Missouri Conservationist June 2021

2021·5.9 MB·English

by  Missouri Department of Conservation

MISSOURI
VOLUME 82, ISSUE 6, JUNE 2021
SERVING NATURE & YOU
CONSERVATIONIST
GNITOOHS & YREHCRA GNIHSIF GNIKIB GNIZAGRATS GNIMMIWS
When was the last
EFILDLIW GNIWEIV GNITNUH GNIGNUOL GNIPMAC GNIKIH & GNINNUR
time you connected
with nature?
Spending time in nature,
including conservation areas,
urban parks, and in green
space, can ease stress levels.
Just 20 minutes outside can
give your brain an energy
boost comparable to a cup of
coffee. Let nature — which is
free and close by — be your
go-to for self-care and health.
GNITOOHS & YREHCRA GNIHSIF GNIKIB GNIZAGRATS GNIMMIWS
It’s time to make that connection
again, and Never Lose Touch.
For ways to reconnect with nature, visit mdc.mo.gov/NeverLoseTouch.
EFILDLIW GNIWEIV GNITNUH GNIGNUOL GNIPMAC GNIKIH & GNINNUR
MISSOURI
CONSERVATIONIST
Contents
JUNE 2021
VOLUME 82, ISSUE 6
10
ON THE COVER
Black trumpet mushroom
: NOPPADOL PAOTHONG
100mm lens, f/16
2.5 sec, ISO 100
GOVERNOR
Michael L. Parson
THE CONSERVATION COMMISSION
CHAIR Don C. Bedell
VICE CHAIR Wm. L. (Barry) Orscheln
SECRETARY Mark L. McHenry
MEMBER Steven D. Harrison
DIRECTOR
Sara Parker Pauley
DEPUTY DIRECTORS
Mike Hubbard, Aaron Jeffries,
Jennifer Battson Warren
MAGAZINE STAFF
MAGAZINE MANAGER
Stephanie Thurber
EDITOR
Angie Daly Morfeld
16 ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Larry Archer
PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Cliff White
STAFF WRITERS
Bonnie Chasteen, Kristie Hilgedick,
Joe Jerek
FEATURES
DESIGNERS
Shawn Carey, Marci Porter
10 22
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Missouri’s Mushroom Noppadol Paothong, David Stonner
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Bounty
Laura Scheuler
A buffet beyond morels. mdc.mo.gov/conmag
by Malissa Briggler
16 DEPARTMENTS
Suburban Salmon 2 Inbox
Hard-fighting common carp make 3 Up Front With Sara Parker Pauley
for challenging fishing, tasty fare.
4 Nature Lab
by Larry R. Beckett
5 In Brief
22
28 Get Outside
Snake Trek
30 Places To Go Download this
Exploring the strange 32 Wild Guide issue to your
world of copperheads. Yellow lady’s phone or tablet at
33 Outdoor Calendar slipper mdc.mo.gov/mocon.
by Dan Zarlenga
Download for
Android
Inbox
Letters to the Editor READY TO READ
Submissions reflect I have a 5-year-old great-grandson who loves your
readers’ opinions and magazine. He asks his dad every day if it is time for
may be edited for length it to come. He keeps it with him all the time, even
and clarity. Email when he goes to bed, and brings it to his 84-year-old Invasive Native
[email protected] Callery pear wild plum
great-granny to read to him.
or write to us:
Cash Crump New Bloomfield
MISSOURI
still not sure how to tell them apart. Note to self:
CONSERVATIONIST
SAVE THE TREES Research and be sure before you cut. A chainsaw is
PO BOX 180
JEFFERSON CITY, MO 65102 I have read your magazine for many years and enjoy not a reversable tool.
