Five Missouri State Parks to Close Temporarily for Deer Hunts

First posted on 11-21-2008

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources will temporarily close five state parks for public safety reasons for two weekends during December while special hunts are being conducted to alleviate deer overpopulations.

By law, state parks are established as wildlife refuges, and hunting is not permitted except under special circumstances. However, these special hunts are used as a resource management tool because the deer population is too large for the environment of the park and resources in the park are being damaged.

Special hunts will be conducted at the following parks on the following weekends:

* Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial State Park near Wildwood on Dec. 13-14;
* Knob Noster State Park near Knob Noster on Dec. 6-7;
* Pershing State Park near Laclede on Dec. 6-7;
* Harry S Truman State Park near Warsaw on Dec. 13-14; and
* Watkins Woolen Mill State Park and State Historic Site near Lawson on
Dec. 13-14.

The hunts will be conducted following guidelines established by the Missouri Department of Conservation, which regulates hunting of wildlife in the state. Hunters who will be participating submitted special applications this summer for the Department of Conservation’s special managed hunts, which are held annually. Hunters were selected through a random computer drawing. Only those hunters who already have a special permit will be allowed to participate in the hunts.

The Department of Natural Resources administers 85 state parks and historic sites throughout Missouri. All other state parks and historic sites, other than the five mentioned, will not be affected by the hunts.

For more information about Missouri state parks and historic sites, call the Department of Natural Resources toll free at 1-800-334-6946 (voice) or 1-800-379-2419 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) or visit http://www.mostateparks.com.