The turning of the calendar to a new year is a time when many people take stock of their lives and resolve to take a leap into a new interest, activity or hobby.
Some people literally take a leap on New Year’s Day by participating in a Polar Bear Swim. Others take a leap by making resolutions —to reduce their waistline by getting outside for more exercise and fresh air, expand their mind by developing a new interest, or increase their impact by doing something to improve the environment.
Becoming a Missouri Master Naturalist encompasses all these resolutions.
Master Naturalists have a broad range of interests in the out-of-doors. The Hi Lonesome Chapter of Missouri Master Naturalists meets in Cole Camp, Mo., and includes people whose interests range from backyard bird counts to conducting prescribed burns to help maintain prairie ecosystems.
As one member said: “You can do whatever you are interested in.”
The chapter was formed in 2008, and serves four counties — Henry, Benton, Johnson and Pettis, for the purpose of doing community projects, citizen science, nature interpretation and community nature education. The naturalists have built barn owl boxes, constructed a chimney swift tower, helped with a Prairie Chicken Restoration project, held a work day at Big Buffalo Creek Conservation Area, conducted a prescribed burn at TurkeyFoot Prairie and participated in a beetle conservation project at Taberville Prairie. They also worked with the Missouri River Bird Observatory, based in Arrow Rock, Mo., to conduct grassland and prairie surveys.
Prairie conservation areas were established throughout Missouri and the United States to preserve grassland ecosystems, of which less than one-half of one percent of original prairie remains.
The chapter takes its name from the Hi Lonesome Prairie Conservation Area just west of Cole Camp. Hi Lonesome is a greeting used by cowboys who worked in isolated areas. The 655 acres were purchased in 1987 from cattle rancher Vaughn Lumpee, who had the greeting sign on his cabin, according to the conservation area’s website on mdc.mo.gov.
One of the largest remaining pieces of prairie in Central Missouri, Hi Lonesome Prairie Conservation Area is home to native plants and birds, including upland sandpipers and loggerhead shrikes. Muzzle-loading and archery hunting for deer is allowed. You can also hunt for quail, rabbit and dove, fish in the ponds, and hunt, spear or net frogs. See the mdc.mo.gov website for seasons and current regulations.
Trapping fur-bearing animals is also allowed by special-use permit, with trappers working with the area manager to remedy a problem.
The Missouri Master Naturalist Program is sponsored by the MDC and University of Missouri Extension to support conservation efforts and natural resource education in local communities. Members take 11 weeks of training, and commit to a required number of service hours a year.
For more information, contact Ginger Miller, Hi Lonesome chapter advisor, at 660-885-8179 or email Ginger.Miller@mdc.mo.gov
The Hi Lonesome chapter of Master Naturalists meet the first Tuesday of the month at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cole Camp, Mo. at 6 p.m., according to Melissa Zimmerschied.
