2005 Wildlife Code changes take effect Tuesday

Tuesday marks the start of a "new year" for the Missouri Department of Conservation. The first day of March is the day the 2005 Wildlife Code becomes effective.

Every year, MDC's Regulation Committee reviews all of the rules in the Wildlife Code of Missouri. When they determine that a rule change would be beneficial, they make recommendations to the Missouri Conservation Commission for their approval.

This year, 78 rules have been changed, added or deleted since the 2004 edition of the Wildlife Code. That probably sounds like a large number but, in reality, it's about average.

Many rule changes pertain to specific locations and are of limited interest so we won't delve into them here. However, other regulations are of a more general nature so we'll touch on a few of them.

As of Tuesday, the statewide daily limit for trout changes from five to four. This will also apply to the winter trout fishery at the City of Jackson's Rotary Lake.

An experimental hand-fishing season for catfish will be from sunrise to sunset June 1 through July 15 in parts of the Fabius and Mississippi rivers in northeastern Missouri and that part of the St. Francis River in southeastern Missouri that forms the boundary between the states of Arkansas and Missouri.

This year's fall firearms turkey season is scheduled for Oct. 1 through Oct. 31. In previous years, the season has been 14 days long. The bag limit will remain two birds of either sex, but hunters will be allowed to take both birds in one day. In the past, hunters could take only one turkey per day.

The November portion of firearms deer season will open Nov. 12. The closing date and dates of other portions of the season will be announced in early summer.

For safety reasons, the Conservation Department has set shooting hours of one-half hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset at unstaffed shooting ranges on conservation areas.

These and other regulation changes are explained in the 2005 Summary of Missouri Hunting Regulations and the 2005 Summary of Missouri Fishing Regulations. These booklets are available wherever Missouri hunting and fishing permits are sold. Regulation changes also are discussed in detail in the February issue of Missouri Conservationist magazine.

Hunters, anglers and trappers are responsible for understanding the regulations before going afield. Ifm after consulting the regulations, you are unclear on any aspect, consult your local conservation agent for an explanation.

Gene Myers is an agent with the Missouri Department of Conservation.