Protecting Our Natural Resources

Nature provides the perfect setting for enjoying Missouri state parks and historic sites. The natural world, however, is home to a few plants and animals that could affect your outdoor experience. Here are some suggestions on how to make sure your outdoor experience is a positive one.

Poison Ivy

How to recognize it:

• Poison ivy can be identified by remembering the phrase "Leaves of three, let them be!" Leaflets grow in groups of three off the vine.
• Poison ivy is a ropelike vine that is green in summer and red in the fall.
• The smaller side leaflets are lobed and often look like a child's mittens.
• The center leaflet is on a longer stalk; the side leaflets look as if they grow directly from the stem.

If you come into contact with poison ivy:

• Change clothes as soon as you can and wash exposed skin with soap and water.
• Wash clothes, including shoes, immediately or bag separately from other laundry and wash when able. The oil from the plant causes the reaction and can remain active on clothing and footwear for up to a year if left unwashed.

Remember these tips:

• The oil from the plant can also be transmitted on pet fur or in the smoke of burning poison ivy.
• Avoid skin contact by wearing long pants, closed shoes and long-sleeved shirts when hiking.

Snakes

Missouri is home to 47 species and subspecies of snake. These snakes range in size from a wormlike 7 inches to 72 inches (6 feet) in length. Of these species, only five are venomous: the timber rattlesnake (in decline statewide), the western pygmy rattlesnake (southern Missouri), the massasauga rattlesnake (endangered species north central/northwest Missouri), the western cottonmouth (southeastern Missouri) and the Osage copperhead (common statewide).

Keep Yourself and Missouri’s Snakes Safe

• The Wildlife Code of Missouri treats snakes as a nongame species, making them a protected animal and unlawful to kill
• Be mindful of your surroundings - look before stepping over logs and rocks, watch for snakes basking in sunny spots or hiding in rocks or under logs
• Learn to recognize snakes by their coloration, markings and size. Looking for head shape, pupil shape or belly scales means you are too close to the snake and could be bitten. 
• If a snake is encountered, allow the animal a clear path of escape and keep your distance
• Often, people bitten by a snake were trying to either kill it or pick it up. Stay safe by remembering three simple words: Leave them be!

Ticks & Mosquitoes

Click here for information on ticks and mosquitoes.

Wildlife

Help Missouri keep wildlife wild and yourself safe!

• "Leave Them Be!" Trying to touch, pick up or kill wildlife is seen as a threat by animals, and their first line of defense is to bite and/or claw to get away.
• Feeding wildlife, intentionally or not, decreases their fear of humans but not their wild instincts. This can make encounters with humans more dangerous for the person and the animal.
• Store food properly. Keep food inside secure locations, such as your vehicle. Raccoons and bears can easily open coolers.
• Keep a clean camp. Use trash receptacles at your campsite or dumpsters within the campground to dispose of trash. To deter unwelcome nighttime visitors to your campsite, clean up all food debris and do not burn trash in fire rings.

Crayfish

Protect our waters by protecting our crayfish!

Crayfish go by many names – crawfish, crawdad, mudbug and more. Missouri is home to 35 species of crayfish, which represents 10% of the nation’s species. Eight of Missouri’s species can be found nowhere else in the world. Crayfish can be fun to watch in Missouri’s rivers and streams, but they are also critical to proper function of our many bodies of water. Invasive crayfish can out-compete native species, spread disease, hurt fishing and harm the aquatic ecosystem.

You can help stop the spread of invasive crayfish by following these tips:

• Use crayfish as bait only on the body of water from which they came.
• Do not release live bait crayfish back into the water.
• If you purchase live bait crayfish, only purchase northern crayfish (Orconectes virilis) from in-state sources.
• Missouri crayfish can make a tasty meal for fish and humans alike. For humans, it is important to EAT COOKED CRAYFISH ONLY. Live and raw crayfish contain parasites that can cause severe lungworm disease in humans and animals.

Missouri has been blessed with an unusual diversity of native plants, animals and scenic areas. The state has some of the largest springs in North America and the second-greatest number of caves in the United States. There are tallgrass prairies, deep rich forests, barren glades and numerous crystal-clear streams. All these make for an unusually varied, beautiful and interesting natural history that has shaped Missouri's cultural history as well.

As you tour Missouri's state parks and historic sites, you will learn about our state's natural and cultural heritage. To ensure that special recognition and protection is afforded to some of the significant natural elements, certain areas have been designated as Missouri natural areas. Natural areas are managed and protected for their scientific, educational and historic values. They are formally recognized as the least disturbed and highest-quality biological and geological sites across the state.

