Mingo NWR Public Meeting: Hunting Opportunity

On January 12th, 2012 at 10:28pm unknown said:

Just so you know this hunter was not set up next to the road. How do you gain access to field 49?

On January 12th, 2012 at 4:14pm cordek said:

The road on the east side of Unit A will remain open to public access.  The site is still an active construction area and there will be traffic into and out of the area.  Hunters will need to plan accordingly and not set up next to the road.

On January 10th, 2012 at 8:03pm unknown said:

as of January 11 Could someone please replace the sign at the entrance to Unit A stating "Waterfowl hunters ONLY beyond this point!!!" Tried to goose hunt there today and had 5 different sightseers driving through spooking the geese along the road on the east side between 3:00 pm and 4:45 pm. Maybe put the chain back where hunters have to get out of the car to open and close it. Would greatly appreciate that!!!

On January 10th, 2012 at 5:38pm frank said:

Since the Mingo Public Meeting post on the 14th I’ve had two additional blog posts:  one on December 20th, “Tis the Season”, and then one more recently on January 3rd, “2011 Wrap-up and Units A and B Update”.  If you haven’t seen these, go down to the bottom of the webpage and click on “Blogs” below “Explore MDC”. You should see the most recent post under “Duck Creek CA Updates”.  In a word, the area is still wet.  It is hard to dry out a wetland in the winter after 14+ inches of rain.  I plan on having another post by the end of the month.

On January 10th, 2012 at 9:29am unknown said:

Attention Frank: What happened to the update on the progress in Unit A and North and South B Unit?

On January 3rd, 2012 at 11:15am cordek said:

The waterfowl refuge remains closed to all use through January 31st.  The refuge is posted across Pool 1with white signs east at the entrance bridge to west above the second boat ramp.  No boat traffic is allowed north of this boundary until February 1st.  Vehicle access and bank fishing is allowed from the west boat ramp north to the locked road gate at the water control structure.  Foot traffic and bank fishing is not permitted north of either locked road gate until February 1st.  The cable gate to access the east portion of Unit-A will be removed tonight.

On January 3rd, 2012 at 10:29am unknown said:

Happy New Year!!! Will the cable blocking the road into A Unit be removed for access to the goose hunting well before daylight on January 4th? Thank Ye Kindly!!!

On January 2nd, 2012 at 5:29pm Anonymous said:

glad to see fishing re-open. you commented that all boat traffic must stay south of the refuge sign in the middle of the pool? is this something new? or is this just the signs on the north end of the pool? thank you, now i can start asking about lily pads again

On January 2nd, 2012 at 1:34pm MattB said:

Goose hunting will be available in Pool 2 at A1, B1, E1, and E3.  The east side of Unit A will be available to hunt from 10 and 11 parking lot and the parking lot at 14.  You will be able to drive along the east side of Unit A  from Pool 1 up and around the north end to the parking lot for 14.  No traffic will be allowed west of these parking lots.  All access to Unit A will be from Duck Creek HQ around Pool 1.  Access from the Hwy Z parking lot will be foot traffic only.  Other positions available will include Field 1, Kinder Pool, and the Fish Ponds.  No hunting positions on the lake will be available.  Fishing on Pool 1 resumes at Sunset on January 3rd.  All boat traffic must stay south of the refuge signs across the middle of the pool.  Hope this helps. 

On December 30th, 2011 at 3:36pm unknown said:

Again! What positions will be available for goose hunting after duck season closes on January 3rd (just a few days away)? A1 B1 E1 E3 Field1 the Lake?

On December 30th, 2011 at 2:29pm frank said:

Thanks for the questions.  One of the reasons for this blog is to keep the rumor mill in check and keep folks accurately informed of what is going on.  I haven’t posted anything on Unit A in a while because of the excessive rains that we have experienced during November and December has kept things at a standstill.  The total rainfall at Dexter, Missouri, for the past two months is 14.5 inches. Needless to say, the ground is a bit soggy.  I’ll put something together next week to go into a little more detail as to where we stand with the construction project and how it has fared with the wet weather.

