Seeing this reminded me:
There I was, in Basic Training at Fort Lost-In-The-Woods Leonard Wood Missouri, with field training areas right in the middle of the Mark Twain National Forest.
The Drill Sergeants already knew I was a ‘local boy’, so they made advantageous use of their assets.
Out on the week long bivouac, my Platoon Sergeant, a near professional grade comedian from Jamaica by the name of Batiste, pulled me aside for a short special assignment.
“You’re the one from around here, right?”
“Yes Sergeant”
“Okay, you take Privates Bronx and Brooklyn out and show them what Poison Ivy is!”
I think to myself that I had the same assignment when I was a Patrol Leader in Boys Scouts years before and took the 1st year kids at summer camp out to show them what nastiness the Ozarks woods had in store for them if they weren’t careful and ran out of toilet paper.
I then realized the only difference between the Boys Scouts and the Army was Scouting had adult supervision.
While showing the two Noo Yawkers that the sick call dealing green leafy stuff was literally just a few feet away, one pipes up with a very serious
“Are there really bears out in these woods?”
Having a good idea who probably cracked himself up telling them this one, I simply told them that yes, there had been confirmed reports of bears in this part of Missouri woodlands, but they didn’t need to worry unless the bear was so hungry coming out of hibernation (as it was springtime) it would see them as food.
Which didn’t help matters one bit.
Missouri black bear hunting framework is approved
A black bear hunting season for 2021 in Jefferson County is one step closer to reality, but for those concerned about bears or hunters here, they probably need not worry about either at this point. If management goals are met, locals may never have to fret about the fate of neighborhood bruins.
Approval of the hunting season for 2021 has been a long process, and it is still pending one more public comment period. Earlier this month the state Conservation Commission approved the framework of a season, and that information will be posted in the public record for comments to be collected from Oct. 16 through Nov. 14.