Outdoor adventures the topic of Women Aware luncheon

Recreation is Jennifer Morse’s bread and butter.

Morse, who is a Mark Twain National forest specialist, shared information at a recent Women Aware luncheon. She manages dispersed recreation for the Poplar Bluff and Eleven Point ranger districts.

“I’m very invested, but particularly recreation and outdoors in nature hold a dear spot to my heart,” she said.

Morse highlighted recreation opportunities in the area for all ages and all abilities so attendees could add these spots to their bucket lists for things to do.

Morse has worked for the forest service for a year but has been in federal service for about 13 years. She previously worked for the U.S. Corps of Engineers. She graduated from Southeast Missouri State University with a bachelor of science degree in recreation and parks administration in 2017, and previously graduated from Three Rivers College with an associate degree in both forestry and agriculture.

She graduated from Poplar Bluff High School in 2007. She has been married to her husband, Doug, for 12 years, and they have two children.

She enjoys being outdoors gardening and traveling with family.

“I was a city kid,” Morse said. “I lived in Michigan and I was about 10. I used to come visit my grandparents in the summer. They lived on the other side of Briar. My grandpa was that guy who sent me out with a .22 and one bullet and said ‘Come back when it’s dark,’ which today wouldn’t work.

“When I was a kid, it was the coolest thing, that level of freedom. You get out and you were able to immerse yourself. For me as an adult, that’s really why I chose this career path to be able to sponsor and really sparked that interest in other people.”

The Mark Twain Forest is a beautiful place and an adventure, she said.

“The forest is for every physical ability, every age group and every interest group,” Morse said. “Anyone can go out and recreate have a good time.”

On Mark Twain, she said, “We have places you can swim, we have places you can fish, we have places to kayak, canoe, boat — really any water activity that you’re interested in, we have a facility or location that offers that.“

If people like to hike or hit the trail, Mark Twain covers that.

“You can mountain bike really close to us, just 10 minutes north of town,” Morse said. “We have a very elaborate mountain bike trail system, 21 miles of trail. If you’re an equestrian user, we have literally hundreds of miles of trail where you can bring your animals and have a good time.”

The forest is different than other land management agencies, as visitors do not have to camp in a designated campground, she said.

“If you go out and you’re out exploring with your family, and you see a really great spot in the forest, you can pull over and camp there as long as it’s not designated as a day-use area. That’s very unique to the forest service. A lot of agencies don’t allow you to do that,” Morse said.

She also explained the difference between a developed campground and a dispersed campsite. A developed campground has built-in amenities such as restroom facilities. A dispersed campsite may or may not have those. Some sites offer picnic tables and fire rings, but not all.

The Mark Twain National Forest has 1.5 million acres, and is composed of several forests combined the late 80s.

“We’re a very large land manager,” she said, “You can see all the wonderful things that we have to offer. The wildernesses are very unique and very cool places, as you can experience natural areas.”

For a perspective, a natural area is a designated location that offers something notable, which might be an ecological plant species or a unique type of topography.

“We have 19 unique locations you can explore with your family, multiple rivers. We have a wild and scenic river, which is a very unique thing,” she said.

The two districts one is most likely to interact with are Poplar Bluff Ranger District and Eleven Point Ranger District.

The Poplar Bluff Ranger Station is located at 1420 Maud St. It used to be on the edge of the city, but development grew around it until it became thoroughly urban.

“It’s a beautiful spot and it’s really useful,” she said. “I encourage you, it’s open Monday through Friday, you can step in, stop and talk up front with the staff. They have maps with great information. If you’re looking for a firewood permit or you’re looking to buy a recreation pass, you can absolutely stop in there and do that. The other cool thing — our biologists have worked really hard and there’s a very large pollinator garden. You can stop and see some really beautiful native wildflowers.”