If winter weather doesn’t wipe it out, meeting will provide CWD answers for public at Festus VFW

Maybe I’m obsessed with chronic wasting disease. This column marks the fourth time I’ve written about it in the past four months, but on the other hand, it is the first time this year.

While there are people who are quick with theories attempting to discount the deadly deer disease, I am more aligned with the state Department of Conservation position that CWD is “one of the greatest conservation challenges of our time and is likely the greatest threat to Missouri’s deer population since the species almost disappeared from the state a century ago.”

The situation has become personal to me because in the past four years, two of the six deer I have killed on a farm south of Festus have tested positive for the disease. Another antlered buck harvested by an adjoining property owner last year had the disease as well. CWD is big news in south central Jefferson County.

Nothing about this buck appeared abnormal when it approached my bowhunting stand this fall. He tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

The eight-point buck I shot during archery season is one of 12 deer taken by hunters this fall that tested positive in a concentrated area of about 50 square miles. For those who say the disease is rare, this year’s positive tests bring the county total to more than 50 in that triangle of land.

Archery deer hunting season will continue for two more weeks, and post-season targeted culling is likely to add more positives since it will be conducted on properties where the disease has been detected. County totals will continue to rise with additional testing.

Including all of the deer tested in the state, the rate of positive cases is about 0.3 percent. That may be inconsequential to some people, but the rate for me since 2021 is 33 percent, and for antlered bucks, I’m two for two this decade.

The conservation department returns again this year to provide an update on chronic wasting disease in our area at 6 p.m. on Jan. 6 at the Festus VFW Hall, 900 VFW Drive. Similar meetings are scheduled on Jan. 9 in Perry County and Jan. 13 in Ste. Genevieve.

I have always had a great deal of respect for the men and women who chose a career in wildlife science and protection. They are going to earn their state-funded salaries when they stand in front of the crowd and fend off questions about deer health beyond the biology.

I will talk to anyone regarding the things I know and believe about CWD, but I frequently find myself on defense against some amazing allegations. A central theme is almost always that you can’t trust the government. While that may certainly be a safe bet regarding federal bureaucrats and state administration politicians, I find it hard to believe that hundreds of researchers, agents and other conservation employees are conspiring to eliminate the white-tailed deer that are the state’s cash cow.

Among the other entities often blamed are the insurance companies. (I’m not inclined to defend them any more than the politicians.) The unsubstantiated claim is that they are pumping piles of cash into conservation coffers rather than pay out for deer versus vehicle accident claims. Jake, Flo, the gecko and emu have been rolling in the dough for decades despite the deer population. The math doesn’t make that idea plausible.

I have heard complaints about federal funding as a feeder for the concerns about CWD. I haven’t been able to identify that specific source of government largesse, but the state has been receiving federal tax dollars for many years for conservation. If they are getting more to fight a deadly disease, it’s probably because CWD could become a national epidemic. It has been discovered in 35 states, five Canadian provinces, Norway and South Korea.

The states that haven’t found it yet, probably are not testing. Refusing to submit samples is a head-in-the-sand approach to self-preservation.

Missouri’s Department of Conservation was founded after unregulated hunting until the early 1900s decimated deer, turkey, and other wild populations to near extinction in the state. Since then those game animals, along with black bears, elk and many other smaller species have made a resurgence. All activities designed to find and limit CWD protect our white-tailed deer.

John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine.

CWD surveillance statistics show slow continuous expansion

Eleven additional cases of chronic wasting disease have been discovered in southern Jefferson County this fall. The gray indicates locations where CWD was detected in the past. The light colored areas are new this year. The darker boxes are places where the disease was detected this year and in the past.

The number of deer that test positive for chronic wasting disease in Missouri continues to climb at a slow and steady pace. That bad news is positive from the perspective that it could be worse.

Eleven new cases have been documented this fall in the same small area of Jefferson County where the disease has been detected 42 times since 2016. One positive test was reported last year near Ware, but all of the rest in the county have been in the triangle bounded by Interstate 55, Highway 67 and the Jefferson / Ste. Genevieve County line.

