On the surface, there doesn't appear to be much to recommend a winter walk. You have to bundle up because of the cold, and wind and damp may still chill you to the core. The sky can be gray and dreary, washing out whatever fall color remains. There are almost no leaves on the trees and shrubs. The grasses and herbs are nothing but dry husks. There is not much for wildlife to eat, so your chances of seeing any are pretty slim. And rocks and earth lay exposed along with a lot of the roadside trash that green plants usually hide. Without the color and life of the other seasons, what is there to see?

Just the way subtracting color from a photograph allows one to see patterns in black and white and shades of gray that were present but obscured by color, subtracting the vegetation of the other seasons reveals relationships among plants, animals and the landscape that were hidden under a leafy green cover. When the leaves are gone, the winter side of life emerges.

Walnut trees have a relatively small number of robust twigs, with the leaf buds on each twig packed close together. Their branches appear to end abruptly, like so many dark gray knobby fingers. They don't need many fine twigs because they produce large compound leaves with multiple leaflets. These extend the reach of the twig well beyond the range of a single simple leaf. Elm trees, on the other hand, have long, slender twigs with leaf buds distributed further apart. From the ground, the twigs appear to form a fine, lacy, beaded network. The long slender twigs permit plenty of space for each of the individual simple leaves the tree bears. So the shape of twigs on a tree can tell you something about the leaves - even when they are not there.

Oak, Beech, Sycamore and Hickory have a strong central trunk for one half to three fourths of their height, so the spreading branches form a pointed column. With most of the tree's effort dedicated to growing skyward, there is not much room for compromise if chance lands a seedling in a shady spot. Elm forms several major branches below the midway point, each curving up and out so that the tree effectively co-opts the light in the surrounding space. Maple, Walnut, Ash and Locust appear to follow the path of least resistance, sometimes sticking to a strong central trunk, but often shifting growth to side branches that allow them to spread out and take advantage of the sunlight in unoccupied space. So the kind of tree and the shape it assumes can tell you something about how lucky it was.

The bundles of leaves high in the branches of Oak, Hickory and Maple are the nests of squirrels. A foot or larger, they are built from bare twigs and leaves interlaced together to form a protected cavity large enough for a mother and up to eight pups. The young trees and saplings with bark and branches stripped from one side are where a buck rubbed the velvet off his antlers and then polished them to a hard, smooth finish. The holes drilled in horizontal rows up the trunk of a tree are the work of sap suckers feeding on the bark and cambium of a tree. The spherical swellings in the stems of Golden Rod are galls protecting the egg of a small moth. All these signs, the nests, the stripped saplings, the rows of holes, and the galls, can tell you something about whether it was a good year or a bad year for the animals, and who to expect next spring.

A meandering stream, one that cuts back and forth across a trail, means a gentle slope and a flow with little energy. As the land grows steeper, the water picks up speed and force, allowing it to cut a straighter channel. So the meanders can tell you something about the topography. Swiftly moving water, particularly storm water run off from streets and parking lots, can pile gravel up on the outside curve of shallow streams. So the gravel bars in wooded streams can tell you something about what may lie upstream. A limestone cliff forty feet high once formed the bank of the stream now flowing beneath it. The only thing that remains of the bedrock worn down by the stream is the gravel, the tumbled remnants of insoluble pieces of chert once embedded in the layers of limestone. So the height of the cliff can tell you something about the stream's past.

The Columbia area has lots of places to see plants, animals and the landscape in winter, and figure out what the relationships are. These include the MKT trail, Bear Creek Trail, the nature trail in Cosmo park, Grindstone/Capen Park, Hinkson Trail and Rock Bridge Memorial State Park. This holiday, add a new family tradition - and take a walk on the winter side.

-For information and a map of Columbia parks, go to - http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/ParksandRec/Parks/
-For Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, go to - http://rockbridge.missouri.org/pmaps.html

Special Holiday Section - How to Use Less Stuff
Make a pact with friends and family to limit gifts to kids - make donations to charity, pass on a book you loved, bake cookies, or give something you know they use throughout the year (soap, coffee, tea, stamps, etc.) Instead of spending money, spend time. Make dates with friends and family, help with a chore, offer to baby sit. Expecting a big crowd? Borrow or rent the extra items you need to put on your event - tables, chairs, dishes, etc. Decorate with leaves, branches, nuts, cookies and other natural or eatable items Wrap presents in comics, the want ads or grocery bags. Before the influx of new gifts - go through clothes, knicknacks, books, cds and videos and give stuff in good condition to charity. Have your kids do the same with their toys.

Bioregional Quiz: Some Missouri animals hibernate in the winter, but there are different "levels" of hibernation. What is the difference between a "true hibernator" and "light sleeper"?

