FINS, FEATHERS, FUR

WILLOW SPRINGS -- The Scenic Rivers Stream Team Association will conduct a river clean-up on the Jacks Fork River Saturday. The association will provide sack lunches for participants, which include several community groups.

Additional information is available by calling Mary Ann Carr (417) 469-4869 between 4 and 8 p.m. today.

The Missouri Conservation Commission will hold its May meeting in Jefferson City May 25-26 at Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) headquarters, 2901 W. Truman Blvd., Jefferson City.

The meeting starts at 1 p.m. May 25 and will reconvene at 10:15 a.m. May 26.

Commission meetings are open to the public. Anyone with business for the Commission should contact: Director, Missouri Department of Conservation, Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180, or phone (314) 751-4115, at least 10 days before the meeting date.

Commissioners are: Jerry P. Combs, Kennett, chairman; Andy Dalton, Springfield, vice chairman; John Powell, Rolla, secretary; and Anita B. Gorman, Kansas City, member.

Wildlife art collectors have until June 30 to apply for the Governor's Edition 1994 Missouri Waterfowl Stamp from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

The '94 duck stamp design, by artist Keith Alexander, depicts a group of white-fronted geese standing in a harvested corn field at James A. Reed Memorial Conservation Area.

Gov. Carnahan will sign the first 100 stamps, which will sell for $100 each. The governor's signature will be stamped on the remaining 1,900 stamps, which will sell for $50 each.

Additional information is available by contacting Gene Kelly, (314) 751-4115, ext. 139.

Chuck Witcher of Kirkwood won the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) trout stamp competition this year.

Judges selected Witcher's painting over 27 other entries at the annual competition this month at Runge Conservation Nature Center. The watercolor, depicting a brown trout rising to an angler's fly, will appear on the 1995 Missouri Trout Stamp.

In naming the winner, MDC Director Jerry Presley noted that Witcher's artworks have placed among the top five in three previous state trout stamp competitions. The 1995 trout stamp contest was the seventh that Witcher has entered.

Arkansas resident Mike Dees boated a 27-pound, 4- ounce brown trout at Bull Shoals Lake March 27.

The lunker would have smashed Missouri's state record for brown trout (23 pounds, 4 ounces), but Dees caught it on the wrong side of the state line. His catch drew little attention in Arkansas, where the state record for brown trout stands at 40 pounds, 4 ounces. The fish was too big to have been stocked in Arkansas, which only recently began releasing brown trout at Bull Shoals. It has to be one stocked by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

JEFFERSON CITY -- Missourians who want to earn credit toward a college degree or just learn about fish, wildlife and forests can take advantage of more than 30 upcoming workshops offered by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

The courses take place through October at locations throughout the state. They range from one to five days in length and entitle participants to up to three hours of graduate or undergraduate college credit.

Among course titles are Titles include: Spring Wildflowers of Missouri; Identification and Uses of Missouri Plants; Using the Outdoors as a Classroom; Wildlife Management in Missouri; Conservation Education for Life Science and Agriculture Education Teachers; Conservation Education for Elementary Teachers, and many more.

For a full listing of courses and credit available, plus dates and locations, write to: Education Division, Missouri Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180.