Vol68 no1 2007

JANUARY 2007VOL. 68, NO. 1

58

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15CHRISTMAS TREES

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NEWS & ISSUES

CONSERVATIONJOURNALISTS

CFM ANNUALCONVENTION

WildlifeMISSOURI

Future Generations

Duck Season

The fantasy of every hunter/nat-uralist serious about readingsign recently came to life formany of us in northeast Mis-

souri. A significant snowfall during muz-zleloader season! The afternoon prior tothe storm, I made the long, slow, treacher-ous drive up to our farm alone. Thoughthe solitude was welcome, it was bitterlycold and too windy as gear was unloaded,sleeping bag and heavy clothing were pre-pared and all the carefully planned detailsof the hunt were checked off the mentallist.

By midnight, the blizzard came. Noneof the usual wild coyote howling, owlhooting or even mouse doings could beheard. A steady, throbbing, living seriousstorm arrived in all its grandeur. All ofus, including those with feathers and fur,curled up tightly in the warmest spots wecould find and waited.

Up at 4:30 for poptarts and coffee.Into all the clothes, on with all thegear…but the lower doors both Northand South were drifted shut! Maybe afoot of snow in most places had drifteddeeply around the barn. I climbed outthrough the top half door and began thehour and a half hike through knee deeppowder to my stand. Not a track did I seeor a trail did I cut along the way.

As day broke, I could pick out 16 wildturkeys nearby, still on their roosts. Theyremained in the tree long after I did. Icame down and hiked out before noonwithout having seen a deer or a track.The freshly white-washed fence lookinglandscape was unblemished all the way

back to the barn, save my shuffling mile ofhard-earned tracks.

The sun came out in all its brilliance.The tractor thankfully started so I couldpush snow out of the way all along ourdrifted lane. After lunch I drove a tour ofthe farm looking for sign and reveling inthe beauteous splendor of the big snow. Ifound a trail with some use and dug out aplace to set up a ground blind downwind.Then I put in a folding chair and catalyticheater, drove the tractor back to the barn,geared up and began my hike back to theground blind. Wildlife was slowly becom-ing active after the great snowfall. Islipped past a nice 8 point 2 1/2 year oldbuck who stood up in his bed at 75 yards.He watched me, and I him, as I skirtedaround him…each fully aware of theother, neither anxious to do anythingother than resume our quests for doesand solitude.

Tucked into the blind, cozily nested infor the afternoon, I watched cardinalsworking the tops of grasses and forbs stillabove the snow. At twilight a covey ofquail called softly, picked up from myfencerow and flew across the snowy fieldin front of the blind. They were visible fora couple hundred yards. They pitched intogether beneath dense cedars, wherethere was little snow and good access tocoralberry and other fruits and seeds.

I am in awe of the intimate knowledgeof the minute details of home range withwhich all wildlife are absolutely familiar.Their survival and prosperity dependsentirely, at crucial times, upon this knowl-edge.

With all the time in the blind I hadopportunity to ponder how very similarthis condition is to what we face as con-servationists in Missouri. We must knowall the details, mechanisms, procedures,trends and possibilities of all agencies, leg-islatures, and other organizations whichimpact our mission. Although there maybe many needs to address, we still have thetime, resources and ability to act. It isgood that this winter storm came along tosimplify absolutely and immediately themission of wildlife on my farm. Even Icould understand the real message: thefirst need is to survive. The rest, at thatpoint, is extravagant luxury.We find our-selves at CFM, thanks to you, well beyondsurvival. Wildlife and folks who valuewildlife have a numerically strong and fis-cally healthy “lobbyist” in CFM.

May the holidays bring you and yoursgreat joy! May the New Year bring youprosperity and tremendous experiences inour great outdoors.

Seasons Greetings!

Dave MurphyExecutive Director, CFM

2 J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7

A Tracking Snow WildlifeJanuary 2007Vol. 68, No. 1

MISSOURI

Missouri Wildlife is the official publication of theConservation Federation ofMissouri, Aff liate of theNational Wildlife Federation.

ISSN 1082-8591

728 W. MainJefferson City, MO 65101-1559

Phone • 573-634-2322 Fax • 573-634-8205

Email •

Online • http://www.confedmo.org

MISSOURI WILDLIFE (USPS 012868) is pub-lished bimonthly in January, March, May, July,September and November for subscribers andmembers of the Conservation Federation ofMissouri, 728 W. Main, Jefferson City, MO65101-1559. Of each member’s dues ($20minimum) $2.00 shall be for a year’s subscrip-tion to Missouri Wildlife. Periodical postagepaid at Jefferson City, MO. and additionalmailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to MISSOURI WILDLIFE, 728 W. Main, Jefferson City, MO 65101-1559.

Don JohnsonGlenn Chambers

Mike SchallonDuane AddlemanRandy Washburn

Dave MurphyLynne Jensen Lampe

Laurie Coleman

Leigh Love

PresidentFirst Vice PresidentSecond Vice PresidentSecretaryTreasurer

Executive Director/EditorDesign & ProductionAdmin. Associate/Membership and Managing EditorAdmin. Associate/Accounting

OFFICERS

STAFF

COVER:

Photo is compliments of Bill Elliott , Missouri Department of Conservation.

VIEW FROM THE STONE HOUSE

The Conservation Commissionhas finalized the 2007 SpringTurkey Season. The bag limit (2birds) and the season length (3

weeks) remain unchanged. But the for-mula used to set the opening day waschanged to the third Monday in April.That means this year’s season will openApril 16th and close May 6th. Under theold formula, the Monday closest to April21st, the season would have opened April23rd. Moving the season ahead one weekwill better adjust season timing across thestate. A late cold spring delays gobblingactivity and an early spring can get gob-

blers in the mood ahead of schedule. Set-ting the season timing to please the northMissouri hunter in Scotland county andthe ridge running hunter in Iron county isnot easy. Not to mention making suresubstantial opportunities for turkeybreeding occur before the season starts.

Does Missouri’s spring turkey hunt-ing season match the second peak ofturkey gobbling activity? That is one ofseveral questions Resource Scientist JeffBeringer hopes to answer with the helpof the Missouri Chapter of the NationalWild Turkey Federation (NWTF), CFMmembers, and a battalion of volunteer

gobble counters.Volunteer listeners will count the

number of gobbles and the number ofgobbling birds during a 20-minute periodbefore sunrise twice a week betweenMarch 15 and May 15.“Gobbleteers” willchoose their own listening locations.

The study will begin this spring andrun through 2011. Beringer said it isimportant for people to volunteer onlyif they will be able to participate for thefull five years. To sign up, e-mailBeringer at [email protected] “Gobble Study” in the subject line,and provide your name, address, and

county in the body of the e-mail.Tom turkeys are most vocal just before

hens become receptive to mating and justafter hens begin incubating their eggs, sothere are two peaks in spring gobbling.Volunteer reports will help Beringer deter-mine whether the current timing of springturkey season puts hunters in the woodsduring the second peak in gobbling.

The study also seeks to discover anyrelationships between gobbling and otherfactors, such as weather and spring leaf-out. The results will be published in Mis-souri Wildlife and on the MDC andNWTF Chapter websites.

Spring Turkey Season Set

i

[email protected]

nside, underground and cozy… a constant 56oF… visit a Missouri cave this WINTER.

I

M I S S O U R I W I L D L I F E 3

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Be Cautious, Have Fun InStrange Missouri Weather

We are entering our glori-ous winter season in thestate of Missouri. Wehave already seen some

of the coldest and strangest weatherthat we have experienced in the pastseveral years. Snow and ice storms havecovered our state from border to bor-der. The ice storms that we haveencountered have been particularlyhard on our trees in our great state.Many have been toppled and othershave received a large amount of branchdamage. Hopefully, we will recoverfrom this and use the opportunity toenhance the forests in our state.

We have recently completed thefirearms deer season here in Missouri.The Missouri Department of Conser-vation noted a record harvest for thisyear. They expect this to help our man-agement efforts across the entire state.We unfortunately encountered severalaccidents during this season and Iwould take this time to notify all going

afield to be especially careful with thewinter season and slippery conditionsupon us.

