Jefferson City, Missouri - The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reports that hunters checked 91,460 deer during the opening weekend of the 2014 November Portion of Firearms Deer Season this past weekend. Top harvest counties for the opening weekend were Franklin with 1,839 deer checked, Howell with 1,793, and Callaway with 1,791.

Last year's firearms opening weekend deer harvest was 61,446. Other recent prior-year harvest totals for firearms opening weekend were: 2012: 69,614; 2011: 89,728, 2010: 97,856, and 2009: 86,202.

For 2014 harvest totals by hunting portion and county, visit mdc.mo.gov/node/29442.

MDC also reports that there were three deer-hunting incidents over the weekend with two being fatal. One fatality was in Ste. Genevieve County where a heater in a hunting blind exploded, killing the hunter. The second involved a fall from a tree stand in Crawford County. A third non-fatal incident involved a hunter in Phelps County shooting himself in the leg while loading his rifle.

Shown in the photos is Owen Flowers of Dexter, Missouri with his 8 pt buck he killed during bow season.

Cape Girardeau, Missouri - Are you dreading the crowds and conundrums of holiday shopping? Kick off your shoes, fire up the laptop or tablet, and take care of Christmas shopping with nature-themed gifts online.

The Missouri Department of Conservation’s Nature Shop (mdcnatureshop.com) makes shopping for outdoorsy friends and family a breeze. The site even has a gift registry where you can leave hints about what you would like to find under the tree on Dec. 25. If you prefer not to buy online, you can call 877-521-8632. Conservation Heritage Card holders get a 15-percent discount. Mail, phone, and online orders are subject to sales tax and shipping and handling fees.

If you like to see and touch items before buying, or if you need an excuse to get out and about, visit one of the brick-and-mortar Nature Shop outlets at Conservation Department nature centers in Kirkwood, Cape Girardeau, Springfield, Kansas City, Blue Springs, and Jefferson City. They offer a surprising array of reasonably priced gifts, from butterfly pendants and bird calls to field guides and children’s binoculars.

The Nature Shop’s newest item is Waterfowl Hunting and Wetland Conservation in Missouri – A Model of Collaboration.  This coffee-table book is an exhaustive compendium of every aspect of waterfowl conservation and hunting in Missouri. It is a sure hit for anyone who is intrigued with the history of decoys and calls, legendary duck hunters and retrievers, waterfowl art and the lore of private duck clubs. Copies of the 480-page book, illustrated with hundreds of historic photos, art and contemporary photography, are available for $40. Proceeds from sales of Waterfowl Hunting and Wetland Conservation in Missouri will be dedicated to wetland and waterfowl conservation.

One perennial favorite gift is the Natural Events Calendar, with 12 months of daily notes about everything from meteor showers to the hatching of bald eagle eggs. At $7 each, it’s the gift that keeps giving all year long.

Foodies on your holiday shopping list will love the book Cooking Wild in Missouri, a collection of recipes that incorporate wild fish, game, nuts, berries, and mushrooms. It has everything from creamed morels and pawpaw gelato to blackberry cordial. More adventurous cooks might want to try catfish tacos or venison moussaka. This lavishly illustrated book sells for just $15.

For the paddlers on your list, there is the newly updated Paddler’s Guide to Missouri ($8). This 94-page book lists access and take-out points, landmarks, and other features of 58 streams in every corner of the state.

Hunting, fishing, and trapping permits are additional gift possibilities. At $19, a Resident Small-Game Hunting and Fishing Permit provides a full year of outdoor fun. Giving a Nonresident Small-Game Hunting Permit ($80) or a Nonresident Fishing Permit ($42) encourages out-of-state family members to come home more often.  Permits bought on Dec. 1 or later are good from the date of purchase through the following permit year, which ends on the last day of February. So recipients get 15 months of use out of them.

