Conservation Department considers deer hunting changes

by Melissa Yeager, KY3 News

SPRINGFIELD — More than a million deer call Missouri’s woods home — more than even before people started to settle in what would become the Show-Me State. The Missouri Department of Conservation now wants public input to help it decide how to control the exploding population.

The department will hold public meetings in a couple weeks, including some at Bass Pro Shops in Springfield.

For a long time, deer were in short supply. Biologists credit Missouri’s hunting laws with helping them manage the population but that success has helped the herds multiply rapidly. So biologists want to know if people think they should change some of the laws in the hunting guide to keep it under control.

When you go to places like the Springfield Conservation Nature Center, you can readily see deer roaming the grounds.

“The deer have come back in Missouri to the point where we have a million, maybe a little more than a million, deer in Missouri and it’s estimated that that is more than even in presettlement times,” said Francis Skalicky, a metro media specialist for the Conservation Department.

While it means we have more beautiful deer to view, it is also a worry for conservationists.

“An unmanaged deer population could get out of control and lead to things like increased deer vehicle accidents and an increase in farm damage. They eat crops and it wouldn’t be good for the deer either. The thicker the deer herd becomes, the easier it is to spread disease from deer to deer,” said Skalicky.

So the Department of Conservation is considering changing deer hunting season. First, it wants to expand the modern firearms deer hunting season to include Thanksgiving break, instead of ending on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Second, it wants to have the antlerless portion of firearms season back to October. Finally, it’s considering extending the four-point antler restriction, and expanding it from the 29 counties it currently includes.

They hope to get feedback from the public on these ideas.

“The more input we can get, the better decision we’ll be able to make based on what people want,” said Skalicky.

The Department of Conservation will hold a meeting at Bass Pro on Jan. 8 and another in Joplin on Jan. 9.

If you can’t attend one of them, you can go to the DOC Web site, watch a video presentation and then give your feedback.

For more information, visit read and comment on proposals for the 2008 and 2009 Missouri deer seasons.