Agency News

MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION

MDC Reminds People to Celebrate Safely!

As people celebrate this summer, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reminds everyone to be careful with fireworks, campfires, and other sources of fire that could cause a wildfire.

Fireworks: Don’t light fireworks in any areas where the sparks could ignite dry grass, leaves, or other potential fire fuel. Always have an approved fire extinguisher and an available water supply to douse sparks or flames. Wet the area around where fireworks are being discharged. Check with local ordinances and authorities for bans on fireworks and open burning. Fireworks are prohibited on MDC areas.

Outdoor Burning: Don’t burn during wrong conditions. Dry grass, high temperatures, low humidity, and wind make fire nearly impossible to control. Check with local fire departments regarding burn bans that may be in place. A person who starts a fire for any reason is responsible for any damage it may cause.

Driving Off the Road: Wildfires can start when dry fuel, such as grass, comes in contact with catalytic converters. Think twice before driving into and across a grassy field. Never park over tall, dry grass or piles of leaves that can touch the underside of a vehicle. When driving vehicles off road, regularly inspect the undercarriage to ensure that fuel and brake lines are intact and no oil leaks are apparent. Always carry an approved fire extinguisher on vehicles that are used off road. Check for the presence of spark arresters on ATV exhausts.

Making a Campfire: Clear a generous zone around fire rings. Store unused firewood a good distance from a campfire.

MDC reminds people to celebrate safely. Be careful with campfires, fireworks, and other sources of fire that could cause a wildfire. (Photo: Courtesy of MDC)

Never use gasoline, kerosene, or other flammable liquid to start a fire. Keep campfires small and controllable. Keep fire-extinguishing materials, such as a rake, shovel, and bucket of water, close. Extinguish campfires each night and before leaving camp, even if it’s just for a few moments.

Call for Help: Call 911 at the first sign of a fire getting out of control.

Report Forest Arson: Wildfires are sometimes set by vandals. Help stop arson by calling 800-392-1111 and reporting any potential arson activities. Callers will remain anonymous and rewards are possible.

Prescribed Fire: Fire used in the wrong way can create disasters. Used in the right way, fire can help create habitat for wildlife. For more information on using prescribed fire as a land-management tool, visit mdc.mo.gov/prescribedfire.

MDC Reports Final CWD Results for 2019-2020 Season

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reports it has completed its monitoring and testing efforts for the 2019- 2020 chronic wasting disease (CWD) surveillance year. From those efforts, MDC reports it has confirmed 46 new cases of the deadly deer disease.

These new findings bring the total number of CWD cases in the state to 162. MDC has tested more than 137,000 deer since the first cases of CWD were found in free-ranging deer in Missouri in 2012.

The 46 new cases were found in the following counties: 3 in Adair, 6 in Franklin, 1 in Jefferson, 8 in Linn, 8 in Macon, 2 in Oregon, 2 in Perry, 1 in Polk, 10 in Ste Genevieve, 2 in Stone, and 3 in Taney.

Previously this season, MDC confirmed 25 of the 46 new cases of CWD in Missouri from nearly 29,000 tissue samples collected from white-tailed deer and submitted for disease testing. Most of the tissue samples were taken from hunter-harvested deer.

MDC has also confirmed an additional 21 of the 46 new cases of CWD through its post-season targeted culling efforts in January, February, and early March in areas where previous cases of CWD have been found. MDC thanks the 1,390 participating landowners who helped MDC staff remove nearly 2,400 deer in those areas to manage CWD.

All deer harvested through targeted culling that did not test positive for the disease were either returned to the landowner or donated to local food pantries through the Share the Harvest venison-donation program.

MDC has confirmed 46 new cases of chronic wasting disease found through its monitoring and testing efforts for the 2019-2020 CWD surveillance year. (Photo: Courtesy of MDC)

According to MDC, post-season targeted culling can help decrease CWD transmission by reducing the number of potentially infected deer within infected areas. Missouri and other states, such as Illinois, have successfully limited the percent of deer infected with CWD by sustaining a long-term, targeted-culling management program. For more information on MDC targeted culling efforts, visit mdc.mo.gov/cwd under “Post Season Targeted Culling.”

CWD is a deadly disease in white-tailed deer and other members of the deer family. The purpose of MDC’s CWD sampling and testing efforts is to find cases early so the Department can limit the spread of the disease by implementing management actions such as targeted culling. Learn more about CWD at mdc.mo.gov/cwd.

MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION

MDC Reports Spring Turkey Season Ended with 41,454 Birds Harvested

Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that turkey hunters checked 38,730 birds during Missouri’s 2020 regular spring turkey season, April 20 through May 10. Top harvest counties were Franklin with 899 birds harvested, Callaway with 699, and Laclede with 651.

Young turkey hunters also harvested 2,724 birds during the 2020 spring youth season, April 4 and 5, bringing the overall 2020 spring turkey harvest to 41,454.

Last year, young turkey hunters harvested 2,546 birds during the spring youth season and hunters harvested 36,249 during the regular spring season for a 2019 spring season total harvest of 38,795 birds.

