Environmental Echo

MDC guide Lauren Baker leading hikers through Emmenegger Park. Photos by Ursula Ruhl.

by Don Corrigan

With dwindling daylight and Halloween approaching, some souls take note of the “Witching Hour,” when demons and ghouls come alive in the woods . Ghosts grow more active .

A group of hikers in Emmenegger Park recently were having none of that. They climbed Bluff Creek Trail in search of the “Golden Hour,” when a dusky sunlight sends beams through the Kirkwood park’s tree canopy for optimum hobby photography.

With cellphones and digital cameras at the ready, the hikers were led by Lauren Baker, a naturalist with the Powder Valley Nature Conservation Center in Kirkwood. An introduction commenced about 5:30 p.m.

“Does everybody know about the golden hour?” asked Baker, standing just past the park’s bridge trailhead. “This is when the sun is about to go down and the light turns everything golden. There’s a special nature to this light.

“It can be very useful for taking photos, especially this time of year,” explained Baker. According to nature photography books, the soft, diffused light blurs imperfections and even adds a perfect touch of glowing tan.

Before hitting the trail on a muggy, late September evening, Baker advised assembled hikers that the trek was being shortened for hiker health. Also, there would be more stops on the trail than originally planned, so hikers could catch their second or third wind.

Witching hour or golden hour, Baker was determined that no participants would give up the ghost on this evening. A few struggling and straggling hikers did seem to appreciate the added rest stops.

“We’re going to stop here,” said Baker about a third of the way up the trail. “Notice there are a lot of insects flying around now, some that are feeding on the nectar of the fall flowers.

“Also, I want to point out the large spider web in the weeds facing the (Meramec) river,” noted Baker. “That is owned by a spider who is obviously interested in taking advantage of the insects for a dinner.”

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MDC invites the public to see a free virtual presentation by celebrated author, conservationist, and entomologist Doug Tallamy at Powder Valley Nature Center Friday, Nov 1. from 7 – 8 p.m. People can also view the program at home with a link provided by MDC.

Discover a new perspective on gardening from an expert in landscaping with native plants.  The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is inviting the public to view a virtual presentation by celebrated author, conservationist, and entomologist Doug Tallamy at Powder Valley Nature Center Friday, Nov 1. from 7 – 8 p.m. 

The program is free, and attendees can view it on the nature center’s giant screen in its auditorium while having the chance to visit Powder Valley’s exhibits from 6 – 7 p.m.  Alternatively, people can view the presentation online anywhere on their own screens.

Tallamy will present a preview of his newest book, A Chickadee’s Guide to Gardening.  A professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, Tallamy has written and co-authored several other books such as Bringing Nature Home, Nature’s Best Hope, and How Can I Help?  He is an advocate for home gardens and landscaping that provide habitat for native species by bridging the gap between parks and nature preserves.

“In the past we have designed our landscapes strictly for our own pleasure, with no thought to how they might impact the natural world around us,” Tallamy said.  “Such landscapes do not contribute much to local ecosystems and support little life.”

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Elephant Rocks State Park

Representatives from Missouri State Parks invite the public to provide input for Elephant Rocks State Park’s conceptual development plan update. A 30-day comment period will begin Oct. 19, with a survey available online at mostateparks.com/cdp.

This survey kickstarts the conceptual development planning process. Input regarding the park’s recreational opportunities, infrastructure and amenities will help guide the park’s future development.

For more information on conceptual development planning, please visit mostateparks.com/cdp or call Daniel Engler, planner, at 573-751-5382.

Elephant Rocks State Park is located at 7406 Highway 21 in Belleview.

For more information on state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Photo: Missouri Department of Conservation.

by Don Corrigan

The Chinese mantid, classified as a non-native exotic species, is raising the ire of those who value pollinators such as butterflies. The large mantids grasp victims with raptorial front legs and then devour the captured prey.

The alarming critters are being found in Webster-Kirkwood backyards, as well as in stretches of prairie across Missouri. These beady-eyed predators ravage butterflies and are pretty, darned scary-looking.

“They’re twice as large as the common praying mantis that we are most familiar with,” said Mark Peters. “I have killed hundreds of them. I don’t have nightmares about them, but I can see why they made horror movies about mantises in the 1950s.”

Among the mantis horror movies is the 1957 film, “The Deadly Mantis.” The story begins when a melting iceberg releases a giant prehistoric mantis. A paleontologist advises the military to kill it after it attacks scientific outposts on its way to New York.

Photo: Missouri Department of Conservation.

Peters has no qualms about killing the Chinese mantises in a stretch of prairie land where he lives that he purchased three decades ago in rural Jefferson County. He said there are no restrictions or species protections for the mantises.

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Photo by Holly Shanks.

Temperatures are cooling down and trees are beginning to change color – a sure sign fall has arrived. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) encourages the public to enjoy fall foliage through camping, driving tours, hiking, or even floating. To help, MDC offers weekly online fall color updates from agency foresters all over the state at mdc.mo.gov/fallcolor.

“Our fall color reports are a convenient resource for the public,” said MDC Forestry Field Programs Supervisor Russell Hinnah. “The reports begin in mid-September and are updated weekly. They show users where trees are beginning to turn and also suggest best places to see the changing leaves.”

Predicting the peak of fall color can be difficult, but much depends on the weather.

“Much of the state is still very dry and we are also still feeling the effects of last year’s drought,” noted Hinnah. “With this pattern we could see an earlier fall with less color. It’s also possible some trees may shut down earlier with no color at all.”

Chilly, fall evenings are critical for leaves to change color.

“Sugars produced by photosynthesis are trapped inside leaves by the cool autumn nights,” Hinnah explained. “Those sugars are the building blocks for the rich red, yellow, orange, and purple pigments. Cooler temperatures cause the breakdown of green pigments in leaves, allowing fall colors to show.”

Missouri trees first begin changing color in the northern part of the state, then move southward. Sassafras, sumac, and Virginia creeper are some of the earliest to change in mid-September. In late September, black gum, bittersweet, and dogwood are turning. The peak of fall color usually hits around mid-October.

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Jamin Bray, co-director of the Missouri Environmental Education Association (MEEA), enjoys strumming in the Ozarks. Photo courtesy of MEEA

by Don Corrigan

Missouri Environmental Education Association (MEEA) will hold its annual educators conference in Springfield, Mo., on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1-2. Registration for the event is now underway.

Friday will consist of pre-conference field trips in the Missouri Ozarks, The evening will include a get-together and social at the Wonders of Life. All-day Saturday will consist of sessions at the Darr Agricultural Center.

MEEA Director Lesli Moylan told attendees at the Sept. 7-8 Conservation Expo at Cooper’s Landing on the Missouri River that educators are fired up about conservation and environmental protection. There will be plenty of energy at the November event.

Jamin Bray, co-director of MEEA, told Environmental Echo in March that she has always been fired up as an educator, first as a member of MEEA, then as assistant director in 2021, and now in an executive position.

“When Jamin came on board, it just seemed silly not to kind of split up some of the tasks among ourselves and then give each other lanes that are our purview,” Moylan said.

Among several other resources for environmental educators, MEEA offers online courses through its website that are designed to equip educators to teach environmental topics consciously and creatively.

In the next year, MEEA will offer a new online course covering climate justice, a term used to describe the disproportionate impacts of climate change on marginalized communities.

“Climate change is not the same for everybody. But it’s everyone’s responsibility to try to figure out how to safeguard everyone that’s in our community. In my mind, climate justice relates to where people live and what they do for a living. That’s global, but climate justice is more human being focused,” Bray said.

“We as a global community, and those of us who are scientists and educators, have a responsibility to push out this information about climate justice. This is not just us saying ‘the world’s on fire’,” Bray stressed.

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Newly-elected state Rep. Bruce Sassmann and his wife, Jan.

by Don Corrigan

The Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation (MCHF) honored Bruce and Jan Sassmann at its annual National Lewis & Clark Conservation Awards banquet on Sept. 18, 2024.

Environmental Echo recognized their work in early 2021. A two-part series can be found in the EE Archives in February.

Lewis & Clark Conservation Awards recognize conservation and outdoor leaders for appreciation and advancement of natural resources in Missouri and beyond.

Other 2024 National Lewis & Clark Conservation Awards honorees are: Chad Pregrack, Jeff Churan, James T. Blair, Sara Parker Pauley and Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s Outdoor Fund.

“This year’s honorees are prime examples of the importance of strong partnerships and how we will continue to advance vital conservation work across the state, as well as the country,” said Will Coates, president of the Conservation Heritage Foundation Board of Directors.

“The 2024 honorees represent leaders in business, philanthropy and conservation,” added Coates. “We are pleased to recognize these champions and their incredible commitment to conservation.”

Bruce and Jan Sassmann are lifelong Missouri conservationists. As active members of numerous conservation groups, including MCHF, Conservation Federation of Missouri, and Missouri Prairie Foundation, the Sassmanns have tirelessly promoted nature, shared their prairie restoration work and ensured lasting benefits for future generations.

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