There is 3 events held in the state of Missouri for National Get Kids to Parks Day; Frontier Children’s Festival in Ash Grove, Quest U City in University City, Spring Kids Fishing Day at Roaring River State Park in Casseville, MO.

That is just three places in Missouri that you can enjoy some of festivities, but if you are like me those 3 locations are a bit of a drive. Do not fret, we got ya covered! National Get Kids to Parks Day, can be any park, your local park, the State Park up the road, or a National Park that you have been dreaming of visiting.

To Locate a Park near you there is a few websites to visit: MO State Parks is one of my favorite, and how I discovered this event. Visit MO also one I frequent, let’s say daily, for recreational areas visit Missouri Department of Conservation, and do not forget Mark Twain National Park Services, all of these websites will help you locate a park near you.

Also head over to the National Park Trust Website and take your pledge to take your kids to the park on May 19, 2012 and sign up to get your own Buddy Bison.

Have an Adventures Day!

~Becky

Recent Park Adventures:
Burning off Spring Energy in the Great Outdoors
Tower Rock, Perry County Missouri
Vacation on a Dime in Missouri State Parks

The US Forest Service has decided to implement Alternative 2 proposed for the Sutton Bluff ATV Trail System Project.

The trail is located near the West Fork of the Black River near Centerville. This decision will allow trail users to move from one trailhead to another without traveling on Forest Road 56-I, also known as the Karkaghne Scenic Drive. It provides a legal means for ATV riders to move between trail sections without loading and hauling. Parts of FH 56-1 are being paved, and the Forest believes these connector trails will improve safety for motorists on the scenic drive as well.

The famous Ozark Karkaghne -carving at Twin Pines CNC

Any appeal must be in writing, and submitted to the Appeal Deciding Officers within 45 days of publication (circa March 26, 2012) of this notice in the Salem News. Appeals should be send to USDA-Forest Service , Att: Appeals Deciding Officer David Whittekiend, Gaslight Building, Ste 700, 626 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53202-4616 or sent via email to appeals-eastern-regional-office@fs.fed.us. Subject: Sutton Bluff ATV Trail System.

Further information can be had from James Turner, USDA Forest Service, Salem, MO or the documents may be downloaded at http://www.fs.fed.us/nepa/project_content.php?project=24279.

(Update: This was posted March 6. If you plan to burn on a date after that, please consult the NWS page in the article. Conditions will vary when and if we get rain and the wind gusts die down. Fire weather is like the other kind: changeable and fickle, especially in the spring.)

JEFFERSON CITY Mo — The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a “Red Flag Warning” for much of Missouri. According to the NWS, “This means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will shortly. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures will create explosive fire growth potential. For more information from the NWS, visit http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lsx/

The Missouri Department of Conservation urges landowners, hunters, campers, and others in the outdoors to follow these precautions to protect lives, property and Missouri’s precious forests.

Outdoor Burning
Do not conduct outdoor burning during red-flag conditions. Dry fuel combined with high temperatures, low humidity and high winds make fire nearly impossible to control. Check with local fire departments regarding burn bans that may be in place. A person who starts a fire for any reason is responsible for any damage it may cause. For more information on using prescribed fire as a land-management tool, visit www.mdc.mo.gov and search “Prescribed Fire.”

Driving Off Road
Wildfires can start when fine, dry fuel, such as grass, comes in contact with catalytic converters.
· Think twice before driving into and across a grassy field.
· Never park over tall, dry grass or piles of leaves that can touch the underside of a vehicle.
· When driving vehicles off road, regularly inspect the undercarriage to ensure that fuel and brake lines are intact and no oil leaks are apparent.
· Always carry an approved fire extinguisher on vehicles that are used off road.
· Check for the presence of spark arresters on ATV exhausts.

Making a Campfire
· Clear a generous zone around fire rings. When humidity is low and wind is high, debris can become tinder for a stray spark or ember.
· Store unused firewood a good distance from the fire.
· Never use gasoline, kerosene or other flammable liquid to start a fire.
· Keep campfires small and controllable.
· Keep fire-extinguishing materials, such as a rake, shovel and bucket of water, close by.

Never Leave a Campfire Unattended!
· Extinguish campfires each night and before leaving camp (even if it’s just for a few moments).

Smokers: Practice Extra Caution
· Extinguish cigarettes completely and safely and dispose of butts responsibly by burning them in a controlled campfire or packing them out.

