Six Missouri State Parks to close temporarily for managed deer hunts Dec. 14-15

 
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Six Missouri State Parks will be closed to the public Dec. 14-15 for managed hunts to reduce deer overpopulation. They are:

• Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial State Park in Wildwood
• Ha Ha Tonka State Park in Camdenton
• Knob Noster State Park near Knob Noster
• St. Francois State Park near Bonne Terre
• Stockton State Park near Dadeville
• Harry S Truman State Park near Warsaw

 In Missouri, state parks are established as wildlife refuges and hunting is not permitted except under special circumstances. These special hunts are used as a resource management tool when deer populations grow too large for the park environments.
 “These hunts provide us the opportunity to manage the deer herd populations in specific parks while also presenting a unique opportunity for Missouri hunters,” said Bill Bryan, director of Missouri State Parks, a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. “It’s great to know that our resource management efforts can provide protein for the family table, or for another family through the Share the Harvest program.” 


The hunts will be conducted following guidelines established by the Missouri Department of Conservation with participants chosen through random computer drawings earlier this year. Only those hunters who were chosen though the lottery process and have acquired the appropriate permitting documentation will be allowed to participate in the hunts. To learn more about 2013-2014 managed hunts, visit the Missouri Department of Conservation online at http://mdc.mo.gov/.