Project Leader Tracy Hill and Fisheries Technician Lee Erickson attended Missouri Night at Paxton Keeley Elementary. Missouri Night is used to inform 4th grade students along with their parents about the cultural and natural resources of the great state of Missouri. The night was a success with 150 participants.

  The Columbia FRO displayed a fish identification puzzle; printed materials; and a slide show. A squishy sturgeon was awarded to each student that matched the correct fish on the fish puzzle. The sturgeon award provided an opportunity to talk a little bit about the endangered Pallid Sturgeons life history, habitat, and ongoing recovery efforts. The slide show highlighted fish of the Missouri River. The students found the slide show fascinating and couldn’t believe that those fish were caught right here in Missouri.

  Outreach events such as these are the building blocks to ensure the future of natural resource conservation by connecting people with nature. These events lay a foundation for future educational opportunities in keeping with the aquatic education objectives of the ‘Public Use’ goal outlined in the ‘Fisheries Program Vision for the Future’.