Good luck in the remainder of ourwinter activities. Merry Christmas andHappy New Year to you all.

Don JohnsonPresident, CFM

When will you add your name to the list?CFM Life Membership Application

Name: _____________________________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________

Phone: _______________________Email:_____________________________

Payment Method (circle one): Cash Check

Credit Card _______________________________ Exp. Date:__________

Charles Abele, Saint LouisDuane and Nancy Addleman, SpringfieldRichard Ash, Saint CharlesDane Balsman, PerryvilleJim Tom Blair, Saint LouisRon Coleman, Saint AlbansMark Corio, ColumbiaDave Kolb Grading, Saint CharlesJohn Enderle, KelsoMr. & Mrs. Andrew Fleming, ColumbiaHoward & Sara Fleming, MoberlyMr. & Mrs. Matt Fleming, MoberlyAllan Hoover, Pleasant HillDon Johnson, FestusRoger & Debbie Johnson, HumansvilleDuane & Cosette Kelly, IndependenceSara Knight, Charlotte, NCCarl Kurz, Leawood, KSJay Law, Saint James

Gerald Lee, Kansas CityJoel LeMaster, FultonLeroy Logan, ArnoldChip McGeehan, MarshfieldCynthia Metcalfe, Saint LouisDavid Murphy, ColumbiaAbe Phillips, Saint LouisGerald Ross, Jefferson CityMike Schallon, BallwinTimothy Schwent, JacksonCharles & Winnie Stribling, MexicoBarbara VanBenschoten, Kansas CityAl Vogt, ColumbiaRandy Washburn, Jefferson CityStephen Wilson, HartsburgDick Wood, Saint LouisHoward Wood, Bonne TerreRobert Ziehmer, California

Conservationists For Life

2007 Natural Events Calendarfrom the Missouri Department of Conservation

MDC's ever-popular calendar keeps you in touch with

the year's seasonal changes. Thanks to the splendid

talents of MDC contributing nature photographers,

you'll be able to enjoy wild Missouri indoors

when you can't get outdoors. You'll find monthly

reminders of the state's natural treasures. Daily notes

keep you posted on what's blooming or nesting

and myriad other natural phenomena.

10 x 14 inches$5.00

(plus shipping and handling)

Call (800) 575-2322 to order

4 J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7

AGENCY NEWS

Many of us have friends andfamily who we enjoybeing with, doing projectswith or having as our

own support group in times of crisis.Good neighbors andclose family mem-bers are usually will-ing to lend a handwhen a job needs tobe done or simplycall us to make sureeverything is all right and everyone ishealthy.

Our environment – where we live,what we breathe, what we drink andwhat we see and hear – is part of whatdraws us together as human beings, ascitizens and as family members and asgood neighbors. The issues involved inmaintaining a good, healthy environ-ment can raise vigorous discussion oreven an argument or two, but the goalis primarily the common good of ournation, state, community, friends andfamily.

The Missouri Department of Nat-ural Resources is well known as a stateagency charged with protecting ourenvironment, but over the past year,we have launched several initiatives

that are helping the public see thedepartment as an advisor and friendwhen it comes to discussing environ-mental issues.

Like neighbors who have had afalling out, a communication break-down between the department, thegeneral public or the regulated com-munity may create a host of problems.As a former state legislator, I havelearned that keeping the lines of com-munication up and running is themost effective way to learn what is onpeople’s minds and work together todeal with troubling issues.

It is not enough to have the depart-ment’s contact numbers posted nearyour phone. If people don’t think thata call will be welcomed and a responsemade quickly, they probably won’t call,even if a crisis is developing.

Since starting my job as director ofthe Department of Natural Resourcesin January 2005, I have learned thatmany times what people complainedabout regarding their relationship withthe department was based on storiespassed down over the years with thefacts often embellished with misinfor-mation, myth or rumor. We can’tchange the past, but we can impact the

future. With that in mind, we haveestablished a corps of seven ombuds-men who travel within their regions tomeet with the public, local govern-ment officials and business people.During their first year on the road, theombudsmen have contacted more than2,000 persons. As of late December, Ihave joined them at 70 town meetingsand visited with another 1,000-pluspeople.

Along with a new Field ServicesDivision, we also launched a compli-ance assistance initiative to addressconcerns from the regulated commu-nity. Rather than using site inspectionsand hefty fines to make a point aboutenvironmental stewardship, we arenow doing Environmental AssistanceVisits, or EAVs. EAVs help applicantsfor permits better understand Mis-souri’s environmental laws and regula-tions and guide them through theirunique permit process so they can dis-cover and deal with problems earlyand avoid future conflicts. In a recentsurvey, it was found that 99 percent ofrespondents felt well served by depart-ment staff who visited their operationsduring EAVs.

Finally, to work more closely with

our neighbors and reduce the amountof windshield time our staff spends onMissouri’s highways, we have openedsatellite offices and located staff atMaryville, Rolla, Portageville, Harry S.Truman State Park near Warsaw, Wil-low Springs and Fredricktown. A tem-porary office that was opened inCarthage to address a local environ-mental concern has now become a per-manent satellite office. With theseadditions over the past year, there arenow 22 regional, satellite and projectoffice locations to serve Missouri citi-zens in their local areas.

Regional offices now issue mostroutine state operating permits. Manydepartment forms and manuals arenow posted on the Internet pages atwww.dnr.mo.gov. The folks who needthese can now complete forms elec-tronically and update them as neces-sary.

We have come a long way, and withyour continued involvement, weexpect to remain good friends andneighbors with all who enjoy and ben-efit from Missouri’s remarkable natu-ral resources.

Doyle ChildersDirector, DNR

Launching A Good Neighbor Policy

The Second Annual MissouriWildlife Arts Festival held atthe Foundry Arts Centre inHistoric St. Charles was a suc-

cess again this year.The event, which was held Novem-

ber 3rd through the 5th, attracted 30 ofthe nation’s top wildlife artists andmore than 600 visitors. Art sales topped$40,000, of which a percentage goes tosupport the work of the Open SpaceCouncil and its partnering sponsors,including the Conservation Federationof Missouri, the Greenway Network andthe Missouri Wildlife Artist Society.

The date for next year’s Wildlife ArtFestival has be set for November 3-4,2007.

Second Annual Missouri Wildlife Art Festival

Wildlife artists from around the country set up booths at this year’s festival and donated a per-centage of their sales to conservation organizations..

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From left: Larry Ruff (Greenway Network),Eileen Melton (Artist), and Gerry Boehm(Greenway Network).

Luke Buck (Artist), Ron Coleman (ExecutiveDirector, Open Space Council) and Larry Ruff(Greenway Network).

Nation’s best wildlifeartists participated

Hoyt Scholarship WinnerThe 2006 College of Agriculture,

Food and Natural Resources Scholar-ship Luncheon was held October 23.This years recipient of the Ann WeberHoyt and Earl H. Hoyt Scholarship wasHeather Priest.

Give The Gift Of Wildlife Habitat

Whether it’s a Douglas fir, a Coloradoblue spruce or Scotch pine, all Christmastrees can make great wildlife habitatafter the holidays, a University of Mis-souri specialist said.

According to the National ChristmasTree Association, Americans purchase30 to 35 million real Christmas treeseach year. These trees all have the poten-tial to become fish or wildlife habitat,said Bob Pierce, MU Extension fish andwildlife specialist.

“One Christmas tree alone won’tprovide a lot of habitat, but three or fourtrees grouped together can make greathabitat in a pond for young bluegill,crappie and even catfish,” he said.“Theyalso can provide protective cover forwildlife.”

Bundles of brush and trees “providean opportunity for the entire food chainto exist,” Pierce said.“The structureattracts aquatic insects, which attract thelarval fish, which attract the predatory

fish, which attract the fishermen.”While any time is a good time to

install brushy habitat in ponds, Piercesaid the current drought offers a uniqueopportunity.

