March 2009 Newsletter From The Shepherd Of The Hills Fish Hatchery Conservation Center

[Phil Lilley]

March 2009 Newsletter from the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery Conservation Center

We wish you all a very happy St. Patrick’s Day

Contents

[1] Bouquet for Branson – March 21st

[2] Hunter Education Class March 30, 31, & April 2nd

[3] Vulture Venture – Thank You!

[4] New Steps at the Hatchery

[5] Ask a Naturalist “When will the mushrooms come up and where do we look for them?”

Making Reservations: Because the Hatchery is open 7 days a week, you may call any day from 9am to 5pm. This includes Saturday and Sunday. We ask that reservations be made by phone, not by email.

1. A Bouquet for Branson

March 21 (Saturday) 10am – 2pm

Using native plants in your landscape is the easiest way to create a beautiful garden that requires little watering or maintenance. The result of using native wildflowers in your garden is an increase in birds, butterflies, and more time to enjoy nature. Come to the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery on Saturday, March 21st to learn more about putting plants in the proper location. There will be a brief presentation at 10:00 am about using native plants in landscaping. After the presentation, Mervin Wallace from the Missouri Wildflower Nursery will have potted plants available to purchase. No reservations are required; however, the FREE presentation starts at 10:00 am. For more information or directions call (417) 334-4865 ext 0.

2. Hunter Education Class being offered

3 Evening Sessions (March 30, 31, & April 2nd) 6:00 – 9:30pm all three nights

Hunter Ed logo-orangeMust attend all three sessions to pass the class

Class will be held at the Dewey Short Visitor Center

Ages 11 and up [Ages 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult]

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED

Here is your chance to take the Hunter Education Safety class before this spring’s Turkey Season. This class is required for anyone born after January 1967 who wants to purchase a turkey or deer hunting tag. The class will cover a variety of hunting safety aspects including proper handling of firearms, types of ammunition, archery & muzzleloading, identifying your game, hunter ethics, and more. Upon completing the class, which includes a short exam, participants will get a temporary certification card which can be shown when purchasing a turkey tag. For more information or reservations call (417) 334-4865 ext 0.

3. Vulture Venture – THANK YOU!

A big THANK YOU to everyone who took part in our 13th Annual Vulture Venture event on February 21st. With 304 people attending this 6 hour event, it was one of our largest Vulture Ventures every. As always, Socrates, from the Wonders of Wildlife Museum was the ‘star’ of the show. The winner of the free print by Betty Grace was a family from Cameron MO. They drove 500 miles round trip to take part in our event. We hope that you get to join us again in February of 2010 for our 14th Annual Event.

4. New Steps

Visitors to the Shepherd of the Hills Conservation Center and parked in the bus parking lot had been walking partially on the grass and partially on railroad tie steps created by an Eagle Scout. That situation is now gone. With the help of our MDC Design & Development staff, a new two-tiered set of steps was installed. While the steps are completely open for use, there will be a set of hand rails that will be installed at a later date. As you walk the steps, don’t be surprised to see that a few animals left their mark behind in the cement.

Morels

5. Ask a Naturalist “When will the mushrooms be up and where do we look for them?”

Christy from Hollister asks, “My dad and I want to go mushroom hunting. When will the mushrooms be up and where do we look for them?”

Christy, you and your dad are in luck in that we still have a couple of weeks before prime mushroom hunting. The mushrooms that most people are wanting to find are Morel Mushrooms. They are identified by being a flesh color, having a hollow stalk, and the outside looks like coral or a ‘brain’. They are some of the bet eating around.

When will they popping up? Generally, the end of March and the first of April are when the first morels come up out of the ground. The best indicator is when we have had 3 nights above 50 degrees or warmer. The key factor is NOT the air temperature, but the soil temperature. Having warm nights maintains the warmth that was generated by the sun during the day.

Where do you find them? There is usually no one good spot. Sadly, most mushroom hunters don’t share their ‘honey hole’. The best advice would be to find a wooded area that has some light leaf litter, is well drained and on a southern exposure. Some people claim that they find mushrooms near elm or ash trees. Those trees are good indicators of potential mushroom habitat.

Mushroom Hunting Tips

- Never go mushroom hunting alone.

- Never eat a mushroom if you don’t know what it is. Get a free brochure from the Hatchery or go in the internet to find photos of morel mushrooms.

- During Spring Turkey Season (April 20 – May 10; Youth Season April 4-5) wear something bright orange or neon colored.

- Get permission to be on property that is not yours. We allow mushroom hunting at the Hatchery, but some MDC facilities and State Parks do not. Always ask at the office.

- Walk in small circles. Sometimes morels are hidden by leaves or plants. Walking in a circle may give you a better chance of finding these elusive mushrooms.

- Collect your mushrooms in a mesh bag. This allows the spores (microscopic seeds) to drop to the ground as you walk and re-seed the area for next year. Carrying mushrooms in a plastic bag may cause them to spoil.

- Cut off the root portion of the mushroom before cooking. There is nothing wrong with the root, it just has lots of soil on it and it may taste bad.

- Cut the morel open to expose the inside and soak in salt water for at least 30 minutes. This will kill any insects that live inside the mushroom. Several books and internet sites have recipes for cooking morel mushrooms. Choose one you like.

- If you have never eaten morel mushrooms, eat only a few at a time. While morel mushrooms are one of the safest mushrooms to consume, you do not want to overwhelm your digestive system. The same thing can happen if you eat too many sweets at one time…you get sick.

If you have any questions about morels or other mushrooms, please contact the Fish Hatchery.

If you have a question that you would like to have a Naturalist answer, send your question to John.Miller@mdc.mo.gov . We would love to answer it for you and share this information with other readers in our ‘Ask A Naturalist’ spot.

We hope that you have enjoyed this issue of the Shepherd of the Hills newsletter. Have a great rest of your winter and keep learning about the forest, fish, and wildlife resources around us.

Cheers!

John Miller

Naturalist Program Supervisor

Shepherd of the Hills Conservation Center

483 Hatchery Road

Branson MO 65616

(417) 334 4865 ext 0

John.Miller@mdc.mo.gov