HUNTERS WILL HELP FUND WETLANDS AREA

MOUND CITY -- Money from hunters will assist the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) in creating hundreds of acres of wetland at Nodaway Valley Wildlife Area, and hikers, birdwatchers and anglers will share the benefits.

The area is located about miles east of Mound City, off Highway B. The area straddles the Holt-Andrew county line. MDC purchased the 3,500-acre area in the Nodaway River valley for $5 million in early November. Seventy-five percent of the purchase price was paid with money made available through the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937.

Also known as the Pittman-Robertson Act, this federal law established an 11-percent excise tax on shotguns, rifles, ammunition, muzzleloading firearm components and archery equipment and a 10-percent excise tax on handguns. Hunters were instrumental in securing its passage over 50 years ago. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service administers the resulting "P-R" fund, distributing money to states based on the number of licensed hunters and the size of each state. Since the beginning of the program, Missouri's share of P-R money has amounted to over $40 million.

Pittman-Robertson funds can be used only for wildlife conservation, hunter education and shooting range construction. In recent years, the bulk of Missouri's P-R entitlement has been used for wildlife research and to purchase land for public use.

Ninety-five percent of Nodaway Valley WA currently is cropland with some upland and approximately five miles of river frontage. Recreational opportunities already available include pheasant, quail, dove and rabbit hunting, hiking on the river levees, birdwatching, nature study and some fishing.

Immediate plans call for construction of parking lots next year and leasing of the area's cropland for agricultural use. Within four years, MDC plans to install privies and build water control structures and levees to flood a large portion of the area. When this phase of development is complete, Nodaway Valley Wildlife Area will offer waterfowl viewing and hunting opportunities.

"We're excited about the management opportunities this area offers in conjunction with Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge and Bob Brown Wildlife Area," said Jim Choate, assistant chief of MDC's Wildlife Division. "It's a chance to restore an important wetland complex in a part of the state that has lost much of its wetlands."