it very much. I especially enjoyed the March issue Jeff Goris Licking
about trees [The Mighty Ones, Page 10]. I, like Sara
Parker Pauley, love the poem Trees by Joyce Kilmer We are glad you are taking action to manage and
and memorized it years ago [Up Front, Page 3]. control invasive pears. The invasive Callery pear has
Please help us conserve our old trees. Thank you for white petals that are rounded and close together;
all you do. its flower stamens are not longer than the petals;
Tree Lover Gentry and the flowers are unpleasant smelling. Also, look
at the overall growth shape of the tree. If it’s more
GENERATIONAL GIFT oval or cylindrical with a “typical” symmetrical shape,
I can’t tell you how much I enjoy your monthly then it’s likely an invasive pear. Our native trees
magazine. My grandmother Cora signed us up for are less uniform in shape, or “nontypical,” and tend
your magazine when I was about 13 years old. You to have odd branching patterns that make them
sure have come a long, long way. I am now 78 and nonsymmetrical. To help compare the two, visit HERT
get the pleasure of signing up my three wonderful short.mdc.mo.gov/ZKY. —the editors M RAT
APRIL COVER ganradn pdlcehaisldurreen t.o T halal nokf su fso.r bringing great knowledge PAPER WILD PLUM: JI
KPauodtohso tnog N foorp padol Norman Hug O’Fallon IH’vaes ltohveerde tehvee rC boenesner ava ctoionnviesrt smataiogna zainbeo ufot rp yrienatrins.g OOD.ORG;
W
tthhee icmovaegre o of nth e II Sre IaTll yI NenVjoAyS yIoVuEr mOaRg aNziAnTe!I VInE y?our April 2021 on recycled paper versus gJlooses My?osley New Bloomfield ORGIA, BUG
April issue. Love issue, you wrote about the invasive Callery pear OF GE
hseotwtin tghse acnadm era [aM giossoodu srit’es wLeaards to Wf manyt ewdo, oPdasg,e I 8w]a. nInte tdry tion gre tmo obvee TChoen spearpveart iwonei suts ies f3o0r ppreinrcteinngt pthoes tM-coisnssouumrie r content, NIVERSITY
U
lenses used are this invasive. When the tiny white flowers appeared and the ink is soybean-based. There is a little HEAD,
provided with the in late March, I cut down several trees and marked symbol on the bottom of Page 3 to indicate this. The OOR
M
pJSath.m Poeetstoe Mrss . [CPoabgbe 1]. stnwheaiovltdieuv rgpeah llwu tosmitl,d h Ib epdyrils dum fm osisor timrsae kevmee r.or eyTvsh aeselia.my rA ciafhlrat eera. r ns Iho dma sfvaioimnyu gnihl adasr ve tethch oacantut d ttIh ’smeo me mpimmoaespgato-nacrz otiiatnn’nsse tu n htmooat es n rrboe pecteaye,pcn ljea uprbs rstlie inbn.t ece—ecd at thuohesne e e1s dio9ti’mt8so 0gers lspo. seItsr ycise dnpotraeogsbnea’ bto lfy CALLERY PEAR: DAVID J.
Conservation Headquarters Have a
Connect With Us!
573-751-4115 | PO Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180 Question for a
Commissioner?
/moconservation Regional Offices
Send a note using
@moconservation Southeast/Cape Girardeau: 573-290-5730 Southwest/Springfield: 417-895-6880 our online
Central/Columbia: 573-815-7900 Northwest/St. Joseph: 816-271-3100 contact form at
@MDC_online Kansas City: 816-622-0900 St. Louis: 636-441-4554 mdc.mo.gov/
Northeast/Kirksville: 660-785-2420 Ozark/West Plains: 417-256-7161 commissioners.
2 Missouri Conservationist | June 2021
Up
Want to see your photos
in the Missouri Conservationist? Front
Share your photos on Flickr at
flickr.com/groups/mdcreaderphotos-2021,
email [email protected],
or include the hashtag #mdcDiscoverNature
on your Instagram photos.
with Sara Parker Pauley
_ “You find what you’re looking for.” So said a fabulous
speaker I listened to recently as he shared a story about find-
ing a jar of nails at his mother’s house. When he asked where
she found the nails, she said she tends to find them when she
goes on walks. “That’s because you’re looking for nails, mom,”
he noted. “Why not look for coins instead?”
After reviewing this month’s articles, I have imagined
the sheer delight of taking a walk through the woods with
1 MDC power couple, Malissa and Jeff Briggler. She is the state
botanist (all things plants and that includes mushrooms —
2 see her article on Page 10) and he is the state herpetologist
1 | Unusual (all things amphibians and reptiles — see article on snakes on
patterned cave
Page 22). Would that not be a fun hike? Imagine what Malissa’s
salamander by
smashtonlee05, trained eye sees during a spring walk in the Missouri woods.
via Flickr Imagine those same woods, but from a different viewpoint,
2 | First bluegill and you have what Jeff may see with his expert eye. They’re
by Kenny Schmitt, both seeing the treasures that nature offers — just with a
via email different lens.
