In the June 2008 issue of

River Hills Traveler

The four-point antler restriction rule piloted the last three years in 29 Missouri counties will be extended to 36 additional counties, effective with the 2008 deer season. The decision to expand the rule was made at the Missouri Conservation Commission’s April meeting.

Spring floods have changed the Current River. Writer Tim Huffman fished the lower Current with guide Greg Clanahan, while Bob and Pat Todd floated the upper Current. Both observes see opportunities in the changes the high waters wrought.

Bill Cooper writes that the plans for the new Current River State Park are welcome, but shortsighted. Funds from settlement of the Taum Sauk dam collapse will help pay for the new park on the site of the old Alton Box Club. Plans include construction of a conservation education center, renovation of the lodge into a museum, addition of cabins, campground and canoe landing. Cooper faults the plans for not preserving the historical significance of the Alton Box Club and not extending the Current River trout fishery to the area.

Coop also writes about the traditional June activity of squirrel hunting in the Ozarks and gives a nice rundown on the many attractions of the lively town of St. James, MO.

The Ozarks’ past and future converge at the new Twin Pines Conservation Education Center at Winona, writes Publisher Emery Styron. The new facility pays tribute to the Ozarks timber industry while offering services to landowners and aggressively educating young people and families about the Ozarks environment. Styron also profiles Twin Pines manager, Melanie Carden-Jessen, nicknamed Sparkplug for her enthusiastic approach to conservation education.

Osage copperheads are common in Traveler Country, herpetologist Scott Shupe tells us, but their effective camouflage makes them a little hard to see. He advises watching where you step, sit or place your hands in the Ozarks woodlands this season to avoid their venomous bite.

The state turkey harvest of 43,416 this spring was the 11th largest on record and the smallest since 1997, according to a news release from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

You don’t really own a place on the river — you just join up, or become part of it, write Jim and Donna Featherston about the retreat on the Current they call The Old River Place.

Greg “Rudi” Rudroff thought he’d tried or heard of everything you could do in the outdoors until his coworker, Melissa, told him she and her boyfriend were going to float the Current River in a 1,000-gallon stock tank. Charlie Slovensky philosophizes, as he is wont to do, that what one person can do in the outdoors, so can another. If Ray Eye could become a turkey hunter, so could he, says Charlie.

A Yellowstone Park experience is close at hand for St. Louis area residents. Howard Helgenberg reveals the attractions of Lone Elk Park, among them herds of elk and bison.

Nothing spoils a fishing trip like a burglarized boat. Darrell Taylor tells how to stymie the crooks.

DiSalvo Lake and the Bismarck Conservation Area, near Bismarck, MO, provides a convenient getaway for southeast Missouri hunters and anglers, according to Doug Preston. The 210-acre reservoir abounds with largemouth bass and has a reputation for catfish action.

The U.S. Geological Survey has 240 permanent, real-time stream gages in Missouri and a team of people in the field to gather water flow data. The information is used by the National Weather Service, the Army Corps of Engineers, Missouri Department of Transportation and many others, including floaters and fishermen. Jo Shaper gives a lesson in Stream Gaging 101. (Gaging: that’s how the USGS spells it).

A freshly dedicated museum at 156 S. Main St. commemorates the Battle of Fredericktown.
Chief Tecumseh predicted something like the New Madrid earthquake of 1811-12, writes Kathleen Brotherton.

With Memorial Day past, you can keep bass over 12 inches long caught in Ozark streams, according to Bob Todd’s “Seasons” column. June is a time when kids can catch a barrel of red perch and get a feel for fishing, Bob says.

Bill Henke of St. Louis sent Pat Todd recipes for campfire eggs for people and suet for birds. Also included in the Iron Kettle are recipes for Jell-O from Edna Hillis of Fredericktown, Texas Caviar, form Judy Mahal of Piedmont and Strawberry Pudding Parfaits from Kathleen Brotherton of Hillsboro.

Three-toed box turtles are more likely to die by being struck by a motor vehicle than any other way, according the MDC Herpetologist Jeff Brigler. He urges motorists to watch for the turtles, and avoid hitting them if they can be safely avoided.

The June issue also includes travel maps for the Upper and Lower Current, Jacks Fork and Meramec and Black Rivers, Clearwater and Wappapello Lakes and the Parkland and Traveler regions.

Pick up a copy on the newsstand today or order Traveler mailed to your home.

Click here for back issues.

Click here for a FREE TRIAL SUBSCRIPTION.

Click here for a LIST OF RETAILERS WHERE YOU CAN BUY TRAVELER.