MISSOURI VOLUME 78, ISSUE 8, AUGUST 2017 SERVING NATURE & YOU CONSERVATIONIST 80TH ANNIVERSARY OPEN HOUSES CoYne as errsvo fa t i on JOIN MDC FROM 6–8 P.M. Trees AT THE FOLLOWING OPEN HOUSES: Missouri A special Field Guid ef gift for AUG. 8 SEPT. 26 the first Cape Girardeau Leah Spratt 101 80 guests Conservation Nature Center (Kemper Recital Hall) 2289 County Park Drive Missouri Western State University at each in Cape Girardeau 4525 Downs Drive in St. Joseph location AUG. 10 OCT. 10 Don Kurz Runge Conservation Springfield Conservation Nature Center Nature Center 330 Commerce Drive 4601 S. Nature Center Way Join Director Sara Parker Pauley in Jefferson City in Springfield and local leaders to celebrate our history and share your ideas AUG. 14 OCT. 12 about Missouri’s conservation Northeast Regional Office Twin Pines Conservation future. No registration required. 3500 S. Baltimore Education Center in Kirksville 20086 Highway 60 in Winona Learn more at SEPT. 7 OCT. 26 mdc.mo.gov/openhouse Powder Valley Anita B. Gorman Conservation Nature Center Conservation 11715 Cragwold Road Discovery Center in Kirkwood 4750 Troost Ave in Kansas City MISSOURI CONSERVATIONIST Contents AUGUST 2017 VOLUME 78, ISSUE 8 10 ON THE COVER Eastern gamagrass is in full bloom on a prairie in New Bloomfield.  NOPPADOL PAOTHONG 180mm macro lens, f/5.6 1/200 sec, ISO 400 GOVERNOR Eric R. Greitens THE CONSERVATION COMMISSION CHAIR Don C. Bedell VICE CHAIR Marilynn J. Bradford SECRETARY David W. Murphy MEMBER James T. Blair, IV DIRECTOR Sara Parker Pauley 22 DEPUTY DIRECTORS Thomas A. Draper, Aaron Jeffries, Jennifer Battson Warren MAGAZINE STAFF 16 EDITOR Angie Daly Morfeld ASSOCIATE EDITOR Bonnie Chasteen STAFF WRITERS FEATURES Larry Archer, Heather Feeler, Kristie Hilgedick, Joe Jerek 10 CREATIVE DIRECTOR Native Grasses for Stephanie Thurber ART DIRECTOR Livestock Producers Cliff White Manage grasses to benefit DESIGNERS Les Fortenberry, Marci Porter cattle as well as wildlife. PHOTOGRAPHERS by Kevin Borisenko Noppadol Paothong, David Stonner CIRCULATION MANAGER 16 Laura Scheuler Hunter Education mdc.mo.gov/conmag DEPARTMENTS Turns 30 2 Inbox Program celebrates three decades of creating safe hunters with more 3 Up Front With Sara Parker Pauley options for getting certified. 4 Nature Lab by Kyle Lairmore 5 In Brief 22 28 Get Outside Missouri’s Monster Fish Sedge wren 30 Places To Go Download this Five species can top 100 pounds 32 Wild Guide issue to your and test anglers’ strength. phone or tablet at by Craig Gemming 33 Outdoor Calendar mdc.mo.gov/mocon. Download for Android Inbox Purple lilliput Letters to the Editor MORE BOW BUILDERS Submissions reflect I enjoyed the June article Bow Builders readers’ opinions and by Darren Haverstick on making archery may be edited for length equipment from PVC pipe. My two and clarity. Email grandchildren and I made bows and have [email protected] really had a lot of fun using them. The article or write to us: and illustrations were excellent and very easy to MISSOURI follow. It was an enjoyable early summer project to CONSERVATIONIST complete with them. PO BOX 180 JEFFERSON CITY, MO 65102 Larry W. Nelson Warsaw MUSSELS I really enjoyed your story on freshwater mussels in BEAR AWARE the June magazine [Missouri’s Essential Freshwater I was so impressed by the diagram on Page Mussels, Page 16]. It has been many many years Missouri 21 [May, Be Bear Aware] of the campsite, I since I was on a Boy Scout survivor hike and Conservationist thought I’d let you know what a valuable piece mussels were the only thing we could find/catch. If I VOLUME 78, ISSUE 6, JUNE 2017 •SERVING NATURE & YOU of information you have there. A lot of people, remember correctly, they were not very tasty and not myself included, can read “place your tent upwind easy to swallow. I was curious if MDC had a method and 100 yards away,” but that doesn’t mean to cook them. I looked for a catch and possession much. I don’t have the best sense of direction limit and did not find that either. Is it legal to take either. That diagram really made an impression in and possess Missouri mussels? my mind, and I think you should put it on signs, Bob Hentges Jefferson City billboards, pamphlets, on your website, anywhere you can so a lot of people see it. I’m glad I did! We did not include a recipe for preparing mussels, Thanks for a great magazine and all the great