Hunting Archery Duck Deer

Meetings set to hear Missourians’ ideas on deer, Turkey management Missouri

Are you content with Missouri’s spring and fall turkey hunting regulations? Do you like the idea of antler-point restrictions to control the state’s deer herd? Would you like to see that experimental approach to deer management extended to the area you hunt?

You can tell conservation officials about it at a series of meetings set for two parts of the state in January.

The Missouri Department of Conservation will hold six public forums focusing on deer and turkey management in southeast and south-central Missouri. Half of each two-hour meeting will be allocated for discussing turkey management, and half will be set aside for talking about deer management.

One item on the agenda is the possibility of expanding the four-point rule now in effect in 29 counties to seven counties in west-central Missouri and eight in the southeastern part of the state. The rule is an experimental attempt to shift more of the harvest to female deer, providing more effective control of deer numbers.

One side effect of the experimental regulation is expected to be a larger percentage of mature bucks with large antlers. This has caused some hunters to ask for antler-point restrictions in their areas. However, some hunters in the area where the restriction already is in effect dislike it. The meetings will give hunters in the new area under consideration a chance to express their preferences.

Counties where the Conservation Department is considering expanding the experimental antler restriction are Bates, Benton, Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Cedar, Henry, Hickory, Madison, Perry, St. Clair, Ste. Genevieve, Scott, Stoddard, Vernon and Wayne.

Each of the meetings will be from 7 to 9 p.m. and begin with a presentation by Hansen, who leads the Conservation Department’s deer management program, and turkey program leader Jeff Beringer. The meetings are set for the following locations:

* Piedmont, Jan. 9, at the Clearwater Youth Center, Highway 34, adjacent to Clearwater High School.

* Marble Hill, Jan. 10, at the Methodist Church, Highway 34 East.

* Perryville, Jan. 12, at the Perryville Community Center, corner of Spring and St. Joseph streets. For more information call 573-290-5730.

* Cape Girardeau, Jan. 18, at Conservation Campus Nature Center, North Cape County Park.

* El Dorado Springs, Jan. 23, at the American Legion building on Broadway, one block east of Main Street.

* Clinton, Jan. 24, at the K-BLE building, 1606 N. Water St. For more information call 660- 885-6981.