The Apprentice Hunter Authorization ($10) is an affordable gift that can create memories for a lifetime. This item is not a permit, but rather an authorization to buy hunting permits without first completing hunter education. This is made to order if you have a friend or relative who is intrigued by the idea of hunting but doesn’t want to invest time in hunter education to satisfy his or her curiosity. Not only will they get to experience your favorite outdoor pastime, you will share the experience, since hunters using the authorization must hunt with you or another hunter education-certified mentor.

The ultimate hunting/fishing gift is a Resident Lifetime Conservation Partner Permit. This entitles the holder to the privileges associated with a Resident Hunting and Fishing Permit, Trout Permit, Migratory Bird Hunting Permit, and Conservation Order Permit for life. The price varies from $70 to $800, depending on the recipient’s age. Resident Lifetime Fishing Permits also are available.

Regular permits are available from vendors statewide or online at mdc.mo.gov/node/9258. Lifetime permits are available at mdc.mo.gov/8849, or by calling 573-522-4115, ext. 3574.

Friends and family who work to improve their land for wildlife will appreciate tree and shrub seedlings from the George O. White State Forest Nursery. It has dozens of species, including decorative trees and shrubs like the flowering dogwood and redbud as well as a wide variety of oaks, evergreens, and other forest mainstays. For prices and ordering information, visit mdc.mo.gov/node/3328, or call 573-674-3229. The nursery accepts orders through April. However, many tree and shrub species sell out before then. Orders are shipped starting in February.

Jefferson City, Missouri - The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reminds deer hunters that firearm antlerless deer hunting permits have been reduced from “any number” in most counties of the state to one in most counties of the state. The reduction applies to all portions of the firearms deer season combined.

Exceptions to this regulation change allow hunters to fill two firearm antlerless deer permits in Chariton, Randolph, Macon, Linn, Sullivan, and Adair counties, which surround the area where chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been found in a small number of deer in Macon County. According to MDC, continuing to maintain stable deer numbers in this “CWD Containment Zone” will help limit the spread of the disease to other deer and other areas.

Other areas where hunters can fill two firearm antlerless deer permits include urban zones around the state where deer numbers are typically higher than desired, and in Barton, Howell, and Oregon counties where local deer numbers are higher than deer management goals.

The regulations changes were approved by the Conservation Commission at its April meeting and MDC initially communicated the information to the public at that time.

Details on these changes and other information on deer hunting are available in the Department's “2014 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information” booklet available at locations where permits are sold, MDC regional offices and nature centers, and online at mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2010/03/ftd2014.pdf.

According to MDC Deer Biologist Jason Sumners, the regulation changes are in response to lower overall deer numbers around much of the state as a result of long-term efforts to reduce the deer population through increased doe harvest. Previous regulations allowing the harvest of any number of antlerless deer have helped to decrease and stabilize deer numbers in many areas where deer numbers were too high.

Sumners added that the planned effort to reduce deer numbers in some areas was intensified by an unanticipated, extensive outbreak of hemorrhagic disease (HD) throughout most of the state related to the record-setting drought during summer and fall of 2012. With the resulting recent decrease in deer numbers in many areas of the state, some hunters and landowners have voiced their concerns about the level of doe harvest and the continuing need to offer hunters “any number” of antlerless permits.

“Our Regulations Committee considers the changing status of the deer herd across the state -- along with feedback from hunters, landowners, and others -- each year as it reviews recommendations for deer-hunting regulations,” Sumners said.

“Deer populations in Missouri vary regionally and county-by-county as habitat, hunting regulations, hunter numbers, and frequency and severity of disease outbreaks affect deer numbers,” he explained. “As these factors change over time, our deer management strategy is to be responsive to those changes.”

He added that MDC’s deer management strategy focuses on using science-based wildlife management practices, providing opportunities for all citizens to enjoy deer-related recreational activities such as deer hunting and watching, maintaining a healthy deer population, and providing related information to the public.

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!!!

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.