2010_BigMuddy_Newslettersmall

Page | 1 http://www.fws.gov/midwest/bigmuddy/
Swift and flooded waters may
have halted paddlers from
participating in the Missouri River
Communities Network (MRCN)
Canoe for Clean Waters event
anticipated to occur on June 19 at
Katfish Katy’s in Huntsdale, Mo.
but the raging river didn’t
completely destroy the day.
As an alternative to Canoe for
Clean Waters, which is postponed
until October, Floody Muddy 101
was put on by MRCN to educate
the public on the flooding of the
Missouri River. This event
featured speakers from MRCN,
Missouri River Relief, the U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service Columbia
Fishery Resources Office (FRO)
and Big Muddy National Fish &
Wildlife Refuge (NFWR).
Although the river’s state kept
some potential participants away,
those that did attend the event
either by accident (via passing by
on the Katy trail) or on purpose
were able to indulge in several
informative discussions and
presentations.
Rebecca Spicer, one of
MRCN’s Missouri Clean
Water AmeriCorps members,
spoke on stormwater runoff
and its route into the river.
Spicer discussed how
citizens can help filtrate and
diverge this water by using
techniques like rain barrels and
rain gardens. More information
on these devices can be found on
MRCN’s Web site at
http://www.moriver.org/.
Next to speak was Andy Plauck
from the Columbia FRO.
Among a variety of other
activities, Plauck discussed in
detail his office’s ongoing project
of monitoring the pallid sturgeon
and shovelnose sturgeon
populations in the Lower Missouri
River. The pallid sturgeon is a
federally-listed endangered species
and the Columbia FRO is working
with other environmental agencies
to help restore their populations.
Continued on page 5.
Missouri River flooding calls for a
change of plans in river festivities
Participants in Floody Muddy 101 observe
the hydrology display of the Missouri River
and discuss the river’s flooding activity with
Park Ranger Tim Haller. Photo by Amanda
Noel.
Two girls take turns holding a false
map turtle found seeking refuge
from the flood on Big Muddy’s
Overton Bottoms North Unit. Photo
by Amanda Noel.
AcroPDF - A Quality PDF Writer and PDF Converter to create PDF. To remove this line, buy a license.

Verrill observes a cleanup crew at the collection site in
Buras, LA. USFWS photo.
“Some of the birds were so covered in
oil they were unable to be identified.”
–Wes Verrill
Big Muddy Law Enforcement Officer’s
detail to the Deep Horizon Gulf Oil Spill
During this tragic time
while oil wreaks havoc on the
environment in the Gulf of
Mexico, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service employees, volunteers and
other professionals are pouring
into the Gulf to lend a hand. One
of the hundreds of people recruited
to help battle the oil spill was Wes
Verrill, Law Enforcement Officer
at Big Muddy National Fish &
Wildlife Refuge (Refuge). On his
detail, Verrill was assigned to
coordinate with the Office of Law
Enforcement Special Agents
regarding collection of dead birds
for the state of Louisiana,
Mississippi, Florida and Alabama.
Verrill had only been stationed
at the Refuge for about half a year
before being put on detail for the
oil spill. After two weeks of 16
hour days, 7 days a week Verrill
flew back to Missouri for a couple
days.
Verrill
only
returned
long
enough to
get settled in his government
housing on the Refuge’s Overton
Bottoms North Unit and stop by
headquarters to fill Refuge staff in
on his experience.
Verril’s main duties were to
document birds and other aquatic
life coming into the collection site
each day. From there, the birds
would be cleaned and treated if
they were not dead on arrival. The
tar ball appearance of the birds
coming into the facility only shows
the physical toll the oil has taken
on these
animals. Not
only does this
black gunk
prevent birds
from flying for
migration,
escaping
predators and
the oil, it enters
them internally
damaging their
lungs and
digestive
system.
“Some of the birds were so
covered in oil they were unable to
be identified,” said Verril. The
biggest tally of dead birds Verrill
recorded in one day was 58.
Although the bulk of Verrill’s
work down
in the Gulf
was quite
grim, he did
have some
positive
experiences. Verrill’s law
enforcement officer title served
him well in the public relations
side of the issue. While in
Louisiana, Verrill served as
security for CNN’s Anderson
Cooper, Department of Interior
Secretary Ken Salazar, actors
Scarlet Johansen and Ryan
Reynolds, Animal Planet’s Jeff
Corwin and the Louisiana
Governor Bobby Jindal numerous
times. “The list goes on and on,”
said Verrill. Probably the highlight
of his security role was guarding
the New Orleans Saints football
team. “Seriously, I had oysters
and chatted with Reggie Bush,
Brew Breese and Jeremy
Shockey!” Verrill reported.
In addition to employees
working the oil spill, Verrill says
there are anywhere from 20 to 75
media press at the facility daily.
On one occasion, Anderson
Cooper filmed live for CNN at the
facility.
While the opportunity proved to
be a good experience for Verrill,
he said, the situation in the Gulf
isn’t getting any better. Dead birds,
turtles, dolphins and other marine
life continue to be discovered day
after day.
Continued on page 8.

