Jason Sumners on Saturday will become the tenth director in the Missouri Department of Conservation’s 87-year history. Mr. Sumners grew up in west-central Missouri’s Lincoln, and he replaces longtime director Sara Parker Pauley, who’s retiring after 30 years of public service. Mr. Sumners joined us live on 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri”, telling the audience that he continues to listen to landowners and outdoor advocates around the state. The Missouri Department of Conservation was founded in 1937, when citizens led an effort to create it to restore, conserve and regulate Missouri’s over-stressed fisheries, forests and wildlife populations. Missouri voters approved a one-eighth of one percent sales tax to directly fund the agency in 1976. One of the other issues we discussed during the live interview is the 111-acre Boone County Nature School, which is just south of Columbia. Director Sumners tells listeners that the nature school is expected to open in the next month or two. The nature school, which is just west of Highway 63 near Tom Bass road, is a partnership between Columbia Public Schools (CPS), the Missouri Department of Conservation and the community. CPS Superintendent Dr. Brian Yearwood has told 939 the Eagle that the Boone County Nature school will be a model for the state and the nation:
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