The largest number of samples submitted for testing each year are collected during the first two days of the November portion of the firearms hunting season. In 43 counties where the disease has been found in the past, hunters are required to have their deer tested during opening weekend. The results of those tests have been posted on the state Department of Conservation website.

More than 18,500 harvested deer were tested from opening weekend statewide. Combining all fall deer hunting seasons so far, almost 28,000 deer have been tested, and 98 news cases have been detected. That small percentage of positive tests – less than 0.3 percent – proves the rarity of CWD in the state, but it doesn’t diminish the danger of the deadly disease.

In locations like the Jefferson County triangle, the 42 positive results over the past eight years may have been from 1,000 tests from that area. That boosts the positivity rate over 4 percent. Several surrounding states have much higher incidence than Missouri, and places like Wisconsin have concentrated areas where 25 percent of adult bucks test positive for the disease. Resistance to testing or ignoring the possibility makes the spread of the disease worse.

More testing will be completed on deer harvested through the remaining archery hunting season. Deer will also be removed in post-season targeted culling efforts on properties where the disease has been detected.

The 11 cases in Jefferson County is among the highest totals this fall. Eight deer have tested positive in both Linn and Macon counties, which is where the disease was first detected in wild deer in Missouri in 2012. Somewhat surprisingly 10 cases have been reported in 2024 in Osage County where the first cases in that county were found last year.

Two other positive test reports are also notable for their locations. Texas County, one of the largest in the state geographically, regularly shows up among the top harvest counties in the state. Because the disease had not been detected there in the past, it has not been included in a CWD management zone, but it will be next year.

Callaway County also finishes among the top five in harvest totals consistently. It has been an island in mid-Missouri with CWD zone counties surrounding it. A positive test in Audrain County near its border with Callaway will likely mean mandatory testing in the future for that deer hunting mecca surrounding Fulton, Mo.

A little closer to home, Franklin County matched Jefferson with 11 new reported positive tests so far this year. Ste. Genevieve County, which has the highest number of positive tests in the state at 102, added 13 new cases. Perry County also has five new reports this year including one close enough to Cape Girardeau County for it to be added to surveillance efforts in the future.

“Hunters who provide samples from harvested deer play a critical role in efforts to monitor the spread of CWD and identify new areas of infection,” said Deb Hudman, supervisor for the state’s wildlife health program. “Finding CWD as early as possible provides us with the ability to work with landowners and hunters to effectively manage the disease to slow its spread and protect Missouri’s deer population.”

Similar to mad cow disease, CWD affects deer and other cervids. It is 100% fatal, and there is no vaccine or cure. The disease can be spread from direct deer-to-deer contact, through improper disposal of deer carcasses, and through the environment by deer contacting infectious material from other deer.

John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine.

Deer harvest totals down due to several accumulating factors

There are nearly as many theories on the significant drop in deer harvest numbers this fall as there are hunters who tagged deer. And most of that speculation probably comes from guys like me who didn’t have success in the November portion of firearms season.

Without including the conspiracy stories, there are plenty of logical reasons that deer harvest totals were down more than 20 percent during the opening weekend and 15 percent below the five-year average for the whole season.

Rather than one simple answer, several factors worked in combination this year to favor the deer over the hunters. Opening day was as late as it possibly could be. The acorn crop is amazing in woods throughout the state. The weather was warm and windy, and the season opened under the light of a full “super moon.”

Opening weekend netted more than 90,000 deer for hunters last year, but only 68,312 on Nov. 16 and 17 this year. During the full 11-day season, hunters checked 159,120 deer this year compared to 193,885 last year.

The first day of “deer season” opens two Saturdays ahead of Thanksgiving. Since the holiday was Nov. 28 this year, that moved hunting time past the peak of the deer breeding season, known by hunters as “the rut.” The earliest possible start date occurs when Nov. 22 is the fourth Thursday in of the month, and deer season opens on Nov. 10.

“The peak of the rut in Missouri occurs around Nov. 10,” said Jason Isabelle, program supervisor for the state Department of Conservation. “When the calendar shifts, it puts the opener about a week past peak rut and deer movement isn’t as high as it is earlier in the month.”

