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by Bill Graham, Missouri Department of Conservation
Connecting with nature can boost physical and mental health, science has shown. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) helps people deepen their connections with nature with a series of Nature Rx programs at the Burr Oak Woods Nature Center in Blue Springs. Next up in the series is a Mindfulness and Sensory Stroll from 2:30 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27. A key component of the Nature Rx series is when Lisa Richter, MDC naturalist, points out new things people can see, hear, touch, and smell in the outdoors. Experiencing nature with heightened awareness is the goal. Scientific studies have shown that nature contact can provide health benefits such as lowering blood pressure, improving sleep, and boosting immunity. The Mindfulness and Sensory Stroll down a Burr Oak Woods trail provides an experience but also a guide to how people can experience nature on their own. Nature Rx events are held regularly at Burr Oak Woods year-round. Some upcoming programs will include nature themes such as wildflowers as well as activities such as archery and kayaking while immersed in nature. The Nature Rx programs are open to participants ages 18 and older. Registration is required. To register for the Mindfulness and Sensory Stroll, visit http://short.mdc.mo.gov/4Xo. Upcoming Nature Rx programs can be found on MDC’s events page for the Kansas City region at http://short.mdc.mo.gov/4X3. For more information about the Burr Oak Woods Nature Center and the area’s hiking trails, visit https://mdc.mo.gov/burroakwoods.
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by Bill Graham, Missouri Department of Conservation Morel mushrooms taste good and hunting them provides an excellent reason for a walk in the woods when spring is blooming. But there are more mushroom types than morels to be found, cooked, and enjoyed. Learn which mushrooms to pick and which to avoid when the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) offers a free virtual Midwest Mushrooms class from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19. No prior experience hunting mushrooms is necessary. This online class will help newcomers get started. But it will also help experienced mushroom hunters learn more about morels and all types of mushrooms. Alix Daniel, MDC native landscape specialist and a mushroom expert from the Missouri Mycological Society, will provide mushroom hunting tips. Daniel will discuss various mushroom species and where to find guides to help with identification. There will be a question-and-answer session available to participants after the presentation. Midwest Mushrooms is open to participants ages 12 and older. Registration is required. To register, visit http://short.mdc.mo.gov/48c. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) offers a free virtual Midwest Mushrooms class from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19. Photo credit: MDC
by Bill Graham, Missouri Department of Conservation
Walk beside a river, lake, or pond on a warmer day in late winter and you can see turtles sunning themselves on a log. They’re anxious for spring. Learn all about these fascinating reptiles when the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) hosts a free Totally Turtles class from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 2, at the Burr Oak Woods Nature Center in Blue Springs. Join experts Cindy McManis and Crystal Parson, the Turtle Ladies, as they discuss the variety of land and aquatic turtles found in Missouri. They will give insights into the habitats, life cycles, survival skills, and specialized structures such as the protective shells. Participants will get a chance to see 10 different live turtles from the smallest ones to big ones like the eastern snapping turtle. This class is open to all ages. Registration is required. To register, visit http://short.mdc.mo.gov/47n. For information about MDC’s Burr Oak Woods Nature Center, visit https://mdc.mo.gov/burroakwoods. by Bill Graham, Missouri Department of Conservation The warmer days of early spring will soon be here, bringing on a prime fishing season. But few things are more frustrating than having a fishing reel break down when the fish are biting. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is offering a free Fishing Reel Maintenance and Repair class from 6 to 8:30pm on Thursday, Feb. 29, at the Burr Oak Woods Nature Center in Blue Springs. This class will teach some preventive maintenance tips such as how to disassemble, clean, and lubricate fishing reels. John Rittel, MDC community education assistant, will also cover how to make repairs for common problems found in spinning, spin casting, and baitcasting reels. The class will help participants get reels in tip top shape for the upcoming spring fishing season. Fishing Reel Maintenance and Repair is open to participants ages 9 and older. Registration is required. To register, visit http://short.mdc.mo.gov/47p. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is offering a free Fishing Reel Maintenance and Repair class from 6 to 8:30pm on Thursday, Feb. 29, at the Burr Oak Woods Nature Center in Blue Springs. Photo credit: MDC
MDC offering free ammunition reloading classes Feb. 10 near Blue Springs and Feb. 13 at Parkville2/8/2024
by Bill Graham, Missouri Department of Conservation The Missouri Department of Conservation is offering free classes in reloading shotgun shells and brass cartridges. Reloading is a way to save money on ammunition but also a way to custom load shells for hunting or target shooting. Registration is required.
