Missouri Department of Conservation forming plan for future elk hunting

VAN BUREN, Mo. � The Missouri Department of Conservation continues to develop a plan to manage the state�s reintroduced elk herd, using hunting as the primary means to control the growing population.

At a sparsley-attended workshop Dec. 3 at Van Buren High School, department officials explained to visitors the current state of the elk population and the various dynamics they will look at when determining hunting regulations, while at the same time soliciting comments from those interested.

The workshops, including others in Ellington and Eminence, Missouri, department cervid biologist Aaron Hildreth said, were designed to serve the dual purposes of updating attendees about what has happened to the elk since the restoration program began in 2011 and to �truly solicit feedback on elk hunting. We�re reaching out to the public.�

At this point, Hildreth said, most options are on the table and will be considered.

�Everything is pretty flexible at this point,� added MDC Elk Program coordinator Dave Hasenbeck. �Things are moving along, but we don�t know for sure which direction it�s heading.�

�Nothing has been set in stone,� Hildreth said. �We�re not getting into the nitty-gritty details yet. ... We�re just trying to solicit input from the public, which we can use for guidance for any final decisions.�

The workshops so far, Hasenbeck said, have seen a �pretty pro-elk crowd. Folks have been really supportive, though some have had reservations.�

The development of a management plan using hunting as a tool, Hildreth said, is a very long, complicated process.

�It�s not an easy process,� he said. �There are lots of parts and pieces.�

Several questions must be answered, including which weapons should be allowed, what time period in the fall would be best and whether landowner permits would be offered.

As far as season timing, Hasenbeck said, �We wouldn�t have the hunt during the rifle deer season, and if there were to be an early portion, it would fall after the peak of the rut.�

Depending on how things go the first few years, he said, those time frames could change.

While MDC staff have not discussed how many hunters could participate in the initial seasons, Hasenbeck said, the department will start out �fairly conservatively� and only offer �a handful� of permits until it can see how the elk herd is progressing.

Elk hunting permits, Hasenbeck noted, would likely be allotted through a system similar to the one used for managed deer hunts, where hunters apply online with their Conservation IDs.

According to MDC documentation, landowner permits likely will not be offered in the first few years of elk hunting, primarily because more than 90 percent of elk usage is on public lands. With presumed herd growth and more private land usage, those permits would become available.

Several benchmarks must all be met before hunting can begin, including annual herd growth rates, population size and bull-to-cow ratios.

Biologists previously determined the state needed at least 200 elk, the herd would need to be growing at least 10 percent annually and there should be at least one bull for every four cow elk.

Given the current status of the state�s elk herd, Hildreth said, those benchmarks should all be met by 2020 and an initial, limited hunting season could be offered.

�Our goal,� Hildreth said, �is if the elk population is strong enough by 2020, we�ll have a season framework already in place.�

�We want to have the framework ready when it�s time and everything is in place,� Hasenbeck added.

Comments will be taken through Dec. 31, Hildreth noted, though this �is not the last time to come to the public� during the process.

Those who didn�t fill out a comment card at one of the workshops may do so online at MDC�s website, www.mdc.mo.gov. Follow the link on the homepage to the comment form and other documentation.

Once all comments are received, Hildreth said, they will be used to formulate elk hunting regulations, which would go to the department�s regulations committee sometime between late January and March. If eventually approved by the Conservation Commission in late winter or early spring, the rules package would go to the Missouri Secretary of State�s Office for a final public comment period and approval next summer.