Turkey season is open the whole month of October this year. Traveler has several turkey hunting stories, from way back as well as just the past year or two. Bow season for deer gets underway in earnest this month too. Charlie Slovensky tells of how it was when a bow hunter took a stool and tried to find a place to sit where he'd be sort of hidden from any deer that might come by.

Fall fishing is great in October too. And even when it isn't a fish on every cast, it is hard to beat a canoe trip now. There's a story about a float on Current River by Steve Ramey and Bob Todd.

Bryan Dent also had a float fishing story, this time on a stretch of the Meramec River. Turkeys and trout on the same trip are the subject of a Bill Cooper adventure on the Eleven Point River. And Charley Schmidt tells us why fall is the time for topwater fishing. Russ Doughty tells how to use "strike indicators", known to non-fly fishermen as bobbers.

The upcoming firearms deer season in November already has juices stirring. Historical writer Jim Featherston writes about the blend of potatoes and cabbage that goes into deer camp stew, with roots dating back to Columbus.

An experimental antler restriction is being considered for the southeast part of the state for next year. There is a story weighing some pros and cons to such a season and the likelihood of it coming about. Howard Helgenberg tells how an invitation to join a deer camp has resulted in a 25 years tradition.

There's also a tour of the St. James area wine country. A story about land management for wildlife tells how you can make a number of improvements while making firewood. That story is repeated below.

There's a report on a Stream Team conference near West Plains, a story on a lawsuit which charges the National Park Service with mismanaging Ozark National Scenic Riverways, and several other conservation news topics.

The issue includes a column on past issues, including one from 1981 detailing a guided float rip on Current River. There's also season, coming events, Indian history, recipes, and the sunrise/moonrise tables for October.

Making firewood and wildlife habitat

Your mind may not be on improving your land for wildlife as you fret about rising energy costs and determine to use wood - or more wood - for heat in the future.
But you can do both, and increase the value of your woodland at the same time. Time spent cutting firewood can be beneficial indeed.
However, if you are thinking about cutting wood this fall to burn this winter, you may have to be very choosy, and you won’t gain the full benefit of your labors.
It is best for firewood to dry a year or more before use. However if you are up against it this year, you may be able to get by with some - not just any - dead trees.
IMMEDIATE USE
Look for standing dead timber, mostly of pole size (up to about 10 inches through). Chances are it died simply because it could not compete with its neighbors. Look for dead trees that are basically sound, but have been there long enough to have lost all the major limbs at the top.
This is a safety thing. Wood cutters call dead.
Avoid cutting trees with obvious rot in them. Such trees probably have value to wildlife in the first place. Secondly, they will make such messy firewood your wife won’t let you in the house with it.
Don’t believe the old story about mixing green wood with dry to get a longer-lasting fire. Most of the heat generated to burn green wood is used up simply drying the moisture out of the wood. And it can cause dangerous creosote build-up in the flue.
And don’t expect standing dead wood to be totally dry. The outer layer may be dry, but the inside may have almost as much moisture as a green tree. Be very choosy. If it appears to be wet inside, stack it for use next year.
FOR NEXT YEAR
Looking for what to cut, go back to that stand of young pole size timber. It is almost surely too thick and will benefit from thinning. Select the trees that have been topped but are still living, if possible.
By “topped” we mean trees whose neighbors have outgrown them and spread over them, causing them to develop a crooked, misshapen top.
These trees are doomed, but as if they resent their neighbors, they hang on for several more years, extracting water and nutrients their more robust neighbors could use for better growth. The remaining trees would thank you, if they could.
As a practical matter, pole size firewood trees are also easier to manhandle. Bigger trees create such large bolts even when cut up that a man has to strain too
Wildlife benefit from this thinning because it is generally the more mature trees that produce acorns and other forest foods in greatest abundance. A single tree will frequently yield more foods than a group of four or five trees when the suppressed trees are thinned.
And the faster growing tree is going to be more valuable when you decide to sell some timber or sell your land.
SPACING QUESTIONS
An old rule of thumb says thinning requires you to estimate the diameters of the stand of trees you intend to thin. If they are mostly six inches at chest height, for instance, the old rule says you should double this and convert it to feet. Thus you should leave 12 feet of space between six-inch trees when you thin.
Usually you’ll find you can thin a lot more trees out of a stand of pole size stuff without hurting anything and improve production of wildlife food at the same time.
OLD SNAGS
An old publication by the Conservation Department has an illustration that explains the value of snags better than words. I’ve snatched it as an illustration for this story.
The basic message is to leave such old snags and den trees. They are no longer competing with other trees for growth, but as they gradually go down, they provide a lot of wildlife cover.
SPECIES
There are good reasons to favor one species over another when thinning, but the choices are often based on where the trees are growing and what kind of potential they have.
It is far too complicated for this story. But as a rule of thumb, you can pick out a tree that looks robust and fast growing and thin around it. Chances are it is well suited to the site and the forest will benefit if you favor it when thinning.
When you cut firewood, do it with the aim of improving your property for wildlife and your own economic gain. Fuel savings are just the icing on the cake.

Two dozen years ago, September 1981

A guided float trip on Current River was featured in the October, 1981 issue of Traveler. At the time, Jacks Fork Canoe Rental still had some wooden jon boats and people who knew how to handle them.
Traveler editor Bob Todd and George Webster were treated to a float from Round Spring to Two Rivers, complete with an overnight stop to camp at Twin Rocks. It was the height of outdoor luxury.
There was a group trying to gather signatures to set a repeal of the Design for Conservation sales tax. It griped that the tax was enabling the Conservation Department to acquire land, for one thing. But that’s precisely what voters wanted when they approved the tax.
Grouse enthusiasts were anticipating an open season on this game bird that had once been fairly numerous in the state. Season had been closed for 75 years, but restoration seemed to be paying off.
Bag limit on quail was raised to eight and quail seemed to be numerous. Turkey season opened Oct. 19.
St. Joe Minerals, successor to Doe Run, reached agreement to not let any more mine tailings enter Big River - more than 100,000 cubic feet of materials had washed into the river when a tailings dam collapsed. The outlook seemed bright and it was predicted lead levels in the river would clear up in about 10 years.
Terrific fall colors were forecast. And the Ozark Trail Council was formed, the first step in creation of the Ozark Trail. Goal at the time was to establish a 350 mile trail from St. Louis to Arkansas where a similar trail group was forming. (The Ozark Trail is well over 350 miles now, but includes side trips and alternative routes. It does not yet go all the way through to Arkansas.)
How big is Big Spring was debated. It depends on how you measure it. At peak flow, it is believed to be second largest in the world. But Ball Mill Resurgence in Perry County actually has flowed more water. It does not flow all the time, however, and can’t be classified as a spring.
Lake Wappapello was transferred from Memphis to St. Louis District by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. But control of releases remained in the hands of Memphis. St. Louis, on the other hand, was experienced at recreational development and would upgrade lake facilities.
The Conservation Department was considering lures-only rules for Meramec, Current and Eleven Point trout areas. A year-long study showed lures were actually more effective at catching trout and cause significantly less injury to trout that might be released.
An item: some people were arrested for digging snakeroot on Conservation Department lands and some other people were charged with illegally selling native snakes to pet stores.

Click here for back issues