As deer breeding ramps up, bucks pay more attention to that activity than their own personal safety and are frequently on the move looking for opportunity. Those searches keep the does on their toes too.

Everyone sees deer in open fields nibbling on blades of grass and other greens, but their primary diet (other than the grain people often illegally feed them) consists of white oak acorns when they can find them. Because of a bumper crop this year, deer can discover their favorite nuts with almost every step.

“There are a lot of acorns in the woods this year,” Isabelle said. “When that happens, deer don’t need to move as much to find food, and they frequent fields and other open areas less often.”

Counties with the largest decline in harvest were in the forested portions of the state.

“Many northern and western Missouri counties were either up from last year’s harvest total or were down slightly,” Isabelle said. “With the good acorn crop we have this year, harvest was down the most in the more heavily forested Ozark counties.”

The warm weather of opening weekend had a bigger affect on the hunters than on the deer. They live outside all of the time and concern themselves with food, sex and sanctuary foremost of all. The temperature doesn’t really bother the deer. Hunters on the other hand fare better when they aren’t freezing.

The wind plays a bigger role, and it was beyond breezy on the first Saturday and Sunday of the season. Deer rely on their sense of smell and hearing for protection, and when the wind whips noisily through the trees and scatters the scary scent of predators, deer are more timid about their travels.

“We had a few nice days sprinkled throughout the November portion, but there a number of days with warm temperatures or high winds,” Isabelle said. “These conditions likely affected deer movement and also hunters’ desire to be in the woods.”

I do not put stock in solunar tables for forecasting the best hunting and fishing times, but I certainly believe that the gravitational pull of our planet’s satellite carries its weight. If it can affect ocean tides, it certainly gets a deer’s attention.

More important though is the light the moon reflects. Deer have good eyesight under the darkest of skies. When the full moon peaks on the night before opening day with limited cloud cover, it’s the land of the midnight sun for deer. The moon stayed bright for several nights throughout the season, so the deer were able to move freely under the cover of darkness.

In Jefferson County we saw harvest numbers that mirrored the statewide totals. Hunters checked 2,364 deer here this year compared to 2,936 from Nov. 11 through 21 in 2023.

John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine.

Christmas Bird Count seeks volunteers to carry on 125-year tradition

Audubon’s annual Christmas Bird Count was founded 125 years ago to replace a tradition of shooting and killing birds for sport.

The Thanksgiving Day celebrations are barely behind us, and we are already full speed ahead toward Christmas. One holiday tradition celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, and it continues to grow and add new participants each year.

The Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was initiated in 1900 by a bird fan who suggested that families spend their Christmas Days together documenting birds they see and hear rather than the time-honored task of going out in groups to shoot as many winged creatures as possible.

It is nearly unfathomable that such a practice was taking place barely a century ago in this country to the point that someone was inspired to offer an alternative. I know that I was not above killing birds for the fun of it less than 50 years ago, so what may be more surprising is that the idea actually took off.

Thousands of volunteers in more than 2,000 locations across the western hemisphere will go out for one day between December 14 and January 5 and record all the birds that they encounter in their specific area. All of that data is collected to create one of the largest sets of survey information in the world. Bird biologists, naturalists, and environmental planners study the science to make recommendations based on the trends of recent years and decades.

Anyone with an interest in birds is welcome to participate. CBC Circles have a 15-mile radius and are led by a compiler. Joining the effort is as simple as reaching out to the organizer and expressing a willingness to brave the winter weather for the benefit of a few feathered friends.

The only circle that catches an area of Jefferson County is based near Maeystown, Illinois. The edge of the circle crosses the Mississippi River just north of Crystal City and follows the riverfront to just south of the Truman Access. Michael Avara is the compiler for the Monroe County circle and can be reached via email at avara@illinois.edu.

Missouri hosts about 20 CBCs. Learn more at audubon.org/conservation/join-christmas-bird-count and contact the CBC organizers listed for details on the specific count circles.

