Shepherd of Hills Conservation Center has new manager

BRANSON, Mo. – Alison Bleich may be new to the job of interpretive center manager of the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Shepherd of the Hills Conservation Center, but she brings a wealth of resource interpretive experience to her new assignment.

Bleich and the rest of the staff at MDC’s Shepherd of the Hills Conservation Center are preparing for the facility’s summer schedule, which begins June 1. The conservation center, which serves as the visitors’ center for MDC’s Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery, will be open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. seven days a week from June 1 through Sept. 1. (The facility’s winter schedule is 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. It is closed Sunday and Monday in winter.)

Bleich began her job at the conservation center in January. She replaced long-time manager John Miller, who retired in the fall of 2018. Her duties as interpretive center manager will include overseeing daily procedures of the facility, supervising staff and volunteers and providing an educational experience to visitors.

Bleich’s new job is her second stint with MDC. In 2015, she was a quail technician working out of MDC’s El Dorado Springs office. After that, the Buckley, Ill. native and Missouri State University graduate, was a park naturalist at Lake McConaughy State Recreation Area in Ogallala, Neb. and, while there, developed the park’s naturalist program. She was also park superintendent at Ash Hollow State Park in Lewellen, Neb. She also did an internship at Sea Turtle Inc., a non-profit facility in South Padre Island, Texas which promotes sea turtle conservation efforts.

“Joining the team at Shepherd of the Hills means I am able to continue working with educating the public about local wildlife,” Bleich said. “I enjoy sharing my knowledge on the outdoors and getting people interested in what we have here in Missouri. I have considered Missouri my home ever since I first came here in 2010. Getting the chance to work with MDC again has been a goal of mine and I am ready for this new adventure.”

Learn more about the Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery Conservation Center on MDC’s website at https://bit.ly/2mAQg3p.