FINS, FEATHERS, FUR

Mingo National Wildlife Refuge reopens it weekend visitors center this weekend.

Starting Saturday, the center, located about a mile north of Puxico on Highway 51 will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekend -- Saturday and Sunday -- and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The center houses wildlife, archaeological and geological displays, interpretive and slide presentations.

The entire refuge -- unless posted otherwise -- is now open to fishing, hiking, photography and wildlife observation. Maps and regulations are posted at refuge entrances.

Entrance fees are charged at Mingo from March 15 through Nov. 30. Visitors are required to obtain one entrance fee permit for each vehicle entering the refuge. Seasonal permits, such as the federal duck stamp and golden passports, are available at the visitor center. Golden eagle permits are $25, and are valid at all federal recreation areas; golden-age passports, for persons 62 or older, are $10 and good for life. Daily permits are $3 per vehicle.

The Missouri Conservation Commission will hold its next meeting April 12, at Department of Conservation headquarters in Jefferson City.

Members of the commission are Jerry P. Combs, Kennett, Chairman; Andy Dalton, Springfield, Vice Chairman; John Powell, Rolla, Secretary; Anita B. Gorman, Kansas City, Member.

New land acquisitions approved during the recent March meeting included:

Twenty-six acres on Contrary Creek and the Missouri River in Buchanan County as an addition to Jentell Brees Access; 21 acres on St. Francis River in St. Francois County to develop for public fishing access; 80 acres in Shannon County as an addition to Rocky Creek Conservation Area and one acre in Howard County as an addition to Davisdale Conservation Area.

The Missouri Conservation Commission has authorized advertising and selling an estimated 559,280 board feet of mixed hardwood and pine timber from 127 acres of the 9,778 acre Clow Conservation Area in Shannon County.

Other action authorizes entering into an agreement with the Friends of the Zoo of Kansas City to contribute $2 million toward design and construction of the entrance building, gardens and exhibit and authorizes allocating $5 million in the current fiscal year and up to $10 million through fiscal year 1996 for purchase impacted land or specific land rights from willing sellers

The Commission presented special achievement awards to several employees for "outstanding performance--above and beyond the call of duty--when they assisted in emergency work during the Flood of '93."

Among recipients were Gary Pogue, Puxico; Richard Harris, Bloomfield; and Laura Wright, Poplar Bluff, for their actions "providing aid when a man suddenly collapsed along a roadway" in Stoddard county.

Other awards were presented for work in the Hardin area during the flood. Recipients were Jake Allman, Liberty; Chris Capps, Liberty; Doug Clemons, Kyle Reno, and Dan Hahn, Cameron; Tom Davidson, Marshall; Steve Ewing and Greg Pitchford, Chillicothe; Tammy Hannah, Bockow; George Hiser, Richmond; Phil Jeffries, Excelsior Springs; Harold Kerns, St. Joseph; Bob Miller, Savannah; Steve Nichols and Doug Yaeger, Platte City; Vernon Renne, Carrollton; Lynn Schrader, Gower; and Kevin Sullivan, Grain Valley.

WARSAW, Mo. -- The organizers of the Missouri Invitational Celebrity Turkey Hunt hope Missourians will drive to Warsaw for a chance to hobnob with some stars.

Confirmed participants for tahe April 22-24 hunt include: Ned Beatty, star of numerous films and guest star on the television show "Roseanne;" Patrick Duffy, star of the television show "Dallas;" Jameson Parker of "Simon & Simon" fame; and Missouri Conservation Commission Vice Chairman Andy Dalton.

Celebrities and local guides, paired in a random drawing, compete to see who can bring in the biggest turkey gobbler. They also will compete in a trap shoot. Prizes include custom shotguns.

The annual hunt also offers attractions for spectators. Besides opportunities to meet celebrities in formal and informal settings, visitors can listen to concerts by famous musicians, look over wildlife artists' creations at an art show and bid for celebrity memorabilia, including a signed hat from country-western heart-throb Garth Brooks.

Additional information is availble by calling the Warsaw Chamber of Commerce, (816) 438-5592.

JEFFERSON CITY -- Missourians who hope to have birds occupy nest boxes on their property need to make preparations now for the arrival of summer tenants.

Jim D. Wilson, ornithologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), said the first purple martins arrive in southern Missouri in mid-March, and reach northern Missouri a week or so later.

"It's amazing how precise they are," said Wilson. "The first males can pretty much be counted on to show up right at mid-month and claim the best nesting sites. The females and most males come in early April. Egg laying begins in late April or early May."

Martin houses should be placed 12 to 20 feet off the ground and at least 40 feet from the nearest building or tree, noted Wilson. "Purple martins usually raise only one brood per year in Missouri and leave on their southern migration soon after. Most are gone from the state by Sept. 1."

Missouri's state bird, the Eastern bluebird, begins laying eggs as early as April 1. Wilson says nest boxes should be put out now. Bluebirds may raise three broods a year, and good nest sites remain in demand throughout the summer.

JEFFERSON CITY -- There are many ways to measure how much Missourians love the outdoors. One of the most telling measures is how much Missourians give back to nature. In 1993 alone, Missourians donated more than 89,000 hours of work and more than $3 million in cash or property to the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). That's a lot of love.

MDC Realty Agent Bill Kenney said Missourians donated land appraised at more than $2.33 million to the agency in 1993. They also donated $692,512 to support MDC's programs for forest, fish and wildlife management and education. The donations were remarkably diverse.

To honor the late Paul Runge of Higginsville, his family donated two original panels from a 1948 "Mark Trail" cartoon by the cartoon strip's originator, Benton Dodd. It is difficult to put a price on that art work, which now is on display at the Burr Oak Woods Conservation Nature Center in Blue Springs.

Easier to express in dollars and cents was the donation of 13.5 acres of land in downtown St. Louis by the estate of Marjorie Elizabeth Gempp. Appraisers valued the land, now known as Claire Gempp Davidson Conservation Area, at $800,000.

A conservative estimate of the value of volunteer work donated to MDC comes from multiplying the number of hours worked by the minimum wage -- $4.25 per hour. By that measure, the agency received $378,250 in free labor last year. Much of the work was worth much more than minimum wage.