St. Louis area circles are based at Weldon Springs in St. Charles County, near Fort Bellefontaine in north St. Louis County and outside of Collinsville in Madison County, Illinois. Immediately south of Jefferson County are circles east of Perryville and at Johnson Shut-Ins State Park.

If the event date is more important than location for planning purposes, the local circles are all scheduled to conduct their surveys on different dates. The Weldon Spring survey will be held on Dec. 15. The Maeystown date is Dec. 27, and Collinsville will go on Dec. 28. The Fort Bellefontaine date is Jan. 1. The circle from Johnson Shut-Ins will look for birds on Jan. 3, and the Mid-Mississippi River group near Perryville is scheduled for Jan. 4.

Beginning birders can be paired with more experienced participants, but everyone starts by signing up online with the organization’s Community Science program. Those who join receive a quarterly online publication called American Birds.

The newsletter includes information on all of the work by Audubon toward saving and studying bird species. It also brings the story full circle. Frank Chapman, publisher of Bird Lore, was the man who suggested the Christmas Bird Count 125 years ago. His publication evolved to become Audubon Magazine. Nature lovers have the chance to carry on his holiday tradition.

John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine.

Different traditional Thanksgiving feast comes a week early

As people who enjoy the outdoors, we have much to be thankful for. The beauty and bounty of nature can sustain us physically and spiritually. Spending time in the fresh air is restorative, and the nutritional value of wild game exceeds almost anything you can buy in the store. It also can be really tasty.

I thought of Thanksgiving as we enjoyed each of our evening meals during the opening weekend of deer hunting season. On Friday night the menu included fried fish from a late summer visit to the lake. Saturday evening we dined on boneless venison chops from a buck harvested during the first half of bow season, and Sunday night’s feast featured turkey nuggets from a fall gobbler.

I would share the recipes, but our meal preparation is more process than prescription, so there is nothing written down.

Fresh-caught fried fish makes for a fine Friday night meal anytime of the year.

The fish fry procedure produces the only divided loyalty. Lucky Jim prefers Louisiana brand fish breading, while I am an Andy’s guy. Both are good alternatives, and my plan blends one bag of Yellow and one bag of Red for the perfect balance spice and spunk. Still, I never question Jim’s choice because the Baton Rouge company has been getting it right for 60 years.

There is no debate about the side dish on Friday night. Russet potatoes are sliced pencil thin and soaked in ice water before getting submerged in the hot grease after the fish is all cooked. The floating breading and spices cling to the french fries, so that they do not need any additional seasoning.

We have tried a few other options for the butterfly-sliced, lean deer meat that most people call back straps or tenderloins. I don’t mean to be a snob about it, but I prefer to refer to the cut as boneless chops. The true tenderloin is accessed from inside the carcass, and back strap just seems a little too crude for a connoisseur.

The popular method of wrapping the filets in bacon adds flavor and fat, and a bit of a mess. We have gone to almost exclusively enjoying them after soaking the steaks for a few hours in marinade. Dale’s Seasoning originated at a restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama, 70 years ago and bills itself as the No. 1 marinade in the nation. We use it when we can’t get Andria’s Steak Sauce from the fine dining establishment in O’Fallon, Illinois. Both of the dark, rich sauces really amplify the flavor.

A few minutes on a hot grill is all it takes to turn those steaks into something special. A little bit of horseradish sauce or A-1 for dipping is never a bad idea. Stirring the two together on the plate edges on perfection.

The wild turkey breast requires the most preparation work. It needs to be closely trimmed of any connective tissue and then cut into small chunks. We soak the pieces in milk and then in a scrambled egg wash before dredging them in a combination of flour, crushed cracker crumbs, salt and pepper.

A minute or so in the hot oil (350 F) turns them into slowly bubbling and brown beauties before draining them on a paper towel. Ranch or Buffalo sauce makes for good dipping, but the nuggets are enjoyable enough without condiments.

We also managed to have wild game on the menu for lunch each day. Sliced deer summer sausage and cheese is an easy favorite anytime of year. For the other two days, the mid-day meal was traditional chili and vegetable soup that both substituted venison burger for the beef.