As the clouds rolled in at Big
Muddy National Fish & Wildlife
Refuge’s (Refuge) Overton
Bottoms South Unit in Overton,
Mo. creating what felt like a
gloomy day on the morning of
June 11, things began to look just
the opposite for one lucky bird of
prey.
A bald eagle named Screwball,
for record purposes, had just
recently recovered from its
rehabilitation and was ready to be
released back into the wild thanks
to the Raptor Rehabilitation
Project (RRP) through the
University of Missouri’s College
of Veterinary Medicine.
Several months earlier,
Screwball was taken in by RRP
after two of the bird’s toes had
gotten caught in a leg hold trap.
The owner of the trap found the
eagle and contacted a Missouri
Department of Conservation agent
who then proceeded to hand the
bird over to RRP.
Jennifer Ballard, a veterinary
student at the University of
Missouri and volunteer for RRP,
said she was glad the owner of the
trap did the right thing. Once the
eagle was in RRP’s care, they
started treatment. Screwball had to
undergo surgery to amputate the
third and fourth digits on the bird’s
left foot which had been
severely injured by the trap.
“While recovering from
surgery, Screwball began to
distribute its weight out, perch and
use his foot like a normal bald
eagle does,” said Amber Edwards,
RRP volunteer coordinator. “We
never trained the bird to balance.
The bird did that all on its own.”
The next step was to release the
eagle back into the wild. Ballard
said that the rehabilitated birds are
usually released on MDC areas,
which Overton Bottoms South
Unit had been until the winter of
2009-2010 when the Refuge
acquired the land. Wedge Watkins,
refuge biologist, met the RRP
volunteers along with the
Refuge’s 2010 summer invasive
plant control crew, Steve Fezekas,
Brandon Mebruer, Matthew
Schrum and crew leader Jestin
Clark.
Once Screwball was unloaded
and the crate door was opened, it
immediately jumped out and flew
toward the Missouri River landing
on a nearby tree branch. “The
eagle did exactly what it was
supposed to do,” said Watkins.
Triumphant over their latest
project, the RRP volunteers were
off to release a second bird of prey
on another parcel of land. These
two birds only portray a glimpse of
the countless projects completed
and in progress by RRP.
“Since 1972, our volunteer staff
is comprised of doctors, veterinary
students, MU faculty, MU staff,
MU undergraduate students, and
members of the community,”
explained Edwards. “All
volunteers help to keep the project
going, from working with the birds
in the Veterinary Hospital to
working with the non releasable
education birds [for outreach
events].”
Although the students are not
yet veterinarians, “What we don’t
know, we look up, research and
contact experts to make sure we
are doing the very best we can,”
said Ballard.
Project meetings are held by
RRP every other Tuesday to
discuss new cases and progress
made on old cases. Presentations
are also made by volunteers and
scientific speakers are hosted at the
meetings to discuss medical
subjects, bird conservation, etc.
Please see the RRP Web site for
more details
http://www.raptorrehab.missouri.e
du/.
Amanda Noel
Biological Science Aid
A bald eagle’s success story on
Big Muddy NFWR
Raptor Rehabilitation Project volunteers unload
the eagle for release on Big Muddy’s Overton
Bottoms South Unit. USFWS photos.

