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House committee to review state handling of fatal deer disease

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A House Committee will take some time this summer to consider how to battle chronic wasting disease, a fatal neurological disease in cervids, including deer and elk. 21 cases of chronic wasting disease, or CWD, have been found in Missouri, all since 2010 and all in Macon and Linn Counties in north-central Missouri.

Representative Sandy Crawford (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Representative Sandy Crawford (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Assistant to the Conservation Department Director Aaron Jeffries says the Department has a management plan in place that has been developed in the last decade, and he’s not sure what could be done legislatively to improve upon it.

“The Department’s been working closely with conservation groups, deer hunters and the captive cervids industry to find a balance with our regulations to protect both the captive herd as well as the free-ranging herd.”

The committee will be chaired by Representative Sandy Crawford (R-Buffalo). She says some of the changes planned for permitting would have harmed the captive deer industry. She says the committee will be mostly concerned with that issue.

“Last year, Conservation was going to make some changes and actually if you go to their website now, you can make comments to the permitting change that they’re … looking at making. A year or so ago I believe, the changes that they would have made would have basically put some of our deer breeders, if not all of them, out of business eventually.”

Conservation Department Veterinarian Kelly Straka says with the low number of cases so far in Missouri, for lawmakers to study the issue now is proactive.

“Chronic wasting disease is something that we’re starting to see spread across the country, and unfortunately once it starts to spread it tends to increase in prevalence over time as well as geographic distribution, so not only do you see more of it on the landscape but you see it more on a wider scale, so absolutely I think that the more proactive and more serious we can be now is better than trying to scramble to catch up after we’ve already had a disease spread.”

Crawford also suggests there could be a conflict of interest for the Department as it deals both with managing CWD, and reintroducing elk to Missouri.

“Conservation has introduced the elk into the state … and that’s fine, but on the other hand when it comes to the whitetail deer breeders it seems like they’re being a little hard on them on one hand when [Conservation itself] is bringing elk in on the other.”

Jeffries says the elk reintroduction program is not going to accelerate the incidents of CWD in Missouri.

“Animals are removed from a CWD-free state, as well as a live animal test for CWD was conducted on the animals.”

Crawford doesn’t expect the committee to begin meeting for another month or more.

Conservation Director set to retire early next year

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Missouri’s Conservation director heads back to the farm at the beginning of next year, after 32 years with the department.

State Conservation Director John Hoskins has announced he will retire January 15th, 32 years after he began his career as a conservation agent. The Conservation Commission hired him as director in 2002, asked to preside over what he calls a unique and special system, supported by an eighth cent sales tax.

"That has made Missouri special. It has made it different. It’s made it very progressive," Hoskins tells the Missourinet. "Missouri’s program is the envy of the nation and rightly so."

Hoskins began his work with the Conservation Department the year the conservation sales tax began. Voters had approved the tax in 1976. The state began collecting the tax the next year. Hoskins began his career in 1977 as well.

Hoskins says the designated funding has allowed the commission to look long-term to the benefit of Missouri. It is a sales tax, though, and Hoskins has been disappointed by the flat returns since he has been director, returns that actually shrunk the past two years, holding back capital projects. Two new nature centers opened under his watch, one Cape Girardeau and another in Winona. A new regional office opened in Kirksville.

More could have been done, but sales tax revenue has dropped sharply. During the 2006 Fiscal Year, the conservation sales tax generated just shy of $100 million. The next year, the tax would reach $103 million. It hasn’t hit that high since, falling to $96 million the past fiscal year where it is expected to stay this fiscal year.

He will complete 7 ½ years as director when he retires.

"I loved it. I really have loved it," Hoskins says. "There’s challenging days, but there’s so many gratifying moments that overcome that. It’s been great."

Hoskins plans to retire with his wife Janet at their farm in Carter County, near Van Buren, the farm on which he grew up.

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (1:20 MP3)

Controversy flows with riverways management plan

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State conservation commissioners have been given an example of how controversial proposed changes to the Ozark National Scenic Riverways can be. They have been controversial during five open houses held by federal officials and they have been controversial in more than one thousand messages sent by citizens.

Ozark National Scenic Riverways Superintendent Reed Detring says three proposals have risen to the surface. One would strictly limit cars, pick-ups, three-and-four wheelers and motor boats on the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers. Another proposal would deal with such motorized use of the rivers in a more relaxed manner. The third proposal attempts to find middle ground and strike a balance in the Riverways’ use.

Detring says the safety of visitors and the welfare of the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers need to guide any proposed changes. He says preservation is a worry.

"There are erosion aspects that we need to get a handle on as far as places where people are making their own access points," Detring says.

Rep. J. C. Kuessner (D-Eminence) represents both those who live along the Current and Jacks Fork as well as those who make a living off the rivers through canoe rental services and the like. Kuessner dismisses such environmental concerns, stating he doesn’t believe the area has degraded over the years.

