Jefferson City, Missouri - The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) announced that young hunters ages 6 through 15 checked 18,091 deer during Missouri’s early youth portion of deer hunting seasons on Nov. 1 and 2. Top counties for the early youth hunt were Osage with 448, Franklin with 393, and Howell with 376 deer checked. Last year’s harvest total for the early youth hunt was 18,676.

Antlered bucks accounted for 11,481 of deer harvested, or about 63 percent. Button bucks accounted for 1,728, or almost 10 percent. Does accounted for 4,882, or about 27 percent.

For harvest totals by county, visit the MDC website at mdc.mo.gov/node/29442.

Up next for deer hunting in Missouri is the November portion of firearms deer season running Nov. 15 through 25. This portion normally accounts for about 80 percent of the state’s firearms deer harvest.

Get more information on deer hunting in Missouri through MDC's free 2014 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet available where permits are sold, from MDC regional offices and nature centers, and online at the MDC website at mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2010/03/ftd2014.pdf.

Shown in the photo is Jadyn Northcutt from Dexter, Missouri.  She bagged her 6-point buck during the Missouri Youth Hunt.  This is her first deer!  Way to go Jadyn!!!

Stoddard County, Missouri - Route AD in Stoddard County will be reduced to one lane as the Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform bridge maintenance.   

The bridge is located over US 60 west of Dexter.     

Weather permitting, work will take place Monday, Nov 3 through Thursday, Nov. 6 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily.

The work zone will be marked with signs.  Motorists are urged to use extreme caution while traveling near the area.

For additional information, contact MoDOT's Customer Service Center toll-free at 1-888-ASK-MODOT (1-888-275-6636) or visit www.modot.org/southeast.

Jefferson City, Missouri - Some parts of Missouri will have more deer this year, and a bumper crop of corn will affect hunting strategies. The Missouri Department of Conservation says decisions that hunters make in harvesting deer are among the most significant factors affecting deer numbers this year and in the future.

Conservation Department Resource Scientist Emily Flinn says this year’s mild summer will send deer into autumn in good physical condition. Hot, dry summers, like those of 2012 and 2013, cause physical stress on deer, increasing their nutritional needs while simultaneously reducing food supplies. Deer got a break from the weather this year, with cooler than average temperatures and plenty of food.

 The Conservation Department tracks deer populations at the county level by analyzing the number and sex of deer checked during deer season and through surveys of hunters and landowners. It also factors in other influences, such as disease.

Deer populations in central, northern, and western Missouri have decreased steadily over the past decade partially as a result of regulations that allowed hunters to shoot more does.

“It’s important to remember that deer numbers were significantly above target levels in the early 2000s,” says Flinn. “The liberal regulations were intended to gain control of the deer population, and they did. Then the hemorrhagic disease outbreaks in 2012 and 2013 pushed populations even farther below desired levels in some areas. The Conservation Department reduced the number of firearm antlerless permits that hunters can fill in some counties this year to allow the population to increase back to desired levels.”

Flinn says the effects of previous hemorrhagic disease outbreaks will continue to be felt this year. That is particularly true in the northern half of the state. However, losses to blue tongue and epizootic hemorrhagic disease were not spread evenly across any region of the state.

“Localized deer populations that experienced moderate to high hemorrhagic mortality from the 2012 outbreak and last year in northeast Missouri have likely not recovered to levels prior to the outbreak,” says Flinn. “Due to the localized manner in which hemorrhagic disease operates, it is important that hunters and landowners continue to reduce doe harvest if deer numbers in their areas are below desired levels. On the other hand, if numbers in a localized area are at or above desired levels, then the continuing doe harvest is necessary to reduce or maintain populations.”

In contrast, she says, several years of conservative harvest regulations in southern Missouri have allowed deer populations to slowly increase. However, deer population levels are still largely below desired levels in much of southern Missouri.

Deer population size affects deer harvest, but other factors are important, too. One of the most important factors is food availability.

In southern Missouri, acorns dominate deer diets in the fall and winter. When acorns are plentiful, deer can find all the food they need without moving around much. This tends to spread deer across the forested landscape, making them difficult to find. Conversely, in years when acorns are scarce, deer move around more and tend to concentrate around available food sources, making them easier to find. Early reports indicate that Missouri will have an average crop of acorns from both white and red oaks this year, neither helping nor hindering hunters in the Ozarks.

“Scouting can help hunters figure out deer travel routes and where they might be visible,” says Flinn.

She also advised hunters to consider how agricultural activity on neighboring land might affect deer behavior.