mainly because there were so many cool things about work you do in our state. mussels we wanted to tell our readers and ran out BOW BUILDERS Karen Brown via email of space. There isn’t a good recipe that we know of. My sons and nieces Your description of “not very tasty and not easy to were looking for NATURE KNIGHTS swallow” matches just about every description of something to do Your item in the June issue brought me many eating freshwater mussels we’ve heard of! According when I thought of memories of Nature Knights [Letters, Page 2]. I to the Wildlife Code of Missouri, there is a daily limit the Bow Builders was a teacher from 1943 to 1945 at Nolan School, of five in the aggregate, and limits apply to live and article in the June District 25 in Monroe County, Missouri. We dead animals. Two shell halves or valves count as issue [Page 24]. We participated in the Nature Knights program. We one mussel or clam. Asian clams may be taken and constructed four would go on walks through the woods surrounding possessed in any number. These animals may be PVC bows. The the school yard and observe caterpillars in the taken by hand, hand net, or pole and line throughout M U ktiimdse haandd aw garnet atto cahnrdy sdaelivse olonp ea dw ienetod bstuatltke.r Sfloiems.e weeds were cut tuhsee dy eaasr ,b aanitd. Tmheusses erlus leans dd oc lnamots a tpapkleyn, hmoawye bveer , SSELS: C shoot them again. Hilda Ruth Wilson Monroe City to endangered species or species of conservation LIFF W John Hare Gladstone concern. —the editors HITE Connect With Us! Conservation Headquarters Have a 573-751-4115 | PO Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180 Question for a /moconservation Commissioner? Regional Offices @moconservation Send a note using Southeast/Cape Girardeau: 573-290-5730 Southwest/Springfield: 417-895-6880 our online @MDC_online Central/Columbia: 573-815-7900 Northwest/St. Joseph: 816-271-3100 contact form at @Nature_Videos Kansas City: 816-622-0900 St. Louis: 636-441-4554 mdc.mo.gov/ Northeast/Kirksville: 660-785-2420 Ozark/West Plains: 417-256-7161 commissioners. 2 Missouri Conservationist | August 2017 Up Want to see your photos in the Missouri Conservationist? Front Share your photos on Flickr at flickr.com/groups/mdc-readerphotos-2017, email [email protected], or include the hashtag #mdcdiscovernature on your Instagram photos. with Sara Parker Pauley _ I suppose it’s human nature to try to improve upon the world around us, however one defines “improve.” From the newest iPhone to the latest model of GPS-steered tractors, we’ve all benefitted from our human need to advance the day. But sometimes the original was the best model after all. I haven’t been able to improve upon my mother’s brisket recipe, for example, or my grandfather’s way of growing roses. I had the privilege of traveling to north central Missouri recently where neighbors are returning their land to its orig- 1 inal model — that of deep soil prairie. It started with one single pioneering landowner. Then, as neighbors saw the sheer beauty of his land return — with its variety of wildflowers, 1 | Black- 2 crowned night- vibrant prairie grasses, and abundance of wildlife — they heron by Kevin began to do the same with their properties. Now with an esti- Wilson, via Flickr mated 10,000 acres in this area, the landscape has returned 2 | Jack and Lucy to its original and intended state. And for other landowners, explore nature the value is not just for sheer natural beauty and wildlife, but by teakphillips, for the livelihood of their livestock as well (see Native Grasses via Instagram for Livestock Producers, Page 10). 3 | White-tailed As it turns out, sometimes the original is the best version deer by Alan Shaw, after all, or as this landowner told me during our visit, “Some- via email times a place is meant to be what it is.” 3 SARA PARKER PAULEY, DIRECTOR [email protected] The Missouri Conservationist (ISSN 0026-6515) is the official monthly publication of the Missouri Department of Conservation, 2901 West Truman Boulevard, Jefferson City, MO (Mailing address: PO Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102.) SUBSCRIPTIONS: Visit mdc.mo.gov/conmag, or call 573-522- MISSOURI CONSERVATION COMMISSIONERS 4115, ext. 3856 or 3249. Free to adult Missouri residents (one per household); out of state $7 per year; out of country $10 per year. Notification of