OUTDOORS GIFTS MAKE PERFECT TREATS FOR HOLIDAY SURPRISE

JEFFERSON CITY -- This holiday season, how would you like to give those on your gift list the state of Missouri to explore and enjoy?

You can do that with gifts from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), including lifetime permits, books and videos.

Three lifetime permits will be available starting Dec. 1. The lifetime small-game permit will entitle holders to a lifetime of harvesting rabbits, squirrels, quail, pheasants, migratory irds and other small game. The lifetime fishing permit will allow anglers to fish Missouri lakes, streams and rivers each season. Each of these permits will cost $400. The Conservation Partner permit ($800) will include both lifetime fishing and small-game hunting privileges.

For the busy sportsmen and women on the go, Heritage Cards may be just the ticket. These cards are designed to make permit purchases easier by eliminating the need for permit applications. All information needed to buy a permit (age, address and hunter education certification) is included in the cards' magnetic strips.

Heritage Card holders also receive a 5-percent discount on retail purchases of publications, nursery stock and some other items available through MDC. A completed application and $2 processing fee are all that's needed to get a Heritage Card.

MDC offers books with information on the state's wildlife and plants and suggestions of where to go see them. The "Missouri Nature Viewing Guide" ($3.50) details 101 exceptional areas for viewing wildlife. The 264-page "Missouri's Conservation Atlas" ($15) provides complete directions to all MDC areas. Other books available include "Water Plants for Missouri Ponds" ($7.50) and "Missouri Wildflowers" ($7).

Beautiful photography and daily reminders of natural events make the "Natural Events Calendar" ($3) a great gift for those who enjoy tracking the days according to what's occurring outdoors.

MDC videos will let you soar with eagles, glide down a Missouri stream and participate in the last railroad tie drive on the Black River. You can purchase "Where Eagles Soar" for $9. For $10 each you can get "Streams: The Force of Life," "Stamp of Character," a video on the T.J. Moss Tie Company of St. Louis and "Blooming Secrets," which shows how spring wildflowers have developed an amazing array of survival strategies. "Grandin: The Big Mill and Tall Timber" ($11) takes you back to the late 1800s, when the Ozarks was home to the largest sawmills in the nation.

For the kids and those who are kids at heart "Habitactics" is a great way to learn about conservation. The computer game provides information on Missouri plants and animals and the challenges of ecosystem management. Habitactics, available on CD-ROM for $10, works with many Macintosh and MS-DOS systems.

Calendars and books are available at MDC service centers around the state and at conservation nature centers in Springfield, Kansas City, St. Louis and Jefferson City. Prices do not include state sales tax. Mail-order service is available for an additional charge. For complete information about pricing, shipping costs and quantity discounts when ordering by mail, write to: Order Form, Missouri Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, Mo., 65102-0180. Or call toll-free, 1-800-392-4115.