Even when the hunting is slow, one thing is for sure at deer camp, we are going to have plenty of good food to eat. I loved the time with family enjoying all the fine fixings that accompany the familiar Thanksgiving Day table, but our deer season dining is always tough to top.

John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine.

Joachim Loop Trail in Herculaneum welcomes all walkers

Walkers have multiple options for exploring the Joachim Loop Trail at William C. Haggard Park in Herculaneum.

A cool autumn afternoon with the forest of trees near their peak for fall colors may have been the best possible day to explore the Joachim Loop Trail at William C. Haggard Park in Herculaneum. But multiple times on the walk, I thought the path could be nearly perfect any time of the year.

For hearty hikers the trip does not provide challenges of craggy cliffs or steep slopes. The elevation changes are barely noticeable, so for those looking for a pleasant stroll in the outdoors, few places in Jefferson County can match the march through the wooded flood plain.

Like the all-inclusive Kade’s Playground that welcomes children of all abilities to play at the same park, the crushed rock trail provides easy passage for strollers, wheelchairs and any other conveyance assistance. I found a few muddy spots the day after a significant rainfall, but such is life in the lowlands.

The main outer loop trail is 10-feet wide and nearly 1.2 miles long. Two six-foot wide interior cutoffs allow your walk in the woods to be shortened to just more than a half-mile, or it can be a place you can wander for hours in peace among the leaves.

An old concrete dam backs up Joachim Creek at a overlook area along the trail.

Following the west bank of the Joachim Creek, the initial segment of the outer loop makes its first hard right turn at an overlook bench where you can watch the water tumble over and old concrete dam. The tall bridge overhead hardly distracts from the serenity.

A bigfoot statue marks the intersection of the outer and middle loop of the Joachim Trail.

The trail’s most unique feature marks the intersection of the outer and middle loop. Standing guard at the crossroad corner is a five-foot tall Sasquatch statue. Adorned in a traditional Herculaneum Blackcats cross country jersey and striped shorts, Bigfoot will inspire more smiles than scares. (Unfortunately the second time I walked the trail, he had been stripped of his garments.)

Another hard right turn leads to the third loop, the shortest of the diagrammed trails at just over three-quarters of a mile. Even though there are no colored blazes to line the paths, one of the beauties of the connected loops and wide tracks is that you can’t find yourself lost. Everything ends up right where you started and the final quarter-mile or so of all three designated trails is out of the woods and along the park’s fairground areas and baseball fields.

As we walked, we imagined the route in winter time. The crushed rock would provide a quick-drying, hard surface and enough sunlight could filter through the trees to warm up chilly skies. The potential for a variety of river land wildflowers along the path through spring would be inviting when the thaw arrives. Summer trips could include kids in action on ball fields. The playground we walked past was busy with littles on a Sunday afternoon, and the park’s other prime feature welcomed several guests as well. All Bark Village allows pets to run and play on two different fenced-in fields.

The streamside trail does not showcase any spectacular views, although watching creek water flow always has an allure. A soaring bald eagle spotted from the parking lot multiplied the place’s cool factor. The forested flats depict a typical woodland, but other than the bald eagle, I didn’t see wildlife beyond birds and squirrels. I’m sure a white-tailed deer sighting would not be uncommon a different time of the day.

The other thing I didn’t see too much of made me happy. Someone has put in significant effort into controlling honeysuckle bushes and other invasive species. There are a few areas with unchecked undergrowth, but most of the wooded area was open for wildlife watching.

Easy to get to and easy to navigate, the Joachim Loop Trail offers a taste of the outdoors for everyone to enjoy.

John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine.

Public input sought on development of Jay Nixon State Park

A couple of weeks ago I wrote in the Jefferson County Leader about upcoming meetings at Taum Sauk State Park and Jay Nixon Backcountry. Due to recent flooding in the area, guided hikes scheduled for the two areas have been postponed until Dec. 7. Below is that column with the new dates.

Many moons ago when I was just getting my feet wet in the Jefferson County journalism business, another young whippersnapper was creating a name for himself on a much larger scale.

