[Mdcnews] May 30 All Outdoors
1. Vacationers can help keep pests out of Missouri forests (w/pic)
2. Anglers asked not to dump bait
3. River cleanups scheduled for June through October
Visit www.missouriconservation.org/news to access text and
illustrations for these stories and Conservation Department news
archives or to subscribe to this weekly news release package. Visit
www.mdc.mo.gov/news/images/fullsize/20071208.jpg for a
high-resolution jpg file of this week's photo. Go to
www.missouriconservation.org/seasons for the Conservation
Department's weekly "Outdoor Calendar."
News contact: Jim Low, Jim.Low@mdc.mo.gov, 573/522-4115, ext. 3243
"Another Missouri Farmer told Don (Christisen) that he advocates native
prairie hay heavily laced with bluestem and Indian grass for beef
production. He found that two tons of lime per acre on those hay meadows
was a good investment, resulting in 200 to 234 tons of high quality hay
each year. That was enough to feed his own cattle with some hay left
over for sale. And in addition to putting fast gains on beef cattle,
native forage fed with legumes is said to prevent scours in dairy stock
and keep the animals in better health." John Madson, Where the Sky Began
Cutline for 5/30/08 All Outdoors photo
Firewood can harbor destructive forest pests. Burn all firewood or
leave it where it was obtained.
(Missouri Dept. of Conservation photo)
1. Vacationers can help keep pests out of Missouri forests (w/pic)
Firewood, campers, even lawn furniture can harbor destructive pests.
JEFFERSON CITY-Whether your summer vacation plans involve travel to
other states or shorter, in-state excursions, the Missouri Department of
Conservation would like you to watch for telltale signs of forest pests.
They say summer is a favorite time for gypsy moths, emerald ash borers
and other potentially destructive tree pests to hitch rides to new
homes.
Two pests - the gypsy moth and the emerald ash borer (EAB) - are of
special concern to Missouri. Both are spreading through the eastern
United States and can easily be introduced accidentally by unknowing
campers.
"Firewood is one vehicle by which gypsy moths and emerald ash borers
could enter Missouri," said Resource Scientist Rob Lawrence, with the
Missouri Department of Conservation. "Gypsy moth egg masses may be
deposited on the surface of firewood, but are fairly easy to miss if you
are not looking."
Lawrence said EABs are more difficult to detect, since they live under
the bark of infested trees. They also can reach new areas in uninspected
nursery plants. Over the past 15 years nursery owners and agriculture
officials have taken measures to keep the beetles out of nurseries.
Despite those measures, it still is a good idea for Missourians to
inspect ash trees planted during that period for EABs.
Like the EAB, the gypsy moth has means of travel besides firewood.
Female gypsy moths can lay their eggs on any solid object, including
vehicles, campers, lawn furniture or other equipment carried by campers.
Gypsy moth eggs are deposited in flat, velvety, brown masses 0.75 to 1.5
inches across.
The gypsy moth is an imported pest. It has been in the United States
since the 19th century, when it was brought here in an attempt to
develop a new strain of silk worm. The species escaped and has been
wreaking havoc on North American forests ever since.
Gypsy moth caterpillars eat the leaves of a variety of trees, but it is
especially fond of oaks, which make up a huge portion of the trees in
Missouri forests. Severe infestations of the voracious caterpillars can
defoliate large tracts of forest, affecting wildlife and tourism.
States with known gypsy moth infestations include Wisconsin, Illinois,
Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and most states in the
northeastern United States. Travelers returning from these areas should
inspect all items that have been outdoors for gypsy moth eggs. Any egg
masses that are found should be scraped off before returning to
Missouri.
The EAB also is an import, but it came from Asia. It is a
metallic-green, bullet-shaped beetle that grows up to a half-inch long.
EAB larvae live beneath the bark of ash trees, eating the tender inner
tissues that carry water and nutrients throughout the tree. This kills
trees.
The EAB has decimated ash tree populations in southern Michigan. From
this base, it has spread to Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, West
Virginia and Maryland. No ash trees have been found to be resistant to
the EAB, so the pest could virtually eliminate ash trees from North
America in much the same way that the chestnut blight killed most
chestnut trees early in the 20th century.
Some other beetles found in Missouri are metallic green, and ash trees
can suffer from many other conditions that cause them to die. However,
EAB larvae leave certain unique signs. They create S-shaped trails under
the bark, and they leave D-shaped holes up to three-sixteenths inch in
diameter when they tunnel out through the bark. Other wood-boring
insects leave oval or round holes of various sizes. For more information
about EAB, visit www.emeraldashborer.info/.
Lawrence said the best way to ensure that you don't bring these
forest pests into Missouri is not to bring firewood home from other
states. Out-of-state travelers should leave firewood behind. If you
accidentally bring firewood into Missouri, burn it immediately.
Missourians who find signs of EABs or gypsy moths should contact the
nearest Conservation Department office.
