For outdoors lovers, it’s starting to sound a lot like fall

It doesn’t feel like fall, but it sure will sound that way starting this weekend.

That’s when the calls of ducks and geese — well, the imitations anyway — will begin carrying from Kansas City-area outdoors-equipment stores.

The occasion? The start of the waterfowl calling contest season.

▪ Rogers Sporting Goods will honor Butch Richenback, a legend in the waterfowl-calling game who passed away recently, when it has its annual calling contest this weekend.

The Butch Richenback Grand National Waterfowl Calling Contest will be Saturday and Sunday at the sporting goods store in Liberty.

Registration will begin at 8 a.m. both days with competition to start at 9 a.m.

Saturday will feature five duck-calling contests, while Sunday will be reserved for four goose-calling competitions.

The winner of the Grand National duck and goose contests will each receive $3,000. More than $35,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded.

▪  The grandaddy of the area’s calling contests — The Grand Slam — will be Aug. 15 at the Bass Pro Shop in Independence.

The slate of duck-calling competitions will include the Eastern Kansas Open, the Four Rivers Regional, The Kansas State, the Missouri State, the Show Me Regional and the Western Missouri Open. All of those contests will be qualifiers for the World Duck Calling Championship in the fall.

For more information, call Graham Giblin at 913-706-0695.

Lake of the Ozarks honored

Lake of the Ozarks’ reputation as a nationally known playground lake got another boost last week when it was named “Best Recreational Lake in the U.S.” in a USA readers poll.

The giant reservoir in central Missouri beat out other front-runners Lake Tahoe in California and Nevada, Big Bear Lake in California, West Okoboji Lake in Iowa and Lake Cumberland in Kentucky. Lake of the Ozarks was among 20 lake destinations selected by a panel of travel experts and media from across the United States to be on the ballot. Online voting took place for four weeks and the winner was named last Friday.

Pulling for Conservation

The ninth annual Pull for Conservation clay-target shoot will be Aug. 8 at the River Hills Sporting Clays facility in Boonville, Mo.

The event, a fundrasier for the Conservation Federation of Missouri, will include a banquet and silent auction at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 7 at the Bass Pro Shop in Columbia. Registration for the clay shoot will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday at the course, with shooting set to begin at 9 a.m.

Participants can register as an individual or as a two-shooter scramble team.

For more information, contact Rehan Nana at 573-634-2322 or by emailing RNana@confedmo.org.

Commissioner reappointed

Don Bedell of Sikeston, Mo., has been reappointed by Gov. Jay Nixon to a second term on the Missouri Conservation Commission.

Bedell has served on the commission since 2009. His second term will run through July 1, 2021.

This story was originally published July 30, 2015 at 2:26 PM with the headline "For outdoors lovers, it’s starting to sound a lot like fall."