Six years my senior, Jeremiah “Jay” Nixon had the audacity to take on the county’s political establishment. State Sen. Clifford “Jack” Gannon was retiring, so Sheriff “Buck” Buerger and Commissioner Ralph Krodinger were in line to ascend to the prime post. If you know any local government history, those three guys were giants.

But 30-year-old Nixon ran all over the county in 1986 asking people to elect him and promising to bring home “Our Fair Share.” The young De Soto attorney prevailed. He may not have found enough support in a two-way race, but with the electorate split fairly even among the three candidates, a new career was launched. As for his promise, his time in Jefferson City coincided with major progress on projects in Jefferson County like new Highway 21, Hwy. M, and expansion of Interstate 55 and Hwy. 30.

I remember a cartoon by the late, great Judy Dixon that showed Jay leading his then-newlywed wife Georgeanne up a mountain. I’m do not recall if the White House was at the top of that summit, but the implication was that he was set to conquer some political heights.

He never made it to Capitol Hill, but he did serve 16 years as state Attorney General, and in 2008 he was elected to be the 55th governor of Missouri. The last Democrat elected to that job, he served for two terms until 2017. Ironically, one of the things he was noted for was cutting government spending. That’s something we still hear about these days but rarely see.

Another area where Nixon established an affinity was for the environment, parks and recreation. He worked to bring several new public properties into state control, providing potential places for everyone to use and enjoy. His reputation was such that the state Department of Natural Resources sought to name one of those tracts for the former governor.

That acknowledgment was not popular with the Republican-controlled legislature, so in the spirit of partisanship Proffitt Mountain State Park was offered as an alternative name. As a long-time Jefferson County resident, I like the property being named for a local who earned the recognition through his service and commitment to public recreation access.

Those who don’t like the name and anyone else who wants to provide input about the 1,230-acre property are invited to an upcoming annual informational meeting at 9 a.m. on Dec. 7 at Taum Sauk State Park. The open house will share long range plans for Jay Nixon Backcountry and Taum Sauk parks.

These annual meetings ask for comments from the public, and for those who cannot attend, an online survey will also be available for 30 days beginning Dec. 7 at mostateparks.com/CDP. Nixon State Park is not open to the public yet as the agency continues to plan its development, so the state is offering an opportunity for a limited number of people to explore the property.

As part of the annual meeting, a guided hike and overnight camping experience is planned. Participants will hike nearly nine miles with all their gear, spend the night in the backcountry and then hike the nine miles back out the next day. While that may have seemed an exciting opportunity to me when Jay and I were younger, I’m going to leave an open spot for the governor or someone else.

More my speed these days is a chance to hike Mini Sauk Falls Trail at 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 7 in conjunction with the public meeting. The 3.5-mile loop is a strenuous circuit, but the pay off is a visit to the top of Taum Sauk Mountain, the highest peak in Missouri, and a view from the top of Mini Sauk Falls, the largest waterfall in the state.

To find out more about the conceptual development plans for Taum Sauk State Park and Jay Nixon Backcountry call 573-522-0571. Information on all of Missouri’s state parks and historic sites is available at mostateparks.com.

John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine.

Support for native plants and species comes to Powder Valley

Entomologist and author Doug Tallamy will talk about the importance of native species in a virtual presentation on Nov. 1 at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center.

When I noticed that Doug Tallamy was the guest speaker for an upcoming program at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center, his name sounded familiar. I quickly recognized that he was the author of a great book I read recently that offered a simple plan for conservation.

My excitement was tempered when I realized he wasn’t actually going to be in Kirkwood at 7 p.m. on Nov. 1, but as I considered the situation, the virtual program option might be even better. While an author’s autograph on a copy of Nature’s Best Hope would be a nice prize, being able to hear his presentation in my home office has a real allure too.

The entomology and ecology professor’s 2020 best-seller is a follow up to his similar, previous book Bringing Nature Home. The free program at Powder Valley will highlight his latest offering, A Chickadee’s Guide to Gardening. The concept of all his works is the importance of encouraging and protecting native species.

