Category Archives: Home

After researching replacement options, Forest Park Forever’s horticultural team selected the “yellow bird” flowering magnolia.

Out with the Callery pear and in with the “yellow bird” magnolia!

Our friends at Forest Park Forever are always moving forward for the good of nature and the park!

Recent information released by Forest Park Forever:

Forest Park Forever, in partnership with St. Louis City’s Forestry team is removing the Callery pear trees along the “allée” walk that bisects the twin parking lots between the Dennis & Judith Jones Visitor and Education Center and Pagoda Circle.

In keeping with the original design intent of the allée, we will replace these trees with 60 ornamental “yellow bird” flowering magnolias sourced from a nursery in Kansas City. The project team plans to begin removal of trees on Tuesday, February 28, so the site is ready for installation of the new trees some time over the next month.

Read more about the project and the invasive Callery pear tree HERE.

Taking animal safety into consideration when building roads and highways doesn’t have to cost taxpayers’ money. In fact, preventative measures can reduce costly road accidents and save human lives

In a new study by the Federal Highway Administration, reported animal crashes are now estimated to cost Americans over $10 billion annually with a total of more that 200 crashes which prove to be fatal for humans.

Regional figures show that crashes with animals in the Midwest cause damages upwards of $3.8 billion with collisions mounting to well over 160,000 annually.

Missouri has about 4,500 animal crashes, with anywhere from 6-12 human fatal animal crashes yearly. Michigan had the greatest number of reported animal-vehicle crashes, with an average of over 54,000 each year.

The new study titled, “The Strategic Integration of Wildlife Mitigation into Transportation Procedures,” recommends use of a collision prevention manual for transportation professionals and their partners.

Continue reading →

Mike and Tenley Fraser of the band Shortleaf will perform at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center Friday, March 3 at 7 p.m. The musicians play traditional Ozark folk music and weave stories of Ozark culture and natural resources into their concerts. Photo: MDC

The Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center invites you to discover nature through music.  The nature center will present a special concert by the band Shortleaf, featuring Mike and Tenley Fraser on Friday, March 3 at 7 p.m.  The performance promises an enjoyable mix of entertainment and education suitable for the whole family.

Fraser, an accomplished Ozark fiddler, and wife, Tenley, specialize in performing traditional music of the Ozarks.  Honoring a long-time heritage of music and storytelling, the duo uses tales of Ozark history and Scots-Irish culture to create an engaging blend of songs and spoken word.  The Scots-Irish people settled in the hardscrabble Ozarks after migrating west from the Appalachian country, and gave the region much of its unique character.

(Registration required to attend)

Continue reading →

Agnes Garino and Jean Dugan thank suffragists for the women’s
right to vote on the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment.

By Don Corrigan

Missouri has many organizations with a mission to protect the environment. One group that has been around for 100 years, but isn’t often cited for its environmental chops, is the League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis.

The St. Louis League was founded on Nov. 13, 1919, almost a year before passage of the 19th Amendment providing women the right to vote. The group’s goal was to protect the right to vote and to educate voters.

A new history of the League, Raising Our Voices, covers the past six decades of local and national upheaval, but it also chronicles decade-by-decade the everyday work of the League to protect the outdoors and environment.

Beginning with the decade of the 1960s, author Nicole Evelina zeroes in on the League’s concerns over air pollution. A familiar term at the time was “St. Louis throat,” coined to describe damage done to membranes of the nose, sinus and lungs.

St. Louis suffered from dense black and gray smoke primarily from the burning of coal. The city was put on notice with the 1964 Cleaner Air Act passed by the U.S. Congress. This led to the passage of the Missouri Air Conservation Act.

Brendan Banjak stacks the League’s “Big Vote” ballot boxes in
a get-out-the vote campaign in 1983.

The League got behind recommendations to restrict the amount of coal burned, to  outlaw open burning of refuse and to require anti-pollution devices on automobiles. The legislature passed a new set of air standards for the state.

In the 1970s, the League continued its efforts on air pollution issues, but also worked on improved management of parks. Proper land use also put the spotlight on landfills, which became more than just places to dump trash and forget about it.

Missouri was drowning in its own trash with 4.2 million tons of waste per year, or an average of 5 pounds per person per day. Roadsides, watersheds and floodplains were becoming dumps. The League advocated for responsible land use policy.

Continue reading →

Images: E.J. Thias / Show Me … Natural Wonders

By Don Corrigan

If you’ve spent any time in Columbia, Mo., you know it can be a base for visiting nature sites and more. Like many J-school grads, this writer took advantage of many opportunities while living in COMO.

Stephen Paul Sayers, a Mizzou research professor, recently authored, 100 Things To Do In Columbia Before You Die, by Reedy Press.

No doubt, many Mizzou grads thank their lucky stars that they can already check off some of his bucket list items. However, Sayers also has “to-do” ideas that alumni may have missed on their COMO stays.

Sayers’ book will undoubtedly inspire some return trips for the former residents of Missouri’s premier university town.

Among the Sayers’ outdoor/nature sites that this writer also would heartily recommend:

• Eagle Bluffs – a perfect spot for hiking and bird watching. You can watch bald eagles gliding on the breezes below you.

• Three Creeks – there’s so much to take in here. Don’t be shy about getting off the trail and examining sinkholes, caves, and rocky bluffs.

Continue reading →

By Don Corrigan

In mid-March, Californians welcome their famous cliff swallows back to Capistrano. In late February, Missourians welcome their infamous turkey vultures to the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery with an annual Vulture Venture.

Missouri’s turkey vultures are infamous because they are considered ugly and repulsive by many. However, the dark-colored birds deserve a better reputation because these large birds perform an invaluable service in nature.

Turkey vultures do valuable clean-up duties by ridding the landscape of dead animals. They thoroughly enjoy a meal of rotting flesh and odorous carcass. Where others fear to tread, the turkey vultures are always ready to chow down.

Technically, the vultures do not actually return to the Branson area in late February. They are present in great numbers in the vicinity of the hatchery all winter. However, they become more visible as the winter cold recedes in late February and the air gets warmer.

The increased sunlight as spring approaches will prompt the turkey vultures to begin stirring. As the air warms, the birds are once again able to ride the thermals and scout the ground below for potential breakfast, lunch and dinner as they fly.

Vultures can be viewed around Lake Taneycomo throughout the year, but in winter the trout-fishing spot attracts these birds by the hundreds. Resident and migrating vultures love the canyon-like topography that can give the birds protection from cold winds. Plenty of large shoreline trees also offer vultures sturdy roosting sites.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) invites people to view these misunderstood birds at its annual Vulture Venture program. The program is always located at Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery on the west end of Lake Taneycomo, just below Table Rock Dam.

Vulture Ventures have been happening since 1994 and can include a number of activities, such as displays of a captive vulture with a handler, usually from Wonders of Wildlife in Springfield; children’s activities with spotting scopes for viewing vultures in the wild; and, a children’s vulture roadkill game.

Continue reading →