Two positive results for Chronic Wasting Disease are first for free-ranging deer in Missouri.

JEFFERSON CITY Mo – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will hold two open houses on Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) to further inform the public about two cases recently found in free-ranging adult bucks in northwest Macon County. MDC staff will update attendees on efforts to obtain more tissue samples for CWD testing by working with local landowners on sampling additional deer in the area. MDC staff will also be available to answer questions and provide information on managing private land for deer.

Winners will be featured in October "Missouri Conservationist," MDC website and other media. Deadline is May 15.

JEFFERSON CITY Mo -- The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) invites photographers around the state to enter its 75th Anniversary Photo Contest. The contest is an effort to help Missourians discover nature by capturing and sharing photos that celebrate the natural wonders of Missouri. Winners will be featured in the October issue of the Missouri Conservationist, as well as on the MDC website and in other media.

New MDC regulation takes effect March 1 to help keep Missouri a great place to fish.

JEFFERSON CITY Mo – With catch-and-keep trout season opening March 1, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reminds trout anglers to help prevent the spread of a new threat to Missouri’s cold-water streams and rivers. Called “didymo” (Didymosphenia geminata) or “rock snot,” this invasive alga forms large, thick mats on the bottoms of cold-water streams and rivers, reducing the quality and quantity of food vital to fish such as trout. Didymo also clogs water intakes and boat motors.

Actions of the Missouri Conservation Commission at its meeting Jan. 26 and 27

Conservation Action

January 2012

The Conservation Commission met Jan. 26 and 27 at Cape Girardeau. Commissioners present were:

Don R. Johnson, Festus, Chair

Don C. Bedell, Sikeston, Vice Chair

James T. Blair, IV, St. Louis, Member

ADMINISTRATION

The Commission:

• Received the following presentations.

 An e-Permits status report from Permit Services Supervisor Greg Jones.

 A hunter-education program review from Outreach & Education Division Chief Mike Huffman.

 A habitat-management report from Forestry Division.

Counties bordering urban areas had the biggest totals.

JEFFERSON CITY–Bowhunters posted increases in both deer and turkey harvests during Missouri’s 2011-12 archery deer and turkey hunting seasons, topping the previous year’s figures by more than one-third.

Hunters checked 52,671 deer during the four-month archery season. That is an increase of 10,299 (24 percent) from the previous year. Archers checked 2,923 turkeys, an increase of 739 (33.8 percent) from the 2010-2011 season.

Counties bordering urban areas had the biggest totals.

JEFFERSON CITY–Bowhunters posted increases in both deer and turkey harvests during Missouri’s 2011-12 archery deer and turkey hunting seasons, topping the previous year’s figures by more than one-third.

Hunters checked 52,671 deer during the four-month archery season. That is an increase of 10,299 (24 percent) from the previous year. Archers checked 2,923 turkeys, an increase of 739 (33.8 percent) from the 2010-2011 season.

Hunters can have deer racks scored at event on Saturday, Feb. 18, from 9 a.m. to noon.

ST. LOUIS -- How does this rack stack up? It’s a question many hunters ask when admiring the antlers from a proudly harvested buck. The Deer Antler Scoring event at the Jay Henges Shooting Range and Outdoor Education Center on Saturday, Feb. 18, can provide the answer.

Two positive results for Chronic Wasting Disease are first for free-ranging deer in Missouri.

JEFFERSON CITY Mo – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) received two positive test results for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) from 1,077 tissue samples taken from free-ranging deer harvested by hunters in north-central Missouri during the 2011 fall firearms deer season. Both positive test results were from adult bucks harvested by Missouri hunters in Macon County, and are the first CWD-positive results for free-ranging deer in Missouri.

Learn more about bald eagles at Eagle Days event Feb. 4 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

SCHELL CITY Mo -- In winter, Missouri is an excellent state to view bald eagles. During the winter, the state’s small resident eagle population is swelled by migrating birds from the north to often increase the numbers to more 2,000 eagles.

Open vertical pipes and posts take a toll on wildlife.

JEFFERSON CITY – Do you have a fence with hollow posts made of PVC or metal pipe? What about a metal sign post? Bird experts say these and other open vertical pipes can be death traps for birds and other wildlife.

Wildlife Ecologist Brad Jacobs with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) learned about the problem from Audubon California’s Kern River Preserve.

Attend orientation on Feb. 13 in Camdenton for classes Feb. 27 to May 21.