His solution from Nature’s Best Hope is to establish miniature parks that focus on native species in backyards across the country. Not big tracts of land for someone else to maintain, but millions of individual efforts. If every suburban yard had a 10-by-10 native garden, the restored land would provide more habitat than our biggest parks combined, he says. Those locations would attract the insects that have evolved alongside the plants for millennia, providing food for birds and other wildlife that rely on them to sustain their populations.

“In the past we have designed our landscapes strictly for our own pleasure, with no thought to how they might impact the natural world around us,” Tallamy says in a press release from the state Department of Conservation. “Such landscapes do not contribute much to local ecosystems and support little life.”

As evidenced in the title of his newest book, Tallamy focuses on the role of the chickadee, one of the most common birds at our feeders. By creating landscapes that look more like places where those small birds and other species have lived forever, the benefits extend to all backyard gardening efforts.

The doors at Powder Valley will open at 6 p.m. so guests may tour the center’s exhibits and visit with volunteer staff at tables to talk about topics like Missouri native plants and pollinators. Visitors will also have the opportunity purchase Tallamy’s books. All who attend in person will have the chance to take home wildflower seed packets.

The presentation will be shown on the screen in the Powder Valley auditorium, or those who register in advance may log in and watch from their personal computer or other internet-linked device at home.

More than 100 of 250 available “seats” remained at the end of last week. To receive a link to the virtual program via email, go to http://short.mdc.mo.gov/4DH. A link will be provided before the program. All who register must provide a valid email address where the link can be sent.

Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center is at 11715 Cragwold Road in Kirkwood, near the intersection of Interstate 270 and I-44. To receive email or text alerts about future programs and events in the St. Louis area visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZoP.

John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine.

Woolly worms and persimmons are not good weather predictors

Colorful woolly worm caterpillars are common in the fall, but they do not have power to predict winter weather.

Everyone likes talking about the weather. It’s nice to have topics most of us can agree about, and these days those things can seem rare. Any time of the year, the fallibility of the professional meteorologists can provide common ground, but for all their other idiosyncrasies, their accuracy is actually pretty good.

Despite the earned reputation for inconsistency, we still tune in when they tell us what to expect the next day, week or season. Their computer-aided guesses and “Super Predictors” miss the mark, but they certainly have a better track record for reliability than other annual “indicators” touted this time of year.

On a walk last week I spotted my first woolly worm caterpillar crossing the road. It looked like every other larva of the Isabella tiger moth I’ve seen in my lifetime. It was black on both ends and a somewhat shimmering, copper color in the middle. It’s a good looking bug.

Where the colorful crawler comes up short is as a dependable weather forecaster. The woolly bears, as they are also known, with different sized black and brown parts are simply different ages. The youngest among them are mostly black, while the older ones molt an increasing amount of brown through their life cycles, according to the National Geographic website.

The legend that says when you see them with more black than brown it means a harsher winter is “all bunk,” the website says. That doesn’t mean they are not interesting. While most larval species transform through the summer months, woolly worms will survive the winter, but not because of their thick coats. They actually freeze solid when all their liquid insides turn to ice, but they will thaw and become moths next spring.

The caterpillar I encountered was crossing the road, so I carefully moved him to the grass on the other side to help him successfully complete his mission. The next day on a similar walk I saw another woolly bear, but this one had been smashed flat to the pavement.

If the indignity of becoming roadkill wasn’t enough – like all other insects these days – moths and their offspring face a world filled with poisons that limit their numbers. Indiscriminate and overuse of pesticides continues to make a bug’s life tough.

This persimmon tree bends like Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree under the weight of abundant fruit, but all those ripening globes doesn’t mean a harsh winter lies ahead. (Thanks to Lucky Jim for the photo.)

The other most popular, and equally unverifiable, winter weather predictor are the shapes inside persimmon pits. The folklore attributed to the Ozarks contends that the center of the seeds contain an image of a spoon, fork or knife. The spoon means to expect a lot of snow for shoveling, and the knife predicts cutting cold. The fork shape foretells a mild winter. (Do persimmon seeds in south Florida only have forks?)