Below are the publicly accessible natural areas located in Missouri State Parks properties. Please note that some of these areas extend beyond the boundaries of the state park.

Wilderness and wild lands provide important recreational opportunities. In response to growing demands for such areas, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources established a Missouri Wild Area System in 1978.

The Missouri Wild Area System was partially modeled after the National Wilderness Preservation System. Wild areas are protected by the benefits they provide for hiking and backpacking as well as the benefits they provide as outdoor classrooms for environmental education and as increasingly important reservoirs of scientific information.

According to the Department of Natural Resources’ policy, a wild area must be a “spacious” tract of land generally 1,000 or more acres in size. Generally, it must appear to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, and to possess outstanding opportunities for solitude and unconfined recreation.

In establishing Missouri’s Wild Area System, a wide variety of qualifying areas were selected to represent the broadest cross section of the state’s natural heritage. Today, over 26,000 acres are designated as Missouri wild areas. Each of the protected areas is unique, and you are invited to visit them as you tour Missouri’s state parks.

A Fed Bear is a Dead Bear

Bears have long been a symbol of the wilderness qualities that we value. The remarkable sense of smell that leads them to nuts, berries and honey can also lead them to human foods. Campers' coolers, garbage left in the open, and food scraps thrown on the ground or in the fire can draw bears to an easy meal. When bears associate humans with food, they lose their natural fear of humans and leave the safety of the backcountry.

Wild bears live longer and are healthier than bears that have adapted to feeding on garbage. Help keep Missouri’s bears wild by keeping a clean camp, by storing food properly, and by never feeding bears.

Report all bear damage and nuisance incidents to park staff immediately.

Black Bear Facts

Size: Adult black bears will average 3 feet tall at the shoulder, and between 5 and 6 feet tall when standing on their hind legs. Adult females can weigh up to 200 pounds; males can reach as large as 500 pounds.

Life span: approximately 20 years

Eyesight: similar to a human’s

Sense of smell: excellent

Food: Like humans, black bears are omnivores – they eat both plants and animals. Most of a bear’s diet is plants such as bulbs, berries, nuts and acorns. They also eat insects, small mammals, honey and carrion.

Agility: Bears are very agile. They can run at speeds of 30 to 35 miles per hour, climb trees and are excellent swimmers.

Behavior: When a bear huffs or “woofs,” clacks its teeth, growls or slaps the ground, it is warning you that you are too close. Back away slowly and be sure the bear has a clear escape route. When a bear stands on its hind legs, it is trying to see or smell better.

Winter dens: Black bears find a den and enter long periods of sleep when cold weather comes. In Missouri, bears might use cavities in rocks, hollow trees and even piles of brush for their winter den.

Cubs: Cubs are born during their mother’s winter sleep. The cubs will stay with their mother for about 18 months or until she mates again. Mother bears are very protective of their cubs.

10 ways to help you SHARE the park with bears

Black bear populations in Missouri are increasing and this gives visitors to Missouri state parks a new opportunity. Viewing black bears in the wild can be a very enjoyable experience when a few basic precautions are followed. To safely share the park with bears, please:

1. Enjoy observing bears from a distance through binoculars or a spotting scope. Black bears are wild animals and can be dangerous. Do not try to approach them.
2. Keep a clean camp. Wash all plates, utensils, pots and pans immediately after use.
3. Put all garbage and trash in trash cans or dumpsters. Never throw garbage on the ground or into campfires.
4. Store all food in your trailer, RV or your car. If you are backpacking or traveling on a motorcycle or bicycle, hang all food from a tree limb to keep it out of reach of bears. Even items such as chewing gum, toothpaste or soap can smell like food to a bear.
5. Do not feed bears. Feeding bears causes them to lose their fear of humans. Garbage can kill bears when they ingest plastic and other food packaging.
6. Keep your dog on a leash.
7. When hiking, stay on the trail and keep your group together.
8. Make your presence known. Normal trail noises will let bears know you are coming. Most bears will avoid humans when given the chance.
9. If a bear comes into your camp, or you surprise one while hiking, do not run. Slowly back away and watch the bear without making direct eye contact. Leave the bear an escape route. If the bear does not leave, make loud noises by banging on pots and pans and yelling.
10. If a bear should attack, fight back. Hit the bear in the nose and eyes. Kick the bear as hard as you can. Use any available objects.