Flinn emphasizes the important role hunters play in determining local deer population size and structure. Shooting one or two does on your property might not seem very significant, but in combination with deer harvest on adjacent land, it can add up.

“Most people think the Conservation Department manages deer, but in reality it is a collaborative effort between the Department and hunters and landowners,” says Flinn. “On private land, our management is on a large scale. We can regulate how many antlerless tags a hunter can fill in a particular county, but hunters and landowners ultimately make the decision about how many deer to harvest within constraints of regulations. So hunters and landowners have a great deal of influence on local deer numbers.”

Flinn says the patchy nature of losses to hemorrhagic diseases across the landscape makes hunter involvement in managing deer more important than ever. Hunters who see that deer numbers are down where they hunt should consider the future when deciding whether to harvest does.

The first step in managing local deer populations is coordinating your hunting activities with neighbors. Forming a deer cooperative can be as simple as sitting down over coffee to discuss what you want to achieve. Once you agree on goals for the local deer herd, the next step is tailoring your deer harvest to achieve those goals. More information on the status of Missouri’s deer population and regional trends in deer populations is available in the 2013-2014 Missouri Deer Season Summary and Population Status Report  mdc.mo.gov/node/28399.

This year’s deer-hunting regulations include changes to availability of firearms antlerless permits in some counties. Details about this and other regulations, including season dates, are available in the 2014 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulation and Information booklet. It is available wherever hunting permits are sold or at mdc.mo.gov/node/3656.

Stoddard County, Missouri - Route W in Stoddard County will be reduced to one lane as Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform pavement repairs.

This section of roadway is located from Route Z to Route D.

Weather permitting, work will take place Monday, Oct. 20 through Friday, Oct. 24 from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

The work zone will be marked with signs.  Motorists are urged to use extreme caution while traveling near the area.

For additional information, contact MoDOT's Customer Service Center toll-free at 1-888-ASK-MODOT (1-888-275-6636) or visit www.modot.org/southeast.


Route Z in Stoddard County will be reduced to one lane as Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform pavement repairs.

This section of roadway is located from Route 153 to Route W.

Weather permitting, work will take place Monday, Oct. 20 through Friday, Oct. 24 from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

The work zone will be marked with signs.  Motorists are urged to use extreme caution while traveling near the area.

For additional information, contact MoDOT's Customer Service Center toll-free at 1-888-ASK-MODOT (1-888-275-6636) or visit www.modot.org/southeast

Jefferson City, Missouri - Hunters checked 594 deer during the urban portion of Missouri’s firearms deer season. Officials with the Missouri Department of Conservation attribute the lower-than-average harvest in part to warm, rainy, windy weather.

County harvest totals during the urban portion were: Greene, 122; St. Charles, 88; Boone, 84; Franklin, 55; Jefferson, 54; St. Louis, 47; Cole, 40; Clay, 36; Cass, 33; Jackson, 24; Platte, 11.

Hunters are only allowed to shoot antlerless deer during the urban portion. This focus on harvesting female deer is designed to control deer numbers in urban and suburban areas, where hunting pressure is lighter and the potential for deer-vehicle accidents and property damage is greater.

This year’s harvest was below average for the urban portion, which became part of the firearms deer season in 2003.  Over the past 11 years, the urban portion harvest averaged 961 deer. However, the harvest has been between 500 and 700 deer in four of the past six years.

Warm temperatures have been associated with lower urban portion harvests in the past. Temperature does not appear to have been a factor this year, since daytime highs ranged from the mid-50s to high 60s. Conservation Department Resource Scientist Jason Sumners says gusty wind and rain during the four-day hunt likely played a role in holding down this year’s urban harvest.

“No one likes to hunt in the rain, and windy weather makes it harder to detect deer movement,” says Sumners. “Considering the widespread rains we had during the urban hunt, this harvest is pretty good.”

Sumners said expanded archery hunting opportunities in many of Missouri’s urban communities, plus the hemorrhagic disease outbreak in 2012, have helped reduce deer numbers in some urban areas, and likely played a role in keeping the urban-portion harvest down.

Missouri’s firearms deer season consists of six portions, totaling 42 days. The remaining portions of Missouri’s firearms deer season are: early youth (Nov. 1-2), November (Nov. 15-25), antlerless (Nov. 26-Dec. 7), alternative methods (Dec. 20-30), and late youth (Jan. 3-4).

For more information about Missouri’s 2014-15 deer harvest, visit mdc.mo.gov/node/2613.