Category Archives: Outdoor/Nature

Image

MDC 2016 Holiday Closing Schedule

Nature Stock Photo

Nature Stock Photo

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) 2016 holiday closing schedule for their offices, nature centers, and staffed shooting ranges is available. “Trails and other outdoor offerings at MDC nature centers and interpretative centers are still available for public use on most days the facilities are closed.”

Continue reading below for more information and a list of dates from the MDC.

Continue reading

Image

Challenges Facing The Missouri Deer Population

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

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

John Vogel, Missouri Department of Conservation’s Wildlife Regional Supervisor for the St. Louis area, talks to Environmental Echo about Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), changes to the upcoming deer hunting season regulations and other issues affecting Missouri’s deer population.

 

 

Continue reading

Image

Missouri Prairie Foundation Announces 18 awardees For 2015

Photo by Holly Shanks

Photo by Holly Shanks

The Missouri Prairie Foundation and its Grow Native! program recognizes “outstanding efforts to conserve prairie and to use and promote native plants” by awarding efforts by individuals around the state. This year, there were 18 awardees.

Continue reading

Image

Missouri Department of Conservation Successes From 2015

christmas-background-1075344_1920PixabayThe Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) recently released a video of accomplishments and successes from 2015.

Continue reading

Image

A Mammoth Treat, Ozark Oranges

Hedge ball. Photos provided by Dan and Sharon Perry.

Hedge ball. Photos provided by Dan and Sharon Perry.

Excursion Notes by Don Corrigan…
After a great house tour in Elsah, Illinois, on Dec. 5, I took a bike ride on the river trail between Elsa, Grafton and Peres Marquette, I was almost thrown off my mount after riding over several “Ozark Oranges,” also known around these parts as hedge balls.  Do you have any hedge ball stories? They can be dangerous.

Continue reading

Image

Jill Moon Shares Insight On 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

The invasive Asian Carp is the topic of discussion on this week’s “Behind The Editor’s Curtain.” For the last several years, Jill Moon, a reporter and editor for The Telegraph, Alton, IL, has followed the Asian carp issue.

Moon talks with Don Corrigan about the carp invasion, the environmental and economic issues they create, and a few of the efforts underway to curb their spread.

Continue reading

Image

Woody With A Side Of Stuffing

Bird-Be-Gone
By Don Corrigan
Most outdoor/environmental types love woodpeckers. So did I, until one persistent woodpecker started dismantling my house this fall. Here is my column in the Nov. 20th Webster-Kirkwood Times and South County Times about my problems with noisy Woody pecking apart my house.
If you have a solution for my Woody, please share it in the comment section at the bottom of this post. 

Continue reading

Image

UPDATED: Saint Louis Zoo Association Announces Opportunity to Purchase Grant’s Farm

The preliminary concept of a “night zoo” to see nocturnal animals would allow the Saint Louis Zoo and Grant’s Farm to reach more people with conservation messages and provide opportunities for people to connect with nature. Photo credit: Night Safari in Singapore

The preliminary concept of a “night zoo” to see nocturnal animals would allow the Saint Louis Zoo and Grant’s Farm to reach more people with conservation messages and provide opportunities for people to connect with nature. Photo credit: Night Safari in Singapore

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UPDATE: Article from the Webster-Kirkwood Times with more information on the Grant’s Farm possible acquisition.

Read the article HERE.

Environmental Echo is ecstatic about the idea of the St. Louis Zoo establishing another presence in the St. Louis area at Grant’s Farm.

The St. Louis Zoo has been a leader on so many fronts, from promoting science education to protecting the environment. In recent years, it has been a leader in warning about the impact of climate change and the imperative of addressing global warming.

The St. Louis Zoo — what better match for Grant’s Farm?

Continue reading

Image

READY — WEATHER OR NOT!

Knox County, Mo, 2003. Photo provided by St. Louis National Weather Service.

Knox County, Mo, 2003. Photo provided by St. Louis National Weather Service.

Tornadoes get people’s attention in a way that a discussion of global warming just cannot do. However, what if a hotter climate means more energy in the atmosphere and more violent weather as a result? Like tornadic storms? This is one of the topics I was able to discuss with scientists at the National Weather Service in October. The visit was part of the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) Conference and inspired this column in the Webster-Kirkwood Times and South County Times.

Continue reading

Image

Eddy Harris: One Man, One Canoe, Twice On The Mississippi River

Eddy Harris l

Pictured Above: Eddy Harris

By Don Corrigan
Outdoor author Eddy Harris was in town recently and we broke bread and discussed his upcoming work and documentary on paddling the Mississippi River. We have a mutual interest in encouraging more people of color to get into the outdoors and to enlist in the environmental movement. Harris wrote a great piece in Outside Magazine a few years ago about black people’s reservations about outdoor activities in America. I plan to draw from his work in a presentation I will give in March before the American Culture Association/Popular Culture Association. This column on Harris has drawn a lot of feedback from Kirkwood, Mo. residents who remember his growing up in their town.

Continue reading