Share(Jo found this short essay on the Dept. of Conservation website, and thought it needed a wider audience. Enjoy.)
Posted by Bill White, Missouri Dept of Conservation
When I was growing up Blackberry Winter was a rock band from Nebraska. Some of you may know Blackberry Winter as the band from West Plains, Missouri, who had several [...]

ShareWhen I was a kid, we had this book series called “Through Golden Windows.” They were a collection of short stories, essays and poetry, some classic and well-known authors, some not, but that’s what probably got me first interested in literature (and what would happen if a field full of popcorn caught on [...]

Share(Missouri State office The Nature Conservancy news release.)
Missouri’s Greater Prairie Chicken and the American Burying Beetle
Made the List, But Both Species Face Threats
So you think you’ve had some strange dates? This Valentine’s Day, The Nature Conservancy compiled the top 10 most bizarre examples of love in the wild.

ShareIt’s the time of year when kamikaze squirrels are on the loose, and this year they have good reason.
Francis Nelson at Duck Creek Conservation area reports that despite our wild weather, a bumper crop of acorns is in progress near Puxico.
This is a good thing: acorns may not seem tasty to humans, but [...]

ShareThe results are in on the Traveler Photo Contest.
By Jo Schaper
After a fast start, the ride was a little bumpy. First times usually are. We initially set the contest for one month, to the end of July, but entries were slow in coming, so we extended it to Labor Day.
Perhaps we didn’t promote it [...]

ShareSecretary of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced more than $53 million in grants to 17 states to support conservation planning and acquisition of vital habitat for threatened and endangered fish, wildlife, and plants on August 25.
Among the grants are one for $534, 750 to the Missouri Dept. of Conservation to acquire an 895 [...]

ShareUPDATED: The Traveler Outdoor Photo Contest entry deadline has been extended to Labor Day.
It’s been raining a lot around here. A lot of our people have been dealing with various aspects of inclement weather, and the resulting cleanup. It’s hard to think about photo contests under those circumstances. When we set the date in early [...]

ShareGet out your big fishing lures with diaphanous wings, bulky bodies and big red eyes.
The cicadas are here. This is brood 19 of 13-year cicadas, and they’ve come out of the ground looking for cicada love.
The cicadas are here.
By Jo Schaper
If you want to see the show, go outside in the early [...]