2010 Missouri Junior Duck Stamp contest
judging. USFWS photo.
2010 Best of Show winner Luke Coulter
receives his certificate at the Junior Duck
Stamp awards ceremony. USFWS photo.
The
2010
Missouri Junior
Duck Stamp first place winning
artists were reunited on June 26 for
an awards ceremony at the Runge
Conservation Nature Center in
Jefferson City, Mo. At the
ceremony, the winners were
awarded with their long awaited
first place prize money courtesy of
Bass Pro Shops.
Approximately 30 people
attended. The artists were
encouraged to invite friends,
family and teachers to the event.
Judges, volunteers and staff of the
MDC, FWS and Lake Arts Council
were also welcome. After the
award ceremony participants were
treated to cake and punch. The
cakes decoration featured all the
artwork from the first place
winners. Some artists took their
artwork home on a piece of cake.
Big Muddy NFWR Park
Ranger and Coordinator of
Missouri’s Junior Duck Stamp
program, Tim Haller, and Refuge
Manager, Tom Bell, spoke on
behalf of the FWS and presented
each winner with a certificate and
a reusable tote bag. The prize
money was awarded to the winners
by Lake Arts Council president
Julie Lentz. Bass Pro sends the
prize money to the Lake Arts
Council and the council makes the
individual checks out to the 12 first
prize winners.
The winning artists were
selected from 935 entries from
across the state during the contest
held March 25, 2010. Each first
place winner received a $50
award and the best of show
winner, Luke Coulter of
Washington, Missouri, received
a $500 award. Coulter went on
to compete at the national
competition in St. Paul,
Minnesota on April 23rd
.
Retired University of
Missouri artist Doug Ross, a
judge of the Missouri Junior
Duck Stamp artwork, taught a
class after the award ceremony.
Doug’s class went into details
on drawing and painting
waterfowl. Doug demonstrated
various techniques on his methods
in producing wildlife art. Doug
previously won the Missouri Duck
Stamp contest when the state of
Missouri operated its own
waterfowl stamp program. Doug
also does freelance artwork in his
retirement.
A highlight to Doug’s
presentation included a talk by
Luke Coulter the state winner and
Luke’s father Marty Coulter a
professional artist. Luke talked
about creating his artwork and
Marty covered his teaching
techniques. Marty’s other son
Peter was a Best of Show winner
in Missouri in 2005.
The award ceremony highlights
another successful year in the
Missouri Junior Duck Stamp
Program. The promotion of next
year’s contest continues with the
artwork being displayed across the
state. The artwork was featured at
Runge Conservation Nature Center
during the month of June.
Duplicate artwork was also on
display at the Missouri State
Capitol in June during a special
session of the state assembly. The
artwork will continue on display
across the state at eight additional
locations until it returns to the Big
Muddy National Fish and Wildlife
Refuge headquarters in March to
be returned to the artists and the
2011 Missouri Junior Duck Stamp
contest can begin a new season of
success.
Young Missourians get “ducky” across the state

Young and old alike
gathered at Flat Branch Park in
downtown Columbia, Mo. on
Wednesday, June 16 to attend
the free Family Fun Fest held
every third Wednesday of the
month throughout the summer.
The theme of this month’s Fest
was the great outdoors.
Big Muddy National Fish
& Wildlife Refuge along with
several other environmental
organizations including the
Missouri Department of
Conservation and Columbia
Fishery Resources Office
gathered at the Fest to help educate
the public about natural resources
and the mission of their
organizations.
Tim Haller, Refuge Park Ranger,
brought along the Refuge’s
hydrology display of the Missouri
River at Big Muddy’s Lisbon
Bottom and Jameson Island units.
This gave the crowd a visual
representation of the flow of the
Missouri River and how the
surrounding floodplain is impacted
during flood events like the
present.
Many of the Refuge units were
completely underwater. Two of
such units, Overton Bottoms North
and South are located directly
across the river from Katfish
Big Muddy’s booth included an
informative display and handouts
promoting the Refuge and the
National Wildlife Refuge System
Katy’s. Although these flood
events may seem disastrous to
private landowners in the
floodplain, they are crucial for
native fish and wildlife species like
the pallid sturgeon for instance
who spawn in these floodwaters.
Steve Schnarr, a Missouri River
Relief manager, finalized the event
by speaking to the crowd about
statistics of river clean-ups carried
out by his organization. Schnarr
explained that flood events
stimulate high waste
accumulations due to water
flowing through areas where waste
as well as several animal pelts
that were a big hit with the
crowd.
Other attractions at the Fest in
addition to environmental
organizations were a jump
house, face painting and the
Fishin’ Magician, a husband
and wife duo that performed
magic tricks with an
outdoorsy theme for
onlookers.
Also at the event was
Columbia’s KOMU news
station that premiered the
story on their nightly news
show. To watch the video go to
http://www.komu.com/ and search
in the archives for Family Fun
Fest.
may be otherwise contained in
addition to littering.
To demonstrate this trash flow,
Schnarr and several other members
from Missouri River Relief
watched the river one evening and
recorded their observations. In just
10 minutes they recorded a total of
77 plastics bottles! “And that’s
only as far as the eye could see,”
said Schnarr.
An outdoorsy father helps introduce wildlife to his children
using Big Muddy's animal pelts on display. Photo by
Amanda Noel.