3 | Green milkweed Isn’t that the gift of nature? It has so much to offer each
by Kathy Bildner, of us with our particular interests. So, the fabulous speaker
via Flickr ended his talk this way: The next time he visited his mother?
He found a jar full of coins. She’d changed the lens she was
looking through and found treasures not seen before.
3
Jackpot.
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.) SUBSCRIPTIONS: Visit mdc.mo.gov/conmag, or call 573-522-
MISSOURI CONSERVATION COMMISSIONERS 4115, ext. 3856 or 3249. Free to adult Missouri residents (one per household); out of state $7 per year;
out of country $10 per year. Notification of address change must include both old and new address
(send mailing label with the subscriber number on it) with 60-day notice. Preferred periodical postage
paid at Jefferson City, Missouri, and at additional entry offices. POSTMASTER: Send correspondence
to Circulation, PO Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180. Phone: [phone], ext. 3856 or 3249.
Copyright © 2021 by the Conservation Commission of the State of Missouri.
HY
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mdc.mo.gov 3
Nature
L A B
by Bonnie
Chasteen
Each month, we highlight research
MDC uses to improve fish, forest,
and wildlife management.
FOREST PEST MANAGEMENT
Laurel Wilt
_ Missouri’s beloved sassafras trees face a new
threat. Laurel wilt — an invasive, tree-killing disease
— has been found within 10 miles of the state’s south-
A sassafras tree dying of laurel
eastern border in western Tennessee.
wilt shows reddish-brown
“This disease kills sassafras as well as its close
leaves in mid-summer.
relatives — spicebush and the federally-endangered
MDC Forest Entomologist
pondberry,” said MDC Forest Entomologist Robbie
Robbie Doerhoff checks a trap
Doerhoff.
for redbay ambrosia beetles,
Laurel wilt is a lethal vascular wilt disease that which carry the fungus that
rapidly kills entire clumps of sassafras and its rela- causes laurel wilt.
tives. The disease is spread to new areas when the tiny,
wood-boring redbay ambrosia beetle (Xyleborus glabra-
tus) deposits spores of the fungus Raffaelea lauricola in MDC asks for Other signs to look for are dark staining in
healthy trees. the sapwood under the bark and tiny ambrosia
help detecting
“Because nearby sassafras trees are often con- beetle exit holes in the bark.
signs of the
nected underground through root grafts, you might “Please be on the lookout for laurel wilt
tree-killing
see entire clumps of wilted or dead sassafras as laurel this summer,” Doerhoff urged. Email photos
disease on
wilt spreads through the roots,” Doerhoff said. “Leaves of dying sassafras, include the location, to
sassafras
may cling to affected trees for months after death.” [email protected].
N
O
MISSI
M
O
Laurel Wilt Cause Ecological Impact ORESTRY C
The redbay ambrosia beetle Spicebush swallowtails MA F
at a Glance f(uXnylgeubso irtu csa grrliaebsr,a Rtuafsf)a aenleda t he aans dm oatnhye kr iinndsse cotfs b, airsd ws aenll d NE / ALABA
O
lauricola, are native to mammals, use sassafras, NA ST
Asia. Scientists suspect the spicebush, and pondberry DA
bashreoieputpnleidns g 2fi 0rps0ot2 ret t nihntre oGrueegdoh rt ghaei am U.a.jSo. r as food and/or host plants. NG; SASSAFRAS TREE:
Look for These Signs HO
OT
Treatment • Sassafras leaves that rapidly OL PA
Nalothnoeu fgohr irnefseecatrecdh torene s, wini lmt aidn-dto t-ularnte r esudmdimshe-rbrown OPE: NOPPAD
punredveernwtaayti.v De etareda atmnde ndtysi nisg trees • Eorn tdireea dcl usamspsas foraf sw tirleteeds MICROSC
Atoitn mhye ircre riodnsbsceaocypt ase mc iasb pnrtoeuseridea debd ien te ottr lseaospr sftr. om sfuhrotuhledr bsper deeasdt roofy tehde tdoi sseloawse . •• TDianryk esxtaiti nhionlge sin i nth teh esa bpawrkood HECKING TRAPS,
C
4 Missouri Conservationist | June 2021 Learn more at short.mdc.mo.gov/Zzx
In Brief
News and updates from MDC
Frogging is fun
for everyone!