Don’t Delay Call for Help!
· Call 911 at the first sign of a fire getting out of control.

Report Forest Arson
Many wildfires are set by vandals. Help stop arson by calling 800-392-1111. Callers will remain anonymous and rewards are possible.
(MDC news release.)

Van Buren, Missouri – February 29, 2012 – A Missouri project that supports jobs, water resources, and wildlife has received a welcome shot in the arm.

The U.S. Forest Service announced that the Pine-Oak Woodlands Collaborative Landscape Restoration Project will be receiving a $617,000 investment from the federal Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) in 2012. This program was created in 2009 to restore forests and support local communities through collaborative partnerships on National Forest lands.

The Pine-Oak Woodlands Project will use thinning and prescribed fire to make the woodlands more resilient to wildfire, drought, insects, and climate change, maintaining the area’s value for people, water, and wildlife.

Over the next ten years the Pine-Oak Woodlands Collaborative Landscape Restoration Project is projected to support 600 jobs in the southeast Missouri Ozarks, with a labor value that is expected to exceed $26 million. Approximately $9.3 million in sawtimber and $1.7 million in biomass will be produced. An estimated savings of over $18 million in wildlife management costs is possible.

Ultimately, the hope is to reintroduce bird species that were originally native to area pineries, including the brown-headed nuthatch and the red-cockaded woodpecker.

Missouri once boasted more than 4 million acres of shortleaf pine woodlands. In the late 1800s, however, the woodlands were harvested to meet the demand for lumber used to build houses in the rapidly expanding West. In less than 25 years, virtually all of Missouri’s pine forests had disappeared.

The Pine-Oak Woodlands project is another step forward in Missouri forest conservation. In 2003, The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Forest Service partnered to restore the state’s nearly lost forestry resources through the Pineknot project. The project restores native pineries with prescribed fires and the harvest of hardwood to create more open woodland. The resulting healthier woodlands allow a greater diversity of native plants and animals to thrive, and will lead to faster-growing, higher-quality trees. The Pineknot project will create productive forests with high conservation value.

In its first year CFLRP invested $10 million at 10 National Forest sites across the country. That initial investment supported 1,550 jobs, spurred $59 million in labor income, produced 107 million board feet of timber, and reduced the risk of costly forest fires on 150,000 acres. With this kind of success, it is no surprise that President Obama recently proposed CFLRP be funded at its full national $40 million level in his 2013 budget.

The first proposal is to change the management emphasis for the 389 acres known as “Epple tract” from general forest to semi-primitive, non-motorized area. This tract is located on Mark Twain National Forest’s Cedar Creek Ranger District.

The second proposal is to change the 1, 280 acres area known as “Western Star Flatwoods” to a special area other than wilderness. This change is proposed because Missouri’s Natural Areas Committee August 2011 designated Western Star Flatwoods a State Natural Area. Missouri’s natural areas represent some of the best, and last examples of the state’s original natural landscape. This area is located on Mark Twain National Forest’s Rolla Ranger District.

Additional information and maps for these proposals are available at http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/mtnf/projects.

If you prefer hard copies, or have questions about these proposals, please contact Laura Watts, Mark Twain National Forest planner, at 573-341-7471.

Mark Twain National Forest manages 1.5 million acres in southern and central Missouri, restoring Missouri’s natural communities and maintaining a healthy, working forest. For more information about Mark Twain National Forest, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/mtnf

The grant from Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Solid Waste Management Program will focus on cleaning up Mark Twain National Forest around Ripley, Shannon and Carter Counties.

Image from www.zmescience.com

Raben Tire, Poplar Bluff, has partnered with Mark Twain National Forest and Missouri Department of Natural Resources and will be handling the collected tires for recycling.

Missouri citizens generate an estimated five million scrap tires a year; many wind up discarded on public lands.

Mark Twain National Forest Eleven Point District Ranger Tim Bond said, “Scrap tires harbor mosquitoes and snakes. Many disease carrying pests flourish in the stagnant water that collects inside tires.”

Chief culprits are mosquitoes that can carry deadly diseases such as the West Nile virus and encephalitis.

“One of our organization’s objectives is to restore, improve, and protect the quality of the environment,” said Big Springs Resource Conservation and Development Council Manager Becky Paxton. “This is a worthwhile project because it will help reduce dumped tires on Mark Twain National Forest on three counties in our district.”

