State mulls changes to deer season

Dozens turned out Tuesday evening for a public hearing in Cape Girardeau to learn more about possible changes to the state's 2016-2017 deer hunting season.

The Missouri Department of Conservation is considering changes to the firearms and archery seasons, as well as other areas, in an attempt to increase the deer population.

Disease and drought have taken a toll on herds in certain areas of the state, mostly in the north and west portions.

Local conservation officials have described the population in Southeast Missouri as steady.

Many of those gathered at the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center had questions about the change to fall firearms season. The conservation department has proposed reducing the season from 11 days to nine each November. It argues the change would have minimal impact because those days traditionally have seen the lowest hunter harvest and number of hunting trips.

But Cape Girardeau County resident Tim Wright is one of those few hunters who venture out in the final days of the season and isn't sure he wants to see it shortened.

"I can go out and pretty much have the woods to myself," he said.

Other firearms season changes include expanding the youth hunting portion to three days, beginning the first Friday after Thanksgiving, and reducing the length of the antlerless portion to three days in December. Under the consideration, hunting in urban zones also would be eliminated.

"The allowance of an additional firearms hunting opportunity in urban zones does little to manage deer populations where the ability to use firearms is limited due to city ordinances or safety concerns," stated a fact sheet distributed Tuesday evening by the conservation department. The removal of urban deer hunting would also simplify the deer season structure, it stated.

Whether the city of Cape Girardeau should permit urban deer hunting was a hot topic just a few years ago, but the matter was put to rest when voters in April 2013 overturned an ordinance that would have allowed bow hunting within city limits.

For archery season, considered changes include allowing crossbows as a legal method during deer and turkey season and reducing the limit of antlered deer during archery season from two to one.

The meeting in Cape Girardeau was one of a series that kicked off in February in an attempt to solicit input from the public before any changes are implemented. As conservation department employee Jeremy Pulley said, "nothing's set in stone."

The department has a strong history of working with the public before making decisions, he said.

"[The department] always sends out surveys to get public input, whether it's how they rate their overall [hunting] season, things they might like to see done or proposing things that could be done," said Pulley.

Surveys were distributed at the meeting seeking input on the proposed changes. Comments also can be made online at mdc.mo.gov/deer-reg-comments.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, Mo.