For the second consecutive year, Mother Nature placed a roadblock in the path of the Cabela’s King Kat Tournament Trail, which was scheduled for a June 21st tournament date at the French Bottoms Access on the Missouri River. The roadblock came in the form of major flooding problems.

Animal rights extremists must be dancing in the streets after a law in Switzerland recently passed. With utter disbelief and a little laughter, I read through this new law imagining the Swiss people dealing with some of the outlandish details they will have to put up with starting this September.

Global warming is a hot topic in the media right now, but it’s even hotter in the United States Senate.
A major piece of conservation legislation is being considered. The Climate Security Act (S 3036) proposes important pollution cuts while providing a large source of funding to assist wildlife and habitats in combatting the effects of global warming.

They say lightning never strikes the same place twice and criminals should never return to the scene of the crime, but in the world of the outdoors, getting back to a previous location may mean the difference between success and failure.

Some of my fondest fishing memories from childhood come not so much from the actual time spent with a rod and reel in my hand but in the hours spent gathering our bait. Let’s face it, you don’t have to be catching or shooting to have fun in the outdoors.
While its great to be able to quickly drop by any local bait and tackle shop and get what you need, gathering your own bait can be a fun way to spend more time outdoors and save a few bucks in the process.

The old African adage “It takes a village to raise a child” seemed to be the theme as conservation agent David Carlisle stood before a group last week whose sole mission is to enhance the lives of area youth.
Carlisle had come before the St. Joseph Optimist Club to discuss how the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), with the help of citizens, businesses and civic organizations, can play a vital role in helping the youth of our state.

Like it or not, technology is changing the way we live our lives. Many of us now enjoy and even rely on our computers, GPS units, cell phones, fish finders and the like. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is keeping step with these changes and in a little over a month will kick off its first Online Hunter Education Course.

MAYSVILLE, Mo. — Cold winds and overcast skies may not be the best ingredients for a day at the lake catching crappie, but that didn’t stop the huge crowd of anglers who lined the shores of Pony Express Lake during the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) Crappie Festival last weekend.

Warmer weather has finally returned and along with it water temperatures have started to rise. For anglers, spring usually clouds our thoughts with the craving for a big mess of crappie, but there’s one other species who’s time has come.
For those who may have forgotten, the Everyday Pond on the campus of Missouri Western State University was stocked with more than 800 rainbow trout ranging in size from 10 inches to a whopping 24 inches.

This year’s deer season will see a few changes — including a second youth-only season and the expansion of antler restrictions to more areas of the state — after a recent meeting and vote by the Missouri Conservation Commission.
These changes came after the Missouri Department of Conservation gathered input from more than 4,000 people through a series of 16 public meetings held throughout the state, including St. Joseph. Public input from the meetings, along with comments received online, by mail and telephone, were summarized and coupled with biological considerations to form the department’s recommendations for the upcoming season.