OUTDOOR CORNER: HUNTING AND FISHING DAY SALUTES OUTDOORS

Next Saturday is National Hunting and Fishing Day. Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan has also signed a proclamation declaring Saturday as Hunting and Fishing Day in Missouri.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), along with other organizations, will host a variety of activities throughout the state to recognize the important role that hunters and anglers have played in conservation.

One of those activities will be an open house held at the MDC Southeast Regional Service Center, located in Cape Girardeau County Park-North from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. There will be a variety of displays and informational booths set up for the entire day in addition to scheduled programs.

The Cape Girardeau Chapter of Ducks Unlimited will be on hand to answer questions about their organization. Likewise, the Bootheel Boss Gobblers, the local chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, will be represented.

The Zenon River Brigade, a local group of history enthusiasts, will provide a "Living History Encampment." They will display articles that were used by frontiersmen more than 200 years ago. In addition, they will have on hand a variety of pelts and will discuss the major role that fur trapping played in the cultural and economic development of Missouri.

A number of MDC personnel will be on hand throughout the day to provide information and answer questions. The Long-Term Resource Monitoring team will display boats and equipment that they utilize in their studies on the Mississippi River.

At 10 a.m. and again at 1 p.m., education consultant Jay Barber will conduct programs discussing and showing the role that snakes play in the Missouri outdoors.

At 3 p.m., public relations specialist Ralph Duren will present "Calls of the Wild." Ralph is nationally renowned as an imitator of wildlife sounds.

Urban forester Rocky Hayes will be on hand periodically throughout the day to answer questions and introduce Smokey Bear to visitors.

For further information about these particular activities, contact the Missouri Department of Conservation Southeast Regional Service Center at 290-5730 weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

~Gene Myers is a Missouri Conservation Agent in Cape Girardeau County