Left: Conservation Honors Program
students listen to Park Ranger Tim
Haller discuss the habitat on Big Muddy
NFWR. Above: Students pose for a
picture in the MU School of Natural
Resources building. Photos courtesy of
Conservation Honors Program.
Like many students nearing
their high school graduation, I was
unsure of exactly which career
path I wanted to travel down as a
junior in high school. Lucky for
those like me, the University of
Missouri School Of Natural
Resources (SNR) offers a great
opportunity for Missouri high
school juniors and seniors to gain
exposure to the field of natural
resources.
For a week in July, SNR
sponsors the annual Conservation
Honors Program held this year
from July 11 – 16. Once selected
through an application process,
students bunk in a residence hall
on campus and go on various field
trips experiencing what careers in
conservation have to offer. All the
while, they are able to interact with
professionals in the field and their
peers that share a common interest
in the outdoors.
The program acts as a form of
recruitment for SNR, but can also
be beneficial for students who
choose not to go to MU like
myself. Although I did not
continue on track with the SNR,
the program did impact me enough
to stay in the
field of
natural
resources
and begin
making connections with
professionals at a young age. After
being involved with the program I
was nominated to become part of
the Conservation Leadership Corps
sponsored by the Conservation
Federation of Missouri where I
became involved with the political
side of conservation in our state.
This led me to choose to major in
environmental studies at Columbia
College where I have been able to
stay active in outlets offered to
SNR students like Columbia’s
many parks and recreation
volunteer programs including
Columbia Aquatic Restoration
Project (CARP) and TreeKeepers.
I’ve also been able to participate in
networking
opportunities
like the
Missouri
Natural
Resource
Conference.
My
activeness in
the field of
natural resources
has helped me
obtain a Student
Temporary
Employment
Position (STEP)
with the U.S. Fish
& Wildlife Service
Big Muddy National Fish and
Wildlife Refuge.
This summer I was given the
chance to pay back the
Conservation Honors Program for
all the positive things it has
brought me by participating as a
counselor for the program. As a
counselor I was able to see the
behind the scenes of the whole
Following the pathway to a future career in natural resources begins with the
Conservation Honors Program

