FINS, FURS, FEATHERS

Coming up:

April 2-4 Old Greenville Blackpowder Rendezvous, Greenville Recreation Area, Wappapello Lake.

April 3 Clearwater Lake clean-up, starts at 8 a.m.

April 4 Velo Girardeau Bicycle Ride, the Thebes Historical Tour, 24 miles. Cyclists meet at McClure Elementary School at 2 p.m.

April 5 Velo Girardeau Bicycle Club meeting, Hirsch Community Room, Cape Girardeau Public Library, 7 p.m.

April 11 Velo Girardeau Bicycle Ride, P & G Loop, 35 miles, riders meet at Kent Library, 2 p.m.

April 18 Velo Girardeau Bicycle Ride, Jim Davis Memorial ride, 28 miles, meet at Kent Library, 2 p.m.

April 24 Annual Missouri Beautification Association Spring Roadside Cleanup, Lake Wappapello.

April 25 Velo Girardeau Bicycle Ride, Scott County Pancake ride, 40 miles, meet at Scott City High School, 1:30 p.m.

May 2 River Country Outdoors Bass Tournament, Lake of Egypt, Marion, Ill., 7 a.m. start from Egyptian Hills Marina.

May 22-24 Silver Bullet National Drag Boat Races, Lake Wappapello.

July 2-4 Waterfest, Lake Wappapello.

---

Velo Girardeau Bicycle Club will conduct its annual Thebes Historical Tour ride Sunday.

The 24-mile trip will start from McClure, Ill. Elementary School at 2 p.m.

"This is the first Sunday of Daylight Time, and most rides will start at 2 p.m.," said Judy Cureton, ride leader for the Thebes tour.

---

PIEDMONT The Army Corps of Engineers is conducting a special cleanup campaign at Clearwater Lake Saturday.

Cleanup activities start at 8 a.m. Saturday.

Volunteers are still needed for the day's activities, said Joe a. Corbin, a spokesman for the Corps of Engineers. Anyone interested may call (314)-223-7777 for additional information.

"Everything will be provided for the volunteers, including a free lunch and afternoon entertainment by the `Sugarfoot' band," said Corbin. Lunch will be served at noon at the River Road Left Park picnic shelters. the band will play until 2 p.m.

---

WAPPAPELLO All major campgrounds and say-use areas opened April 1 for the 1993 recreation season at Wappapello Lake.

More information concerning campground openings and costs is available by calling the Wappapello Lake Management Office, (314)-222-8562. The 24-hour Recreation Hotline (314)-222-8139 is open for lake information.

MARION, Ill. The fifth annual River Country Outdoors Bass Tournament will be held at Lake of Egypt near here May 2.

Starting time for the tournament is 7 a.m. with a closing time of 3:30 p.m. Tournament headquarters and weight-in site will be Egyptian Hills Marina, located on the north side of Lake Egypt.

The team entry fee is $65 until April 28. Late-entry fee will be $80.

---

The Velo Girardeau Bicycle Club will hold its next meeting April 5 in the Hirsch Community Room at the Cape Girardeau Public Library, starting at 7 p.m.

---

GREENVILLE The 15th annual Old Greenville Blackpowder Rendezvous will be held at Greenville Recreation Area this weekend.

Competition in rifle, pistol and smooth bore trade gun shooting, knife and tomahawk throwing and fire starting with flint and steel will be held, and traders will exhibit such wares as pre-1840 era rifles, knives, tomahawks, clothing and leather goods.

---

JEFFERSON CITY The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is offering an audio-cassette collection of the 12 month issues of the 1992 Missouri Conservationist.

Since late 1991, MDC has been sending recordings of volunteers reading the Conservationist to public libraries across the state for free loan to their patrons. In addition, the Wolfner Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped reproduces the tapes and sends them to about 80 patrons.

The full set of tapes from 1992 is available for purchase. The 12 tapes, which include descriptions of the photographs, are packaged in a special book-type album. To receive a set, send a check or money order for $19.12 to: Conservationist Tapes, Missouri Department of Conservation, 2901 W. Truman Blvd., Jefferson City, MO., 65109-0580.

---

VAN BUREN For the fifth year in a row, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is opening Peck Ranch Refuge for a special turkey hunt, according to MDC turkey biologist Larry Vangilder.

"Getting a slot to hunt on the 11,000-acre refuge should be no problem," said Vangilder. "In previous years, we have seldom used the full allotment of 40 hunters per day."

Vangilder said the special hunt will continue throughout the regular spring turkey season April 19 through May 2. The hunt is part of a research study on the refuge in northwestern Carter County. This is the area where MDC trapped the first turkeys for its turkey restoration program in the 1930s.

Up to 40 hunters will be allowed to hunt inside the refuge fence each day on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration will begin at 4:45 a.m. daily at Peck Ranch Conservation Area (CA) headquarters. Hunters can scout the refuge from 5 a.m. until 2 p.m. April 17 and 18.

For more information, call Peck Ranch, (314) 323-4249 or 323-4359.