address change must include both old and new address (send mailing label with the subscriber number on it) with 60-day notice. Preferred periodical postage paid at Jefferson City, Missouri, and at additional entry offices. Postmaster: Send correspondence to Circulation, PO Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180. Phone: 573-522-4115, ext. 3856 or 3249. Copyright © 2017 by the Conservation Commission of the State of Missouri. Equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from programs of the Missouri Department of Conserva- tion is available to all individuals without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, veteran status, or disability. Questions should be directed to the Department of Don James T. Marilynn David Conservation, PO Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102, 573-751-4115 (voice) or 800-735-2966 (TTY), or Bedell Blair, IV Bradford Murphy to Chief, Public Civil Rights, Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20240. Printed with soy ink mdc.mo.gov 3 Nature Researchers test electrical settings needed to draw catfish L A B to the surface quickly but harmlessly. by Bonnie Chasteen Each month, we highlight research MDC uses to improve fish, forest, and wildlife management. FISHERIES MANAGEMENT Refining Electrofishing _ How much and what type of electricity does it take to capture a 3-pound smallmouth bass swim- ming in a fast-flowing Ozark stream? How much for a 60-pound blue catfish or flathead catfish living in a large reservoir or big river? MDC staff Zach Ford, Andy Turner, and Dave Woods are working with the Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Missouri- Columbia to answer these questions. Research partners aim to improve the use of elec- on the fish and increasing sampling accuracy. Five-year trofishing for flathead catfish, blue catfish, and small- Settings for sampling specific kinds of sportfish study aims to mouth bass, three of the most popular sportfish in Mis- in various water conditions will play an impor- improve boat souri. “Better methods will give us a more accurate idea tant role in MDC’s ongoing effort to standard- electrofishing of these fish populations,” Ford said. ize sampling, obtain accurate population infor- techniques Ford described how electrofishing works. “Electric- mation, and improve angling opportunities. for more ity in the water acts like a magnet that brings fish to the Before the project began, MDC staff devel- surface. This lets us dip them into a holding tank, where accurate and oped equipment guidelines to ensure safe and we can count and evaluate them.” standardized effective sampling procedures. “We’re putting Scientists are using new technology to refine the sportfish electricity in the water, so we’re very careful to electrical settings. This will allow them to sample population data turn off electricity when anglers, boaters, and sportfish populations more efficiently, reducing stress swimmers are in the vicinity,” Ford said. Electrofishing Generally, 2,500–4,500 watts of power are Research Data needed to effectively collect sportfish. PHO TO G R 2015–2020 Volts, amps, pulse frequency, and waveform are all aspects of APH electricity that can be manipulated to help biologists capture fish. S: N O PPAD O 1,500+ fish Thiem cpoonrdtaunctt irvoiltey ionf hthoew w ealetecrtr aicnidty o isf fiussheeds t’o b coadpietusr pel afiyssh .an L PAOTH O N wteisllt ebde, caanpdt urereleda, sed Using the right waveform, researchers can force G; FISH over the course some fish to swim toward the boat for capture. ILLU STR of this study. ATIO Smallmouth catfiBsluhe Flathead NS: M bass catfish AR K R  Watch underwater footage of electrofishing at short.mdc.mo.gov/Zih AITH EL 4 Missouri Conservationist | August 2017 In Brief News and updates from MDC !!11 §¨¦§¨¦NNNNoooorrrrtttthhhheeeerrrrnnnn LLLLiiiimmmmiiiitttt ooooffff TTTToooottttaaaalllliiiittttyyyy ApprFooxr iSmelaetcet LToAicmaetios nFso, ArB lEl cTlimipesse L VCociealwingD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SS!!!oo!!!!AAuu!!!C!! !!Stthh1234567891!oCC!oee0 Au!—————————!!!!!eerr! t!! —BBRNHHBLPnn!!nnhn! i PClirlott1eoaoLLtavu!ieeot!bepriisdnc!!te!lf!!mmrrn!nnk !!tepaef rB22!!eeoo wtyyb iiLwyyB99rett ff aiF !!!r ooE §¨¦HC!rmareoo!!TTer!a22NN!! wxo2!y!!dooraoffoavl!!ipe doo9ltn ttnTTfVklsH!!! aare lrrsooo ! aT sa233eeMC!ttCll !!ki!ott fCii!!lhh!!lr!Cs!!aatt Al!!Alt !!tTCa44eeAyyse L!llAa88Coii rirrA!!y3aLttl!snn!!tAi!o55yy !k!!a!atCh!!!77 !4!!yeLLkl!!8 AiKKCn ii!etCmm!5yA !aaC!7A!! 