Recycled tires are used as fuel; they are also recycled into products such as rubber-modified asphalt on Missouri highways.

Permanent deer stands are prohibited. Permanent deer stands are any wooden or metal structure that has been attached or fixed to a tree and used for the purpose of hunting deer in season. Portable deer hunting tree stands are permitted to be placed on the forest two weeks before deer season.

Permanent deer stands are treated as unauthorized structures and are subject to removal under 36 CFR 261.10A. Use of screw-in steps, screws or nails, and any material that would damage trees is also prohibited.

Photo from hoveysmith.wordpress.com

When using temporary portable deer stands on Mark Twain National Forest, the temporary portable deer stand must have the full name, address, and telephone number of the user. Stands without identifying information are not authorized, and can be impounded by law enforcement personnel.

If you have questions concerning Mark Twain National Forest’s deer stand policy, please contact Toby Barton, Poplar Bluff Ranger District law enforcement officer; 1420 Maud Street, Poplar Bluff, MO, or by phone at (573) 785-1475 or Sam Beaty, Eleven Point Ranger District law enforcement officer; #4 Confederate Ridge Road, Doniphan MO, or by phone at (573) 996-2153.

· National Public Lands Day: September 29, 2012, with free camping Sept 28 and 29, 2012, and free day use Sept 29 and 30, 2012.

· Veterans Day Weekend November 10-12, 2012, with free camping on Nov 10 and 11, 2012 and free day use all 3 days.

There will be a lot more recreation areas open and participating in the free use during the summer, but fees will still be charged at sites operated by concessionaires.

For more information about the Mark Twain National Forest, go to www.fs.usda.gov/mtnf or contact your local Mark Twain National Forest office.

SALEM, Mo. – Mark Twain National Forest firefighters continue to patrol and check the 5,000 acre Minninghaw wild fire near Salem, Missouri.

Mark Twain National Forest Fire Management Officer Jody Eberly said rain expected over the next two days should result in totally containing Minninghaw wild fire by Wednesday, November 9, 2011.

“By containment, I mean the likelihood of the wild fire moving across the fire containment lines will be low,” Eberly said.

Firefighters quenching Minninghaw flames. USFS photo.

Two contract firefighting crews from Asheville, North Carolina are going home November 7, 2011. They arrived November 3, 2011 to supplement Mark Twain National Forest firefighting crews.

The Minninghaw Fire, 5,025 acres in size, started November 1, 2011. It is located in southern Dent County near the Shannon County line, approximately 7 miles west of Bunker, Missouri.

Completed and ongoing timber sales since the May 2009 derecho, or inland hurricane, helped reduce wild fire fuels on Mark Twain National Forest’s wild fires near Salem, Missouri.

Since May 2009, when the wind event cut a 15 to 20-mile wide swath across Dent, Shannon and Reynolds counties continuing across to Fredericktown, Missouri, forest fuels significantly increased from an average 2 tons per acre to 50-100 tons per acre.

Map of derecho damage...

“We’ve been fortunate to work with a number of area logging operators and small lumber mills to salvage the downed wood where we can get to it,” said Mark Twain National Forest District Ranger Thom Haines. “Even with ongoing and planned future timber sales, there’s still a lot of downed wood.”

From May 2009 to November 2011, Mark Twain National Forest’s Salem Ranger District completed 12 roadside salvage projects totaling approximately 4,100 acres, with another 2,100 acres through regular salvage sales. That’s twice the district’s annual average.

“Our primary focus has been public and firefighting safety,” Haines said. “We planned timber sales within 300 feet of roadways, which provided the public with safe roads to get to their property within Mark Twain National Forest. The 300-feet timber sale areas also created breaks to help prevent fire spreading.”

Approximately half of Mark Twain National Forest’s property boundaries include private land owners.

“It’s difficult to fight fires in derecho-damaged areas,” Haines said. “There are so many large trees on and suspended above the ground that our equipment cannot get through to build fire lines. It is also extremely unsafe for our firefighters.”

Haines said several more salvage sales are planned through 2013 to remove downed wood.

Several USDA Forest Service crews and forest partners also worked for months after the May 2009 derecho clearing Forest system roads, developed recreation areas and established trails to ensure the public’s safety, including hiking, horse-back riding and ATV trails.

Mark Twain National Forest is the largest public land manager in Missouri with 1.5 million acres in 29 counties in southern and central Missouri. Mark Twain National Forest’s mission is to continue to restore Missouri’s great outdoors and maintain a healthy, working forest.

