Conservation commission's public meeting scheduled for March 11

The Missouri Conservation Commission will meet March 10 and 11 at the Conservation Department's headquarters in Southeast Missouri, located at 2302 County Park Drive in Cape Girardeau.

The Commission will meet in executive session March 10 and in open session 8:30 a.m. March 11.

Commission meetings are open to the public.

Items to be placed on the agenda for presentations or other business should be sent in writing to Director, Missouri Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, Mo., 65102-0180 or via facsimile to (573) 751-4467, at least 10 working days before the meeting date. The deadline for the next meeting is Feb. 25.

People requiring special services or accommodations to attend the meeting can make arrangements by writing to the same address, or by calling (573) 751-4115.

Quail meetings planned

A series of public meetings in April will give Missourians a chance to learn about plans to restore bobwhite quail numbers. Those who attend will be encouraged to express their ideas about the quail plan and other conservation subjects.

The meetings are scheduled in eight regions throughout the state and will feature representatives from the Missouri Department of Conservation and the citizen-led Quail and Grassland Songbird Leadership Council. At each meeting, Conservation Department representatives will explain plans for an interagency effort to restore numbers of quail and other grassland birds. Other organizations involved in the effort include the U.S. Department of Agriculture and nongovernmental organizations such as Quail Unlimited and Audubon Missouri.

For information on the meeting in the Southeast Region, planned for April 2 at Maintz Wildlife Preserve in Cape Girardeau County, call (573) 290-5730.

New conservation area

A new conservation area in Pemiscot County will benefit wildlife that has suffered from the loss of wetland areas, according to officials with the Department of Conservation.

The department recently acquired 2,087 acres in the Mississippi River flood plain north of Caruthersville and named it Black Island Conservation Area. The area comprises low-lying cropland and forested uplands.

Wildlife regional supervisor Harriet Weger said the department will work to restore the bottomland hardwood forest that once covered the area.

Recreational opportunities at Black Island CA include hunting, fishing and birdwatching. The Conservation Department also is exploring the possibility of building a boat ramp on a river chute that connects the area with Gayoso Bend CA.