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WATCH  Grab your solar eclipse-approved shades and head to one of our TOTAL SOLAR 54 conservation areas that lie in the path of this once-in-a-lifetime event. While there, you can enjoy regular outdoor activities — such as fishing, hiking, and wildlife ECLIPSE AT watching — in a far-from-regular way when the moon passes in front of the sun. The eclipse will also bring a rare chance for those watching wildlife to catch out-of-the- MDC AREAS ordinary behaviors. “As the sky becomes darker during the eclipse, some birds may become CONSERVATION confused by the lack of light and could exhibit odd behaviors such as going quiet, AREAS OFFER AN ESCAPE FROM thinking that night is falling,” said State Ornithologist Sarah Kendrick. CROWDED CITIES Many of the MDC areas offer an escape from crowded cities and light pollution, AND LIGHT and all the recommended areas have restrooms for visitor convenience. While all POLLUTION areas are free to access and open to the public, some may require visitors to obtain a special-use permit for group camping. For an interactive map of the eclipse’s path across Missouri, approximate times to watch, a full list of recommended conservation areas for viewing, and details on each area, visit mdc.mo.gov/eclipse. mdc.mo.gov 5 In Brief Got a Question for Ask MDC? DEER-FEEDING BAN Send it to [email protected] EXPANDED TO 41 COUNTIES or call 573-522-4115, ext. 3848. A deer-feeding ban went into effect July 1 for residents of 41 counties that are part of the department’s Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Management Zone. The goal of the expanded Q: I love feeding the and early fall, the number of feeding ban is to help limit the spread of CWD. Not feeding hummingbirds every resident hummingbirds may deer is a simple step anyone can take to help prevent the spring. I notice they decline. Adult males are the spread of disease. disappear for a while and first to depart, heading out “CWD is spread both directly from deer to deer or indi- return. Where do they go? in early July. Females and rectly from contaminated food, water, or soil, and the potential  The absence of ruby- the young follow. Backyard for transmission increases when deer gather in larger, con- throated hummingbirds in feeders serve as welcome pit centrated numbers,” said MDC Wildlife Disease Coordinator late May and early June is stops, offering birds a place Jasmine Batten. “Feeding deer or placing minerals for deer normal. In fact, fluctuation to rest and refuel. Feeder unnaturally concentrates the animals and can help spread the in feeder attendance is to visits will reflect this as the deadly disease.” be expected. Depending on flow of southbound migrants According to the Wildlife Code of Missouri, the placement where in the state you live, through Missouri increases, of grain, salt products, minerals, and other consumable natu- the arrival and departure peaking around Labor Day. ral and manufactured products used to attract deer is pro- of breeding and migratory The crowd gradually hibited year-round within counties in the CWD Management hummingbirds varies. tapers off until the last Zone. This regulation does not pertain to food plots. In spring, a surge of hummingbird straggles “Feed is different than a food plot because artificial feed is northbound migrants use through in mid-October. typically continually replaced,” Batten said. “Food plots typically nectar at the feeders. Once cover a much larger area where the food source is more spread the migrants pass through Q: Is it true waterfowl out and once consumed, it is not replaced over and over again.” Missouri, the crowd tapers sometimes deposit fish The 41 counties affected by this regulation include Adair, off, leaving the state’s eggs in other water Barry, Benton, Boone, Callaway, Carroll, Cedar, Chariton, Cole, breeding summer residents bodies, essentially Cooper, Crawford, Dade, Franklin, Gasconade, Hickory, Jeffer- — a sizeable population in moving them from one son, Knox, Linn, Livingston, Macon, Miller, Moniteau, Morgan, Missouri’s wooded landscape. place to another? Osage, Ozark, Polk, Putnam, Randolph, Schuyler, Scotland, Males are fiercely  We’re not aware of any