MDC seeks public input for Montrose Conservation Area

Public can comment in July on management plan for area in Henry County

Editors and webmasters – this release has a kill date of July 27. The plan will not be available online for input after July 31 so all usage of this release should occur early in the month if possible.

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 Montrose Conservation Area in Henry County.

Montrose Conservation Area is north of Montrose and southwest of Clinton in west central Missouri. The 1,600-acre Montrose Lake is the centerpiece of the 2,750-acre area and offers fishing opportunities. But the area also has forest, wetland, fields and grasslands. Waterfowl hunting and birding are popular at the area.

MDC leases the area from the Kansas City Power & Light Co. in an outdoor recreation partnership dating back to 1957. KCP&L operates an electric generating plant in the area.

To preview draft management plans and share comments online, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/areaplans.

Statewide, MDC conservation areas cover almost one million public acres for the purpose of restoring and conserving forest, fish and wildlife resources, and for providing opportunities for all citizens to use, enjoy and learn about these resources. Most Missourians are within a 30-minute drive of an MDC conservation area.

Conservation Area Management Plans focus on natural resource management and public use on conservation areas. The plans do not address regulations on hunting, fishing and other area uses, which are set by the Conservation Commission and enforced under the Wildlife Code of Missouri. MDC will consider all ideas received and will work to balance the issues and interests identified with the responsibility of managing areas for the present and future benefits to forest, fish, wildlife, and people. Decisions on which ideas to incorporate into area plans and on how to best incorporate them will be based on the property’s purpose, its physical and biological conditions and capabilities, the best roles of the property in its local, regional and state-wide context, and on the professional expertise of MDC staff.