“Even though nonresident permit sales were down this year, there were about 9,600 more spring turkey hunters overall than in 2019 due to an increase in resident permit sales,” said MDC Turkey Biologist Reina Tyl. “When turkey hunting participation increases, we expect to see a subsequent increase in turkey harvest. It’s great to see that more Missourians were able to get out into the turkey woods this year.”

Get more information on this year’s spring turkey harvest numbers by county at extra.mdc.mo.gov/ widgets/harvest_table/.

Get more information on turkey harvest numbers for past seasons at huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/huntingtrapping/species/turkey/turkey-reports/turkey-harvestsummaries-past-seasons.

Preliminary data shows that turkey hunters checked 38,730 birds during the 2020 season. (Photo: Courtesy of MDC)

MDC had one report of a non-fatal hunting incident during the 2020 spring turkey season. It involved one hunter mistakenly shooting another hunter.

For more information about turkey hunting in Missouri, visit MDC online at huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/ hunting-trapping/species/turkey.

MISSOURI STATE PARKS

State Historic Preservation Office Receives ACHP Chairman’s Achievement Award

The Missouri State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) was recently recognized by the National Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) with the Chairman’s Achievement Award for its involvement in the rehabilitation of the Black Officer’s Club, located in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. Amanda Burke and Toni Prawl of the State Historic Preservation Office facilitated consultation for compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, resulting in the rehabilitation of one of only two remaining World War II-era black officer clubs in the nation.

The award was presented during a ceremony at the ACHP’s business meeting at the National Building Museum in Washington D.C. The rehabilitation of Building 2101, now dedicated as Staff Sergeant Samuel A. Countee Hall, was completed in 2019 after a successful Section 106 historic preservation review that involved the ACHP, U.S. Army, Missouri State Historic Preservation Office, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Pulaski County and Rolla NAACP, Missouri Preservation, and Sammie Whiting Ellis, SSG Countee’s niece. Through this collaboration, a compatible long-term use was found for the building.

“Having the opportunity to meet so many people and being able to assist in the restoration of this national treasure has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional life,” said program facilitator and SHPO historic preservation specialist, Amanda Burke. “This project brought together people and agencies from across the nation and has resulted in taking a once littleknown World War II temporary building at Fort Leonard Wood, only exceptional for containing a mural by Samuel Countee, and made it the most sought after venue on the base.”

This project began when the building was declared excess property in the late-2000s. Without a use for the historic building, the plan was to demolish the building and move the mural to a museum.

From left to right in the photo: Toni Prawl, director and deputy state historic preservation officer; Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler; Amanda Burke, historic preservation specialist; Sammie Whiting-Ellis, niece of Samuel Countee; Katharine Kerr, ACHP program analyst; Aimee Jorjani, ACHP chairman; and Charlie Neel, environmental division chief, U.S. Army Garrison Fort Leonard Wood Directorate of Public Works. (Photo: Courtesy of Missouri State Parks)

However, it became clear that the building itself was significant to American history, being only one of two World War II black officer clubs remaining in the nation. In 2010, a use as a training facility was identified for the building and consultation began on how to rehabilitate the building. With years of careful consultation, selective demolition and construction, a nationally significant building was saved and part of nation’s history preserved. For more information about the project, visit achp.gov/ sites/default/files/2019-04/Ft.%20Leonard%20Wood.pdf.

The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) in the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Division of State Parks is responsible, in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service and local governments, in carrying out the mandates of the National Historic Preservation Act (P.L. 89-665, as amended) in Missouri. The SHPO is supported in part by the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, and works with citizens and groups throughout the state to identify, evaluate and protect Missouri's diverse range of historic, architectural and archaeological resources.

The Outdoors are Open

Iam not going to inundate you with all the lines you have heard too much already. "We're all in this together," "social distancing," and the like. Instead, I'm going to accentuate the positive: the outdoors are open!

When I'm writing this, I have spent the past two months doing all kinds of things I've never done before. Week one, I cooked last year's spring turkey. I sliced it to between the size of a chicken nugget and a chicken tender and breaded and fried. Dare I say, its quality was not unlike that of Chick-fil-a. I pan-fried whole trout that I caught during CFM's Media Camp on Lake Taneycomo in February. I started a video series for CFM called the Missouri Nature Minute. I'm telling you this, not to "toot my own horn," but to encourage you to get outside and try something new!

To quote John Muir, "Into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul." If you are familiar with the story of Aldo Leopold, the father of wildlife ecology, he was a lifelong conservationist. He wrote the book, A Sand County Almanac, which if you have not read, I highly recommend it. Many people consider it a "conservationist's bible."

When he wrote that book, he was a professor at the University of Madison, Wisconsin. At the same time, he had purchased a small farm outside Baraboo, Wisconsin. His daughter Estella remembered her childhood fondly, "It was a restorative exercise. We restored the land, and every weekend, it restored us." Every kid needs those experiences, and every adult needs the restoration that the great outdoors provides.

For myself, early mornings in the woods is a peaceful time to quiet my mind and talk to God. The world's worries melt away, and there's only me and the possibility of an approaching gobbler.

