Friday, January 20, 2012

The Birth of Missouri Conservation

I came across an interesting video on conservation in Missouri.  In 1950, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) produced a film which described the birth of the Department.  It has the nostalgia of the old newsreels with dramatic music and stilted camera shots of events.  I expected to see a Superman serial to start up at any moment.

Missouri's good old days had some bad old moments.  Like much of the United States, the early twentieth century in Missouri was a time of growth.  Much of the forests had been cut to supply lumber for the expanding railroads and the booming Midwest population.  The deforested hills were plowed for crops, creating erosion.  Deer, turkey and bass populations were depleted due to uncontrolled hunting and fishing.

These unintended consequences of growth led to the creation of the Missouri Conservation Commission which evolved into the Missouri Department of Conservation.  Now MDC has posted the film as an 18 minute Youtube video.  Butter up the popcorn and turn it on.