Forest Service sent this inset map today:

Location of Ozark wildfires. Graphic courtesy Mark Twain National Forest

The Forest Service believes these fires are the result of arson, and they are looking for the people who set them. Rumor around Salem (heard from three different sources, but still rumor) is that at least one, and possibly two of the fires were set in retaliation over hunting leases or denied hunting rights.

Without further adieu, here are the last two day’s fire news releases. I apologize for their tardiness. – Jo

Mark Twain dispatch from November 4:

SALEM, Mo. – Rainfall November 3, 2011 is helping firefighters contain several suspected arson fires on Mark Twain National Forest lands near Salem, Missouri on Salem Ranger District.

About ½ inch of rain November 3, 2011 fell in the vicinity of the fires, increasing leaf fall. National Weather Service forecasts show a drying trend over the weekend.

“Heavy fuels can contribute to increased intensity and extreme fire behavior, especially on days like we experienced earlier this week,” said Mark Twain National Forest Salem District Ranger Thom Haines. “We’re carefully monitoring conditions to make sure wild fires stay in their containment areas.”

The largest wild fire, the Minninghaw Fire, estimated at 5,000 acres in size, started November 1, 2011. It is located in southern Dent County near the Shannon County line, approximately 7 miles west of Bunker, Missouri. It is burning in heavy fuels created by the May 2009 Derecho wind event.

As of 10:30 am Thursday, November 3, 2011, a fire line had been established around the entire fire perimeter.

Salem Ranger District had two other suspected arson wild fires on November 2, 2011; one wild fire was 5 acres, and a second wild fire approximately 310 acres in size. Both have containment lines established around them.

Two twenty-person hand crews, one from North Carolina and a second from Georgia, arrived November 3, 2011 and reported to Salem this morning. These resources will provide Mark Twain National Forest additional help and afford rotation of firefighters who have been fighting the wildfires since mid-afternoon Tuesday, November 1, 2011.

Currently, there are more than 50 firefighters, three bulldozers and four engines assigned to the wild fires.

No homes are immediately threatened.

Additional law enforcement personnel are assigned to patrol and investigate the wild fires.

“We really need the help of the public. If anyone has any information on who set these fires, please let us know,” Haines said.

News from November 5:

SALEM, Mo. –Firefighters continue to improve containment lines around two large wild fires on Mark Twain National Forest lands near Salem, Missouri on the Salem Ranger District. These wild fires are burning in heavy fuels created by the May 2009 Derecho wind event.

Two 20-person crews brought in from outside Missouri, along with Mark Twain National Forest firefighters, are using chainsaws to cut, lop and scatter limbs and downed trees along a 60-foot wide path on the side of the containment lines where wild fires are burning.

“The purpose of this work is to reduce fuels adjacent to containment lines that were completed on Thursday morning, November 3, 2011, around the two large fires,” said Mark Twain National Forest Salem District Ranger Thom Haines. “We will continue to improve these containment lines over the next several days to help make sure these wild fires stay within these lines.”

The largest wild fire, the Minninghaw Fire, 5,025 acres in size, started November 1, 2011. It is located in southern Dent County near the Shannon County line, approximately 7 miles west of Bunker, Missouri. Approximately 25 firefighters are working this wild fire.

The second wild fire, the West Fork Fire, 280 acres in size, started November 2, 2011. It is located approximately 3 miles northwest of Centerville, Missouri in Reynolds County, just north of the West Fork of the Black River. Approximately 25 firefighters are working this wild fire.

A third wild fire, the Substation Fire, just less than 6 acres in size, has been contained. This wild fire will continue to be patrolled and monitored by firefighting personnel.

Currently, there are more than 50 firefighters, three bulldozers and four engines assigned to the wild fires.

No homes are immediately threatened.

The National Weather Service forecasts partly sunny and drier over the weekend, with highs in the 60s and lows in the 50s. The next chance of rain is Monday.

Additional law enforcement personnel are assigned to patrol and investigate the suspected arson fires.

“We really need the help of the public in finding out who set these arson fires. If anyone has any information on who set these fires, please contact us,” Haines said.

To report information, contact Mark Twain National Forest Salem Ranger District Office at 573-729-6656 or the toll free arson hotline at 1-800-392-1111.

For more information about the Minninghaw and West Fork Fires and Mark Twain National Forest, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/mtnf