MAKE A  Discover nature this summer during frogging season. Beginning June 30 at sunset
through Oct. 31, those with a fishing permit or small-game hunting permit may frog
SPLASH
for bullfrogs and green frogs.
THIS The daily limit is eight frogs of both species combined, and the possession limit is 16
frogs of both species combined. Learn more at short.mdc.mo.gov/ZZm.
SUMMER
The public can go frogging with a fishing or small-game hunting permit,
but children 15 and under and residents 65 years and older are not
GET OUT ON
required to have a permit.
THE WATER AND
The fun doesn’t have to end after catching frogs. Be sure to
BAG BULLFROGS,
browse tasty recipes online at short.mdc.mo.gov/Zxz.
GREEN FROGS
Buy Missouri hunting and fishing permits from numerous vendors
NNER around the state, online at short.mdc.mo.gov/ZKJ, or through
DAVID STO MdoDwCn’lso farede t hmrooubgileh aGpoposg, lMe OPl aHyu onrt itnhge aAnpdp M StOo rFei.shing, available for
mdc.mo.gov 5
In Brief
THANKS FOR SHARING THE HARVEST Ask MDC
MDC and the Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM)
thank the thousands of Missouri deer hunters who donated
238,920 pounds of venison to the state’s Share the Harvest Got a Question for Ask MDC?
program this past deer season, including 4,787 whole deer.
Send it to [email protected]
MDC and CFM also thank the participating meat proces- or call 573-522-4115, ext. 3848.
sors throughout the state who grind the donated deer meat
into ready-to-use packages, and the many sponsors who
financially support the program.
Meat-processing fees are covered entirely or in part by Q: What is this stuck
numerous local sponsors, along with statewide sponsors that to the prairie lizard’s
include: Shelter Insurance, Bass Pro Shops, Missouri Chapter neck? It appeared to
National Wild Turkey Federation, Missouri Food Banks Asso- be a tick, but I knocked
ciation, and MDC. it off and couldn’t get
The donated deer meat goes to local food banks and a good look at it?
food pantries to help feed hungry Missourians all around  Yes, it is a tick. Many
the state. To get Share the Harvest venison, contact local food prairie lizards will have a
banks or food pantries. few ticks on them during
Share the Harvest is coordinated by MDC and CFM. Since the summer months.
the program began in 1992, it has provided more than 4.5 This is common and does
million pounds — including this past season’s donations — of not appear to affect the
lean, healthy venison to help feed hungry Missourians. lizard’s health.
For more information on Share the Harvest, visit CFM online
at confedmo.org/programs/outreach/share-the-harvest. Q: My wife and I found
a small snapping turtle Prairie lizard
far from a pond or
APPLY FOR creek in Springfield.
MDC MANAGED Can snapping turtles them less than 2 yards from
DEER HUNTS live out of the water the water’s edge.
Beginning July 1, deer indefinitely? How far will Snapping turtles seek
hfourn at esrhso cta ant ampoprlye othnalinn e th eCyo tmramvoenl tson alapyp ienggg s? wsaenldl-ds raaninde sdo, ilesa osyn- toop-denig DEARDORFF
1h0u0n tms athnraoguegdh doeuet r tcuarnt lebse (fCohuenldyd inra a sbeorpuet natniny a) sslaotpisefasc. tOornyc elo ac afetimona,l esh fien ddisg as DUCKS: BECKY
thheeld s tfarotem. Hmuindt-sS eapre- tsyitpuea toiof nwsa, ttehre. yI nin uhrabbaint small ah e4r- htion d7 -liinmchb-sd. eIte’sp c noemstm wointh HISTLING
W
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pbabey loeaTp hAwleeue gawigp.i ht1pht5le i cdtdahi strriaoaobunnigld ipthoiee mJrsiao .ndd.r ai1sw5 Ji. nuAglpy. p 1Dl–irc3aa1wn. tHrse uwsnuhtloets ras wr aeir ldel r bsaeewl enacv wtaeiidll-l cdsooemnpFsoeeidsm nietao relaregtb hgtleuesrr .dn tIl inessdstt aaimvnteicdaseyu sh at artlsaov ve ine l aoaconrcemcd u amhrlsauo,rm nmso idsemnditae ytp .o lpOa sninnedgceoe tws utohnr taemletr ass n oyn NG; PRAIRIE LIZARD: JERRY
receive area maps and other hunt information by mail. been documented traveling their property. However, these HO
OT
Get more information on managed deer hunts, preview nearly a mile from a wetland young turtles disperse quickly OL PA
hunt details, and apply starting July 1 at mdc.mo.gov/ to dig a nest. However, most in search of aquatic habitats, OPPAD
N
manDaegtaeidlsh uabnot.ut managed hunts can also be found in the fweimthainle 5s 5d eyaprodssi to tfh ae iwr eegtlgans d, wofh tehreei rt htiemye w hilild sdpeenn idn mthoes t HUNTERS:
2021 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information and a good number bury mud in shallow waters. DEER
booklet, available starting in early July at MDC offices and
nature centers, from permit vendors around the state, and
online at short.mdc.mo.gov/ZZf.