On December 30th, 2011 at 12:33pm unknown said:

Will ANY goose hunting be allowed in Unit A or North and South B Unit?

On December 30th, 2011 at 12:32pm unknown said:

Rumor has it that the A Unit project has met with disaster! Levees were constructed and them mother nature messed things up causing delays and requiring modification. Any progress reports you wish to share? Have not seen any fresh news on the progress (or lack of progress) unfolding in Unit A North B Unit and South B Unit?

On December 30th, 2011 at 12:28pm unknown said:

As of December 30th what positions will be open to goose hunt at duck creek after the close of the duck season?

On December 24th, 2011 at 11:43am Jerry Shafer said:

I enjoy squirrel & coon hunting with my dogs, and would like to hunt both there. I would like a time slot to safely let my dogs hunt.

On December 18th, 2011 at 5:16pm Anonymous said:

Many refuges in Miss. and Ark. allow squirrel hunting with dogs after Dec. 1st. with no adverse results, if properly regulated to areas that would not disturb waterfowl.

On December 18th, 2011 at 7:57am Anonymousbill said:

you should only let waterfowl hunting take place in mingo under quick draw

On December 16th, 2011 at 11:01am MattB said:

As of December 16th there is no progress on fixing the levee at field 1.  These are temporary levees and they do not hold up very well to water overtopping them which is what happened here.  Right now the ground is still too wet to access this field with the equipment we need to fix this problem.  Shovelling some dirt back up there will not hold past the next rain.  If conditions allow us to get there we will try to fix it then.  We are currently working on the design to renovate this field in the near future (provided our funding comes through).  AA parking lot and the roads to this parking lot are not built up enough to handle all the traffic for AA blinds AND Pool 8.  We have already cut off our deer hunters from using this road and we continue to try to keep the traffic back there to a minimum.  It is planned to get this road fixed this summer and then we should have plenty of room to accommodate our hunters.   We appreciate everyone's patience.  As far as the blinds J1, AA1, and X4 we are checking on them today and will make sure that they are safe and usable.  Thank you for letting us know about them and continue to let us know about these issues as they come up.  Other than when we hunt them ourselves we don't get a lot of opportunities to check on each of the blinds during the season so we encourage our hunters to let us know if they see something like this that we need to address.

On December 16th, 2011 at 9:33am unknown said:

as of december 16 is there Any progress on fixing the levee in Field 1? Why are hunters not allowed to park at the footbridge on the south end of the wade & shoot? Not the AA parking lot the parking area at the footbridge.

On December 15th, 2011 at 9:02pm unknown said:

As of 15 december Blind J1 has two holes in the floor on the right side of the blind. Very dangerous. Please mention this to future hunters until it is fixed or repaired. Blind AA1 has no back door attached. It was floating in the pool. The door on X4 is falling off. The runners have rotted away. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but thought you should know about these problems. And I also think Mingo should open up a large portion of its area to Waterfowl Hunting!!!

On December 15th, 2011 at 7:00pm earl blevins said:

please allow sguirrel hunting with dogs.

On December 15th, 2011 at 11:49am K. Hearn said:

I agree that Waterfowl hunting & Squirrel Hunting with dogs should be allowed on the refuge. Thanks.

On December 15th, 2011 at 9:29am frank said:

I don't have their agenda, but on their Facebook page they have also stated that you can email comments to them at mingo@fws.gov or mail written comments to the refuge at 24279 State Hwy 51, Puxico, MO 63960.

On December 14th, 2011 at 11:40pm MattSmith said:

Any chance to see an agenda?

On December 14th, 2011 at 4:05pm Anonymous said:

I do think thatsome waterfowl hunting oppurtunity should be allowed. Maybe hunt the ditches? I went deer huntin down there and kicked up about 100 mallards.

On December 14th, 2011 at 2:24pm MGray said:

Please allow squirrel hunting with dogs in the plan. Thank you!