July 17, 2026
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) wants to know what Missourians think about its nearly 1,000 conservation areas around the state. MDC is in the multi-year process of updating management plans for the Dave Rock and Lichen Glade conservation areas in St. Clair County. Plans for the areas will be available for public comment through
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and its partners are already seeing the benefits of grant funds designated to help fight the invasive feral hog population. Paired with recent banning of hog hunting on conservation areas, this marks progress in the fight against feral hogs according to John Burk, a regional wildlife biologist with the
Just outside my screened porch, there are white oaks well over 200 years old, and they are loaded with acorns. Just after dawn this morning I sat there watching pieces of acorn rain down from high limbs as a grey squirrel ate his breakfast. Those white oak acorns bode well for a wide variety of
Most of us have seen lizards — we just don’t see them very frequently. It’s not that we never see them. On the contrary, you have probably seen a lizard on occasion scurrying across the foundation of your house or across a nearby sidewalk. Or maybe you saw one sunning itself on a rock or
Taberville Report by Linda McCallister Dains Fish Farm We still have a few people trotlining. A man and his son pulled their lines early this week or late last week but before that the morning they took them out, they had four under the slot limit. The biggest they had caught in two weeks of
MDC is accepting applications until Aug. 29 for its next class of conservation agents. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is accepting online applications through Aug. 29 for its next class of conservation agent trainees. Selected candidates will undergo 26 weeks of intense training in all facets of law enforcement and resource management. Those who
Born in the Ozarks of Southern Missouri, I moved to the Ozarks of Arkansas in 1970. In 1990 I moved back to the Missouri Ozarks. That first spring I was exploring new country, hunting wild turkeys, when I walked upon a young hunter sitting against a tree. I felt bad about interrupting his hunting but
Lamar angler Byron Maze topped the field with the only 5-fish limit to win the American Bass Anglers D126 final 1-day tournament of the 2016 season on Saturday, July 23. Maze weight was 10.29 lbs. His partner, Jessi Esparza of Arkansas, also weighed in a fish. Second place went to a new ABA member, Andy
The complete August issue of the Missouri Conservationist is available for viewing and/or download at mdc.mo.gov/conmag.
The trails are cleaned off and well marked, the cabins neatly arranged and the food plots so green and full of crops that deer and turkey are easy to see. Rabbits are everywhere and there are dozens of species of birds, nesting throughout. The gravel swimming beach is shaded and the swimming-hole inviting. Kayaks and
