A bill which would allow concealed carry on Missouri campuses, lower the age for CCW from 23 to 21, and amend the castle doctrine passed the Missouri House on April 16 with a vote of 105 to 50.

The bill still has to go to the Missouri Senate. The bill, as passed, is available to read online at HB 668, or go to the April 12 Traveler post on this bill.

For his initiative and dedication during a widespread ice storm, Bradley K. Ledbetter has been named April 2009 Employee of the Month by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. He is an Environmental Specialist IV and unit coordinator in the Southeast Regional Office, Poplar Bluff, and was nominated by the Southeast Region director, Gary Gaines.
On Jan. 27, 2009, an ice storm hit southeast Missouri, (more…)

A public meeting sponsored by the Voice of the Ozarks and the Missouri Department of Conservation will be held at 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 12, at the  Eminence High School Old Gymnasium to explain conservation department policy on public roads, forest management, wildlife management and other areas. There will be an organized question and answer session.

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.

Mother Nature has her own way of making us recognize her.  The dark long days of winter have given way to the longer springtime daylight.  Trees are budding, waiting until their right moment to pop their leaves to the world, waking up as the seasons change.  The flowers are starting to bloom.  Suddenly, it becomes a symphony of color in these hills; wildflowers, trees, and animals all greeting each after the quiet of winter. (more…)

For Traveler reader convenience, we’re posting a long, but clickable link to Ozark National Scenic Riverways General Management Plan progress. Riverways is not accepting comments at this time (3/09) but anticipates releasing GMP draft alternatives for public comment in late spring. We just thought you might like to see what has been done so far.
NPS Ozark Riverways GMP.

STLtoday.com, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch website, reports the Army Corps of Engineers is suing AmerenUE, claiming Clearwater Lake in
southeast Missouri was damaged by sediment from the 2005 collapse of the
utility’s upper Taum Sauk reservoir. Read the story at http://www.stltoday.com/business/manutech

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Park Ranger Bryan Culpepper (right) is shown here receiving the prestigious Freeman Tilden Award presented to him by Superintendent Reed Detring of Ozark National Scenic Riverways.

Bryan Culpepper, park ranger at Ozark National Scenic Riverways, was awarded the Midwest Region Freeman Tilden Award for his continued contribution to Ozark Heritage Days and the National Park Service. The award recognizes outstanding (more…)

From left, Corps of Engineers Divisional Award Winners: Park Ranger Crystal Baughman from Chief Joseph Dam and Rufus Wood Lake (Northwest Division Region), Stephen Austin (USACE Headquarters), Natural Resources Specialist Park Ranger Andrew Jefferson from Wappapello Lake (National Winner and Mississippi Valley Division Region), Park Ranger Kimberly Baker from Caesar Creek Lake (Great Lakes and Ohio River Division Region), Recreation Specialist Judy Scott (Southwest Division Region).

It’s been a good year for the Corps of Engineers staff at Wappapello Lake.

The Wappapello Lake Project and staff was recognized as the nation’s top U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Natural Resources Management Project of the Year in 2008 and Wappapello’s Natural Resources Specialist Park Ranger Andrew Jefferson was (more…)

The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers at Wappapello Lake is preparing for the annual winter drawdown from recreation pool to conservation pool. In accordance with the water control plan, the pool is drawn down from the recreation pool elevation of (more…)