Thanks to the efforts of Ken Midkiff of the Sierra Club, Governor Carnahan has directed the Chip Mill Advisory Committee to hold hearings on a secret Department of Conservation report that concluded that chip mills could pollute Missouri's streams, create forest fragmentation and negatively impact wildlife habitat. Just as the Chip Mill Advisory Committee's work was coming to an end, the secret report was brought to light by Ken Midkiff's Freedom of Information lawsuit. Members of the Chip Mill Advisory Committee were never told of the department's internal report. Marvin Brown, now an employee of Willamette Industries (the multinational timber company that operates one of Missouri's two chip mills) was at the time Forestry Division Director of the Department of Conservation; he was also the Department of Conservation's representative on the Chip Mill Advisory Committee until his resignation from the department in August, 1999 to go to work for Willamette.

Ken Midkiff has put out an ACTION ALERT asking all who are interested in preserving our forests from the onslaught of chip mills and clearcutting to WRITE a letter to the four members constituting the Conservation Commission that oversees the Department of Conservation. At the end of this newsletter you will find a letter that you can send. All four Commissioner's names and addresses appear in the letter. Please write to as many of the four as possible. Ask them to direct the Department of Conservation to conduct a thorough study of the impact of chip mills on the environment. Because clearcutting is the preferred method of logging wherever chip mills are located, chip mills present a clear and present danger to the Ozarks. Forest fragmentation will seriously impact songbirds that live in the forest, as well as other wildlife.

We are continuing our plans for a Butterfly Garden outside the new headquarters building at Busch CA. If you are interested in volunteering time, plants or seeds, please contact Yvonne Homeyer.

Another productive meeting with Ben Knox, St. Louis County Parks Chief of Environmental Programs, took place on February 8. Representing WGNSS were Dianne Benjamin, Sue Gustafson, Jim Malone and David Rabenau. The two action items were:

1) WGNSS will continue assisting the County Parks Dept. in gathering data on birds, plants, and butterflies on County Parks lands, including Little Creve Coeur Marsh/Lake. The data already provided by WGNSS members is being utilized to develop interpretive educational materials and programs for the public. If you would like to participate in field surveys, please contact David Rabenau.

2) WGNSS still expects to share our expertise in the design and management of Little Creve Coeur Marsh/Lake, part of the Page Avenue mitigation area. The Master Plan has stalled in the slow lane of the proposed Earth City Expressway corridor. Such non-wildlife uses as agriculture, athletic fields, communications towers, power lines, and MetroLink expansion threaten to ruin the wildlife potential of this area.

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