Category Archives: Outdoor/Nature

Image

TRIM Grants Awarded To Missouri Communities

Mike Walsh, and a volunteer Jim Horn plant tree at Community Tree Garden in St. Louis area. The group has been helping with tree planting around the state for 20 years.

Mike Walsh, and a volunteer Jim Horn plant tree at Community Tree Garden in St. Louis area. The group has been helping with tree planting around the state for 20 years.

The Tree Resource Improvement and Maintenance (TRIM) grant program awarded 36 Missouri communities a total of $380,754 this year. The monetary awards are granted through the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC).

The TRIM grant program is “cost-sharing funding for government agencies, public schools, and nonprofit groups to manage, improve or conserve trees on public lands.

See a list of the 36 Missouri communities awarded the 2016 TRIM grants. (Many of the cities are in the St. Louis area.)
Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted on October 16, 2016 in Outdoor/Nature

Image

Tree City USA 40th Anniversary

Representatives from the City of Webster Groves, a Tree City USA community for 33 years, enjoyed the anniversary celebration. Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation.

Representatives from the City of Webster Groves, a Tree City USA community for 33 years, enjoyed the anniversary celebration.
Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation.

For the last four decades, people who live in Tree City USA communities have enjoyed the benefits of having a greener, healthier places to live. In Missouri, that includes 88 communities representing almost 43 percent of the state’s population.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted on September 23, 2016 in Outdoor/Nature

Attention Missouri Hunters: Update Needed For The MDC Mobile App To Telecheck Game

Posted on August 26, 2016 | Leave a comment
Deer hoof print in the snow. Photo by Holly Shanks.

Deer hoof print in the snow. Photo by Holly Shanks.

Missouri Hunters: Be sure to update the MDC’s mobile app before the 2016 deer and turkey hunting season starts to Telecheck your harvest.

The update will also provide the most current regulation and data information.

To learn more or to download the MDC hunting App – CLICK HERE.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Outdoor/Nature

Image

White Nose Syndrome: Updated Information About The Fungus Killing U.S. Bat Populations

Little brown bat; close-up of nose with fungus, New York, Oct. 2008. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Photo courtesy Ryan von Linden/New York Department of Environmental Conservation

Little brown bat; close-up of nose with fungus, New York, Oct. 2008. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Photo courtesy Ryan von Linden/New York Department of Environmental Conservation

Bats in the U.S. are under threat from a fungus that causes a disease known as White Nose Syndrome. The disease has the potential to wipe out entire bat populations and is spreading.

Jo Schaper is the guest on this week’s Environmental Echo podcast. Recently, Schaper attended a conference about White Nose Syndrome, held in Denver, Colorado. She shares updated information about what wildlife and conservation organizations are doing to help stop the spread of the disease and what efforts are being implemented to help save the U.S. bat populations.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted on August 17, 2016 in Outdoor/Nature, Podcasts

Tagged , ,

Image

Update: A Fix For The Asian Carp Invasion?

On the Illinois River summer 2012. Photo by Jill Moon/The Telegraph, Alton, IL

On the Illinois River summer 2012. Photo by Jill Moon/The Telegraph, Alton, IL

Many news outlets are reporting that the Alligator Gar are being reintroduced into rivers and other waterways and may be an answer to the Asain Carp invasion.

The Asian carp, which are taking over waterways in the Midwest and smothering out native species, are a food source for the gar.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted on August 1, 2016 in Home, Outdoor/Nature

Image

Celebrating Our National Parks: It’s All About Trees At These Nine National Parks

Photo credit: National Park Service.

Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. Photo credit: National Park Service.

The National Park Service celebrates its centennial this year! Here is another look at some interesting facts inside our National Parks.

These nine parks will spark a love for trees, according to the National Parks Conservation Association!

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted on July 11, 2016 in Home, Outdoor/Nature

Image

Celebrating Our National Parks: “My Park Story”

Screenshot of My Park Story website.

Screenshot of My Park Story website.

The National Park Service celebrates its centennial this year! Here is fun and interactive way to be part of the story by sharing your personal adventures and memories from our National Parks.

 

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted on July 2, 2016 in Outdoor/Nature

Image

Valley Park’s Levee Facing New Height Of Criticism And Finger-Pointing

Bob Criss inside a flood gate at Valley Park. Outside the gate, MSD's sewage treatment plant was disabled by flood water. photo by Ursula Ruhl, Webster-Kirkwood Times.

Bob Criss inside a flood gate at Valley Park. Outside the gate, MSD’s sewage treatment plant was disabled by flood water. photos by Ursula Ruhl, Webster-Kirkwood Times.

Six months after a Meramec River flood left millions of dollars in damage to cities along its banks, the finger-pointing continues – with much of it directed at Valley Park’s levee.

Critics contend the levee is built beyond its authorized height. The extra height resulted in flood waters of unprecedented volume and speed, causing destruction in Fenton, Sunset Hills, Kirkwood, Arnold and more.

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted on July 1, 2016 in Environment, Outdoor/Nature

Image

Missouri’s Invasive Feral Hog Issues: Illegal Activities Help Spur Change In Regulations

A female Feral Hog is caught on a snare in a wood near Taum Sauk Mountain in Ironton County, MO. Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation.

A female Feral Hog is caught on a snare in a wood near Taum Sauk Mountain in Ironton County, MO. Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation.

The Missouri Conservation Commission approved changes to prohibit the hunting of feral hogs on lands owned, leased or managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) beginning September 30, 2016.

The new regulations do not apply to privately owned property in Missouri.

The new regulations are in response to a public comment period,  research from other states, and issues with efforts by MDC staff to trap and eliminate groups of the feral hogs, according to information contained in an MDC press release.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted on June 30, 2016 in Home, Outdoor/Nature

Tagged , , ,

Image

Our Beautiful National Parks: Seen From Behind The Wheel Of A 1925 Model T

c19C8FLOI3EDE9BF.med

Steve and Diana Thum of Webster Groves alongside their Touring Model T. Photos provided by Steve Thum.

Environmental Echo is celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service and our national parks by periodically posting stories about how much people enjoy these environmental assets with their natural beauty and abundant wildlife.

This story features the head of the St. Louis Model T Club and hits adventures driving his Model T through some of our great national parks.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted on June 24, 2016 in Outdoor/Nature