Legacy Oaks

Like a lot of our nation, very early on in settlement days, this area in South Central Missouri was highly exploited of natural resources. They were thought to be endless by the European immigrants, and they were treated that way. This country and a lot of Missouri became devoid of most wildlife and basically, deforested. That really is not an exaggeration. It makes a case for a balanced approach when providing natural resources for development and for protecting or encouraging wildlife.

It is interesting to me, that in the 1940's when Aldo Leopold's "A Sand County Almanac" was released he even mentions that one of the most endangered and most troubled areas in the nation at that time was the Ozarks. My dad talks about never seeing a deer or a turkey in the wild until he was nearly grown. That's sad. Today he and all of us can enjoy great populations of both and hunt them during season. We gladly follow the rules set by the Missouri Department of Conservation, whose efforts over the years resulted in these and many other "comeback stories".  We may not agree with everything they do, and everything they do isn't always right. But, they do some great things.