Springfield, MO---For the 26th consecutive year, Bass Pro Shops will be utilizing their employees, property and resources to collect Christmas trees for use by the Missouri Department of Conservation and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers as fish habitat.
Christmas trees, with stands and decorations removed, can be taken to the area at the northwest end of the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World store parking lot facing Sunshine starting Wednesday, December 26th and continuing through Monday, January 1st from noon until 6:00 p.m. each day. Trees cannot be dropped off at any other times or at any other Bass Pro Shops properties.
The Ozarks Trail Council Boy Scouts Wa-Sha-She Lodge Order of the Arrow will man the collection area helping unload trees and loading trailers with trees to be hauled to habitat area sites. There is a donation of at least $2 per tree to unload trees with all proceeds to benefit the Boy Scouts. Trees cannot be unloaded without paying the $2 or more per tree donation. “We are very thankful to Bass Pro Shops for giving our scouts this opportunity to raise money for all their many projects,” said staff advisor Kevin Walker.
After the trees are collected and loaded on trailers by the scouts, Bass Pro Shops then hauls them to Table Rock Lake at sites designated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Werner Enterprises and Fed Ex Freight donate use of their trailers to haul the trees.
Once to the lake, the Missouri Department of Conservation, along with volunteers then place the trees in the lake. “These trees are used as part of the Table Rock Lake National Fish Habitat Initiative Project (NFHI). As the reservoir ages, these trees provide woody cover for all species of fish. The cover not only serves the fish, it also benefits anglers because it concentrates the fish in specific areas,” stated MDC Fisheries Biologist, Mike Allen.
The Missouri Department of Conservation, in cooperation with the US Army Corps of Engineers, has developed a web-based interactive fish habitat map for Table Rock Lake (http://newmdcgis.mdc.mo.gov/tablerock/). Users can modify the map, zoom in to specific lake areas, receive GPS locations for selected structures, and utilize a print option. Aerial photo images appear once zoomed to a finer scale.
Since Bass Pro Shops started this highly successful program back in 1986, over 265,000 Christmas trees have been recycled. “We are happy to do our part for this highly successful conservation program that benefits not only the fish, but also the anglers that enjoy catching them,” said Bass Pro Shops Manager of Communications Larry Whiteley.
Christmas trees, with stands and decorations removed, can be taken to the area at the northwest end of the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World store parking lot facing Sunshine starting Wednesday, December 26th and continuing through Monday, January 1st from noon until 6:00 p.m. each day. Trees cannot be dropped off at any other times or at any other Bass Pro Shops properties.
The Ozarks Trail Council Boy Scouts Wa-Sha-She Lodge Order of the Arrow will man the collection area helping unload trees and loading trailers with trees to be hauled to habitat area sites. There is a donation of at least $2 per tree to unload trees with all proceeds to benefit the Boy Scouts. Trees cannot be unloaded without paying the $2 or more per tree donation. “We are very thankful to Bass Pro Shops for giving our scouts this opportunity to raise money for all their many projects,” said staff advisor Kevin Walker.
After the trees are collected and loaded on trailers by the scouts, Bass Pro Shops then hauls them to Table Rock Lake at sites designated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Werner Enterprises and Fed Ex Freight donate use of their trailers to haul the trees.
Once to the lake, the Missouri Department of Conservation, along with volunteers then place the trees in the lake. “These trees are used as part of the Table Rock Lake National Fish Habitat Initiative Project (NFHI). As the reservoir ages, these trees provide woody cover for all species of fish. The cover not only serves the fish, it also benefits anglers because it concentrates the fish in specific areas,” stated MDC Fisheries Biologist, Mike Allen.
The Missouri Department of Conservation, in cooperation with the US Army Corps of Engineers, has developed a web-based interactive fish habitat map for Table Rock Lake (http://newmdcgis.mdc.mo.gov/tablerock/). Users can modify the map, zoom in to specific lake areas, receive GPS locations for selected structures, and utilize a print option. Aerial photo images appear once zoomed to a finer scale.
Since Bass Pro Shops started this highly successful program back in 1986, over 265,000 Christmas trees have been recycled. “We are happy to do our part for this highly successful conservation program that benefits not only the fish, but also the anglers that enjoy catching them,” said Bass Pro Shops Manager of Communications Larry Whiteley.