6 Missouri Conservationist | June 2021
Black-bellied whistling ducks Corporal
Jeff Harris
Q: My family noticed these black- near rivers, ponds, marshes, and
bellied whistling ducks in a pond swamps. They tend to avoid alighting CHRISTIAN COUNTY
CONSERVATION AGENT
near Belton. Is it common for on deep water and will flee to woods
these ducks to be this far north? if disturbed. Look for them around offers this month’s
 Missouri is not historically part shallow ponds, near the trimmed AGENT
of this species’ native range. Black- grasses of lawns and golf courses,
bellied whistling ducks (Dendrocygna and in agricultural fields where
ADVICE
autumnalis) are far more likely to be they search for grains like corn,
seen in Texas and Louisiana, along sorghum, and rice. They have been
the coasts of Central and South documented nesting in Missouri over
America, and throughout much of the last five years in old tree cavities
Brazil. However, their population and wood duck boxes. Does the summer heat
is increasing, and their range is They are named for their high- have you longing to get
expanding northward. pitched whistling calls, which can be
out that canoe or kayak?
These long-legged ducks are heard at allaboutbirds.org/guide/
If so, keep a few things in
frequently seen perching in trees Black-bellied_Whistling-Duck/sounds.
mind. If taking a cooler,
it must be affixed to your
vessel and have a lid that
seals. Floating vessels, like
canoes and kayaks, are apt
to tip, so this state statute
is designed to keep our
What
waterways clean and debris
free. Also, a trash bag that
IS it?
closes must be secured to
your vessel. All trash should
Can you
guess this be collected and disposed
month’s of in a proper receptacle at
natural
the end of your float. Leave
wonder?
our waterways better than
The answer is on
how you found them! For
Page 9.
more information, visit
short.mdc.mo.gov/Zcn.
mdc.mo.gov 7
In Brief
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Take our short reader survey online at
short.mdc.mo.gov/ZzK, or scan the
QR code with your smartphone.
11. Open the camera app
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CHANTERELLE
AND POLENTA
FOIL PACKS
This foil packed dish really packs in the flavor.
Whether you are gathered around the campfire
or need a quick idea at home, this dish is
sure to please. Chanterelle mushrooms are
one of the most popular mushrooms in the
world, and Missouri is home to four different
species. Look for them in oak-hickory forests —
especially after periods of extended rain.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups fresh chanterelles
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 polenta log, purchased
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
CLEAN chanterelles and tear into bite-sized
pieces, leaving the very small ones whole.
SAUTÉ in butter with salt and pepper to taste for 4
to 5 minutes, or until liquid has evaporated.
CUT four 12-by-12-inch squares of aluminum foil. Spread olive
oil lightly on each piece and place a slice or two of polenta on
foil. Top with chanterelles and rosemary sprig. Fold up foil.
This recipe is from Cooking Wild in
BAKE over hot coals for about 10 minutes or a bit Missouri by Bernadette Dryden, available
for $16. Purchase at nature center shops
longer if you prefer the polenta edges crunchy
or call 877-521-8632 to order. Shipping
(if at home, oven bake at 425 degrees F).
charges will apply to mailed products.
8 Missouri Conservationist | June 2021