"Absolutely not. That is probably the most ridiculous point, period," Kuessner says.

The second point made by Detring doesn’t sit well with Kuessner either. Detring says the sheer volume of traffic on the river creates safety concerns. Kuessner insists the safety record on the two rivers is enviable. He says there shouldn’t be any change to the current management plan.

"The majority of the folks in our area opt for no changes at all, because they feel like any suggestions they make will be turned in to a negative change," says Kuessner.

The public comment period has been extended to September 11th. Register a comment at the Web site .

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (1:15 MP3)

Turtles out and about — Missourians urged to watch for them on the roads

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Why did the turtle cross the road? And do any of them ever make it to the other side?

State Herpetologist Jeff Briggler and a team of volunteers have been counting turtles on Missouri’s roads. Ninety percent of them had been hit by cars.

Why are they crossing the road?

Briggler says most of them are young turtles either staking out new territory or looking for a mate. Others are basking on the warm pavement on cool mornings.

Briggler says giving them a helping hand does improve their chances if you put them the direction they were heading. Otherwise, he says, they’re just going to go back out on the road again.

He says box turtles are very resiliant and can survive after being struck sometimes, but the biggest threat is when they get hit and get flipped on their backs, which is a death sentence. He said they can’t get a foot-hold on anything when landing upside down on a smooth surface. They eventually bake in the sun and die.

He says despite the high road mortality rate, box turtles are doing well in Missouri, not so in coastal states that see more traffic.

The Missouri Department of Conservation reports that box turtles live a long time, and females continue laying eggs for most of their lives. They need lots of time to replace themselves, since snakes, raccoons, opossums and other nest predators eat most of their eggs. Before roads crisscrossed their habitat a low reproductive rate was no big deal. Animals that continue laying eggs past 60 years of age can afford to take their time replacing themselves. But the unnatural mortality caused by speeding cars is a problem.

"Box turtles did not evolve amid thousands of miles of busy highway," says Briggler. "We don’t know very much about how highway mortality will affect their long-term survival, but the implications of our casual observations are worrisome. Animals with low reproductive potential usually cannot sustain the sort of continuing slaughter that we see on our roads."

He suggests motorists slow down when they see a turtle in the road and check to be sure they can safely steer around it. If traffic and road conditions permit, motorists can pull their vehicles off the roadway and carry turtles to the other side of the road and place them at least 15 feet beyond the pavement, facing away from the road.

Briggler another threat to turtles is the practice of capturing them for pets. He says the animals’ nutritional needs are not easy to meet in captivity, so captive turtles are likely to die due to improper care. In most cases, that means slow starvation.

He suggests keeping a turtle only for a day or two and then releasing it where it was captured. He said this last condition is very important, since turtles are intimately familiar with their home areas. If released in strange surroundings, they have trouble finding food and may wander across roads trying to meet their daily needs.

The three-toed box turtle is the species most often seen crossing roads in Missouri. Primarily a woodland species, it is found everywhere but the extreme northern part of Missouri. The ornate box turtle is found in all but the southeastern corner of the state, but is more adapted to grassland and is most common in western Missouri. Young males make up most of the travelers as they search for territories of their own and for female turtles.

Three-toed box turtles have three toes on each hind foot, unless they have lost a few appendages to predators or frostbite. Ornate box turtles usually have four toes per hind foot. In keeping with their name, ornate box turtles also have more vivid yellow stripes on a black background on the tops of their shells. The bottoms of their shells typically have streaks of black on a yellow background.

For more information about box turtles, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/nathis/herpetol/boxturtles/

Jessica Machetta reports [Download/listen MP3]

Fewer turkeys to hunt during Spring Season

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The Spring Turkeyhunt kicked off Monday, but the Missouri Department of Conservation says thereare fewer turkeys to look for this year.

Wild turkey poult Tw o years of rainand c old ha v e had a negative impact on Midwestwild turkey populations, according to Tom Dailey, a resource scientist for theConservation Department who holds a Ph.D. wildlife biology.

He says hunters who wentout on opening day this Monday bagged about 14 percent fewer birds than lastyear.

Dailey says the harvest for opening day totaled just over 6,000, which is down from last year’s 7,000.

Dailey says theEaster freeze in 2007 likely affected eggs and nests. He says lots of rain in2008 wasn’t good either. While water can get into nests and drown some poults, others get wet and their body temperatures drop, causing them to die from exposure.

He says more rainalso means more mosquitoes, which leads to avian pox, a naturally occurring disease that is spread by mosquitoes.

Numbers are down in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Arkansas and Iowa, but Dailey sayspopulations are expected to rebound. Those wanting help on bolstering habitaton their land can contact the Department of Conservation, which has field agents who can come to private property and offer advice.