CAMDENTON Mo -- Help protect Camden and surrounding counties’ natural resources by becoming a Missouri Master Naturalist. The Missouri Master Naturalist program is a community based, adult, natural-resource education and volunteer program designed to engage Missourians in the stewardship of our state’s natural resources. A little time and a desire to learn how to care for the environment are all people need to sign up for the program. The Missouri Master Naturalist program and professional natural-resource experts will provide training needed to get started.

MDC’s 19 spring 2012 managed turkey hunts include ones for youth and people with disabilities.

JEFFERSON CITY Mo – Turkey hunters have until Feb. 29 to apply for managed hunts during Missouri’s 2012 spring turkey season. All 19 managed turkey hunts are listed in the “2012 Spring Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information" booklet. The booklet, along with other information on spring turkey hunting, is available online at www.mdc.mo.gov by searching “Spring Turkey Hunting.” The booklet and website have application instructions, outlook information on Missouri’s turkey population, conservation areas where turkey hunting is allowed, related regulations and more.

Informational meeting to be held 6-8 p.m. on Feb. 6 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.

COLE CAMP Mo -- The Hi Lonesome Chapter of the Missouri Master Naturalist program will offer training sessions for those interested in volunteer service to conservation.

Master Naturalists assist with wildlife and fisheries habitat improvements, guided hikes, special events and educational presentations. The program is a partnership between participants, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the University of Missouri Extension Service.

Rockwoods Reservation annual Maple Sugar Festival is Feb. 4 with free fun for all ages.

ST. LOUIS -- Winter may not be everybody’s favorite time of year, but many might be surprised to learn that trees are actually pretty sweet on it.

For about six weeks, from mid-January to the end of February, Mother Nature cooks up her own sweet treat within sugar maple trees as the sap begins to flow, ready to be tapped for making sugar and syrup. The Maple Sugar Festival at the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Rockwoods Reservation offers the chance to see this historical process first-hand.

Thinning trees in a woodland can boost wildlife and the most desirable trees.

MAYSVILLE Mo -- John Anderson enjoys hunting in woodlands. But he also wants a healthier white-tail deer herd and perhaps a return of bobwhite quail at his DeKalb County farm. So he gave his property the chainsaw treatment to boost bucks and birds.

Total firearms harvest up 7,408 from last year’s 231,513.

JEFFERSON CITY Mo – Hunters age 6 through 15 checked 2,193 deer during the late youth hunt Jan. 7 and 8, bringing the total harvest for the 2011-2012 firearms deer season to 238,921 compared to last year’s total of 231,513.

The harvest total for last year’s late youth weekend was 1,292. This year’s combined early and late youth season harvests total 18,585 compared to 14,555 last year. Top counties during the late youth hunt were Macon with 52 deer checked, Franklin with 51 and Lincoln with 45.

Missouri offers numerous opportunities in winter to watch eagles in the wild.

JEFFERSON CITY Mo –The Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Runge Conservation Nature Center in Jefferson City invites the public to its free Eagle Adventure on Saturday, Jan. 28. Live eagle presentations will be held at the Nature Center at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Eagle activities and crafts will be available throughout the day between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Bald eagles, snowy owls and a chance to get outdoors on unseasonably warm winter days drew 3,000 visitors to Eagle Days events at Smithville Lake Jan. 7 and 8.

KANSAS CITY Mo -- Bald eagles, snowy owls and a chance to get outdoors on unseasonably warm winter days drew 3,000 visitors Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 7 and 8, to Eagle Days events at Smithville Lake.

A rare appearance by snowy owls at the lake helped draw a record crowd for the annual event, said Derek Dorsey, park manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The tundra-dwelling owls migrated farther south than normal this winter across the Midwest with three being spotted regularly at the lake.

Green Fire film connects legendary conservationist Aldo Leopold with modern environmental projects.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO — Green Fire, the first full-length, high-definition documentary film about legendary conservationist Aldo Leopold will show at the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center on Jan. 19, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

The film explores Aldo Leopold’s life in the early part of the twentieth century and the many ways his land-ethic idea continues to be applied all over the world today.

Attend “Discover Nature-Women Rabbit Hunting with Beagles Clinic” at Duck Creek Conservation Area on Feb. 11.

CAPE GIRARDEAU Mo -- The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is presenting “Discover Nature-Women Rabbit Hunting with Beagles Clinic” at Duck Creek Conservation Area on Feb. 11. “Discover Nature-Women” is a series of outdoor skills trainings designed for women. The clinic will consist of a one-day training session and a guided hunt.