Missouri Department of Conservation and MoDOT invite schools to fight litter through "No More Trash!" Annual Can Contest!

Jefferson City, Missouri - The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) invite Missouri public, private, and home-school students in grades K-8 to help fight litter in the Show-Me State -- and to have creative and educational fun -- by participating in the 2017 "Yes You CAN Make Missouri Litter-Free" trash-can-decorating contest. The annual contest is sponsored by MDC and MoDOT as part of the state's "No MOre Trash!" statewide litter campaign.

The contest encourages school classes and groups to join in the fight against litter by decorating and displaying a large trash can with the "No MOre Trash!" logo and a litter-prevention message using a variety of creative media. Schools may submit one entry in each competition category: K-2, 3-5, and 6-8. Entries are judged based on creativity, adherence to contest rules, and effective use of theme and logo.

First-place winners from each competition category receive $200 awarded to the sponsoring schools. All first-place winners are then eligible for a grand prize of a trophy and $600 awarded to the sponsoring school.

There is no entry fee for the contest. Participating school groups must submit a completed entry form online with up to three photos to nomoretrash.org by Friday, March 17. Contest rules, entry forms, logo, past contest entries and winners, and educational information can also be found at nomoretrash.org.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American generates about four pounds of trash each day.

"Missouri's six million residents produce nearly 26 million pounds of garbage in one day. That's more than nine BILLION pounds of trash per year!" said MDC NMT Coordinator Joe Jerek. "Much of that trash shows up on our streets and roadsides, natural areas, and waterways. Litter harms our fish and water quality, plants, and hurts wildlife. Litter also hurts property values, landscape appearance, and our overall quality of life."

Jerek added that littering is illegal in Missouri and can result in a fine of up to $1,000 and one year in jail.

Photo and article Submitted

Shown in the photo: Teacher Gail Forsyth and her students in the Second Grade Recycle Club at East Elementary in Waynesville won the 2016 "No MOre Trash!" trash-can contest with their winning entry, "Box-up your recyclables, Missouri's State Reptile: 3-toed Box Turtle." They won the K-2 Grade Category and also the Grand Prize.

Enjoy Eagle Days at Duck Creek CA, Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, Wappapello Lake
All three areas combine efforts to offer live eagle presentations, eagle viewing in the wild.

Cape Girardeau, Missouri - The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Army Corps of Engineers will host Eagle Days, Feb. 4, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Eagle Days event includes live eagle presentations at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge every hour and wild eagle viewing locations at Mingo, Duck Creek CA and Wappapello Lake.

Pat Holloway, an MDC education consultant, said families and visitors of all ages can expect a fun, adventurous event that will help conquer cabin fever.

“Join us for an outdoor nature experience and discover cool facts about bald eagles, which were chosen as our nation’s symbol in 1782,” Holloway said, adding that visitors are encouraged to dress appropriate for outdoor winter weather.

The Mingo National Wildlife Visitor Center will display items related to eagles. Several outdoor spotting scope sites on Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, Duck Creek CA and along Wappapello Lake will provide opportunities to view eagles, ducks and geese in the wild. All three of these locations are expansive areas, so visitors are encouraged to pick up a brochure containing a map of the eagle viewing stations when they arrive.

All Eagle Days activities are free. Mingo National Wildlife Refuge and Duck Creek CA are located along highway 51, north of Puxico.

The Bill Emerson Memorial Visitor Center at Wappapello Lake is located at 10276 Missouri Hwy. T in Wappapello. From Poplar Bluff travel east approximately 5 miles on Hwy. 60, head north approximately ten miles on Hwy. T. The destination will be on the left. From Puxico take Hwy. 51 south one mile, turn right on Hwy. T, travel 9 miles to Hwy. D, turn left, cross the dam, your destination is on your right.

For more information about Eagle Days events, call Mingo National Wildlife Refuge at (573) 222-3589. To learn more about eagles and places to view them in Missouri, visit mdc.mo.gov.

Article and photo submitted.  Shown in the photo: In flight, mature bald eagles are relatively easy to identify. They have a dark brown body with white head and tail. In Missouri, they are observed near lakes, rivers, and marshes, particularly in winter. (Credits - Noppadol Paothong)

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) recently named Angela Pierce of Cape Girardeau the winner of the 2015 Outreach and Education Achievement award. Pierce is a naturalist at the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center.

Pierce receives this award for her coordination of the Southeast Region’s “Day on the River” event. This annual event attracts more than 2,000 people and helps connect them to the Mississippi River and its importance as habitat and as a natural resource.

“While most people in the area see the Mississippi River, many don’t know much about the history and dynamics of the river. Pierce’s efforts with this event fill this void,” said Sara Turner, MDC manager of the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center. “Coordinating this large event successfully is an achievement by any standard.”

Day on the River typically occurs in early September. However, the nature center has regular programs to help people discover nature all year long.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) recently added 10 new agents. The conservation agent class of 2016 graduated during a special ceremony at the Department’s Runge Conservation Nature Center in Jefferson City on Wednesday, Oct. 5. During the graduation, the new agents were pinned with a badge by their families and also took the oath to become conservation agents.

“Conservation agents are a very important piece of conservation in this state,” MDC Interim Director Tom Draper said. “These new agents will be some of the finest this agency has. They will be recognized as the face of conservation. We thank you for that and we thank all of your families for sharing you with us.”

These 10 new agents will be joining the 180 existing MDC agents in serving and protecting Missouri’s fish, forest, and wildlife.

The class of 2016 conservation agents and their assignments are:

Nicholas Bommarito: New Madrid County
Derick Childers: St. Clair County
Sarah Ettinger-Dietzel: Iron County
Christopher Horn: Cole County
Clayton Lewis: Madison County
Parker Rice: Buchanan County
Caleb Sevy: Washington County
Zachary Swindle: Shannon County
Matt Wheaton: Putnam County
Zachary White: Clinton County

Cape Girardeau, Missouri - Once a hunter has bagged a deer, the work is only half over. How to field dress it, skin it, process the meat and store it for future tasty meals are skills hunters need to know. The Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center’s Field to Freezer program, Saturday, Oct. 8, from 10 a.m. to noon will help hunters learn how to process their own deer.

Attendees will learn how to field dress and properly care for their harvested deer and how to process the venison for freezer storage at this free program. Regulations and supplies needed for processing deer meat will also be discussed.

Pre-registration is required because space is limited. This program is for ages 16 and up. To register, call the nature center at (573)290-5218.

Information about deer and deer hunting in Missouri can be found at mdc.mo.gov/hunting. Information about this and other nature programs at the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center can be found at mdc.mo.gov/CapeNatureCenter.