-Jim Low-
2. Anglers asked not to dump bait
Disposing of unused bait properly helps keep Missouri waters healthy
JEFFERSON CITY-You are done fishing and are packing up poles, coolers
and other gear. What do you do with that bucket of minnows or box of
worms? Dump it on the ground or in the water, right?
Wrong. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, dumping
bait is illegal and among the worst things you can do.
"The trouble with dumping bait is that you really don't know what you
are turning loose," said Tim Banek, the invasive species coordinator for
the Missouri Department of Conservation. "A dozen minnows might include
exotic species that could displace native species. A left-over crayfish
could be a rusty crayfish, which is an ecological disaster waiting to
happen. Believe it or not, night crawlers might come from as far away as
Canada. We are not sure how well any of these animals might survive in
Missouri, what native species they might displace or devour and how they
could harm the ecological balance here in the long run."
Far too often Banek gets reminders of why proper bait disposal is
imperative. The Missouri Department of Conservation recently discovered
that a Kansas City, Kansas, wholesaler had supplied Missouri bait
dealers with minnows contaminated with brook stickleback, a small, spiny
fish found in northern states. Bait dealers were quickly notified to
check their tanks and destroy any brook sticklebacks found. Anglers who
purchased the bait prior to the discovery of the contamination risked
contaminating their favorite fishing waters by releasing unused bait at
the end of their fishing trips.
Banek said the right thing to do with left-over bait is to put it in a
trash can or other approved trash container at the fishing site or take
it home and put it in your household trash.
"I know it is hard to imagine that a minnow or an earthworm could be
dangerous, but it is true," said Banek. "It is impossible to closely
regulate interstate or even international trade in bait. As a result,
some potentially dangerous species are going to turn up in bait shops.
That doesn't have to be a problem if people are careful about how they
handle those animals."
For more information about invasive species, visit
www.mdc.mo.gov/landown/invasive.htm.
-Jim Low-
3. River cleanups scheduled for June through October
Get involved in keeping Missouri's two great rivers safe and
beautiful.
COLUMBIA, Mo.-Missourians will have several chances to get their feet
wet, their hands dirty and their senses full of grandeur at upcoming
cleanup events on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.
Missouri River Relief and local sponsors already have held five river
cleanups this year. Those events ranged as far from the group's
central-Missouri headquarters as Yankton, S.D., and as near as
Hartsburg. Upcoming events will start in Iowa and end in Kansas City,
with stops at St. Louis and Washington, Mo., in the interim.
The action starts at 9 a.m. June 7 at Sioux City, Iowa, where
Missourians will join river lovers from Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota
in removing trash from the Sioux City Riverfront. Sioux City is located
where commercial navigation of the Missouri River begins. Workers will
gather at boat ramps at the Scenic Park and at the Iowa Department of
Natural Resources public ramp. Boats will ferry volunteers to the river
banks to pick up trash that has washed up on shore. Missourians
collecting trash that far upriver from their home state will have the
satisfaction of knowing they won't find it in their stretch of river
after the next river rise.
Next on the schedule is a trash cleanup and river festival June 14 in
Washington, Mo. The cleanup will last from 9 a.m. until noon. The
festival will begin at 10:30 and continue through 4 p.m. in the
Riverfront Pavilion. Educational exhibits, naturalist programs,
river-safety information, live music, youth activities, food and a
program by the World Bird Sanctuary are among attractions scheduled for
the event in Washington Riverfront Park. The Riverfront Park boat ramp
will be cleanup headquarters.
Cleanup participants should bring sunglasses, sunscreen, sturdy boots
or shoes, long pants (preferred), a reusable water container and a
willingness to get down and dirty. Work gloves, water, lunch and a boat
ride on the Big Muddy are provided, along with a Missouri Stream Team
T-shirt.
Missouri River Relief volunteer crews also will help other
organizations across the state enlist volunteers and clean up rivers.
Cleanup crews will be in action in Southwest Missouri June 7 when the
James River Basin Partnership and Ozark Mountain Paddlers hold their
annual River Rescue on the James and Finely rivers near Springfield. For
more info, check out their website:
http://www.jrbp.missouristate.edu/river_rescue/river_clean_up.html.
River Relief will also be participating in the 41st annual Operation
Clean Stream in the Meremec River Basin. Check out the Open Space
Council website for more info:
http://www.openspacestl.org/operation-clean-stream/.
The fall clean-up schedule kicks off Sept. 12 and 13, when volunteers
will clean up the Missouri-Mississippi river confluence at Columbia
Bottom Conservation area. Just before the cleanup starts, hundreds of
students from Hazelwood and other St. Louis area schools will attend a
riverside education event.
The cleanup season will conclude Oct. 3 and 4 with a Missouri River
Cleanup and Learning Festival at La Benite Park, in the southern Clay
County community of Sugar Creek, Mo. Kansas City-area students will get
to learn about the river in educational programs and help clean up the
river.
More information about these events is available at www.riverrelief.org
or by calling (573) 443-0292.
-Jim Low-
Heather Hoggard
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