“Because many ponds around thestate are several feet below normal,areas that are usually underwater arenow visible, offering you a chance toreally see and assess your existing habi-tat,” he said. Missouri ranks No. 2 in thenation in the number of manmadeimpoundments, around 500,000 pondsand small lakes in all.

When installing structure in a pond,the larger the pile the better, Pierce said.

“It’s better to group your trees andbrush together than to spread every-thing out,” he said.“Placing one largebrush pile for every 2 to 3 acres of wateris a good rule of thumb for larger lakes.”

When placing structure,“sink thebrush with rocks or concrete blocks in avertical position in no deeper than 10 to12 feet of water,” Pierce said.“This way,the fish will be able to use the cover year-round.”

He added it’s important to be mind-ful of normal water depths so that struc-ture isn’t placed too deep in the pond.

Natural structure such as Christmastrees will decompose over time in apond, so it’s important to periodicallyadd new trees and brush. “Softwoodslike pine will last about seven years, soif you haven’t added structure to yourpond for several years, it might be timeto consider adding more,” Pierce said.

For more information on pondmanagement, Pierce said the MissouriDepartment of Conservation’s Mis-souri Pond Handbook is the “single-best publication out there.” The hand-book is available online atwww.mdc.mo.gov/documents/fish/pondhb.pdf

Christmas trees also make effectivecover for wildlife such as rabbits, quailand other birds because the trees’ limbscreate usable space for hiding from

predators or protection from the ele-ments, Pierce said.

“The best places to create brush pilesare where two habitats come together,”he said.“This would include areas suchas fencerows where agricultural fieldsand woodlots come together.”

Trees can be added to refresh exist-ing piles or to create new ones. “Eitherway, they’ll get used well after theChristmas season is over,” Pierce said.

Cave & Karst ConservationIn The Ozarks

2007 NATIONAL CAVE & KARSTMANAGEMENT SYMPOSIUM

OCTOBER 8-12, 2007

Fisher Cave, Meramec State Park, isour destination for the National Cave &Karst Management Symposium(NCKMS) field trip on Oct. 10, 2007.

The 2007 National Cave & KarstManagement Symposium will be heldOctober 8-12, 2007 at the Holiday InnSW & Viking Conference Center,10709 Watson Road, St. Louis, MO63127, about 2 miles from Powder Val-ley, 800-682-6338. Nearby is the Mis-souri Department of Conservation’sbeautiful Powder Valley Nature Center(PVNC), where a free public eventwill be held on Tuesday, Oct. 9,including a cave photo exhibit and aspeaker panel, followed by refresh-ments in the lobby.

A block of rooms will be reserved forthe symposium at the Holiday Inn SW &Viking Conference Center. Rates are cur-rently $89 single or double, roll-away bed$10. There are many good restaurantsin the area, and it is one hour fromcaving areas on the Meramec River.There is also camping at Babler StatePark west of St. Louis and Meramec StatePark near Sullivan (lots of caves).

Field Trip: On Wednesday, Oct. 10we will take a bus trip to Meramec StatePark one hour away, with walking toursof Fisher Cave, a great destination for asymposium trip. There are wild cavesnearby, where we can arrange for cav-ing trips.

MDC is doing a lot of innovativecave conservation and restorationwork in Missouri, and we are workingon big karst problems, financingrecharge area delineations, studyingsprings, conserving endangered speciesand other species of concern, andworking with landowners and cavers.We will showcase what we do here, anddraw in regional cavers and conserva-tionists who want to know more. MDChas a great national reputation as aleading state wildlife agency.

It’s Officially “Duck Season”!

National Wildlife Action is dedicat-ing the holiday season to ducks thisyear. If you’re a duck hunter, duckeater, or just someone who cares aboutwaterfowl, check out www.targetglobal-warming.org for the month-long cele-bration of all things winged and wet.

From the drying up of the prairiepotholes to warming winter and longersummers changing migration patterns,ducks are affected by global warmingmore than any other game species.

Find out more and test your knowl-edge of ducks (while entering to win afree “Outdoor Adventure”quiz at www.target- globalwarming.org.

Welcome! CFM New Members

Jon Beetem, Jefferson CityScott Combs, Belleville, ILDonald Demsky, BallwinJim Edwards, Cedar HillWalter Gonzales, ImperialJohn Hammond, ManchesterDon Henderson, Lake OzarkJim Hoerr, O’FallonTim Koehler, Saint LouisArthur Meister, Saint LouisJerry Mercurico Sr., ArnoldJerry Mercurico II, Crystal CityPaul Passanante, Saint LouisWilliam Truebe, Saint LouisBernie Urbas, BallwinDick vanBenschoten, Kansas CityHelen Wells, Saint CharlesBrad Wiedlocher, Saint LouisTony Wolf, Saint PetersChris Wymer, Saint Louis


NEWSA COLLECTION OF STORIES FROM AROUND THE STATEAND ISSUES

Heather Priest

Attendees visit Fisher Cave during the 2000Natural Areas field trip.

). Take the

6 J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7

Whether it’s talking abouttechnology, health issuesor conserving our naturalresources, we can’t deny

that science topics are becoming increas-ingly part of mainstream conversations.

For this reason, it is important for sci-entists to connect and communicate withthe public.

For most Missourian land owners, thisinteraction with scientists usually occurswith a university extension officer, whoadvises and educates landowners on howto be responsible stewards of the environ-ment.

But now, college students are getting achance early on to perfect this craft ofsimplifying scientific complexities intopractical descriptions through a class thatemphasizes written communication skills.

For six years University of Missouri-Columbia (MU) soil science students inDr. Peter Motavalli’s Soil Fertility andPlant Nutrition class have sharpened theirscience skills through writing while gain-ing experience that could prepare themfor the professional world.

One of Motavalli’s class assignments isdesigned to allow these advanced studentsto compose an article for an extension-style publication on soil nutrient manage-ment. The advanced students’ target audi-ence is an introductory soil science class,and once the students complete their arti-cles, those articles are posted on the inter-net for the introductory soil science stu-dents to evaluate and submit comments.The evaluations from the introductorystudents are then returned to the individ-ual authors of the articles among theadvanced students with the idea that thisfeedback would help the advanced classimprove how they communicate their sci-entific ideas. The project allows studentsto learn to write for different audiences.

Usually, students write mainly for theirinstructor, Motavalli said, and don’t havethe chance to broaden their writing skillsfor different audiences or even with dif-ferent styles of writing.

“Many in their profession are going tohave to write proposals, position papers,technical articles or even write popularpieces for a non-technical audience,” hesaid. And the assignment is beneficialsince most students going through MU’snatural resource programs will join publicagencies, or will work in consumer-drivenfields that require them to break downtheir knowledge about environmentaland agricultural topics and communicatethe practices with a variety of audiences –

from students to farmers to other col-leagues.

Writing Intensive BackgroundMotavalli’s assignment is a good exam-

ple of a class that uses the educationalapproach called Writing Across the Cur-riculum (WAC). WAC is a movement thatstarted at American universities during the1980s as a response to improve literacy.

The idea is that writing can be a valu-able learning experience that can help stu-dents analyze and understand the subjectthey are studying. It also allows studentsto develop a very practical skill that will beused to communicate across disciplines oreven within their own discipline.

Dr. Marty Patton in MU’s EnglishDepartment, who spent several years atthe MU Campus Writing Center andwhose work focuses on writing-in-the-discipline, said that about 30 years agowriting fell by the wayside in college class-es, particularly science, which emphasizedlab work that accompanied large lectures.This prompted a trend of requiring writ-ing intensive (WI) courses. MU graduatesmust take two WI course and one has tobe in the student’s chosen discipline area.

“With colleges that have WI classes, thebottom line is that everyone has exposureto writing,” Patton said.“It’s ideal to askstudents to go back and forth – to write tolearn as you learn to write,” Patton said.Translating the technical material into simpler terms forces students tounderstand the material, she said.Motavalli enlisted Patton’s help to helphim set up the soil science class.“Motavalli is using this principle byengaging students in this discipline,” Pat-ton said.

