ShareBy Jo Schaper
In a report issued Dec. 28, State Auditor Thomas Schwiech reported discrepancies between actual and budgeted expenses relating to the Missouri Department of Conservation elk restoration project, and noted deficiencies in other aspects of department internal accounting performance. The department maintained an overall “Good” rating from the audit
According to the report, “The Missouri [...]

SharePeck Ranch is open sunrise to sunset seven days a week except during managed deer hunts, firearms deer season and when the roads are closed due to flooding, snow, or other weather related events.
Since fall is when elk rut occurs, people who have never ventured onto Peck Ranch may want to go this fall.
The Missouri [...]

Share25 Years Ago – August 1986
Efforts to reintroduce trumpeter swans to Mingo National Wildlife Refuge seemed to be dead in the water, as of seven transplanted in July, three were found dead a week later. On a brighter note, 10 young bald eagles were in residence, three of which were naturally produced [...]

ShareThe Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has reopened a portion of the refuge area at Peck Ranch Conservation Area (PRCA) to public access through a driving loop for viewing elk and other wildlife. MDC closed the refuge area in March in preparation for the arrival of Missouri’s first group of wild elk, which are part [...]

ShareThis morning, the Missouri Dept. of Conservation announced that the gates have been opened on the Peck Ranch elk holding pens, and the elk are officially free.
And that number, 39, is not a typo. Five calves have arrived, with more on the way.
Just like infants in a hospital, (and all hospital patients) are [...]

ShareElk bring opportunities
W
hether you’re fur ‘em or agin ‘em, the long awaited elk are now at home on the Peck Ranch in Carter County. The Missouri Conservation Commission’s controversial decison to restore elk to the state will brings with it significant problems and exciting opportunities.
The negatives are clear — potential for disease,  property damage [...]

ShareTraveler Web Extra:$3,000 radio collars, funded by Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, will let MDC monitor elk movements
By Jo Schaper
The first elk you see at Peck Ranch in southeast Missouri will most likely be wearing a radio collar with an antenna.
Although Missouri’s first free-roaming elk in 150 years will be exactly that — free roaming — [...]

ShareMDC news release below:
WINONA—Sometimes words simply fail. Missouri Conservation Commission Chairman Becky Plattner was struck speechless this morning as she stood in the blue dawn light atop a remote ridge in Carter County. She was listening to sharp snorts and muted barks coming from a stock trailer holding 34 elk. Overwhelmed by emotion after opening [...]

SharePeople in Shannon, Carter and Reynolds counties eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first Kentucky elk, originally scheduled for tonight into tomorrow April 30 will have to wait a little longer.
by Jo Schaper
The elk event scheduled for tomorrow in Eminence has been postponed at least until May 3, and possibly longer. The status on events [...]

ShareJust exactly what I was doing on the 6th platform of the eight platform Stegall Mountain fire tower, with one hand death-gripping the railing and the other one trying to hold my camera steady had nothing whatsoever and everything to do with elk
Text and photos (except indicated) by Jo Schaper
I don’t like heights. There [...]