Conservation Federation of Missouri!

JEFFERSON CITY–The best things in life are free, sometimes. The weekend of June 9 and 10 is one of those times, as the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is suspending fishing-permit requirements for those two days.

MDC designates the weekend after the first Monday in June as Free Fishing Days in Missouri each year. The idea is to encourage people to explore the state’s fishing opportunities without having to purchase permits, trout stamps or trout park daily tags.

The Missouri/Mississippi Confluence Restoration Partnership effort is being recognized nationally as an example of how to move conservation into the 21st century and has been chosen as one of 51 river projects (1/state and U.S. territories) for the President and the Secretary of Interior's America's Great Outdoors Rivers Initiative. (AGO)  Healthy rivers/floodplains are part of the vision for AGO because rivers offer close to home recreation, provide important habitat and migration corridors for fish and wildlife, and connect communities to natural places.

Elk run off the truck that transported them from Kentucky to Missouri. "Courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation"

This year’s gang includes 22 adult cows, 18 of which are pregnant.

VAN BUREN, Mo – Missouri’s elk herd doubled in size today (May 19) with the arrival of the Show-Me State’s second batch of wild elk from Kentucky. A tractor-trailer truck carrying 22 mature cows, three one-year-old cows, three two-year-old bulls, six one-year-old bulls and one newborn bull arrived at the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Peck Ranch Conservation Area (CA) in northwestern Carter County around 6:30 a.m. MDC staff quickly ushered the hoofed cargo into spacious holding pens, and within an hour Missouri’s newest four-legged residents were resting in the shade and grazing on lush clover.

“It’s an amazing day for the state of Missouri and conservation,” said MDC Director Bob Ziehmer, who was on hand to witness the arrival of Missouri’s second batch of elk. “We’re here today because of decades of conservation work by citizens and diverse partners across the state, and the world class staff of MDC.”

Ziehmer said the elk program is exciting. “With continued citizen support, we’re going to continue this success for generations to come.”