On the cover & Page 1
"Turkey in Full Strut"by Ron Kruger
Ironton photogapher Ron Kruger captured this shot of a gobbler in full strut, a sight many hunters will be hoping for come April 18.
Hunters, coyotes compete for turkeys — Bill Cooper
Murmurings among turkey hunters are the standard hunting conversation in southern Missouri. Hunters have steadily watched the turkey population decline over the last five or six years. Both hunters and biologists are beginning to point educated fingers at coyotes as being one part of the problem.
The rest of the paper
Ozarks abloom with spring festivals — Jo Schaper
Our second annual spring festival listing covers it all, from storytelling in Cape Girardeau to dogwood festivals in Charleston and Camdenton, mountain music in Ironton, Earth Day in St. Louis, and everything in-between.Read the calendar online.
Makin' Tracks: Traveler's maps, local focus help you get most from trips — Emery Styron
Two touchstones of Traveler —maps and local information —are more important than ever as we enter this travel and outdoor season. Gasoline prices are ferocious, so many people will stick to outings closer to home and plan their trips with care. Traveler can help. Read this story online.
Letters to the editors — Joe Light, Dan Cotner
Joe Light of St. Louis calls for putting the Missouri Department of Conservation's one-eighth cent sales tax back on the ballot. The tax, he says, is "funding disappointment." Dan Cotner of Cape Girardeau takes Traveler to task for an incorrectly drawn map on the cover of Mo Go. Our map doesn't show the Diversion Channel, which helped drain the southeast Missouri swamps and now ends the Castor River near Arab. In Rock Talk, Jo Schaper explains why she drew the map as she did and tells how the Diversion Channel was built.
Traveler editorial: Is it time to give the MDC a kick in the pants?
Traveler has a different opinion that Mr. Light. We think the MDC does a good job overall and that problems are not serious enough to justify putting the sales tax on the ballot. Read our editorial online.
Weather, turkeys cooperate for spring hunt — Don Rathert
The weather usually cooperates and caresses with a cool but moist beginning of the day. Last opening day was such a morning. Near a big river and nestled in the bottoms, I became unnerved as a gobbler responded to my soft tree call...
 Turkey permits can be obtained online; permit is your tag — From Missouri Department of Conservation
Beginning March 1, the Conservation Department’s new e-Permits System will let hunters buy turkey permits online, print them at home, and have them in hand immediately. New turkey permits will have months printed along one edge and dates along another. Immediately after harvest, hunters must void their permit by notching the month and day they shot their turkey. Turkey permits will no longer include a removable transportation tag. Instead, the permit itself will be the transportation tag.
You can call gobblers in with your hands and feet — Charlie Slovensky
In addition to calling in turkeys with my own footsteps, I’ve also lured in several turkeys using my hands to simulate a turkey scratching in the leaves for food. A three-stroke rustling of leaves often convinces a bird that what it hears is a foraging turkey.
Riverways GMP draft preliminary alternatives expected late fall this year —ONSR
If you were expecting a speedy turnaround on the National Park Service’s process to turn park research and citizen input into a Draft General Management Plan/Wilderness Study/Environmental Impact Statement, you’ve got time for another pot of coffee. Or two. Traveler explains the next steps in the lengthy process.
Nature's Corner: Vernal pools... Hubs of life — Aaron Horrell
Vernal pools are small ponds that ideally do not hold fish and normally go dry during summer. In past days I have heard these pools referred to as "just a place for mosquitoes to breed." That may be a understandable assumption, but it is also short sighted.
Easy-going trip opens the floating season — Bob Todd
My son and I, and grandson Nelson and a friend, took advantage of a late April day to open the float season. There is no closed season, really, but until a kid can expose his bare back to the sun and get in the river for a few moments without it being a disaster, float season hasn’t arrived.
Our Indian Heritage: Redbuds, morels, springtime plants prized by Indians — Kathleen Brotherton
The redbud tree was sacred to our native Osages. I was told by a member of the Osage Nation, the daughters of Osage chiefs would often have a spider tattooed on the back of her hand on her wedding day as an act of love for her warrior. It was made with the burnt ashes of the sacred redbud tree.
