 | | Wood thrushes, along with many other song birds that breed in Missouri, have now migrated south. The Foundation helps protect wintering bird habitat through its Missouri Tropical Bird Account. MDC photo. |
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| | From left, Honduran students David Chávez and Adolfo López, and Franciso Cabańas, director of Guaruma, met with Governor and Mrs. Nixon at the Jefferson City Fall Harvest Festival and Multicultural Event during their Oct. visit. |
Missouri Hosts Honduran Conservationists
This month, the Foundation helped MDC's Runge Conservation Nature Center in Jefferson City host three guests from a Honduran after-school environmental education program.
During their week-long visit to Missouri, the two teenagers and the executive director of Guaruma conservation education center--near the north coast of Honduras--studied glades and woodlands at Spring Creek Gap Conservation Area; spent a day on the Missouri River; visited area high schools and Lincoln University; and even met the Governor and First Lady during the Jefferson City Harvest Festival and Multicultural Event. Runge Nature Center staff and volunteers; Rick Thom, Executive Vice President of the Foundation; and the many other people who helped host the group enjoyed learning about the conservation and education challenges and programs in each other's countries.
Funding for the trip was provided by the River Bluffs Audubon Society in Jefferson City, and by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks in Springfield. Scholastic Press, Inc. of Jefferson City donated several hundred Spanish language childrens books to the Foundation to send back with the group for their local schools.
Tropical bird conservation links the Runge and Guaruma programs and geographic areas. Many of Missouri's birds migrate to national parks surrounding the villages served by the Guaruma program.
The work that Guaruma and these students do in their communities helps to build conservation awareness near these important national parks. This helps to protect the places where Missouri's wood thrushes, orioles, tanagers, and other birds live more than half of each year. MCHF helps protect critical tropical habitat through its Missouri Tropical Bird Account.
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Tenth Anniversary of State Wildlife Grants
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the federal State Wildlife Grants Program, which has brought much-needed dollars to many conservation projects in Missouri.
In recognition of this major accomplishment in conservation history, core team members of the State Wildlife Grants Program in Missouri--Gene Gardner and Dennis Figg, with the Mo. Dept. of Conservation, and Amy Buechler, Mo. Teaming with Wildlife Coordinator, Conservation Federation of Missouri--have complied a special report to summarize the inception, implementation, and accomplishments in conservation made possible with funding from this program.
Read the report at the Missouri Teaming With Wildlife Web site. The Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation is represented on the Missouri Teaming with Wildlife (TWW) Steering Committee and is a proud member of TWW--a national coalition of more than 5,500 conservation organizations, leaders, and businesses working together to prevent wildlife from becoming endangered. The coalition supports dedicated funding for fish, forest, and wildlife conservation, education, and outdoor recreation.
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Foundation Supports Conservation Statewide--from Radio Programs to Youth Hunting Clinics
| | September 2010 ribbon cutting of ADA-compliant improvements to archery range at Twin Pines Conservation Education Center. |
Foundation funding helps make conservation and recreation projects possible throughout Missouri. Learn how recent funding is supporting "Discover Nature" radio programming in southeast Missouri, youth hunting clinics in Lincoln County, Twin Pines Conservation Nature Center in the Ozarks, and many other projects.
You can also learn about our past support of projects by searching our project database--search by county, region, year, project type and other criteria. Information on past projects--from nearly 15 years of conservation support--are still being added, so check back often.
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The Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization founded in 1997 to help meet financial needs placed on natural resource conservation and conservation-related outdoor recreation.
The Foundation is separate from the Missouri Department of Conservation but supports that agency's mission of protecting the state's fish, forestry, and wildlife resources for all Missourians. We are governed by a volunteer board comprised of conservation, community, and business leaders. By working with Missouri Department of Conservation staff, who partner with conservation groups statewide, we fund projects that immediately address conservation and outdoor recreation needs. Since it was created in 1997, the Foundation has provided more than $10 million for conservation projects. The Foundation receives funding from several sources, including Conservation Heritage License Plate donations; private donations from individuals, businesses, and organizations; and payments to the Stream Stewardship Trust Fund.
The Foundation offers volunteer opportunities and a variety of conservation giving opportunities. If you would like to speak to a Foundation staff person for more information, call 1-800-227-1488. |
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