Category Archives: Outdoor/Nature

Len Patton (left) and Bob Campbell (right), Missouri Department of Conservation instructors, at the shotgun shell reloading seminar held at Jay Henges Shooting Range & Education Center, Feb. 21, 2017. Photos by Holly Shanks.

Event coverage by Holly Shanks

A small group gathered at Jay Henges Shooting Range and Outdoor Education Center recently to explore the basic techniques of shotgun shell reloading. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) seminar, led by Bob Campbell and Len Patton, offered a hands-on learning experience. Both men have been reloading for decades and have extensive first-hand knowledge of procedures and best practices.

Lead safety procedures were included in the seminar. Also, how the MDC handles toxic lead clean-up at Jay Henges Shooting Range are included in the story. See more of the story below.

Continue reading →

Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) recently received DNA results from a confirmed mountain lion in Shannon County. Those results indicated the mountain lion was a female with a probable origin in the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota, and Northwest Nebraska. This is the first definitive confirmation of a female mountain lion being present in Missouri since 1994.

More from the MDC press release below:

Continue reading →

Don Robinson State Park.

Gov. Nixon announces the opening of Don Robinson State Park. The land donated to the state in 2012 features sandstone cliffs, diverse forests and a significant tributary to the Meramec River

Read more from Gov. Nixon’s press release below…

Continue reading →

Photo by MDC.

Help provide wildlife habitat in local lakes by donating your Christmas tree.

Information from the Missouri Department of Conservation for donations from now to January 16, at the August A. Busch Conservation Area in St. Charles and Blackjack Lake at the North County Recreational Complex and Spanish Lake Park.

Continue reading →

Missouri Gov. Nixon released information about three new state parks.

“Missourians are gaining three new state parks in southern Missouri that will have some of the state’s most distinctive natural landscapes and features on their more than 8,000 acres, Gov. Jay Nixon announced today (December 16, 2016.) The addition of Eleven Point State Park in Oregon County, Bryant Creek State Park in Douglas County and Ozark Mountain State Park in Taney County will bring the total number of state parks in Missouri to 91.”

To read the full release CLICK HERE.

Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation.

The collection of 19,200 Deer harvest tissue samples were collected from 29 Missouri counties during the opening weekend of fall firearms deer season. The samples will help the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) evaluate next steps in chronic-wasting-disease management efforts.

Continue reading →

Photo by Diana Linsley, Webster-Kirkwood Times.

“Physical deer counts done over the course of several winters indicate the deer population is much greater than what is considered ecologically sound,” noted Yegge. “When deer numbers are high, other plant and wildlife species may struggle to survive or disappear all together.”

Continue reading →

Photo Credit: Missouri Department of Conservation

The Share the Harvest program, sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Conservation Federation of Missouri, enables hunters to help families in need through the voluntary deer meat donation.  Since it started in 1992, Share the Harvest has provided more than 3.5 million pounds of lean, healthy venison to help feed hungry Missourians.

Continue reading →