October - December, 2010
Missouri: Conservation in 2010
Looking back on 2010, historians are likely to describe a year when economic challenges spurred conservation innovations and a new leadership team launched ambitious initiatives. It was also a year when the Show-Me State's world-class fishing repeatedly made national news.
As 2010 began, revenue from Missouri's one-eighth of 1-percent conservation sales tax was in its fourth consecutive year of decline. Sales-tax income fell from $103.3 million in Fiscal Year '07 to $93.9 million in FY '10, and projected sales-tax income for the current fiscal year was projected to be $92.7 million. To adapt to falling revenues, MDC moved to cut its workforce by 10 percent, close 13 offices and adjust some programs.
In March, MDC announced plans to distribute nearly $6 million in grants to help seven schools reduce energy costs, create jobs and provide incentives for better forest management. The Fuels for Schools grant program was a cooperative effort with the USDA Forest Service and was funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It helped participating schools install boiler systems that use woody biomass to heat and cool their facilities. Besides cutting schools' fuel bills, the program helps reduce dependence on fossil fuels, supports local employment and supports the state's forest industry. It also benefits conservation by giving landowners a financial incentive to conduct timber-stand improvements harvests and other management practices that enhance forest productivity and wildlife habitat.