As with the worms above there is no data to support the pseudo science, and I would expect it to be a safe bet that more people have injured themselves trying to open a slippery persimmon seed than ever successfully forecast any coming weather conditions.

One last natural phenomenon believed to have predictive power is the abundance of fruits and nuts produced by trees. The story says that if trees are set with scads of apples, acorns, and persimmons, the weather is bound to be bad. All that excess is provided to feed starving creatures through the cold and ensure that seeds will sprout to replace any trees that freeze to death.

While that seems mighty nice of Mother Nature to take care of her own, the abundant harvest is the result of weather activity in the past rather than a nod to the future. A late freeze in the spring didn’t nip the buds, pollinators found conditions favorable during flowering, and adequate rainfall kept the trees healthy through their growing summer season.

A climate concern that is irrefutably supported by science and data is the trending planetary temperature that may someday change how, where, when, and if we see woolly worms and persimmons in the future.

John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine.

Early antlerless-deer hunting opens firearms seasons this weekend in Missouri

Find all regulations for the upcoming firearms deer hunting seasons in the 2024 Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet.

The first of Missouri’s firearms deer hunting seasons opens this weekend, so don’t be surprised to see more than the standard amount of blaze orange attire and to hear gunshots over the next few days in Jefferson County.

Obviously, camouflage and Day-Glo are appropriate throughout the year in our community’s fashion calendar, and the repeat of rifle fire seems as common as crickets in some rural corners. Still, the shooting will begin as statewide deer population management unleashes its best tool.

The early antlerless portion was new last fall, and the initial results showed it to be an effective method for herd control. Reducing the number of female deer provides exponential benefits compared to the one-at-a-time success of shooting bucks.

During the three-day season in 2023, hunters checked 16,553 deer for a daily average greater than 5,500. Jefferson County hunters accounted for 367 of that total, which was the seventh highest among the 100 counties where hunting was allowed. By comparison, during the late antlerless-only portion in December last year, hunters took 18,916 throughout a nine-day season. Jefferson’s 232 was outside of the top 20. The two seasons accounted for more than 30,000 does not having fawns this past spring.

While population management plays the most important role for the antlerless deer seasons, hunters can see advantages for both the early and late portions. By harvesting a doe or two ahead of the regular firearms season in November, hunters may hold out for that big buck they have been waiting on, knowing they already have venison in the freezer. The late season affords the opportunity to stock the shelves if earlier hunting chances did not work out so well.

This year the early portion is open Friday through Sunday (October 11-13). Shooting hours are one half hour before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset. In most counties, including Jefferson, hunters may purchase and fill up to four antlerless-only hunting permits throughout all firearms seasons combined.

The next firearms season on the calendar is the most important, if not the most productive. Hunters ages 6 through 15 get two days of their own to hunt. Scheduled for the Saturday and Sunday two weeks before the November portion, pre-rut activity is nearing its peak so deer activity can be excellent.

The problem with the two-day season is that one bad cold front can wipe out the 35 hours of opportunity between sunrise on Nov. 2 and sunset on Nov. 3. Cold, windy, thunderstorms or other weather extremes can washout young hopes and dreams. Fortunately, this year Halloween doesn’t add another conflict for the kids.

Last year young hunters harvested 11,270 deer statewide during the early youth portion, including 108 in Jefferson County. The majority of deer checked by young hunters were antlered bucks at 6,891, but the season is much more about making memories than herd management.

Hunters may only take one deer during the two-day season, even if they have multiple permits, The late youth season opens on the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 29 until Dec. 1. Young hunters are exempt from antler-point restrictions, which still exist in 15 counties in the state.

The November portion, which is referred to by most people as simply deer season, is scheduled for 11 days from Nov. 16 through Nov. 26. During that portion of the season last year, hunters bagged 193,885 deer, and Jefferson County was among the top five in total harvest with 2,936 deer. For anyone who thinks those are big numbers, it doesn’t appear to have dented the overall number of deer in the state, and can only leave to wondering how overpopulated they might be if hunters were not managing the herd every year.

John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine.