Ozark National Scenic Riverways Superintendent Reed Detring with Mike Simpson, left, and James Hall , both of Springfield, receive a plaque engraved with the Park Service Mission and embedded with a commemorative National Park Service coin for the new cave exhibit at the Akers Contact Station. Hall designed and constructed the cave exhibit, with Simpson providing additional support and inspiration. James Hall is the owner of JH Creative Studios in Nixa and has designed exhibits for parks and museums across the country. Mike Simpson is a former employee of Ozark National Scenic Riverways and educator in the Springfield area. Both were volunteers on this project.

Robert Vanderbrugen of Madison County, Missouri is this month’s winner of the River Hills Traveler hat. Robert said, “I look forward to reading the Traveler each month. I think the River Hills Traveler is the ‘outdoor authority’ when it comes to covering hunting, fishing, or any other outdoor recreation in Southeast Missouri. Readers enter the cap contest by finding our mascot, Trav, in the classified section of the print edition of Traveler, and sending an entry blank to our office.

– from NPS News Release, Mar 25, 2009
Our next round of General Managment Plan meetings will occur the week of June 22, 2009. The schedule is as follows:
Monday, June 22, 2009 5:00 PM-8:00 PM
Van Buren Community Center, Intersection of D Hwy and Business 60, Van Buren, MO 63965;

(more…)

On Feb 21st, 35 horsemen and women met at Twin Pines Conservation Center in Winona to form the River Springs chapter of Show-Me Missouri Back Country Horsemen. Keith Temple was elected chapter leader. (more…)

Wayne Carroll, St. Clair, MO, models the River Hills Traveler cap he won in our monthly Where’s Trav contest. That’s Zena, his squirrel-hunting yetti, perched on his shoulder. To play the game, find the hidden raccoon in the classified ad section of the next print edition of River Hills Traveler. Click here for a list of newsstands where Traveler is sold. Click here to order a paid one-year subscription or a free 3-month trial subscription.

Curt Dzuba and sons, Jesse and Mathew

stand on the deck of a finished fire/rescue

built at Miracle Marine.

By Emery Styron
In a long, rusty, metal chicken shed northeast of Potosi, a Canadian aeronautics engineer and crew build custom all-welded aluminum-hulled fire and rescue boats that save lives on the Ohio River and fishing boats that provide safe, pleasurable transportation on Ozarks lakes and rivers. (more…)

Bill Cooper, feature writer for the River Hills Traveler, State Forester Lisa Allen and Bass Pro Shops of Springfield are among the winners of the Conservation Federation of Missouri’s 2008 Conservationist of the Year Awards.

This year’s awards were presented Feb. 27 at The Lodge of Four Seasons at Lake of the Ozarks.

Cooper, of St. James, is the Conservation Federation’s Conservation Communicator of the Year. His accomplishments include work as an outdoor author, newspaper, Internet and magazine writer and radio and television producer and host. His special emphasis is on youth, as evidenced by his many articles about young hunters and anglers and his personal involvement in youth mentorship programs. (more…)

Curt Branson, Bonne Terre, killed his first deer while hunting in Iron County on Nov. 16, 2008. It was a dandy — a 25-point non-typical buck, that green scored 170 2/8 and field dressed at over 200 lbs. Congratuations, Curt!

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