Fall & Winter 2012: Volume 33, Numbers 3 & 4 - Missouri Prairie ...

Prairie Postings
Cécile Lagandré MDC
News from Feaster Glade
Cécile’s husband Dave, harnessed
like a mule, dragging a red cedar
log out of Feaster Glade.
red-eared slider like the
A one pictured here—usually
unseen, but often heard
at a nearby slough timidly
plunging from her basking log
by the sound of footsteps—
climbed 250 feet up to our
Feaster Glade in late May
2012. Despite our intrusion
upon her private occupations,
she dug several nests on terrain
that converts solar energy
like a south-facing, 23° tilt,
dirty solar panel. In addition
to certainly providing incubating
warmth, the slope might
ensure water’s gravitational
pull on the glade-roasted, disorientated
hatchlings if ever
and whenever they emerged.
I believe Feaster Glade restoration is already having an impact
on the functioning of our small corner of Benton County.
How did this restoration begin? Our local Missouri
Department of Conservation Private Land Services biologist
handed us a document titled “Glade Restoration.” As we were
attempting to digest its ecological concepts, we tackled our
own human problems about living on rock: how to dispose of
the other digested, undisclosed disposable. Construction of a
practical compost area and outdoor loo required the use of red
cedar logs; Feaster Glade restoration started out of necessity!
At this point, we still had to brave the unknown of
what was still a dark red cedar forest: intertwined dead lower
branches formed impassable barriers where Feaster-monsters
lurked at each breath. The layout of our own land remained a
mystery and we were still wrestling with the obscure notion of
a “glade.”
I declared a stalemate when all that dictionaries and encyclopedias
would offer as an explanation was an “opening in
the forest.” Further research led me to understand that each
forested region of the world possesses barren areas of thin soil
where both flora and fauna evolved into highly specialized species.
Missouri’s glades harbor many dry prairie species as well as
glade-restricted plants and animals. Being the stewards of this
flaggy Ozark dolomite glade is indeed an awesome responsibility
and discovering its many facets a weekly wonder.
—MPF member Cécile Lagandré and her husband Dave Van Dyne
have the privilege of calling Feaster Glade their own; Cécile shares
tales of its restoration in the Missouri Prairie Journal.
Prairie State Park’s Brian Miller
Receives State Award
Brian Miller, fourth from left, with Governor Nixon, family members,
and colleagues at the Missouri State Award ceremony in May, where
he received the State Employee of the Month Award. See Brian’s
article on Prairie State Park on page 18.
This year, Natural Resource Steward Brian Miller received
three awards, including Missouri State Employee of the
Month for May. First, Brian received the Missouri Department
of Natural Resources Employee of the Month for April, and
shortly after, the Missouri Parks Association Facility Manager
of the Year Award. In May, Brian was selected for the Missouri
State Employee of the Month (there are approximately 57,000
state employees).
Brian was nominated for all three awards by his supervisor,
Justin Adams, for his work to assemble and supervise a crew of
State Parks Youth Corps workers in response to the devastating
Joplin tornado of May 11, 2011. Included in the incredible
physical damage Joplin endured was the devastation of several
of its city parks. From August through November 2011, Brian
recruited a seven-person crew and developed a work plan for
keeping the crew in the right places at the right times, always
mobile and responsive.
The tasks were difficult and required much manual labor
to clear large amounts of tornado debris. The team hauled in
tons of topsoil to fill and level ground from uprooted trees,
cleaned out drainage ditches, removed dead shrubs, planted
flowers, and laid sod.
“Throughout the process, Brian continued all of his regular
responsibilities at Prairie State Park, for which he is responsible,”
said Justin. “For that time of year, the work included
organizing the bison and elk round-up and vaccinations,
organizing and holding the annual bison auction, eradicating
exotic, invasive species, and conducting prescribed fires on the
park’s nearly 4,000 acres,” Justin said.
As a special thank you, Brian arranged for the crew to
visit Prairie State Park, providing them with lunch and an
opportunity to see bison and elk in their native habitat.
Congratulations, Brian!
MDNR
Vol. 33 Nos. 3 & 4 Missouri Prairie Journal 29