Shelby, St. Charles, St. Clair, St. Francois, St. Louis, Ste. Gen- territorial, defending feeders credible research proving evieve, Stone, Sullivan, Taney, Warren, and Washington. and flowers for the females to this might happen. There use during the spring nesting is evidence of waterfowl Atchison Nodaway Worth Harrison Mercer Putnam SchuylerScotland Clark season. But nesting females moving seeds and some Holt Gentry Grundy Sullivan Adair Knox Lewis don’t visit the feeders often. wetland invertebrates, but Andrew DeKalb Daviess Linn Macon Shelby Marion Rather, they spend their time we have not heard of fish Buchanan Clinton Caldwell Livingston hunting insects to feed their eggs being transported. Platte Clay Ray Carroll Chariton Randolph Monroe Ralls Pike newly hatched nestlings. The digestive process that JBaCacatksessson JLoaHhfaenynserotynte BPeenStttoaislnine MoCrogHoaMponewornaritdeaMuiBlloeCoronlee CMaAlaOlurasidwearsgaayien MontgomeryGasconade WaFrrraeLnninkclionlSnt. ChJaerflfeLeosrSustoi.s n St.C Liotyuis eata rtAAlhyfse t J esfueorl eyuth,dt hemee ryorsonr oeu m nnbcgiiger dflr aasegt digaogainnet h. ienr fiiItntos m ham aeboygiv rgbdese ’sfi w psghoou usets lgwdibg oelseux slpfdtoeu rbrc iaeke nbtfoacirte da l . BVJaaersrtpnoeonrn CDSeta.d dCaelrair GPHoreilckeknoeryDaWllaesbCsatmerdLeancleWdreightPulaskiTexaPshelpsDeSnhtCarnanwofnordRWeaysnhoilndgstoInron FW Srata.nMycnao Ged i se iSsntoeenv.BieovlleingePrerr Gy Ciraapredeau commences in late summer itscWu afnohrsroetyotni nco figkrs e,i hndb auvppteo pgintee’sdat ,aur i tntiin oliis kna e uniltsy ’us. ally Lawrence Scott MNceDwotnoanld Barry Stone ChriTsatinaeny DoOuzgalarks Howell Oregon CartReirpley Butler Stoddar d New Mississippi tshtoec rkeinsuglst oofr iwntiledn fitisohn al Madrid   CWD Management Zone (all shaded counties) Dunklin Pemiscot mdoowvinnsgtr ueapmst riena am w oart ershed during wet periods.  In these counties, if you harvest a deer during Nov. 11–12, you must take it (or the head with at least 6 inches of neck attached) on the day of harvest to a designated CWD sampling station. See short.mdc.mo.gov/ZiE. Ruby-throated hummingbird 6 Missouri Conservationist | August 2017 HUMMINGBIRD: NOPPADOL PAOTHONG; YELLOW-BELLIED RACER: DANA LUETKEMEIER AGENT ADVICE from Chase Wright SALINE COUNTY CONSERVATION AGENT Fishin’ in the Dark. It’s not just a hit single by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. It’s a time-honored tradition of die-hard anglers who love to fish but want to escape the summertime heat. Before you grab your equipment and head for the nearest body of water, consider these safety tips for an enjoyable night under the Eastern yellow-bellied racer stars:  Be prepared. Get your gear Q: We found this 3-foot between the old and new layers, ready before you get there. snake with blue eyes in our the shedding gives the eye a blue  If you’re on a boat, life front yard, sunning itself. coloration. The process takes one jackets must be accessible. We were wondering what to two weeks and can render the Passengers age 7 or younger causes its eyes to be blue, snake nearly blind. and if this affects its vision? Snakes shed their skin periodically must wear life jackets.  This eastern yellow-bellied as they grow. During the active  Bring a flashlight, lantern, racer is about to shed its skin, season, young snakes usually shed or other source of light. including the layer over the eye. As once every four to five weeks. Adults the skin loosens and fluid builds may shed every six to eight weeks.  Use bug spray. Mosquitoes are much worse at night than during the day.  Take a charged cell phone.  Tell someone — a family member or friend — your plan for the evening and when you intend to return What home. IS it? Many species of fish are in season. For possession limits, Can you valid permit information, and guess this legal methods, month’s check the natural Wildlife Code of wonder? Missouri, or visit The answer is short.mdc. on Page 9. mo.gov/ZiL. mdc.mo.gov 7 In Brief MCHF helps in a number of ways, from making hunting areas accessible to supporting stream clean-up and kids’ programs. A Key “We advance conservation and the appre- matching funds from partners working on ciation of forest, fish, and wildlife resources by habitat and educational programs to benefit Partnership applying financial resources,” said Kevin Roper, monarchs. MCHF partners