Spring is a special time of year. So much is happening that doesn't happen for the rest of the year. Everything comes back to life. Clear water flows freely from a severed grapevine, sassafras root is ready to harvest to make tea, and sap is flowing in the tree bark. The flow of sap in a tree allows a unique opportunity for the bark to slip. What does that mean? If you are like me, I had no clue what it meant when some of the Ozarkians would say, "The bark's slippin'!" Perhaps this phrase is nearly extinct because all the uses for tree bark have also fallen by the wayside. There are few people that still note this part of the season on their yearly timeline.

Slipping bark occurs in the late spring in early summer when the sap begins to flow in the tree again after the winter shutdown. This literally allows the wood to "slip" right out of the bark! It's definitely a sight to behold. It creates hazards for loggers and great opportunity for crafters.

Bark has a variety of uses. It can be made into cordage, woven as seats, fashioned into baskets, built into a shelter, or even crafted into a boat! I have been itching to see if I could peel the bark off a tree after I learned about this phenomenon two years ago.

Occasionally, the Department of Conservation offers classes on bark basket making. I was not lucky enough to get into one of their courses, but I knew some of the volunteers that help teach them. They were very willing to help me get started. After a couple phone calls and some YouTube research, I was ready to dive in.

Many tree species lend themselves to these techniques. Each species has its own valuable and undesirable qualities. I chose two accessible species to experiment upon: cedar and hickory. Cedar bark is very thin and easy to remove, but it is sticky and more fragile.

After the drawknife is used to remove the outer bark, a razor blade can be used to cut the inner bark to allow it to be easily peeled from the tree. (Photo: Colton Zirkle)

Hickory bark is very thick and must be shaved down with a drawknife before it is removed from the log, but when it dries, the bark is as hard as the wood itself. Some of you at this point may be wondering about the health of the tree.

Taking the bark off of a tree removes all its vascular tissue, effectively girdling it, meaning, the tree will die. As conservationists, we accept those consequences. The trees I harvested were both used completely. Cedars are considered native invasives in many habitats because of the removal of fire from the landscape. My tree was cut and used for bank stabilization along a creek.

The hickory log will dry for the next six months and will hopefully be turned into a longbow or two, just in time for deer season. Anyway, back to basket making.

We selected a hickory tree to cut that was about eight inches in diameter.

It was cut into manageable eight-foot lengths and taken to the barn to be processed. We set it up to a workable height, and I began to strip off the outer bark with a drawknife. This was fairly laborious work, it probably would have been less so with a sharper knife. After the outer bark was stripped off, the remaining inner bark was perhaps a quarter-inch thick. I cut around the stripped bark with a razor blade about 20 inches up from the base of the log and then cut another line longitudinally down that section of the bark.

I was then able to slip a somewhat dull hatchet under the edges and very easily peel the bark back off the tree, it was like magic. I then had a rectangular piece of bark that had the consistency of rawhide. I cut a quarter-inch strip of the bark off the edge of the piece, rolled up the sheet like a poster, and tied it with that strip to be stored for a couple weeks until I could make the basket.

I thought it would be an excellent project for my mom and me for Mother's Day as she likes experiences better than store-bought gifts. This experience would have a bonus gift: her very own bark basket! When I brought the bark home, it had to be soaked in the bathtub as it had completely dried out. After it had soaked overnight, the water (and the tub) were stained like tea, but the bark was ready to use. We took the bark rectangle and laid it so that the outer part of the bark faced up.

We used the razor blade to score the bark with two crescent shapes perpendicular to the grain so that it looked like we had traced a football across the sheet. These scores allowed us to fold the bark toward the inner sides without breaking it and formed the bottom of the basket. Opposing sides of the bark now met along the sides of the forming basket and were laced together with fresh strips cut from a separate piece of bark. Holes for the lace were made from bone awls I had sourced from my fall archery deer's leg.

At the top of the basket, we placed two more strips of bark about a half-inch wide to form the basket's inner and outer rim. Those were lashed on with more thin strips of bark. We recycled an old belt to make the strap for the basket looped over the outer rim before it was lashed down. And there you have a basket. We stuffed the basket with a brick to weigh it down and newspaper to help it maintain its shape and prevent cracking while the bark dried over 4-5 days.

We called these baskets Ozark berry buckets, and we're excited to go pick blackberries and raspberries at our favorite orchard later this summer. I hope you all will use this crazy time to try something new. Maybe try to make a bark bucket, catch some fish to fry, learn new plants to forage for, or take up nature journaling and photography.

Rather than focusing all our the time on things that stress us, let's get back to nature and enjoy the outdoors. Shoot me an email or tag us on Facebook or Instagram @confedmo and let us know what you try. We encourage you to introduce someone new to your favorite outdoor pastime. Don't let old skills pass away. Stay social!

Colton Zirkle

Education and Communications Coordinator of CFM

(Cover) Colton and his mother proudly display their handcrafted Ozark berry buckets on Mother's Day. (Photo: Colton Zirkle)

(Top) A completed hickory bark basket ready for use. (Photo: Colton Zirkle)