Outdoors

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The National Deer Association (NDA) named the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) its 2024 Agency of the Year Award winner. The award recognizes an agency that has practiced innovative and progressive deer management techniques; affected positive change in deer management regulations, hunter education, hunter recruitment, and/or involvement in youth hunting; and

WEST PLAINS, Mo.  – Join Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) to learn tasty trout recipes and techniques to cook your catch outdoors from 6 – 7 p.m. on April 3. Registration is required and can be completed online at https://mdc-event-web.s3licensing.com/Event/EventDetails/203028. “Trout is the quintessential low-fat, low-sodium food,” said Sarah Elrod, MDC conservation educator. “Rainbow trout

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) invites people to celebrate the value of Missouri trees and forests during Arbor Days in April by planting native trees and practicing proper tree care.  Missouri Arbor Day for 2025 is Friday, April 4. Missouri has been observing the state’s official Arbor Day on the

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) invites those wishing to get their hunter education certification to attend one of two Hunter Education skills courses offered in the northwest region in April. Registration is required. Course locations, dates and times are as follows: Nodaway County: April 5, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — The coming of spring brings expanded opportunities for hikers and bikers on the trails in and around St. Joseph. Jeff Atkins, the newly appointed director of the St. Joseph Parks Department, said hiking and biking trails around St. Joseph have garnered national attention. He said that while most trails are accessible

By Missouri Department of Conservation BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. — For many native plants, the best time to prepare their seeds is January. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is hosting two free winter seed sowing classes on Saturday, Jan. 4 from 10 – 11:30 a.m. and 2 – 3:30 p.m. at Burr Oak Woods Conservation

By Missouri Department of Conservation JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) invites waterfowl hunters to a series of public workshops around the state to gather hunter input about duck season dates and zone boundary locations for the 2026-2030 seasons. Participants will have the opportunity to review long-term waterfowl data about weather,

By Kansas Reflector via TN Content Exchange When Mike Moddrell bought 320 acres of land in southwest Douglas County in 2002, it looked very different from the tallgrass prairie it is today. “When I bought it, it had been neglected for a long, long time,” Moddrell said. “It was in pretty bad shape. I kept

By Missouri Department of Conservation JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) recently set turkey and deer hunting dates for the 2025-2026 seasons. The hunting dates were approved by the Missouri Conservation Commission at its Dec. 13 open meeting at the MDC St. Louis Regional Office in St. Charles. The Commission also

By Talker News via TN Content Exchange Spending time in the great outdoors helps children with mental health issues, suggests a new study. Researchers found that nature reduces emotional distress among troubled 10- to 12-year-olds. They say their findings suggest that an inexpensive school-based program may help the most vulnerable youngsters. Canadian researchers discovered that

By Missouri Department of Conservation JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows deer hunters harvested 14,607 deer during the late antlerless portion of firearms deer season, Dec. 7-15. Top harvest counties were Pike with 477 deer harvested, Callaway with 391, and Lincoln with 382. This year’s harvest total

By Missouri Department of Conservation WINONA, Mo. – Learn more about the southern flying squirrel – Missouri’s only nocturnal gliding mammal – during Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) free-to-attend virtual program from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 13. Flying squirrels are small relatives of gray and fox squirrels. They are about five inches

By Missouri Department of Conservation JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows young hunters ages 6-15 harvested 2,530 deer during Missouri’s late youth portion of the 2024 firearms deer hunting season, Nov. 29 – Dec. 1. Of the 2,530 deer harvested, 1,046 were antlered bucks, 270 were button

By Missouri Department of Conservation WINONA, Mo. — Learn more about Missouri’s giant mammals during Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) free-to-attend virtual program from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 17. Registration is required and can be completed online at https://mdc-event-web.s3licensing.com/Event/EventDetails/202980. Seats are limited. “We’ll discuss some of Missouri’s most fascinating large mammals that you

By Missouri Department of Conservation JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) encourages experienced Missouri birders to become citizen scientists by helping with the National Audubon Society’s 125th Christmas Bird Count (CBC) between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5, 2025. The CBC is an annual bird census where thousands of volunteers across the

By Missouri Department of Conservation JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 159,120 deer during the November portion of firearms deer season, Nov. 16 — 26. Of the 159,120 deer harvested, 82,613 were antlered bucks, 13,203 were button bucks, and 63,304 were

By Missouri Department of Conservation JOPLIN, Mo. — If you have a live Christmas tree this year, think about using it for wildlife habitat instead of simply throwing it away. People who want information on how they can use their live Christmas trees for wildlife habitat when the holiday season is finished should register for

By Missouri Department of Conservation BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) invites landowners to a prescribed burn workshop Dec. 21 at Burr Oak Woods Conservation Nature Center from 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Prescribed burning can be a valuable tool for managing native plant diversity and controlling undesirable vegetation, but it

By Missouri Department of Conservation JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows deer hunters in Missouri harvested 68,312 deer during opening weekend of the November portion of firearms deer season Nov. 16 and 17. Of the 68,312 deer harvested, 42,283 were antlered bucks, 5,105 were button bucks, and

By Missouri Department of Conservation JOPLIN, Mo. – Adding an outdoors flair to decorations is a good way to personalize and beautify the holiday season. People who would like to learn more about incorporating nature into their holiday decorations should register for the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) program “Conservation Families: Natural Holiday Craft” a

By Missouri Department of Conservation KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Wilderness Act was signed into law on September 3, 1964, setting aside 54 designated areas in the United States to remain “forever wild.” Today, that number has increased to 806, with eight areas in Missouri. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Sierra Club

By Missouri Department of Conservation JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Have nature lovers on your holiday gift list? The Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) online Nature Shop makes holiday shopping a breeze for anyone interested in nature-themed gifts. Offerings include the ever-popular Natural Events Calendar, plus a variety of books and more for all ages. Holiday

By Missouri Department of Conservation KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Harvested deer can yield more than venison and antlers. Deer fat can be rendered into tallow and used to make heel balms, candles, and firestarters. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) encourages deer hunters to save fat from their harvests for participation in classes this winter.

By Missouri Department of Conservation KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is altering the winter trout stocking schedule for lakes in the Kansas City area. MDC raises rainbow trout at hatcheries and typically stocks the Kansas City area lakes in phases during the winter months. This winter, the hatcheries are over

By Missouri Department of Conservation JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Fall in the Missouri outdoors offers some wonderful wildlife viewing for the hundreds of thousands of hunters in the field, along with many hikers, wildlife watchers and others. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) asks hunters and others to report sightings of key animal species they

By Missouri Department of Conservation KANSAS CITY, Mo. – With deer season on the horizon, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reminds hunters that harvested deer can yield more than venison and antlers. MDC encourages deer hunters to save their deer hides to be soaked and scraped to make rawhide or tanned and smoked to

By Jill Pritchard Missouri Department of Conservation JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Due to a recent finding of Sandy Flesh disease in walleye taken from Bull Shoals Lake in Arkansas, Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) biologists are asking Missouri anglers to watch for this uncommon fish disease. The most recent discovery of Sandy Flesh disease occurred