Above: Students listen to a
discussion about soils at Tucker
Prarie. Left: Andy Plauck Columbia
Fishery Resources Office. Below:
Students trek through the forest at
Prarie Fork Conservation Area.
Photos courtesy of Conservation
Honors Program.
outfit. It brought back a lot of
memories and it was great to help
so many students gain a similar
experience to what I had and see
them begin to discover their place
in the world.
Since the time I had been
enrolled in the program in 2006
several changes had been made.
One year, the program had to be
cancelled due
to lack of
funds and
interest. This
year the
program was
taken over by
a new
director,
Amber Edwards, education
consultant at Prairie Forks
Conservation Area. Edwards had
her hands full with the new
position and assignment to
supervise the program, but she was
able to pull it off with success. To
help corral the campers peer
counselors were hired for the first
time. Other counselors like me had
participated in the program in the
past and were anxious to get back
in on the action.
Many of the students exposure
to natural resources was put on by
the Missouri Department of
Conservation (MDC) and the
University Missouri at various
research centers and conservation
areas. Students got the chance to
speak with University professors,
MDC and Department of Natural
Resources employees as well as
individuals from private sectors
like Missouri River Relief and
Stream Team.
Although not originally
planned, high river levels kept the
group from paddling out on the
Missouri River but allowed for
time out of their busy schedule to
interact with U.S. Fish & Widlife
Service employees from the Big
Refuge (Refuge) and Columbia
Fishery Resources Office.
Wedge Watkins, Refuge
Biologist, and Tim Haller, Park
Ranger, spoke to the students
while on the Refuge. Watkins set
up turtle traps in the Diana Scour
on the Overton Bottoms
Unit prior to the students
visit and allowed students
to wade in the water and
pull the traps while on the
Refuge. In addition to
speaking with the students
about aquatic species and
their habitats, Watkins also
discussed the Refuge’s
ongoing bee study in
cooperation with the Missouri
Master Naturalist Program.
Haller set up the river trailer
display and spoke with the
students about the river’s
natural flow and the Refuge’s
attempts to reestablish historic
river conditions and habitat. Both
Haller and Watkins also spoke
about career opportunities with the
Service as did Columbia Fishery
Resource Office employees. Andy
Plauck and Andy Starostka led the
discussion at the Fishery Office
and set up traps used for surveys
for endangered pallid sturgeon.
Plauck, Starostka and other crew
members were able to catch
several fish species earlier that day
and had them on display for
students.
Although the jam-packed
schedule, high heat and humidity
left many of the students exhausted
by the end of the week, they were
able to gain experience from all
realms of Missouri’s natural
resources and were sent home
filled with newfound knowledge
and connections with professionals
and peers in the conservation field.
Amanda Noel

Friends kick off the
2010 summer season
Friends of Big Muddy NFWR
met on Tuesday, May 11 at the
recently obtained Overton Bottoms
South Unit. The Friends group was
able to utilize the shop on the
premises for this meeting and host
two Eldon High School student
speakers.
Jennifer Wellman, Eldon High
School science teacher, is current
secretary and very active member
of the Friends group. Her students
both presented on science
experiments they had carried out
and competed with at Lincoln
University’s Science fair in
Jefferson City, Mo.
The first speaker presented on
the effect a soil aerator tool had on
the growth of fescue grass. The
experiment, which took place over
one growing season, showed that
the soil aerator actually decreased
the growth of the fescue field
compared to her control field.
The second student spoke about
a macro-invertebrate study she
carried out to test what types of
organisms, based on their pollutant
tolerance, were more prevalent in
creeks in the winter versus the
summer. The crowd was very
impressed by both students’
presentations and helped advise
them on how to strengthen their
studies. For more information on
Eldon High School’s science
program, please see
http://www.eldon.k12.mo.us/EHS/
Science%20Department/ScienceCl
ub.htm.
After the students finished,
Diane Oerly, Friends President,
went over business and the group
elected new officers. Oerly and
Friends are currently working on
obtaining a grant from the National
Fish and Wildlife Foundation to
encourage birding on the Refuge.
Also in the works is the installation
of a permanent wildlife
observing scope at Rocheport’s
Les Bourgeois Winery which sits
atop the Manitou bluffs directly
across the river from Big
Muddy’s Overton Bottoms North
Unit.
Mary Duncan member of the
Friends of Arrow Rock, the town
adjacent to Big Muddy’s
Jameson Island Unit attended the
meeting and asked the group if
they would like to participate in
a haunted trail event during
Halloween weekend along Big
Muddy’s Lewis and Clark trail
on the Jameson Island Unit.
In addition to this event,
Friends of Big Muddy plan to
participate in several trash pick-
ups and Refuge maintenance
opportunities. Other events
include the first annual Canoe for
Clean Water event where they
will set up a booth in Huntsdale,
Mo along the Missouri River and
across from the Overton Bottoms
South Unit of the Refuge. The
Friends will also be assisting
constructing a trail with Boy
Scout Troop 4 from Columbia,
Mo at the Overton
Bottoms North Unit of the
Refuge.
The Friends of Big
Muddy look forward to a
successful season fresh
with new ideas from the
Regional Friends Conference
attended by President Diane Oerly.
She expressed some of her new
ideas obtained from the conference
and looks forward to bringing the
Friends of Big Muddy up to the
next level of support for the Big
Refuge.
Fortunately, British Petroleum
(BP) is using a lot of resources to
fix the problem. Verrill said that
once the GPS coordinates of
deceased birds are found,
helicopters funded by BP are flown
out, even if it’s just to pick up a
single bird. If live birds are able to
be captured, they are then treated
and transported to safe havens in
order to escape the oil, all courtesy
of BP, said Verrill. Any supplies
that Verrill has needed during his
detail BP has funded including
freezers for storage, collection kits,
RV’s and even a Reefer truck.
Despite BP’s effort, very little
improvement has been made so
far, according to Verrill.
After a short return to
headquarters, Verrill was sent back
to the scene of the crime, for a
grand total of 41 days to do what
he could to defend the vulnerable
fish and wildlife and their habitat
in the Gulf from the relentless dark
villain, oil.
Amanda Noel

