Missouri Conservationist August 2022

2022·5.2 MB·English

by  Missouri Department of Conservation

MISSOURI
VOLUME 83, ISSUE 8, AUGUST 2022
SERVING NATURE & YOU
CONSERVATIONIST
BBEECCOOMMEE
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TTOODDAAYY!!
Missouri adults 16 and older can complete
hunter education training all online.
_ Flexibility to learn _ Access _ No in-person skills
at your own pace 24/7 session required
The all-online course
includes engaging video and
animation on hunter safety,
firearm safety, ethics,
regulations, and wildlife
management.
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MISSOURI
CONSERVATIONIST
Contents
AUGUST 2022
VOLUME 83, ISSUE 8
10
ON THE COVER
Blue Dasher
: NOPPADOL PAOTHONG
400mm lens, f/4.5
1/250 sec, ISO 800
GOVERNOR
Michael L. Parson
THE CONSERVATION COMMISSION
16 CHAIR Wm. L. (Barry) Orscheln
VICE CHAIR Mark L. McHenry
SECRETARY Steven D. Harrison
MEMBER Margaret F. Eckelkamp
DIRECTOR
Sara Parker Pauley
DEPUTY DIRECTORS
Mike Hubbard, Aaron Jeffries,
Jennifer Battson Warren
MAGAZINE STAFF
-
MAGAZINE MANAGER
Stephanie Thurber
EDITOR
FEATURES Angie Daly Morfeld
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
10 Larry Archer
PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
The Power of People Cliff White
Connecting to Nature: STAFF WRITERS
Kristie Hilgedick, Joe Jerek,
Pathways to Wetland Dianne Van Dien
DESIGNERS
Conservation
Shawn Carey, Marci Porter
22
Study finds link between wetland PHOTOGRAPHERS
Noppadol Paothong, David Stonner
usage, conservation efforts.
CIRCULATION MANAGER
by Andy Raedeke Laura Scheuler
-
mdc.mo.gov/conmag
16
American Burying Beetle
DEPARTMENTS
Working the night shift to
keep nature clean. 2 Inbox
by Angie Morfeld 3 Up Front With Sara Parker Pauley
22 4 Nature Lab
Fall and Winter 5 In Brief
Hunter’s Almanac 28 Get Outside
A monthly to-do guide to 30 Places To Go Download this
help you get the most out of 32 Wild Guide issue to your
Missouri’s hunting seasons. phone or tablet at
by Scott Sudkamp 33 Outdoor Calendar mdc.mo.gov/mocon.
Common buckeye Download for
Android
Inbox
e
Letters to the Editor BIRD OF A LIFETIME
Submissions reflect For years, I have fed birds in hopes of seeing a
readers’ opinions and special one. Recently, that dream was fulfilled.
may be edited for length I saw a flash of red outside my window. When I
and clarity. Email
looked out, there was the bird of my dreams — a
[email protected]
pileated woodpecker in my maple tree!
or write to us:
What’s so special? I’m 84-years-old, and my
MISSOURI
parents had a cabin in Arkansas on Bull Shoals
CONSERVATIONIST
Lake. I had heard the woodpecker, but never did
PO BOX 180
JEFFERSON CITY, MO 65102 see it.
I enjoy the magazine so much. I have taken it
for years. Thank you.
Rita Lentz Nevada
TWO PAWS UP
Here is Quinn, my BIRDS AND DOGS THANK YOU FROM A BUDDING ARTIST
rescued foster dog, AND BEARS — OH MY My son wanted to say thank you for giving him a free
taking her reading The little blue heron on the front cover of the May magazine every month. He is 6 years old and autistic
material to bed. issue was so cute! and enjoys it so much he drew the front cover.
Amy Morris The story of Sara Parker Pauley and the dog Erica Wright via email
Strafford she lost was so sad and touching [Up Front, Page
3]. I had a squirrel dog that was so special it FROM A LONGTIME READER
brought back memories of him. He was the best I have received the magazine since I was a teenager,
squirrel dog I ever had. and I am now 80 years old. It has been a wonderful
And that black bear — wow he’s big [In Brief, magazine over the years. The photography and the
Page 5]! I have seen two young bears on my articles are great. I especially like the recent article on
morning walks, but hope I never meet one that poison ivy [Poison Ivy, June, Page 10] and fishing spots
big! Thank you for your beautiful magazine each in Missouri [Your Summer Highlight Reel, June, Page
month. 22]. Keep up the great work.
Effie Buttrey Bell City Jerry Courtney Bolivar
----------------//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////0
~
Connect With Us!
Conservation Regional Offices ~
Headquarters Southeast/Cape Girardeau: 573-290-5730 Southwest/Springfield: 417-895-6880
/moconservation ~
573-751-4115 Central/Columbia: 573-815-7900 Northwest/St. Joseph: 816-271-3100
@moconservation PO Box 180 Kansas City: 816-622-0900 St. Louis: 636-441-4554 ~
Jefferson City, MO
Northeast/Kirksville: 660-785-2420 Ozark/West Plains: 417-256-7161
@MDC_online 65102-0180 ~
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MISSOURI CONSERVATION COMMISSIONERS The Missouri Department of HT
Conservation protects and WRIG
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2 Missouri Conservationist | August 2022
Up
Want to see your photos
Front
in the Missouri Conservationist?
Share your photos on Flickr at
flickr.com/groups/mdcreaderphotos-2022
or email [email protected].
with Sara Parker Pauley
_ In the late summer evenings at Granny Elma’s house, as
the whip-poor-wills commenced their sunset sonnets and the
end of a day’s work in the garden meant a reprieve until dawn, I’d
often leaf through outdated copies of the Old Farmer’s Almanac
for entertainment. Chock full of tidbits about the weather,
moon phases, gardening tips, and much more, I was drawn to
the nuggets of wisdom about nature, her bounty, rhythms, and
1 signs.
Founded in 1792 by Robert B. Thomas, the Old Farmer’s
2 Almanac stakes its claim as the oldest continuously published
periodical in North America. There are plenty of other published
1 | Bluegill by
David Bice, almanacs, and most by their content paint a picture of the com-
via email ing year, of the predictability and yet elaborateness that Mother
2 | Spider lily by Nature offers to those who hunger to know her better. MDC’s
Kathy Bildner, Natural Events calendar, magnetized to my refrigerator, serves
via Flickr as another type of almanac, reminding me that the flowers I see
3 | Wandering blooming outside — wild bergamot, butterfly weed, and purple
glider dragonfly prairie flower — will be center stage same time next year, as will
by Thomas
robins, bluebirds, warblers, and monarchs.
Swartz, via Flickr
The beauty of these treatises is that they also inspire us to get
out and enjoy nature’s mysteries upfront and personally. This
month’s issue helps us transition to fall and all the magic that
3 awaits us there (read more on the Fall and Winter Hunter’s Almanac
on Page 23). It will take our lifetimes to even begin to comprehend
the cyclical mysteries of nature, so get your favorite outdoor alma-
nac and head for the great outdoors. Class is in session!
SARA PARKER PAULEY, DIRECTOR
[email protected]
The Missouri Conservationist (ISSN 0026-6515) is the official monthly publication of the Missouri
Department of Conservation, 2901 West Truman Boulevard, Jefferson City, MO (Mailing address: PO
Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102.) Equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from programs
of the Missouri Department of Conservation is available to all individuals without regard to their race,
Want another chance to see color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, veteran status, or disability. Ques-
tions should be directed to the Department of Conservation, PO Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102,
your photos in the magazine? 573-751-4115 (voice) or 800-735-2966 (TTY), or to Chief, Public Civil Rights, Office of Civil Rights, U.S.
Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20240.
 In the December issue, we plan to feature SUBSCRIPTIONS: Visit mdc.mo.gov/conmag, or call 573-522-4115, ext. 3856 or 3249. Free to adult
even more great reader photos. Use the Missouri residents (one per household); out of state $7 per year; out of country $10 per year. Notifica-
HY tion of address change must include both old and new address (send mailing label with the subscriber
syuebarm-riosusinodn pmicettuhroeds so af bnoavtiev eto M siesnsodu uris wyoildulri fbe,e st OTOGRAP natu amdbdeitri oonna il te) nwtirtyh o6f0fic-deas.y notice. Preferred periodical postage paid at Jefferson City, Missouri, and
flora, natural scenery, and friends and family NN PH PPhOoSnTeM: 5A7S3T-5E2R2: -S4e1n15d , ceoxrtr.e 3sp8o5n6d oern 3c2e4 t9o. CCiorpcuylraigtihotn ©, P 2O0 2B2o xb y1 8th0e, JCeofnfesresrovna tCiointy C, MomOm 6i5s1si0o2n- 0o1f 8th0e.
engaged in outdoor activities. Please include OR LY State of Missouri.
where the photo was taken and what it depicts. TAYL Printed with soy ink
mdc.mo.gov 3
Nature
L A B
by Dianne
Van Dien
Each month, we highlight research
MDC uses to improve fish, forest,
and wildlife management.
RESOURCE SCIENCE
Lean Flatsedge
Restoration
_ Although more common in Oklahoma, Texas,
Lean flatsedge (Cyperus setiger) is rare in Missouri. MDC staff are establishing
New Mexico, and Kansas, lean flatsedge (Cyperus
a new population at Prairie Fork Conservation Area. To the untrained eye,
setiger) has been documented only a few times in sedges look like grasses. But unlike grasses, which have round stems, the
Missouri. It was first found in 1915 in Jackson County, stems of sedges are triangular with distinctive edges.
then not seen again until 1995 in Boone County. In
2019 another small population was discovered at
Tucker Prairie in Callaway County. establish lean flatsedge in other locations, but
“When lean flatsedge was discovered in 1995,” those early attempts were not successful. Then in
says State Botanist Malissa Briggler, “it was the only 2015, MDC began a new project to relocate lean
known population in Missouri and it was in a tricky flatsedge to Prairie Fork Conservation Area (CA).
place to manage because it was in a ditch off I-70.” MDC Researchers dug up rhizomes (underground root-
Maintaining the diversity of plants and animals in scientists like stems) from the I-70 plants, propagated them
the state is one of MDC’s priorities, so the department move rare in a greenhouse, and planted the sedges in three
reached out to the Missouri Department of Transpor- sedge from locations at Prairie Fork CA. The process was
tation (MODOT) about the lean flatsedge along the roadside to repeated three years in a row.
interstate. conservation About 50 percent of the transplants have sur-
“MODOT was very cooperative in helping us,” vived and those plants are spreading outward. “It’s
area
says Briggler. “We asked them to only mow at certain getting difficult to tell the individual plants now
times, and that helped the population to flourish.” and who started where because they’ve expanded
Because future highway needs could put these so much,” Briggler says. And this is good news — it
plants in harm’s way, MDC scientists took action to means the new population is off to a strong start.
Lean Flatsedge Restoration MALISSA BRIGGLER
at a Glance NTING, PLUG:
Methods: OPLE PLA
Objective: • Rwhaiszhoemde, sa nadre s deupga ruapte idn .clumps, GIBBS; PE
ElFferosoatrmnak b flCrlhaiostinhzsoe saemd prgevoeasp tagiuotal nPath trAiaeorirnreei eado f •• RcRfaohhlnlii zzatooanmmidn eeetrhsss eaa a rrlneeo dcppa gllaatrinnoottnwee oddnf iii nnne aactcho ghenr ee enhouse. OF FLATSEDGE: JESSICA
from the site along I-70. • iSst amfaf rmkeodni wtoirt hp laa nnat igl.rowth and use Bflaetfsoered gthee ryh iazroem treasn asrpel asnetpeadr,a lteeadn a nd UPCLOSE
MDC Partners: a metal detector to find locations of grown in cone containers, which make the OOTS,
MODOT, Lincoln University nails where plants did not grow. rhizomes grow downward and deep. HING R
WAS
4 Missouri Conservationist | August 2022
In Brief
News and updates from MDC
Learn more about DMAP from the
June 2022 Missouri Conservationist
feature article, Managing the Herd,
online at short.mdc.mo.gov/45a.
MDC HELPS “For some landowners, deer cause crop damage and other problems,
even with deer removals through regular hunting seasons and damage
LANDOWNERS
authorizations,” said MDC Deer Biologist Kevyn Wiskirchen, who
MANAGE DEER coordinates DMAP. “And some landowners need additional tools for
achieving their deer management goals for their properties. The program’s
DEER MANAGEMENT main goal is to maintain healthy deer populations while balancing
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM landowner needs.”
OFFERS ADDITIONAL PERMITS Wiskirchen added that any private property of at least 500 acres located
TO QUALIFYING APPLICANTS outside of municipal boundaries, regardless of the owner’s legal residence,
is eligible for the program. For properties inside the boundaries of a city or
 MDC’s Deer Management town, at least 40 acres are required. Individual parcels of land, regardless of
Assistance Program (DMAP) ownership, may be combined to satisfy the acreage requirements as long
can help landowners manage as no parcel of land is more than a half-mile (by air) from the boundary of
deer on their properties by another parcel being combined to form an enrolled DMAP property.
allowing them and hunters they DMAP also provides landowners with science-based methods and
designate to buy additional information to address a spectrum of other local deer management goals,
firearms permits to take including Quality Deer Management objectives.
NNER antlerless deer on the properties To learn more about DMAP, including enrollment, visit MDC online at
DAVID STO asebaosvoen a hnadr vbeesyto linmdi trse.gular mord cco.nmsoe.rgvoavti/odnm aagpe,n otr. contact your local MDC private land conservationist
mdc.mo.gov 5
Ask MDC
Got a Question for Ask MDC?
Send it to [email protected]
or call 573-522-4115, ext. 3848.
Q: What is this plant? Q: I was given a bat house, and I want to put
 This Missouri native species is called it in a place that’s good for bats but that’s also
buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis). okay for my neighbors. Any suggestions?
Always near water, this plant prefers  Bats are losing habitat around the world, and a Big brown
swamps, sloughs, oxbows, bottomland bat box offers them a restful place to sleep. bat
forests, streambanks, marshes, ponds, It’s best to place the bat box either on a building
and lakes. The seeds are eaten by or on a pole. Tree trunks are not good places to mount bat boxes because
ducks — especially wood ducks — and they leave these small, flying mammals vulnerable to predators like owls,
pheasants. hawks, and snakes. A spot 20 to 30 feet away from the nearest trees is
A food-plant for bees, hummingbirds, recommended.
and butterflies, buttonbush can The perfect height is about 15 to 20 feet above the ground. Bats find NG
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stabilize pond banks and be cultivated it challenging to take off from a stationary position and need to drop and OTH
as an ornamental. Gardeners can use glide to take flight. A bat house placed on a building beneath the eaves OL PA
this plant in woodland gardens, rain works well because it offers lots of clearance for the bat to glide and it OPPAD
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gardens, and the edges of ponds. helps moderate the temperatures of the chamber. A rocket box — a four- HUCK:
This plant tolerates erosion and sided chamber that mimics a tree’s peeling bark — works well on a pole ODC
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wet soil. For more information, visit and a traditional bat box with three to four chambers is ideally situated on O; W
short.mdc.mo.gov/45F. a building. HOT
In Missouri, the best color to paint your bat box is medium gray. Water- OCK P
based, exterior-grade paints are preferred, and oil-based paints or stains MY ST
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6 Missouri Conservationist | August 2022
Shannon Smith
SCHUYLER AND SCOTLAND
COUNTIES CONSERVATION
AGENT CORPORAL
offers this month’s
AGENT
Woodchuck ADVICE
Q: Do groundhogs (woodchucks) are abroad latest in the fall. By the
begin hibernating suddenly? end of October or mid-November,
Or is it a gradual thing? most woodchucks are curled up With fall hunting season
 Woodchucks are true hibernators, asleep in their underground nests. approaching, shooting
but the process is gradual. Woodchucks begin to emerge
ranges may see an uptick
As the autumn days shorten and from hibernation as early as the
in attendance as hunters
become cooler, woodchucks remain first week of February, but severe
out of their dens for progressively cold may delay them. At first, prepare for their respective
briefer periods of time. The fattest they come out only for short opening days. Whether
and oldest adults gradually become periods, but as the days warm,
you’re visiting a public or
less active and start to hibernate they spend a correspondingly
private range, safety is of
first. Lean adults and young animals longer time above ground.
utmost importance. Always
keep your firearm pointed in
a safe direction and keep the
muzzle pointed downrange.
Never shoot at anything
that is not your intended
target. Be certain there is
What
a proper backstop behind
your target, such as a dirt
IS it?
berm, pond dam, or ditch.
This will ensure the bullets
Can you
guess this don’t stray or ricochet. Keep
month’s in mind: a bullet fired from
natural
a 22-caliber rifle can travel
wonder?
over a mile. Larger calibers
The answer is on
can travel up to four miles,
Page 9.
which is why having a good
backstop is imperative.
■
mdc.mo.gov 7
In Brief
WILD TURKEY DROPPED-BISCUIT PIE
As summer temperatures give way to crisp fall days and cooler nights, we find ourselves
craving the warmth and heartiness that comfort foods bring. This recipe is sure to fit
the bill and is an excellent way to use the birds you will harvest this turkey season.
Serves 4
Need 3 to 4 pounds of wild
turkey meat on the bone
SAUCE:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup cream
BISCUIT DOUGH:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
Coarsely ground pepper
COVER turkey in water, bring to a boil.
Turn down the heat, simmer until tender.
Remove meat from broth, cool, and cut
into 1-inch chunks or shred if preferred.
Reserve broth.
GREASE a Dutch oven or other casserole
dish with a light coating of butter. Add
turkey to the dish.
TO MAKE THE SAUCE, in a medium
saucepan, melt butter, whisk in flour, and
stir until well combined. Add 3 cups turkey
broth and cream. Whisk, salt to taste,
and cook until it is a smooth sauce. It will
be thin but will thicken when baked with
turkey. Pour sauce over turkey.
PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees.
TO MAKE BISCUIT DOUGH, combine flour,
salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl
and stir well. Rub 2 tablespoons butter
into flour mixture until combined. Add egg
and milk; mix well. Drop batter by heaping
tablespoonfuls (12 to 16) over entire
surface area of turkey/sauce.
BAKE for approximately 1 hour or until This recipe is from Cooking Wild in Missouri by Bernadette
biscuits are nicely browned. Sauce will Dryden, available at most MDC nature centers. Order online
appear thin, but will thicken as it cools. at mdcnatureshop.com, or call toll-free 877-521-8632.
8 Missouri Conservationist | August 2022