with a Honduran for Conservation MCHF executive director. “We collaborate with ecotourism company to raise funds for habitat donors and other partners to provide this kind protections for neotropical migratory birds, Marks 20 Years of support throughout the state.” species that nest in Missouri forests during by Bill Graham Going forward, MCHF plans to emphasize summer but overwinter in Central or South youth education, conserving endangered spe- America. In Missouri, MCHF provides funds for The Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation cies and species of conservation concern, and feral hog eradication. The organization also pro- (MCHF) is celebrating 20 years of helping Mis- helping veterans enjoy the outdoors. MCHF vides numerous small grants, such as money for sourians enhance natural resources and outdoor also recognizes conservation legends via the nature centers to battle invasive plants. education. Formed in 1997, MCHF is a nonprofit National Lewis and Clark Conservation Awards. MCHF grants support Wounded Warrior charitable organization working with MDC and This spring, in partnership with MDC, MCHF Hunts, which are designed specifically for vet- other partners to benefit Missouri’s outdoors. hosted 2,100 competitors from 127 schools at erans with disabilities. Grants helped purchase From hunting programs for military veterans the Missouri National Archery in Schools state all-terrain track chairs that carry hunters and with special needs to battling feral hogs or championship tournament in Branson. Founda- anglers afield. invasive plants in natural areas, MCHF provides tion grants also pay for equipment and costs for A volunteer board of directors and a small a helping hand via grants. community youth hunting and fishing events. professional staff manage MCHF in close part- “Our state’s conservation legacy and the Grants help schools develop outdoor class- nership with MDC. The foundation is well-aimed department exist because of the support of rooms. MCHF supports Discover Nature — Girls toward the future, said Carroll Wilkerson of citizens and partners,” said Jennifer Battson Camps where girls learn shooting, fishing, and Columbia, chair of the MCHF Board of Directors. Warren, MDC deputy director. “The Missouri nature interpretive skills. “If someone has a passion for the outdoors, Conservation Heritage Foundation is a fantas- Pollinator species and birds benefit as well. and if they want to make a donation or leave tic partner because they connect generous indi- MCHF was awarded a $250,000 grant in 2016 part of their estate for the betterment of the viduals and philanthropic organizations with from the National Fish and Wildlife Founda- outdoors, they can utilize the foundation,” projects that memorialize donors’ conservation tion for monarch butterfly conservation. The Wilkerson said. values. These projects provide improved oppor- grant will be paired with nearly $566,608 in Russ and Lynn Giron of Lee’s Summit lost tunities for citizens to experience Missouri’s rich their son, Nathan Giron, 18, in a tragic auto outdoor heritage.” accident. Because he enjoyed fishing, they MCHF has provided more than $20 million honored his memory by making a donation to for conservation projects such as stream corridor MCHF, which enabled a grant making it pos- protections, helping youth learn how to hunt or sible to give away 300 new fishing rods and fish, prairie restoration, or making hunting and reels at the 2016 National Hunting and Fishing fishing areas accessible for those with mobil- Day activities at MDC’s James A. Reed ity challenges. Funding sources for MCHF Memorial Wildlife Area. include donations and grants. In addition, “Your passion for conservation can MCHF receives funds from the Stream reach through time to make a difference Stewardship Trust Fund, which is funded by when you make a planned gift,” said Jan Syri- voluntary mitigation payments made for altera- gos, MCHF communications specialist. “We are tions to streams. Monarch the nonprofit that is dedicated to supporting the butterfly most crucial of conservation efforts in Missouri.” To contact MCHF, visit mochf.org, or call 573-634-2080 or toll free 800-227-1488, or email [email protected]. 8 Missouri Conservationist | August 2017 CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES: DAVID STONNER; MONARCH BUTTERFLY: NOPPADOL PAOTHONG