Dailey wanted to point out that there were no firearms related hunting accidents on opening daythis year.

"I hope hunters will remain diligent throughout the season."

Spring Turkey Hunting Season in Missouri lasts for three weeks, until 1 p.m. each day now through May 10.

To find out more about turkey seasons in Missouri, how to telecheck your bird, volunteering for the Gobble Count and more, visit the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Hunting and Trapping Web site .

Jessica Machetta reports [Download/listen MP3]

Purple martins could use some help

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Adult male purple martin (purplemartin.org) Purple martins are returning to Missouri and they could use some extra help from people this year.

Recent year’s late frosts were tough on purple martin populations. Department of Conservation Avian Ecologist Andy Forbes says the birds live almost entirely "off the wing" … or, on flying insects. If cold, rainy conditions persist for days on end, purple martins can start dying off.

They rely on humans for housing, a unique adaptation initiated by the

Native Americans, who used to hang hollowed-out gourds around their camps to attract the birds because of their voracious appetite for pests. Over the years, martins came to rely on such housing and very few of them will seek out natural nesting cavities anymore.

Forbes says it’s a common myth that martins eat hordes of mosquitoes — they do eat some – but that they eat a lot of horseflies, deerflies and other bothersome bugs.

To help the purple martins rebound, he says people can make sure their existing martin houses are cleaned out or erect new ones. New "landlords" will need to make sure the houses are high off the ground and not near any tall trees where would-be predators — hawks, crows and owls — might be. Also, invasive starlings are known to be unwelcome squatters in martin houses, moving in before they arrive. Martins are no match for starlings, a bigger bird with a better set of battle skills.

Some people have come up with a creative way to feed them as well. Forbes says he’s heard of people slingshotting mealworms up to the birds, an activity not necessary for the birds to survive, but something both humans and the birds enjoy.

Forbes says population declines are a normal occurance and their numbers will go back up as younger birds migrate and repopulate.

"Overall they’re doing well," he says. "On average every year, there is a percentage increase in Missouri."

Visit the Missouri Department of Conservations’s purple martin Web site for more information on creating "starling resistant" housing, migration patterns and more .

 

Jessica Machetta reports [Download/listen MP3]

Wildfires burning thousands of acres

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It’s the time of year when wildfires start cropping up throughout the Missouri.

Missouri wildfire March and April are dangerous months for wildfires. Bill Altman, forestry supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation, says nine homes in Missouri have already been lost to wildfires this year. Another 12 have been damaged and one man has died. The number of barns and outbuildings destroyed and damaged is into the 40s.

Altman says those burning trash or brush need to take precautions:

Watch the weather and avoid burning anything on dry, windy days. He says you can also cover your debris pile with a tarp or a piece of plywood to keep it dry through a rain, and then burn it while everything else is still wet.

He says to never turn your back on a fire, keep tools nearby — such as a shovel, rake and water hose — in case it does get away. Altman says there is another alternative – leave brush piles as a natural habitat for area wildlife or chip it up and use it for mulch.

Otherwise, he says, you can wait until May and June when things green up and the risk of surrounding vegetation catching fire is minimized.

Hot spots are LaClede, Camden and St. Clair counties, but Altman says the amount of down wood from recent year’s ice storms makes conditions hazardous throughout Missouri. 

Conservation has also had to battle fires that have resulted from arson. The department is asking anyone who suspects or sees arson to call Operation Forest Arson:   Dial toll free 1 – 800 – 392 – 1111. Vist the Operation Forest Arson Web site for more information.

For more information on fire safety tips, visit the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Wildfire in Missouri Web site, where a host of information is available on burning, building natural habitat out of brush piles and more.

Jessica Machetta reports [Download/listen MP3]

Deer farmers want federal, not state, oversight

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A lot of Missourians hunt deer, eat deer, even watch for deer while driving down the highway. But how many have dropped a cool 150 grand for an unborn fawn?

You’d be surprised. Deer farming is big business in Missouri. The Missouri White Tail Breeders Association says there are 300 breeders in the state and they want oversight from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, not the Missouri Department of Conservation.

At issue is health testing for domestic deer — breeders say Conservation officials aren’t qualified and that following federal regulations would make interstate sales and shipping less complicated. Deer have to be certified as healthy, free of tuberculosis, CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) and others before they can be shipped to other states.

Jerry Campbell of Midwest Whitetail Deer Sales says the economic impact of domestic deer farming in the U.S. is estimated at $3.4 billion. The two leading states in raising domestic deer are Texas and Pennsylvania, he says, but Missouri has a growing industry. Campbell, who is a certified appraiser, says his herd is worth an estimated $1.7 million.

