FINS, FEATHERS, FUR

Missouri and Illinois will soon receive their share of the more than $356.7 million raised nationally from excise taxes paid by hunters and anglers which will support fish and wildlife restoration and recreation projects in 1994.

Missouri will receive $8.4 million -- $4.4 million in fish restoration funds, and 4.0 million in wildlife restoration funds -- and will Illinois will receive $3.7 million in fish restoration funds and $2.7 in wildlife funds for a total of 6.4 million.

The Interior Department's U.S. Fish land Wildlife Service will distribute the funds.

The Corps of Engineers says it will charge daily user fees to boat or swim at its recreation areas in Missouri this summer.

The fees - $2 per boat at boat ramps and $1 per person, up to $3 per vehicle, at beaches - were authorized last year by passage of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act.

The fees are scheduled to go into effect June 1 in Missouri, Roger Hayes, a spokesman for the corps' St. Louis office, said Tuesday.

The fees will apply at the corps' recreation areas at Blue Springs Lake, Mark Twain Lake, Clearwater Lake, Harry S. Truman Reservoir, Long Branch Lake, Longview Lake, Pomme de Terre Lake, Smithville Reservoir, Stockton Lake, Table Rock Lake and Wappapello Lake, Hayes said.

Hayes said there will be no charge for children under 12. Annual passes are available for $25, and people over 62 and those eligible for federal disability benefits get 50 percent discounts.

Campers at corps sites already pay fees ranging from $6 to $12, and they won't be required to pay the new fees, Hayes said.

The corps estimates the new fees will bring in between $11 million and $13 million a year, Hayes said.

The Illinois Department of Conservation's (IDOC) catchable trout programs returns this year, following a two-year hiatus.

"Thanks to anglers, rainbow trout are being stock this spring in 25 lakes and eight streams throughout the state," said Brent Manning, director of the IDOC. "More stockings are planned for the fall."

Funds generated by the new inland trout stamp are enabling the IDOC to bring back the popular trout program, which stocked catchable-sized trout from 1984 through the spring of 1991, when the program was halted because of budget cutbacks.

A new $6 inland trout stamp -- along with a valid fishing permit -- is required for anglers fishing for trout in waters other than Lake Michigan. A Lake Michigan salmon stamp, also $6, is required for anglers fishing for salmon and trout in Lake Michigan.

The IDOC will stock nearly 55,000 rainbows averaging 10 to 11 inches in length and weighing aboaut a half pound.

Closest areas in Southern Illinois are the Cave-in-Rock State Park Pond in Hardin County; Dixon Springs Agriculture Center lake in Pope County and Ferne Clyffe State Park Lake, Johnson County.

WASHINGTON -- Children 12-and-under would have to wear life jackets while boating, under a bill passed Monday by the House.

Current law says that boats on federal waterways must have enough life jackets for everyone aboard. Under the new measure youngsters would have to actually wear the jackets.

The recreational boating legislation would apply to children under 13 on an open deck of recreational boats under 26 feet in length. They would have to wear Coast Guard-approved jackets.

The bill also encourages states to adopt uniform laws on boating while intoxicated by making available money in the Clean Vessel Act for states with adequate laws.

Ray Eye, turkey-caller, turkey hunter and "great outdoor legend," will be featured in "Eye on the Wild Turkey," to be presented at Southeastern Illinois College (SIC) College March 31.

A turkey-hunting seminar will be held at 7 p.m., to be followed by a turkey-calling and owl-hooting contest.

Eye is a two-time National Levi Garrett and World Turkey Calling Champion. Admission is $10 for the turkey calling contest, $5 for the turkey-hunting seminar and $5 for the owl-hooting contest.

Additional information is available by calling SIC Office of Community Services (618)-252-6276.

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- U.S. Forest Service employees from throughout the agency's 20-state eastern region are getting a crash course in how to make the forest more accessible to disabled persons.

"We don't want to pave the wilderness," said Janet Zeller, who oversees accessibility issues in the region. Zeller, who also uses a wheelchair, is in Carbondale this week leading the workshop.

Several local people with disabilities participated in a panel discussion Tuesday.

Trail designers must try to achieve the goal of accessibility without harming the surrounding habitat, Zeller said. At the same time, budget cuts make volunteers and community help essential, she said.

"How do we maintain the character and experience of a place and make it accessible?" Zeller asked. "That is the big question."

"Free Fishing Days" will be held in Missouri June 11-12.

During the weekend observance, residents and non-residents alike can fish free. On those two days, permits, daily trout tags and trout stamps are unnecessary at any Missouri Department of Conservation area and most other places. Requirements for special permits may still be in effect in some county, city or private waters, however.

National Fishing Week for 1994 has been proclaimed for June 6 through 12.