More than 7,000 acres in Northwest Missouri are accessible to outdoor recreational enthusiasts. No matter what outdoor activity you enjoy, whether it’s hunting, hiking, bird-watching, fishing, canoeing or camping, Fountain Grove Conservation Area (FGCA) offers something for everyone.
Located five miles south of Meadville, Missouri, in Linn and Livingston counties, FGCA is home to numerous game species such as the white-tailed deer, turkey, coyote, otter, beaver, rabbit, squirrel, fox and upland birds. However the area is probably best known for the abundant waterfowl and the role it plays as a major winter habitat for Canada geese and other waterfowl species.
Flooding along the Grand River use to close some of the access; however a major wildlife renovation project took place in 2008. Because of that extensive project new holding pools, water blinds, ramps, marshes, handicap accessibility and other amenities have significantly improved in the last few years thanks to numerous conservation groups such as Ducks Unlimited and countless individuals and the Missouri Department of Conservation.
FGCA was the first wetland area developed by the Missouri Conservation Commission in the 1940’s and is situated in the floodplain of the Grand River. A combination of habitats such as marshes, bottomland, forests, grain fields, lakes and sloughs create a natural Mecca that many species cannot resist. Archery deer hunters enjoy the thick cover of the cottonwoods and sycamores along the river in the bottomlands, upland bird hunters often find success along the edges of the grain fields and marshes and waterfowl hunters often can bag a limit of various waterfowl species in or near one of the many oxbows, lakes and marshes.
To learn more about FGCA, visit the Missouri Department of Conservation at www.mdconline.com
Guest blog post by Outdoor Writer extraordinaire, Lisa Metheny . Find her on Twitter @lisametheny and http://lisametheny.com