Sen. Chuck Pergason (R-Caulfield) told the breeders they should think twice about asking the federal government — not the state — to oversee their business. He voiced concerns about relinquishing control from state officials, where Missouri residents have a voice, to federal officials.

“I just hope that you’re not back five years from now, if this passes, wishing you were back under Conservation and pretty well having to deal with those problems on your own instead of dealing with the federal administration and … the rules that they’re putting down to regulate you,” Pergason said.

No one spoke in opposition to the bill. Sen. Dan Clemens (R-Marshfield) is sponsor of the bill. He says all parties involved are in favor of the legislation.

He says basically his bill takes the responsibility for all health issues for privately owned raised deer in captivity away from the Department of Conservation and gives it to the Department of Agriculture.

Bill Pittenger, president of the Missouri Whitetail Breeders and Hunting Ranches Association, says his group’s 280 members, along with the 300 breeders and 40 hunting ranches in the state, are in favor of the legislation.

“Each state has its own rules on CWD, there are no federal rules written,” he said. “We’ve been asking the federal government for 10 years for federal rules so all states can be on same page.”

Breeders now rely on Conservation to check for CWD, he said, and have to get an entry permit for TB and brucellosis to bring animals in from another state, he says.

“Right now you could go to Colorado and shoot a deer, in an area that’s had CWD for 25 years or more and bring that animal right back and throw it out on your property once you’re done with it,” Pittenger said, “but if you buy a deer from my pen and take it out somewhere, they act like it’s a major crime.”

Jessica Machetta reports

Bill gives Conservation Department right to revoke licenses for life

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Hunters who accidentally kill someone could lose their hunting priveleges permanently. A bill in the Senate puts the power of revocation into the hands of the Conservation Department.

If someone dies as a result of a hunter’s carelessness, the shooter loses his or her hunting priveleges for five years under Missouri statute. Some say that’s not enough.

Sen. Tom Dempsey (R-St. Peters) presented his bill to the Agriculture committee.

Karen Ermeling told the committee she lost her husband in a hunting accident.

As he was calling turkeys for his hunting partner, the partner suddenly turned 180 degrees and shot Russell Ermeling in the face.

Ermeling says the hunter pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and was given five years probation and a hundred hours of community service speaking on hunter safety. But, she says, the shooter still claims he did nothing wrong.

Talia Williamson flew to Jefferson City from Pompano Beach, Florida. She said she lost her husband in same way almost a year ago.

Senator Dan Clemens (R-Marshfield), chairman of the Ag Committee, says the testimony was moving to hear.

No one spoke in opposition to the bill.

The Department of Conservation says accidents are more common during turkey season because hunters are not required to wear blaze orange and are often completely camoflaged.

Jessica Machetta reports [Download/listen MP3]

Senate bill would legalize noodling season

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Some Missourians have been known for years to go noodling, or and-fishing. You stick your hand under a log or into a hole underwater and see if you can’t get a catfish to grab on. The sport’s illegal in the state now … but a bill (SB 350) by Sen. Dan Clemons (R-Marshfield) of Southwest Missouri would change that. His bill would allow enthusiasts to bag five fish per person during a two-month season.

Bill Turner with the Department of Conservation says their studies show this diminishes a vital population. Turner says noodlers target the bigger catfish, which are fewer in numbers than smaller fish in Missouri’s rivers. He also says when they’re yanked off their nests, if there are eggs in that nest, the eggs die.

Noodlers Anonymous was there — comprising young and old — to explain their passion. They say it’s a family tradition passed on through several generations, and a viable sport; no different than hunting or fishing that thousands of Missourians are allowed to enjoy.

Some members allege the Department of Conservation skewed test results to prove noodling has an adverse effect on catfish populations and that noodlers are being discriminated against.

Sen. Chuck Purgason (R-Caulfield) told the Department of Conservation that they need to work with the noodlers to put measures in place everyone can live with, that it’s not the legislatures place — most of whom have no knowledge of the sport nor the biological impact — to make a decision on the matter. He said noodlers pay taxes just like everyone else in the state and they’re entitled to enjoy their sport just like everyone else.

Supporters and opponents of the measure stated their cases for the Senate Agriculture Committee … it was a heated debate that continued in the Capitol halls after that hearing concluded.

A Senate Joint Resolution (No. 8), sponsored by Sen. Wes Shoemyer (D-Clarence), from Northeast Missouri, would put the measure to a vote of the people.

The broadcast of the story and audio from opponents, proponents and Senators are listed below.

Jessica Machetta reports [Download/listen MP3]
Howard Ramsey, noodler, testifies
Proponents, kids, testify in favor of the bill.
Fisheries & Water Resources Committee with Conservation Federation opposes bill
Gary Webb, Noodlers Anonymous, supports the bill
Conservation Department opposes bill.
Sen. Chuck Purgason calls for both sides to work together.