The AssignmentStudents in Motavalli’s class were

given this assignment: put together anextension publication that providesinformation on soil fertility managementfor crops grown in Missouri. The fin-ished publications were posted on a stu-dent Web site (see the attached visual)and critiqued by introductory soil sci-ence students in Dr. Randy Miles’ intro-ductory soils class.

A survey revealed that most of theintroductory soil students were majoringin a variety of disciplines includingforestry, plant science, fisheries andwildlife, atmospheric sciences. The intro-ductory students were given the choiceof which publications they wanted to cri-tique and then filled out a survey thatmarked how well informed they felt theywere after reading the publication arti-cles from the upper-class students.

For many of the introductory soil sci-ence students, this is their first and lastcourse in soil science, Miles said. There ishope that the less experienced studentscould become enthusiastic enough tostick with the subject. Meanwhile,upper-level students receive feedbackfrom students with less knowledge of thesubject so they can better clarify theirreports and write for different audiences.

Student FeedbackGraduate student Adam Noellsch and

his group compiled their extension pub-lication in Motavalli’s class on corn andhow nitrogen affects it. His group exam-ined and reported on corn’s role in Mis-souri agriculture in ethanol productionand using corn as cattle feed. Noellschsaid he’s interested in working for anextension office and the assignmenthelped him prepare for the future.Knowing other students would be ratingthe publication was also motivation. “Itwas good incentive to make a goodpaper,” Noellsch said.

Student Maria Bellrose said shelearned that extension articles can bebeneficial in many ways – whether youare researching for a paper, or for yourbackyard garden. Bellrose said thatfeedback from other students was help-ful, but she wasn’t positive that the stu-dents took the evaluation process asseriously as they could have.

That is one of Motavalli’s concernswith the critiquing process. Anotherobstacle is the limited time of the four-month semester. Motavalli said he wish-es there was a way to edit and returncomments sooner to student authors.

There’s also student copyright pro-tection laws that allows students to optout of publishing their work on Websites or share their assignments withanyone besides their teachers. But gen-erally, Miles and Motavalli said that theassignment’s downsides outweighed thepositive learning experience.

Looking AheadMiles rated the experience as good for

his introductory soil science students.“Students thought it was by and large agood way to extend themselves,” he said.“The experience “might serve as a spring-board for those who want to do the samething in their own way.”

Motavalli’s class has filled a void tohave students interact with each other tokeep learning momentum going, Milessaid. The class also simulates extension-style work. “An extension role is to tailortechnical information dissemination in anagency with a very distinct niche,” Milessaid. The assignment simulated this dis-semination well, he said.

Motavalli said he would eventually liketo involve international students andother student groups within and outsidethe university as the target audience toprovide different perspectives, but lan-guage barriers and timing differences aresome of the challenges. Despite thesechallenges and the growing use of differ-ent communication technologies, theability to write effectively is still an impor-tant job skill for the scientific professions.“My hope is that this new teaching tech-niques will break the mold of solely writ-ing for the instructor, and expand theclassroom horizon to motivate students towrite more effectively”, Motavalli said.“The boundaries of the classroom and thepeople who participate in the course canbe limitless, especially with use of theInternet.”

Traci Angel

Writing About Science As A Way To Learn

MU students in Dr. Peter Motavalli's Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition class create anonline extension-style publication.

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A screen shot of MU soil science students'work about corn and its importance.


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A unique partnership between CFM and Jim Rathert has begun. You can buy fantastic images ofMissouri wildlife, caught in the act of living, by renowned photographer Jim Rathert.

Best of all, each of these vivid slices of Missouri wildlife will greatly benefit CFM. The cards are soldonly in high-quality sets of 12. There are 3 copies of each of the 4 images in every set (whitetail buck,greater prairie chicken, belted kingfisher, eastern bluebird). Each card is 5 x 7 with a full color photoon the front, a nature note by Jim with our CFM logo, mission statement and contact information onthe back and plenty of space for your message on the inside. High quality, matched envelopes accom-pany each card.

Please order your cards today! We are certain you will enjoy sending them as much as your friendswill enjoy receiving them. A dozen cards are yours for only $19. If you order 3 or more sets, you payonly $16 per set. Prices include shipping and handling. To buy cards, use the form below, call (800) 575-2322 or go to www.confedmo.org. Mail your payment to 728 West Main Street, Jefferson City, MO 65101.

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Beautiful CFM Notecards For Sale!

8 J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7

For this issue, I have turnedover my space to a good col-league and friend, Mr. Bill Allen,assistant professor and coordi-nator of our College of Agricul-ture, Food, and NaturalResources’ Agriculture Journal-ism program. I first met Billwhen he was on the “conserva-tion beat” for the St. Louis PostDispatch. A colleague and Ibrought him to MU to help us ina course on “EnvironmentalResearch for Journalists.” SinceBill has joined the faculty in ourCollege, we have continued tolook for ways to collaborate.We’ll be teaching an “Environ-mental Literature” course (withcolleague Janice Faaborg) nextyear. We are also workingtogether to find new opportuni-ties to enhance the quality ofmedia coverage of conservationissues—a critical need for aninformed citizenry. But, I willlet Bill tell that story…

Mark R. RyanDirector,

The School of Natural Resources

In the fall of 1989, geologist JimVandike of the Department ofNatural Resources sprinkledblood-red powder on Fourmile

Creek in south-central Missouri. Aswater stridersdarted across the surface, the pow-der turned intomilky greenstreaks in thecreek. Vandikeexplained that theharmless dyestreaks would findtheir way into cracks in the stream bedand then move down through theground for miles. It was part of astudy to find where the water flowed.

In the fall of 1992, biologistRochelle Renken of the Department ofConservation held up a wriggling hog-

nose snake captured beneath forestfloor leaf litter near Ellington. Renkenexplained how amazed she was by thesheer number of snakes, lizards, frogs,toads, salamanders and turtles thatshe and other biologists found thatyear in a survey for the MissouriOzark Forest Ecosystem Project.

Vandike was teaching me about thevast underground water networks inthe Ozarks for a story I was doing forthe St. Louis Post-Dispatch about Mis-souri’s water resources. Renken wasteaching me about the biologicaldiversity of the state’s forests for astory on forestry practices.

In my 13 years with the Post-Dis-patch, and during other writing jobsbefore and since, I’ve had the greatfortune of learning about the planet’s

natural resources from Vandike,Renken and scores of other expertswith government agencies, universitiesand nongovernmental organizations.

That education has helped mewrite better, more accurate, moremeaningful stories about the environ-ment and its complexities. Those sto-ries, in some measure, helped shapethe views of my fellow citizens.

Now, as a teacher at the Uni-versity of Missouri, I worryabout the future of publicunderstanding of our

state’s precious environment and nat-ural resources— and about the abilityof the next generation of journalists toexplain the many complex and crucialissues involved in maintaining them.

That’s why we are attempting tobroaden and strengthen MU’s capacityto train that next generation. Call itwhat you will—conservation journal-ism, environmental journalism, natu-ral resources journalism—it is abranch of science journalism thatfocuses on the life sciences, politics,economics and social dimensions ofland, water, air and biota … and theecological connections that bindthem. And it needs the support ofmany stakeholders.

From urban sprawl to river man-agement to feral hogs, dramatic devel-opments in conservation and naturalresources are increasingly confrontinga largely scientifically illiterate (if notscience-phobic) U.S. citizenry. Theability of voters and consumers to

The Need for More and Bette

SCHOOL OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Jamie Ebbesmeyer, far right, and Lisa Potter, behind him in green shirt, explain quail habitat restoration to University of Missouri-Columbia stu-dents on a Monroe County farm in September as part of the first MU Field Reporting Institute. Ebbesmeyer is a private land conservationist withthe Missouri Department of Conservation and Potter is a biologist with Quail Unlimited.

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make informed decisions about theseissues is severely constrained by a lackof plentiful, quality lay-oriented jour-nalism, a key challenge for our demo-cratic society.

Many reasons for this predicamentexist. One partial remedy is to educateand train more and better public serv-ice journalists and communicators on

these issues—people who will helpinform the public with thorough,unbiased, understandable reports. Byhelping to prepare young journalistsand other communicators to take partin that effort, MU can make a signifi-cant contribution to a better society.

