FINS, FEATHERS, FUR

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- More than a half-million Canada geese are in the Southern Illinois area.

The latest goose census, conducted Thursday Wednesday in Southern Illinois/Western Kentucky area, shows about 559,000 geese in the area, up more than 100,000 from the county of a week ago.

More than 500,000 of the geese are in Southern Illinois, with 165,000 at the Crab Orchard Wildlife Refuge near Carbondale; 115,000 in Alexander County, home of the Horseshoe Lake; and 68,000 at Union County Wildlife Refuge.

A total of 50,000 geese were counted at Ballard County Wildlife Refuge in West Kentucky.

Harvest total in four-county Alexander, Union, Jackson and Williamson counties are 11,069. A total of 3,055 geese have been harvested in Alexander County; 1,989 in Union County, and 6,025 in the Crab Orchard area near Carbondale.

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JEFFERSON CITY A new service offered by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) now makes "reading" the award-winning Missouri Conservationist magazine easy for anyone with a public library card.

Each month, employees at MDC's central office in Jefferson City volunteer as readers. They record Conservationist articles and describe photographs from cover to cover. These recordings are available on cassette to public libraries statewide.

"We have offered Conservationist audio tapes to persons with visual impairments for years," said Dixie Powers, chief of MDC's Public Affairs Division. "But since October of 1991, we also have offered the tapes free to public libraries. Anyone whose library carries the tapes can check them out and `read' the magazine while they are driving, folding laundry, gardening or whatever it is that keeps them too busy to digest the magazine the conventional way."

Arrangements are being made for the tapes to be available at the Cape Girardeau Public Library.

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WAPPAPELLO, Mo. Christmas tree fish shelters will be placed in Wappapello Lake Saturday.

There are 18 fish shelters at Wappapello Lake.

"New trees must be added to shelters each year," said Michael McClendon of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the lake.

Anyone interested in assisting the Crop of Engineers in placing the shelters in the lake may registered at Red Man Creek, Chaonia landing or Holliday Landing boat ramps at 11 a.m.

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JEFFERSON CITY Missouri artists may enter the Missouri Department of Conservation's (MDC) annual Trout Stamp Design Competition through Jan. 29.

"It appears the number of entries could be down this year," said Cindy Borgwordt, MDC fisheries information specialist. "Many artists wait until near the deadline to send entries, but the response has been very slow this year."

MDC has held the contest each year since 1983 as a way to choose designs for its trout stamps. The competition is open to Missouri residents only. Each entrant may submit one entry.

Criteria used in judging are anatomical or technical accuracy, artistic composition, eye appeal, detail, tone and suitability for a stamp. MDC will select the winning entry Feb. 5 at Lodge of Four Seasons, Lake Ozark.

Contest rules and other information are available by contacting: Missouri Trout Stamp Design Competition, Missouri Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, Mo., 65102-0180.

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JEFFERSON CITY The Missouri Conservation Commission will hold its regular monthly meeting beginning at 9 a.m. Jan. 29 at Tan-Tar-A Resort, Osage Beach.