Job of the Month: Forester Level I - Oklahoma Forestry Services; Goldsby or Broken Bow, OK. Responsibilities: Forester will provide landowners with technical advice and assistance on issues regarding windbreaks, wildlife management, erosion, reforestation, etc. ; will also work to promote urban forestry projects through tours, mass media, meetings and personal contact; will also provide technical information to sawmill operators regarding fire, insects, timber, etc. Status: Permanent, full-time position. Qualifications: BA or BS in Forestry; knowledge of modern forestry, soil conservation, timber management and plains forestry methods; urban forestry knowledge, computer skills and rural farm background are beneficial. Salary: $29, 747. Application Procedure: Position is open until filled. Send cover letter, resume, transcripts and 3 letters of recommendation to: Goldsby, OK location: Al Myatt, 830 N.E. 12th. Ave., Goldsby, Oklahoma 73093; Email: amyatt@oda,state.ok.us -OR- Broken Bow, OK location: Tom Smith, P.O. Box 40, Broken Bow, Oklahoma 74728; Email: toms@oda.state.ok.us

Special Events/Classes/Programs/Talks
WINTER TROUT FISHING : as of November 1. Conservation is stocking Cosmo-Bethel Lake with trout to provide for winter fishing. Permits are required. Go to http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/ParksandRec/ Activites_and_Programs/winter_trout_fishing.html for specific rules and regulations.
CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT: Saturday December 18 - 15 mile circle centered on Rock Bridge Elementary. Organizational Meeting Thursday December 2, 7:30 pm at 3005 Chapel Hill Road.
FIRST NIGHT 2005: 5K run 4pm; other events 6:30 pm to Midnight. Downtown Columbia $7 for ages 7 and up. Go to - http://firstnight.missouri.org/ for additional information.
WINTER HIKE: Saturday January 1, 1 pm, Gans Creek Wild Area trail head, Rock Bridge Memorial State Park. Hwy 163 just before the Devil's Icebox entrance.

Organization Meetings and Contact Information
AUDUBON SOCIETY: 874-3904 / columbia-audubon.missouri.org Meet 3rd Wed 7:30 pm, USGS, 4200 New Haven
BOONE COUNTY SMART GROWTH COALITION: http://smartgrowth.missouri.org/, 1st Wednesdays 7:15 Boone Co Govt Ctr.
CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVING: 875-0539 or http://peaceworks.missouri.org/
CHOUTEAU GROTTO: http://chouteau.missouri.org/, Meet 1st Wed, 7 pm, Community Room of the Boone Electric Coop
COLUMBIA FOOD CIRCLE: 882-7463 or email hendricksonm@missouri.edu for information.
COLUMBIA PUBLIC WORKS VOL. PROGRAMS: 874-6271 or http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Volunteer/Opportunities/#PW
COMMUNITY STORMWATER PROJECT: 884-8333 or http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/PublicWorks/StormWater/cswp.html
ENV EDUCATION WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES: http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/teacher/workshops/
FRIENDS OF ROCK BRIDGE M. S. P.: 815-9255 or http://rockbridge.missouri.org/ Outdoors Bldg, 200 Old 63 S.
GREENBELT COALITION: 442-4789 or http://greenbelt.missouri.org Meet 1st Tuesdays, 7 pm, Outdoors Bldg, 200 Old 63 S.
MISSOURI NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY: npshawth@hotmail.com 2nd Mondays in Jan, Mar, May, July, Sept, Nov at 7:00 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Church, 2615 Shepard Blvd, Columbia, MO.
MISSOURI RIVER COMMUNITIES NETWORK: 443-0292 or http://mrcn.missouri.org/
PEDNET COALITION: email: pednet@pednet.org or http://www.pednet.org
RIVER RELIEF: http://www.riverrelief.org/
ROCK BRIDGE MEMORIAL STATE PARK: 449-7402 or http://rockbridge.missouri.org
SHOW ME CLEAN STREAMS COALITION: (573) 751-4115 ext 3169 or www.mostreamteam.org
SIERRA CLUB: 443-4401 or http://sierra.osage.missouri.org Meet 3rd Tuesdays 7:30 pm Hillel Foundation, 1107 University Ave
WILD ONES: 499-3749 or email wildonesmo@yahoo.com, http://wildones.missouri.org Meetings 2nd Saturdays. Call for location

Answer to BioRegional Quiz: A true hibernatorÕs body functions change in dramatic ways, their heartbeats become very slow and their body temperatures may drop to just above freezing. The woodchuck is an example of a Missouri true hibernator. In contrast, animals like skunks and raccoons go into a dormant phase in which they sleep for long periods, but awaken to feed. They do not experience dramatic changes in their body functions.

Feedback - Got an opinion? If we have space, we will consider publishing it. Submit it by email (envstudy@missouri. edu), snail mail (Environmental Studies, 211 Lowry , MU, Columbia MO 65211), or call Jan Weaver to talk about it (882-7116). MU Environmental Network News is published by MU's Environmental Studies Initiative. All opinions expressed are the responsibility of the editor. Any part of this newsletter may be copied for distribution but please give us credit.

return to NEWS page

return to HOME page