A major contributor to that effortis the Agricultural Journalism Pro-

gram, which combines the full experi-ence of our world-renowned Collegeof Agriculture, Food and NaturalResources and our School of Journal-ism. In the program, our students getthe background they need to pursue acareer that combines journalism withspecial knowledge in the life sciences,conservation, natural resources,biotechnology, agriculture, the envi-ronment and the food system. Ourgraduates are uniquely equipped toreport on these topics for magazines,newspapers, radio and TV stationsand on the Web. They also can applytheir communications skills as publicrelations, advertising and marketingprofessionals.

We are attempting to deepen thattraining in several ways. First, we arebeginning to teach the intricacies ofcovering topics beyond traditionalproduction agriculture. Second, weare encouraging our students to seekinternships in conservation, environ-

ment and natural resources communi-cation. Third, we are helping themexperience such opportunities asworkshops of the Missouri OutdoorCommunicators, meetings of theSociety of Environmental Journalistsand special trips to places such as thePlatte River Valley to learn about themigration of Sandhill cranes.

Fourth—and perhaps most impor-tant — we are launching new expedi-tion-style courses to get our studentsout into the field to learn first-handabout the issues they will cover. Forexample, this past fall, we offered acourse centered around the first MUField Reporting Institute, an intensivethree-day journey across the stateexamining the environmental, politi-cal, economic and human dimensionsof corn agriculture. Next fall we plan asimilar journey exploring MissouriRiver issues.

Missouri’s history of pub-licly supported, intelli-gent conservation andnatural resource man-

agement is remarkable and well-known around the nation. Our envi-ronment has long benefited from theforesight of leaders and citizens toallocate financial resources to conser-vation.

Our vision at MU, with your help,is to combine the world-class centersof agriculture, natural resources andjournalism education and researchinto the world’s finest program fortraining future generations of conser-vation journalists. It would be, in myopinion, one of the best ways toensure a citizenry knowledgeableabout Missouri’s natural legacy andadamant about conserving it.

Bill AllenAssistant Professor and Coordinator

of Agricultural JournalismCollege of Agriculture, Food

and Natural ResourcesUniversity of Missouri Columbia

Turn the page for the companion article about

the MU Field Reporting Institute


Darren Berry, seated on steps, chief waterplant operator for Vandalia, MO, explains theimportance of working with farmers to keepherbicide levels low in the watershed.

MU Ag Journalism and Journalism studentswho attended the Field Reporting Institutepose inside on a rainy day at the NationalGreat Rivers Museum at the Melvin PriceLocks and Dam, in Alton, Illinois. From rightthey are Rebecca Townsend, Rachel Moten,Marilyn Simcoe, Sara Muri, Catherine Wolf,Christine Tew and Zack Ruesler.

Steve Hoepf, resource assistant at the Ted Shanks Conservation Area along the MississippiRiver, gives MU students and faculty an overview of issues faced by the area’s managers.

Lisa Potter, left, a biologist with Quail Unlimited, prepares to describe quail habitat restorationto MU students, from left, Rebecca Townsend, Rachel Moten, Catherine Wolf, Marilyn Simcoe,Sara Muri, Christine Tew and Zack Ruesler.

tter Conservation Journalism

1 0 J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7

A Laboratory or Better Conservation JournalismThe Inaugural MU Field Reporting Institute

SCHOOL OF NATURAL RESOURCES

On a sunny Saturday morninglast September in MonroeCounty, Jamie Ebbesmeyerand Lisa Potter led a small

group of journalism students and pro-fessors across aformer livestockfarm whose owner,Donald Simpson,had decided inrecent years tocease farming largesections of theland and restore itto habitat for quailand other wildlife.

“When farming stopped it was amaz-ing the amount of seed there was in thesoil for native plants,” said Ebbesmeyer, aprivate land conservationist with theMissouri Department of Conservationbased in Paris. Those plants, along withseeds of other natives sowed, havesprung up around the farm to enhancesoil conservation, water quality andwildlife habitat, explained Potter, a biol-ogist with Quail Unlimited who workswith Ebbesmeyer.

Weeks before in a University of Mis-souri-Columbia classroom, the studentshad learned about Conservation ReservePrograms, including those that providewildlife habitat. Now they were seeing,smelling and touching the results ofsuch programs as part of the first MUField Reporting Institute.

The Field Reporting Institute, or FRI,was an intense, three-day trip Sept. 15-17 that formed the centerpiece of a newcourse on “Field Reporting in Food andNatural Resources” — Ag Journalism3201. Funded with seed money from the

College of Agriculture, Food and Natur-al Resources, the course enabled “expe-dition-style” learning for Ag Journalismundergraduate students and Journalismgraduate students.

We hope to offer similar courses inthe future to continue to train the nextgeneration of conservation journalists.Our aim is to improve the quality ofjournalistic coverage of conservation,natural resources and the environmentin Missouri and around the nation.

The Fall 2006 FRI focused on thefarming, transport, politics, economicsand environmental impacts of corn.Over three days, the students traveled to13 sites from Carrollton, Missouri, toCahokia Mounds, Illinois.

Students found themselves on theroad by 7 a.m. each day, talking with awide range of experts at farms, labs,watersheds, grain elevators, an ethanolplant, a conservation area, public water

works, locks and dams and other places.By 9 p.m. they were back at their motels,typing up notes and composing storyleads.

This “immersion” experience gavethem a taste of the art, science and disci-pline of professional-level news-gather-ing with an eye toward publication for amass, non-science audience.

As we pulled back into Columbia lateSept. 17 (a Sunday night), the studentssaid they were exhausted but strangelyenergized, changed forever by theintense educational experience. In thefollowing weeks they wrote and revisedin-depth stories about the issues theyhad encountered.

We had achieved the course goals:helping students become better fieldreporters, interviewers and writers ofcomplex stories about food and naturalresources. They also gained a betterunderstanding of the challenges and

complexities of thorough, engagingexplanatory journalism.

Our hope for next fall’s FRI is to cen-ter on conservation and naturalresources issues involving the MissouriRiver. The aim is for students to experi-ence on-the-ground and on-the-waterlearning about the science, politics andother aspects of the river system.

Our long-term hope is to establishthe FRI as a preeminent training groundfor the future generations of journalistswho write about agriculture, conserva-tion, the environment and naturalresources.

Bill AllenAsst. Prof./Coordinator, Agricultural

Journalism Program College of Agriculture, Food and

Natural Resources Adjunct Faculty, School of Journalism

University of Missouri

Will you join today to help us conserve our natural resources for tomorrow?

Check the member category you prefer:q $20–Individual q $15–Student q $30–Family q $100–Corporate q $1000–Lifetime

Please mail this application with your membership dues to:Conservation Federation of Missouri728 West MainJefferson City, MO 65101-1559

If you have any questions, call us at 1-800-575-2322 or visit us at www.confedmo.com.

Name __________________________________________________________________

Address ________________________________________________________________

City __________________________________State ____________Zip code __________

Work phone: ____________________________Home phone: ______________________

Fax number: ____________________________E-mail address: ____________________

Please make checks payable to the Conservation Federation of Missouri.*Or you may charge your membership dues to your MasterCard, Visa, or Discover.

Credit card number ________________________________Expiration date __________

Signature of cardholder ____________________________________________________

Your membership dues include a one-year subscription to Missouri Wildlife, logo sticker, and membership card.

Conserve Life:SLOW DOWN

More than 1,100 people die

on Missouri highways each

year. Don’t become a statistic.

Conserve life by slowing down

and by always making sure

your seatbelt is buckled.

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F

M I S S O U R I W I L D L I F E 1 1

Strategic Planning is really takingthe CFM Mission and initiatives,then planning when and how toaccomplish them within our

means and to the best advantage of theFederation. Howard Fisher and EarlCannon, Co-chairs of the CFM StrategicPlanning Committee, met October 10,2006 with several members of the CFMExecutive Committee and Dave Murphyto explore things pertaining to (1) CFMfive years down the road and (2) use ofCFM Resource Committees. Followingare some of the key points made duringthe meeting:

I. Stable Funding SourceA. The size of our reserve fund was

discussed with no conclusion as to maxi-mum or minimum amounts.

