-workers remember him as the embodiment of strong, positive values - family, integrity, love and commitment. It is not surprising, then, that in 1996 he set out to do something for at-risk children in his community by establishing Operation Small Fry. The program paired deputies and children for a day of fishing at Clay County Highway Department Lake. Kids who didn’t own fishing equipment got a free rod and reel, a tackle box and a picnic lunch. Much more important, they got the undivided attention of caring adults who showed them how to bait a hook, cast and land fish. It gave children who were at risk of getting into trouble with the law a positive experience with law officers and a vision of possibilities beyond their sometimes bleak daily experience. Over the years, Wright expanded the program to include any child between the ages of 5 and 14. Today they accept 150 youngsters each year on a first-come, first-served basis. The program kept Wright busy throughout the year. “He worked all year getting sponsors and equipment and making all the arrangements for that one day,” recalls coworker Deputy Tracy Wade. “Then he would start again the next day.” His role as the heart and soul of Operation Small Fry won Wright the title “Master Conservationist” from the Missouri Department of Conservation. The agency bestows that honor on a tiny minority of the states’ elite citizen conservationists. The shock of Wright’s death stunned his friends and family. His loss seemed unimaginable. The end of Operation Small Fry was unthinkable. So his wife and son, his comrades at the Sheriff’s Department and his cadre of volunteers rallied to take over the event. It will take place Sept. 8, as scheduled. Wright’s coworkers went a step farther to ensure that his legacy lives on. They built a picnic shelter as a permanent home for Operation Small Fry at Clay County Highway Department Lake. “We got it ready in time for this year’s Operation Small Fry,” said Wade. “It is a great tribute to a great man. We are very grateful to all those who helped make it possible.” For information about Operation Small Fry, visit www.claycogov.com/smallfry/sponsors, or contact the Clay County Sheriff’s Department, Attention Dep. Tracy Wade, 12 S. Water St., Liberty, MO 64068, phone (816) 407-3700. -Jim Low- To check hunting and fishing seasons listed on the Outdoor Calendar, visit http://mdc.mo.gov/seasons |