Brandon is a senior at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo. majoring in
natural resource management and minoring in wildlife management and GIS. He
plans on going to graduate school after earning his degree at Lincoln.
Brandon grew up on his family’s beef cattle farm in Rich Fountain, Mo. “I
was raised to respect and enjoy the outdoors and for this reason I am an avid
hunter and fisherman,” says Brandon who can be found in the “woods or on the
banks of the nearest lake,” when not working on the farm or at his summer job at
Big Muddy NFWR.
“I have definitely enjoyed my time here [at Big Muddy NFWR] this summer,
learning and experiencing new things,” says Brandon. Just a few of the things
Brandon and the rest of the summer crew have experienced this summer include
canoeing the flood waters of the Missouri River, spraying invasive plant species
and sampling amphibian populations. In the future Brandon sees himself doing a
lot more of this type of work as he plans to be a wildlife biologist in the Midwest
or Western regions of the country.
Steve
Fezekas
Brandon
Mebruer
Matthew
Schrum
Spotlight: Faces around the Refuge
2010 New Summer Employees
Steve is a senior at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Mo.
He is majoring in conservation enforcement and minoring in criminal justice.
After graduating college he plans on becoming a game warden and hopes to
travel and work out of state.
Steve hails from St. Louis, Mo. He spends his free time doing anything
outdoors including fishing, hunting, floating and he especially enjoys waterfowl
hunting.
The experience Steve has gained from Big Muddy NFWR has been great, he
says. Steve has been able to gain insight on conservation law enforcement from
riding along with Refuge Law Enforcement Officer Wes Verrill on the job.
Matt is a senior at the University of Missouri – Columbia, pursuing a degree
in fisheries and wildlife management. After graduation he would like to work as
a biological technician for a few years before getting his master’s in something
along the lines of biology or natural resource management.
Matt is originally from Saint Francois County, Mo. In his spare time he
enjoys hiking, fishing, camping and road trips.
Prior to working at Big Muddy NFWR, Matt gained seven years of
experience working with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources at
Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park, Saint Francois State Park, Saint Joe State Park
and the State Museum at the capitol building. Matt had a variety of jobs at these
locations including maintenance, interpretation and serving as a tour guide.
Manager: Tom Bell
Assistant Manager: Dean Bossert
Office Administrator: Molly Comstock
Biologist: Wedge Watkins
Park Ranger: Tim Haller
Big
Muddy
NFWR
Staff
Law Enforcement Officer: Wes Verrill
Maintenance: Randy Stenberg
Wildlife Refuge Specialist: Jestin Clark
Biological Science Aids: Bailey Yotter, Amanda Noel,
Brandon Mebruer, Steve Fezekas, Matthew Schrum

2010_BigMuddy_Newslettersmall

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Was ist angesagt?

Was ist angesagt? (20)

Andere mochten auch

Andere mochten auch (8)

Ähnlich wie 2010_BigMuddy_Newslettersmall

Ähnlich wie 2010_BigMuddy_Newslettersmall (20)

2010_BigMuddy_Newslettersmall