B. Use of CFM grants should beexamined for they get attention from thepublic and thus could be useful inattracting contributions. We could usesome of our reserve funds for this pur-pose.

C. We need to establish a soundfinancial base and identify sources formajor long-term funding. We need toachieve a situation where we do not haveto tap our reserve funds to finance annu-al operations.

D. Need to better educate ourselvesas to how we get money, effectivefundraising techniques to use and whoto target. We will obtain a list of busi-nesses in Missouri who make or sellsporting goods. We need to find ways toidentify and contact people who have

the means to donate and contribute, askfor their contribution and explain exact-ly what the money they might con-tribute will be used for. Our board mem-bers and other CFM members need tocommit to doing this.

E. Need to establish a system ormethod for determining where moneydonated to the CFM or the Foundationwill go and specifically what the moneywill be used for.

F. Regarding soliciting increased par-ticipation in funding or programs, weneed to look at population groups andwhat interests the various age groups.

II. Committee and Fund for UnfriendlyLegislation

A. We have a special fund to be usedfor passing or defeating legislation oncethe legislation gets on the ballot to bevoted on by the public.

B. Inviting legislators to luncheons tohelp educate them on conservation maybe worthwhile.

III. Conservation Leadership Corps(CLC)

A. The CLC is progressing well.Ninety students is considered the maxi-mum number at this time and 30 newstudents each year is about what we canhandle.

B. Need to look for more uses for thisgroup.

C. Suggest “Teaming with Wildlife”program is a match. Getting the stu-dents involved in the Teaming withWildlife Initiative would be very desir-

able because of student’s communica-tions skills in using computers and theInternet.

D. CLC is not getting enough publicity.

IV. Need to Strengthen MissouriDepartment of Conservation

A. Need more publicity of a positivenature. (General agreement that neitherMDC nor CFM publicizes successes wellenough.)

1. Suggest we talk with director ofMDC about getting articles from CFMsent to MDC staff. Need to also get thesearticles placed in newspapers.

2. We need to better publicize ourrole in major achievements and success-es such as the Katy Trail, Share the Har-vest and other major achievements.

3. Need to feed newspapers andother news media with positive articlesand news releases.

V. Resource CommitteesA. We need to get the CFM resource

committees meeting more often thanonce per year.

B. We think it possible to invite someResource Committees to quarterly meet-ings. These meetings could be held atsame time and place of the quarterlyboard meetings.

C. Perhaps the resource committeescould become involved in several of theactions involved in implementing theCFM Strategic Plan and/or with severalitems contained in the recent MDCstrategic plan titled “The Next Genera-tion of Conservation.”

VI. Mission Statement

A. Needs work—Should be reviewedat intervals.

B. The current Mission Statement ismuch improved from the very lengthyone we had several years ago.

VII.Vision StatementA summary of the key points dis-

cussed could serve as the Vision for theCFM in its strategic planning process. AVision statement applying to the nextfive years might be the following: “Wevisualize an organization consisting of(1) Lots of participation by citizens inprograms and issues pertaining to con-servation and CFM, (2) Increasedawareness of conservation and CFM byall citizens through enhanced educationand communications efforts, (3) CFMprograms moving in a direction toincrease resources to achieve what needsto be done, (4) CFM operating from aposition of strength, (5) Continuingsupport by legislators throughimproved communication from con-stituents and news media on conserva-tion issues, and (6) CFM annual incomeequaling or exceeding annual operatingexpenses.”

Next steps pertaining to our strategicplan will be (1) measuring the resultsachieved this past year by the actionsimplemented in the CFM Strategic Planand (2) communicating the results tothe membership at the next annual con-vention and in Missouri Wildlife.

Howard Fisher and Earl Cannon

CFM Strategic Planning Under WayCommittee Shares Main Points And Suggests Vision Statement

UPDATE

The Conservation Foundation of Missouri

Charitable Trust and the Conservation Fed-

eration of Missouri are pleased to announce

that applications are now being accepted

for the 2007 Charles Bell Conservation

Scholarships.

In the 2007 Bell Scholarship Program,

eight scholarships will be awarded: one

graduate ($600), one undergraduate ($500)

and six for elementary, high school or

youth groups ($250 each). In this latter

category, CFM members who work with

Boy Scouts, 4-H, environmental clubs or

youth chapters of their affiliate are eligible

and encouraged to apply.

Graduate applicants must be enrolled in

a field of study related to conservation, nat-

ural science or earth resources at an

accredited college or university. Under-

graduate applicants must have 60 credit

hours or more and should have enrolled in

an area related to conservation. Preference

in all cases will be given to applicants

enrolled in Missouri schools. The deadline

for applications is January 15, 2007.

These scholarships are named in memo-

ry of CFM past president Charles P. Bell,

whose family provided major funding for

this program.

For an application form write to:

Conservation Federation of Missouri

Bell Scholarships

728 West Main Street

Jefferson City, MO 65101

or call (573) 634-2322 or (800) 575-2322

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1 2 J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7

Conservation Federation of Missouri2007 Resource Committee Meetings

The Lodge of Four SeasonsSaturday, March 17

* Please call the Conservation Federation of Missouri at (800) 575-2322 if you have any questions concerning the committee meetings.

Plenary Session 8:00 - 8:45

Natural Resource Committee Meetings

9:00 - 10:30Camping, Hiking, Trails & Water SportsChair: “Scoop” Peery Vice Chair: Linda Hanley

Conservation Education & Youth ActivitiesChair: Diana Mulick Vice Chair: Al Vogt

Deer, Wild Turkey & Ruffed GrouseChair: Eldo Meyer Vice Chair: Mark Stuppy

ForestryChair:

Rivers & StreamsChair: Burt Stewart Vice Chair: Mark Van Patten

Waterfowl & WetlandsChair: Bill Hilgeman Vice Chair: Bill Truebe

Natural Resource Committee Meetings

11:00 - 12:30Archery Chair: Jack Davis Vice Chair: Mike McDonald

Ecology & Environment Chair:

Fisheries & Water ResourcesChair: Jim Noah Vice Chair: Jim Rogers

Natural History & WildlandsChair: Herman Hanley Vice Chair: Bruce Schuette

ParksChair: Ron Coleman Vice Chair: Orlin Browning

Small Game & FurbearersChair: Rick Merritt Vice Chair:

Sportsmen’s Rights, Firearms & Hunter SafetyChair: Marvin Behnke Vice Chair: John Hart

Gary aclesseB Vice Chair: Duane Kelly

Robert Wilson

John Knudsen

CONFERENCE-AT-A-GLANCEFRIDAY, NARCH 16 SATURDAY, MARCH 17 SUNDAY, MARCH 18

1:00 - 7:00 pm Registration Open 12:30 - 1:30 pm Lunch break (on your own) 7:30 - 8:30 am Breakfast (on your own)

3:00 - 5:00 pm Board Meeting 1:30 - 2:30 pm Resolutions Committee Meeting 8:30 am Resolutions General Session

5:00 - 7:30 pm Dinner Break (on your own)

1:30 - 2:30 pm Teaming With Wildlife Rally

7:30 - 9:00 pmAnnual Conservation AwardsCeremony

2:30 - 3:30 pmOperation Game Thief CommitteeMeeting

2:30 - 4:00 pmMissouri Outdoors CommunicationMeeting

SATURDAY, MARCH 17 4:00 - 5:00 pmAnnual Business Meeting ofDelegates

8:00 - 8:45 am Plenary Session

5:30 - 7:00 pm

7:00 - 8:00 pm

8:30 pm

Social Hour & Silent Auction

Banquet

Live Auction9:00 - 12:30 pm Resource Committee Meetings

10:00 - 5:00 pm Exhibits Open

REGISTRATION FORM (clip & mail)

Name: ________________________________________

Address: ______________________________________

______________________________________________

Telephone: ____________________________________

Credit Card #: __________________________________

Expiration Date: ________________________________

Signature: ______________________________________

Special Needs (i.e. access, dietary): ________________

______________________________________________

ACCOMMODATIONSLodging arrangements must be made directly with the Lodge of Four Seasons (573) 365-3000 or (800) 843-5253.Room rates are $70/night for single or double occupancy while room block lasts.

2007 Awards Ceremony is sponsored byBass Pro Shops

(#1) Member Pkg - All sessions, Awards Ceremony,Access to exhibits/silent auction. (#2) One-day Member Pkg - All Daily Sessions,Access to exhibits/silent auction.(#3) Non Member Pkg - All sessions, AwardsCeremony, Access to exhibits/silent auction, One-year CFM Membership.(#4) Non Member One-Day Pkg All Daily Sessions,Access to exhibits/silent auction, and One-yearCFM Membership.

3:00 - 7:00 pm Exhibits Open

Registration Packages Pre-Registration Registration Fee(by February 11)

(#1) Member $20.00/person $

(#2) One-day Member $10.00/person $

(#3) Non Member $40.00/person $

(#4) One-day Non Member $30.00/person $

Banquet $40.00/person $

Total Registration: $

SATURDAY AFTERNOON PROGRAMS

7:00 - 8:00 am Breakfast (on your own)

12:00 pm Adjourn

Mail Registration To:

CFM728 West Main StreetJefferson City, MO 65101

Subject to change

Come Home To Conservation71st CFM Annual Conference - REGISTER NOW!

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Annual Conservation Awards Ceremony Policy DiscussionsHear Natural Resource Committee Reports Meet Conservation & Natural Resource LeadersTeaming With Wildlife Rally Banquet Auction

FAMILY

1 4 J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7

Dear Friends,I married Denny on July 17, 2006. I have known Denny for over 30 years. I never thought I would be married to him.Wewere together 7 months, married 7 weeks when he passed away. He introduced me to turkey hunting in March and was help-ing me to dove hunt. I have deer hunted before. He has helped so many young men in hunting and fishing, including my sonJames, who has worked at Denny’s store since he was 16 years old. He taught Jim how to trap also. He was such a wonderfulman and I miss him terribly. I’m going deer hunting next week in memory of Denny and I hope to make him proud of me.

Thank you very much for the Denny Dennis Memorial.

Sincerely, Janet Dennis

M I S S O U R I W I L D L I F E 1 5

With the holiday seasonapproaching, many peoplein Missouri are looking for-ward to time spent with

family, friends and good food. Part of thefestivities may include a live Christmastree, beautifully trimmed and with presentsstuffed underneath,

But what happens when the holidaysare over? The tree has to go somewhere,and they are banned from going to landfillsin Missouri. However, the MissouriDepartment of Natural Resources has a fewsuggestions on what you can do with yourChristmas tree.

One of the most popular options formanaging old trees is to chip them formulch or as an additive to a compost pile.Mulch reduces weeds, helps to regulate soiltemperature, and ncreases moisture reten-tion. Many cities and towns offer tree-chipping services after the holidays, socheck with your local Public Works or San-itation Department to find out.

A unique way to deal with your treewould be to turn it into a fish habitat inyour private lake or fishing pond. Oncesubmerged, a Christmas tree provides a

habitat for water insects, which attractsmaller fish, which in turn attract largerfish. To make your tree into a fish habitat,secure a cement block to the stump end ofthe tree with quarter-inch nylon rope. Ide-ally, the top of the tree will be four to sixfeet below the surface.

If you do not have access to your ownlake or pond, you may wish to contact both

private and public owners of lakes andponds to see if they would be interested increating a fish habitat. However, it shouldbe noted that some such projects mayrequire a permit from the Army Corps ofEngineers, so check with the owner.

Another option would be to create abrush pile. Brush piles can be a home forsmall forest animals. In rural areas, the

ideal place for a brush pile would be nearthe border of an open field. In suburbanareas, the undeveloped portions of back-yards also make good locations for a brushpile. However, your town may have localordinances regarding such projects, socheck before beginning.

To construct a brush pile, begin with alarge base such as big rocks, logs or stumps.Stack the trees in a rectangular shape toheight of about six feet. Obviously, this willrequire more than one tree, so try to workwith friends and community members onbuilding your brush pile,

Some general things to rememberabout reusing your tree:

• Remove all of the trimmings – mostare reusable and could contaminatethe environment or harm wildlife.

• Do not burn you tree indoors if it is stillgreen – the resins could cause a fluefire.

• Flocking/artificial snow may be toxic andrequire special handling.Through proper management, a

reused Christmas tree may be a gift thatkeeps giving to the environment foryears to come.

What Should You Do With The Tree After Christmas?Missouri Department Of Natural Resources Offers Advice

REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE

Old Christmas trees make great mulch for the garden or form the basis for a fish habitat.

C O N S E R V A T I O N F E D E R A T I O N O F M I S S O U R I A F F I L I A T E S

Anglers of MissouriArchery Big Bucks of MissouriBig Game HuntersBridlespur Hunt ClubCapital City Fly FishersCentral Missouri Chapter Safari ClubColdwater Outing & Game PreserveFestus/Crystal City Conservation ClubFranklin County Wildlife ClubFriends of Rockbridge Memorial State ParkGreenway NetworkHeaven’s AnglersJefferson County CoonhuntersKansas City Chapter Safari ClubKansas City WoodcarversLambert Field Rod & Gun ClubMark Twain Area Quail Unlimited

Mid Missouri Trout UnlimitedMidwest Diving CouncilMississippi Valley Duck HuntersMississippi Valley Gun ClubMissouri Association of Meat ProcessorsMissouri Bass FederationMissouri Bow HuntersMissouri Conservation Agents AssociationMissouri Consulting Foresters AssociationMissouri Department of AgricultureMissouri Ducks Unlimited State CouncilMissouri Forest Products AssociationMissouri Parks & Recreation AssociationMissouri Parks AssociationMissouri Prairie FoundationMissouri Smallmouth AllianceMissouri Sport Shooting Association

Missouri State Campers AssociationMissouri State Council Quail UnlimitedMissouri Taxidermist AssociationMissouri Trappers AssociationMissouri Trout Fisherman’s AssociationMissouri Waterfowl AssociationMissouri Whitetails UnlimitedMissouri Wild Turkey FederationMissourians OutdoorsMO Chapter American Fisheries SocietyMO Chapter Soil & Water ConservationMO Hunter Education Instructor’s AssociationMO State University Student Chapter of the

Wildlife SocietyMonett Sportsman LeagueNortheast Missouri CoonhuntersNorthside Conservation Federation

Open Space CouncilOwensville HS Hunting & Fishing ClubOzark Fly FishersOzark Mountain PaddlersOzark Wilderness WaterwaysPerry County Sportsman ClubPomme De Terre Chapter MuskiesRiver Relief, Inc.Saint James Civic ClubShow-Me Clean StreamsSouth Side DivisionSouthwest Missouri Fly FishersTipton Farmers & Sportsman ClubUnited Bow Hunters of MissouriWecomo Sportsman ClubWild Elk Institute of MissouriWindsor Lake Rod & Gun Club

4509 Woods RoadRobertsville, MO 63072

e-mail: [email protected] our website: www.missouribowhunters.org

SOUTH COUNTY ARCHERS IS PROUD TO SUPPORT CFM & MBH

PO Box 133Gray Summit, MO 63039

Bison MeatAmerica’s Original Red Meat.

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AFFILIATE EVENTSKANSAS CITY SAFARI CLUB INTERNATIONALFEB 16-17: 27th Annual Benefit Banquetand Auction, Overland Park ConventionCenter, Overland Park; Bob Bazin (913)709-3101

MISSOURI BASS FEDERATIONJAN 11-13: National Championship, HarrisChain of Lakes, Leesburg, FLJAN 21: Directors Meeting, Boone Tavern,Columbia (9:00am-12:00pm)FEB 23-26: Bassmaster Classic, Lake Toho,Kissimmee, FL

MISSOURI DUCKS UNLIMITEDJAN 20: Cape County Texas Holdem Tourna-ment; Dave Parker (573) 382-3894JAN 27: Texas County Inaugural Dinner,Golden Hill, Raymondville; Jason Henley(417) 372-0092JAN 27: Lexington Dinner, Adkins AuctionCenter; Scott Anderson (660) 259-3618FEB 3: Saint Louis Redlegs Chapter – 6thAnnual Fun Night, VFW Hall, Saint Ann;Trudy Brandt (314) 368-7470FEB 10: Poplar Bluff Dinner; Bill Paxton(573) 429-5193FEB 17: Perryville Dinner, American LegionHall; David Leadbetter (573) 824-9974FEB 17: Blackwater – Warrensburg, John-son County Fairgrounds; Dave Hakes (660)747-6931

MISSOURI NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION

FUNDRAISING BANQUETSJAN 13: Crowleys Ridge Limbhangers, ElksLodge, Dexter; Dan Crippen (573) 614-4717JAN 13: Grindstone Gobblers, Lake VikingClub House, Gallatin; Alan Bradford (660)663-3502JAN 13: Ray County Shortspurs, Ray CountyVeterans Memorial Building, Richmond;Roger Cole (816) 805-8568JAN 19: Bayou Strutters, Top of the Town,East Prairie; Tim Kavan (573) 823-6366JAN 20: Brickyard Hill Drummers, Atchison

County Memorial Building, Rock Port;Charles Bolin (660) 736-4789JAN 20: Current River Callers, Winona HighSchool Gym, Winona; William Smith (573)323-4379JAN 20: Lincoln Hills, Lincoln County Fair-grounds, Troy; R. Jay Herring (573) 898-5420JAN 20: Union Covered Bridge Gobblers,American Legion Hall, Paris; Bruce Mills(573) 685-2374JAN 25: Mid-State, Stoney Creek Inn,Columbia; Mark McGrath (573) 474-7121JAN 26: Sand Burr Strutters, Eagles Club,Sikeston; Tony Beeson (573) 380-5433JAN 26: Southern Ozark Longbeards,National Guard Armory, Doniphan; AlanSlayton (573) 857-2119JAN 27: Benton County Thunderin’ Gob-blers, Knights of Columbus, Warsaw; JoshYoung (660) 547-2535JAN 27: Delta Bootheel Gobblers, EaglesClub, Kennett; Lynn Smith (573) 888-0054JAN 27: Locust Creek Longbeards, Ameri-can Legion Hall, Milan; Jeff Butler (660)445-2292JAN 27: Tick Ridge, Macon County ExpoCenter, Macon; Jamie Barton (660) 395-9541FEB 2: Lost Creek Longbeards, InnsbrookResort, Wright City; Gary Janes (636) 290-8310FEB 3: Chariton River Full Strutters,Knights of Columbus Hall, Salisbury;George Schupback (660) 288-3168FEB 3: Clearwater Longbeards, PattersonCommunity Center, Patterson; JasonJensen (573) 223-4525FEB 3: Cooper County Limbhangers,Knights of Columbus Hall, Boonville; SabeCaton (660) 882-5705FEB 3: Gateway Long Spurs, Knights ofColumbus Hall, Saint Paul; William Bryan(636) 281-0296FEB 3: Rogersville Strutters, RogersvilleMiddle School, Rogersville; Steve Tomlins

(417) 753-3081FEB 8: Shaky Ground Gobblers, SharpsBanquet Hall, New Madrid; Bud Henry(573) 748-5999FEB 9: Spring Creek Toms, Carthage Memo-rial Hall, Carthage; Kevin Dougless (417)793-1210FEB 9: Tabo Creek Thunderin Toms, Ameri-can Legion Hall, Higginsville; Mark Lam-phier (660) 584-6397FEB 10: Bootheel Boss Gobblers, BaverianHalle, Jackson; Bronson Senn (573) 243-2470FEB 10: Dent County Thundering Toms,Salem City Hall, Salem; Cheryl Smith(573) 729-7083FEB 10: Grand River Gobblers, AmericanLegion Hall, Bethany; Ronnie Graham(660) 425-8126FEB 10: Indian Creek Chapter, NewtonCounty Fairgrounds, Neosho; Danny Bailey(417) 529-9666FEB 10: Truman Lake Chapter, Benson Con-vention Center, Clinton; Danny Bailey(660) 477-3566FEB 16: Kingdom of Callaway Limbhangers,Saint Peters Catholic Church, Fulton; JohnBurk (573) 592-7865FEB 16: Meramec Valley Strutters, EaglesClub, Sullivan; Jeffrey Dierking (573) 860-4614FEB 16: Ozark County Hootin and Gobblin,Rockbridge Lodge, Rockbridge; JohnPhillips (870) 926-3619FEB 17: Black Mountain Longbeards, Fred-ericktown Middle School, Fredericktown;Russ Parker (573) 783-6876FEB 17: South Grand River, Lions Commu-nity Building, Peculiar; Mark Graber (816)318-9616FEB 17: Young’s Creek Strutters, Holy SpiritMulti Purpose Building, Centralia; EddieSchultz (573) 682-1900FEB 28: Little Platte Long Beards, LathropCommunity Center, Lathrop; Eric Dennis(816) 539-3558

CALLING CONTESTSFEB 10: Mid-America Open Wild TurkeyCalling Championship, Saint Louis Boatand Sports Show, America’s Center –Edward Jones Dome; Steve Stoltz (314)846-3435

WHEELIN’ SPORTSMEN BENEFITSJAN 6: Wheelin Sportsmen Show-Me

Awards, Lake Ozark; Bernard Grice (573)445-6967

WOMEN IN THE OUTDOORS EVENTSFEB 10: Frye’s Pheasant Inc. Women OnlyHunt, Blairstown; Deanna Thomas (660)885-9095

MISSOURI PARKS ASSOCIATIONJAN 2: Eagle Viewing, Roaring River StatePark; (417) 847-3742JAN 3-FEB 24: “Unlike Us” Exhibit, Jeffer-son Landing State Historic Site – MissouriState Museum, Elizabeth Rozier GalleryJAN 6: River Cave Tours, Ha Ha Tonka StatePark

MISSOURI PARKS & RECREATION ASSOCIATIONJAN 17: Lyle B. Beaver Leadership Develop-ment Institute (1:00pm); (573) 636-3828JAN 18: Lyle B. Beaver Leadership Devel-opment Institute (1:00pm); (573) 636-3828JAN 19: Lyle B. Beaver Leadership Develop-ment Institute (1:00pm); (573) 636-3828JAN 23: Legislative Action Day; (573) 636-3828FEB 9: Planning Committee; Dave Ostlund(573) 636-3828

MISSOURI SMALLMOUTH ALLIANCEJAN 17: Regular Membership Meeting; Nor-man Leppo (314) 647-1616FEB 21: Regular Membership Meeting; Nor-man Leppo (314) 647-1616

MISSOURI WHITETAILS UNLIMITEDFEB 3: Central Missouri Chapter Banquet,Chillicothe Elks Lodge, Chillicothe

OZARK FLY FISHERSJAN 1: 2007 Membership Dues DeadlineJAN 27: Annual Banquet, Crowne Hotel,ClaytonFEB 10: All Day Meeting

OZARK MOUNTAIN PADDLERSJAN 11: Monthly Meeting SpringfieldNature Center (7:00pm)FEB 8: Monthly Meeting, SpringfieldNature Center (7:00pm)FEB 19: Outdoor Gear Swap Meet

CFM EVENTSJAN 6: CFM Board Meeting, Bass ProShops, Columbia; (800) 575-2322MAR 16-18, 2007: CFM Annual Convention,Lodge of Four Seasons, Lake Ozark (800)575-2322

If there are any errors in your name andaddress, if you’ve moved from this address, or if you plan to move, please notify us at Missouri Wildlife, 728 W. Main, Jefferson City, MO 65101 or call (800) 575-2322. Visit our website: www.confedmo.org

M I S S O U R I F E S T I V A L S A N D A F F I L I A T E E V E N T SCALENDAR

Vol68 no1 2007

Documents

Transcript of Vol68 no1 2007