Rock Talk: Reader sparks interest in Headwater Diversion Channel — Jo Schaper
The Headwater Diversion Channel, a 34-mile west to east canal from Allenville to the Mississippi River just below Cape Girardeau, beheads both the Castor and Whitewater Rivers and intercepts Crooked Creek, Cane Creek and other minor tributaries. In doing so, it diverts 40% of the water that formerly flowed into the Bootheel’s Little River and dumps it into the Mississippi directly. This is Jo's amplification of Dan Cotner's letter to the editor pointing out an error on one of our maps.
The Seasons: Turkey, fish, fungi take center stage in April — Bob Todd
Wild turkey season is what April is all about, with a wide variety of “spin-offs” available to outdoorsmen. Even if you don’t hunt, if you are out and about in early April you’re likely to hear a gobbler sounding off to defend his territory from another gobbler, or to attract a hen. The sound sets the theme for the month, even though fish and fungi may occupy more of your time than the turkeys.
AG sues Shannon County Commission over park site road work — news release
On March 2, Attorney General Chris Koster filed suit against the Shannon County Commission to recover property and close down an area of Current River State Park damaged by unauthorized road construction by the county road crew.
 Traveler calendar
April outdoor events in Traveler Country range from an Ozark Trail section dedication to "Bat"urday at the World Bird Sanctuary to Conservation Cafe. Click here for events, times, dates and places.
The Iron Kettle: Spring dishes feature asparagus, mushrooms, turkey — Pat Todd
After such a long cold winter, we are looking forward to having some wonderful fresh foods to work with. We are looking forward to finding those wonderful morel mushrooms down in the old orchard; maybe Bob can kill a tender wild turkey when season opens April 18. And then best of all — the young tender asparagus shoots begin to pop up. Recipes for asparagus eggs benedict, asparagus roll ups, cream of wild mushroom soup and wild turkey scallopini.
 Ft. Barnesville a reminder of Civil War in Reynolds County — Rick Mansfield
The land itself bears witness to the many Civil War battles and skirmishes fought throughout Missouri. Along with hastily constructed bridges and ferries, numerous earthen forts were built to provide cover and protection for troops from both sides. Some were made to stand for the duration; others quickly put up, or dug out, for a specific skirmish or assault. The remains of one such embankment still exists right outside Ellington, at the site of Fort Barnesville.
Father, son, Beretta have fun at creek...but don't tell Mom — Shawn Seabaugh
Growing up in Bollinger County allowed me many an opportunity that some city folk will never experience. One of my favorite pastimes was “fishing” with my father. I should explain that my father hates doctors, little-old-lady drivers and fishing. He loves fast cars, handguns and “plinking.”
 Fly fisher extraordinaire, author, hydrologist Chuck Tyron dies at 72
Charles “Chuck” Tryon, 72, fly fisher extraordinaire and retired wildland hydrologist for the U. S. Forest Service, died February 8, 2011 in Visalia, Calif., of cardiac arrest. At the time of his death, Mr. Tryon was in the midst of tying 20 dozen flies for Casting for Recovery, one of his favorite charities.
Busch CA: 30+ lakes, hunting, trails, minutes from St. Louis — Howard Helgenberg
I first learned about August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area when I was in my teens. How nice to have a place with over 30 lakes and ponds, thousands of acres to hike and hunt, a rifle range and, back in the day, a nice restaurant, all within about an hour's drive from home. If you are the outdoors type and you’ve never been to "Busch Wildlife," I would highly suggest you check it out.
Through the Years in Traveler: 25 years ago: Traveler asks why no port-a-potties on gravel bars?
Traveler broached the some think unmentionable topic of “why aren’t there port-a-potties on gravel bars of our most heavily used float streams, located suitable distances between river accesses?” Speculation, but no answers were recorded. Click this Back Issues link to see a complete summary of the April 2010 issue. Print copies of back issues are available for up to one year after publication for $5 per copy. Call 800-874-8423, ext. 2 to order.
Stalking the wiley morel — Bill Cooper, Jim & Donna Featherston
A gourmet’s delight, ambrosia of the Gods. That's how Jim and Donna describe fresh, fried morels. Bill Cooper gives just a hint on where he found a morel motherlode last spring. He has pictures to prove it.
|
In the April 2011issue of