MDC’s Lake City Shooting Range near Blue Springs will offer a shotgun shell reloading class from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10. The class will cover basic materials, equipment, and techniques needed to reload shells. Photo credit: MDC
by Bill Graham, Missouri Department of Conservation A way to tie things together meant comforts, adornments, and sometimes survival for early humankind. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is offering free Cold Cordage classes from 10 to 11 a.m., from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and from 1 to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center in Kansas City. The cold in the program’s title refers to twisting grasses into cordage as a good indoor winter pastime. But the skills are also useful in outdoor survival situations. Pat Whalen, MDC naturalist, will teach how to twist prairie plants into rope and string. Participants learn how to create a natural bracelet or necklace adorned with shells, beads, and antler buttons. The classes are open to participants ages 12 and older. Registration is required.
For information about the Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center, visit https://mdc.mo.gov/discoverycenter. Photo credit: MDC
MDC offering free trapshooting and ammunition handloading classes during January in the KC area1/11/2024
by Bill Graham, Missouri Department of Conservation
Learn how to reload brass cartridges and go trap shooting with upcoming free classes offered by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). Materials are provided for the ammunition handloading classes on Jan. 13 at MDC’s Lake City Shooting Range near Blue Springs and on Jan. 23 at the Parma Woods Shooting Range at Parkville. A trap shooting class will be offered Jan. 20 at the Lake City Shooting Range.
MDC connects people with nature during winter with programs held both outdoors and indoors, plus conservation areas are open for hikes, fishing, and hunting. To learn more, visit https://mdc.mo.gov. by Bill Graham, Missouri Department of Conservation Learn how to clean and prepare rainbow trout for cooking at a free class offered by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). The Pond to Plate class will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Burr Oak Woods Nature Center in Blue Springs. MDC has stocked rainbow trout in several Kansas City area lakes to provide anglers with an additional winter fishing opportunity. Trout are not native to Missouri. But cold winter water temperatures enable trout raised in MDC fish hatcheries to be stocked in ponds and lakes. The Pond to Plate class will help newcomers to trout fishing learn how to easily clean and prepare their catch for cooking. Participants will get a chance to clean a trout. Instructors will cook the fish using favored recipes in the Burr Oak Woods kitchen for participants to sample. This class is open to participants ages 8 and older. Registration is required. To register, visit http://short.mdc.mo.gov/Z7f. To find a lake near you stocked for winter trout fishing, visit http://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZF3. Learn how to clean and prepare rainbow trout for cooking at a free class offered by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). Photo credit: MDC
by Joe Jerek, Missouri Department of Conservation
Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 193,669 deer during the November portion of firearms deer season, Nov. 11-21. Of the 193,669 deer harvested, 105,614 were antlered bucks, 16,081 were button bucks, and 71,974 were does. Top harvest counties were Franklin with 4,289 deer harvested, Texas with 4,208, and Howell with 3,749. For current ongoing preliminary harvest totals by season, county, and type of deer, visit the MDC website at extra.mdc.mo.gov/widgets/harvest_table/. This year’s harvest total was 3% lower than last year and 2% higher than the previous five-year average. For more harvest information from past years, visit mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer/deer-reports/deer-harvest-summaries. New CWD Portion in Management Zone Counties Deer hunting continues in Missouri with the new CWD firearms portion running Nov. 22-26 in CWD Management Zone counties. Hunters will be able to use any unfilled firearms deer hunting permits during the CWD portion and must abide by the statewide limit of one antlered deer during the firearms deer season, all portions combined. Hunters must also abide by county-specific firearms antlerless permit numbers. CWD testing is not required during the CWD portion, but voluntary CWD testing is available. Archery deer hunting resumes Nov. 22 through Jan. 15, 2024. The late youth portion runs Nov. 24-26. The late antlerless portion of firearms deer season runs Dec. 2-10 in open counties and the alternative methods portion will occur Dec. 23 through Jan. 2, 2024. Get more information on Missouri deer hunting from MDC’s 2023 Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet, available where hunting permits are sold and online at mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer. by Bill Graham, Missouri Department of Conservation
As the autumn hunting seasons unfold, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is offering free classes during October in the Kansas City area that can help newcomers to the shooting sports understand firearms and make them more accurate. The Lake City Shooting Range near Blue Springs will offer a Know Your Gun workshop from 8 to 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 22. Instructors will address topics such as why different brands of ammunition perform differently, the importance of using hunting ammunition when sighting in rifles, and why fired bullets sometimes rise in their trajectory. Instructors can answer questions about hunting rifles. This class does not involve shooting time on the range. Registration is not required. Participants may simply walk in to attend the session. For more information about the class, visit http://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZS3. MDC’s Parma Woods Shooting Range near Parkville will offer a class on Firearm Optics from 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 24. This class will cover how to select, mount, and sight in hunting scopes. The class is open to participants ages 11 and older. Registration is required. To register, visit http://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZTB. Parma Woods staff will offer free assistance sighting in a rifle from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 25. This is designed to help newcomers to deer hunting or those with new equipment adjust hunting scopes for accuracy. The assistance is available by appointment only. To make an appointment, call the range at 816-891-9941. |
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