Meeting Of The Conservation Commission At The Conservation Department Discovery Room at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, MO
Commissioners present were:
- Stephen C. Bradford, Cape Girardeau, Chairman
- William F. "Chip" McGeehan, Marshfield, Vice-chairman
- Cynthia Metcalfe, St. Louis, Secretary
- Lowell Mohler, Jefferson City, Member
The next meeting of the Conservation Commission was set for Sept. 28 and 29 in Branson.
AGENDA
PRESENTATION:
Commission meetings are open to the public. Those wishing to be placed on the agenda for a presentation or other business must send a written request to Director, Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180, or FAX 573/751-4467, at least 10 working days before the meeting date. The deadline for the next meeting is Sept. 14. There were no presentations at the August meeting.
REGULATIONS:
The Commission approved 2006-2007 waterfowl hunting regulations, including:
Youth Duck Hunt
- North Zone, Oct. 21-22
- Middle Zone, Oct. 28-29
- South Zone, Nov. 18-19
Duck Season
- North Zone, Oct. 28-Dec. 26
- Middle Zone, Nov. 4 -Jan. 2
- South Zone, Nov. 24-Jan. 22
Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.
The daily limit on ducks is six, including no more than:
- Mallards, 4 (no more than 2 females)
- Scaup, 2
- Redheads, 2
- Wood ducks, 2
- Hooded mergansers, 2
- Black ducks, 1
- Pintails, 1
- Canvasbacks, 1
- Other species may be taken in any number up to the daily bag limit of six ducks total.
The possession limit for ducks is twice the daily limit. The daily and possession limits on coots are 15 and 30, respectively.
The bag limits during youth hunting days are the same as during the regular waterfowl season (2 Canada geese).
Canada geese & brant, Statewide, Sept. 30-Oct. 9 and Nov. 24-Jan. 31
White-fronted geese, Statewide, Nov. 24-Jan. 31
Blue, snow & Ross's geese, Statewide, Oct. 28-Jan. 31
Bag limits include no more than 20 blue, snow or Ross's geese daily (no possession limit), 1 brant daily (2 in possession) and 2 white-fronted goose, daily (4 in possession).
The bag limit is 3 Canada geese daily (6 in possession) Sept. 30-Oct. 9 and 2 Canada geese daily (4 in possession) thereafter.
Falconry season dates for ducks, coots and mergansers are: Statewide, Sept. 9-24 and Feb. 8-March 10
The daily bag and possession limits for falconry are 3 and 6 birds.
LIGHT GOOSE CONSERVATION ORDER: People must only possess a valid migratory bird permit to take blue, snow and Ross's geese from Feb.1 through April 30, 2007. Methods for the taking of blue, snow and Ross's geese during the Conservation Order includes using shotguns capable of holding more than three shells, and with the use or aid of recorded or electrically amplified bird calls or sounds, or recorded or electrically amplified imitations of bird calls or sounds. Hunters may shoot from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. A daily bag limit will not be in effect during the Conservation Order.
The Commission set teal season dates and bag limits earlier this summer. That season will run from Sept. 9 through 24 statewide. The daily limit is four, with a possession limit of eight. Shooting hours are from sunrise to sunset.
The three-zone structure for Missouri's duck season will remain unchanged except for a slight northward shift in the North/Middle zone boundary. The boundary formerly ran west along I-70 from its junction with Highway 47 in Warren County to the junction of Highway 54 in Callaway County. At that point, it followed Highway 54 south to Highway 50 and then followed Highway 50 west to the Kansas border. The new boundary follows I-70 from its junction with Highway 47 west all the way to the Kansas border. For details of the Zone Boundary change, visit http://mdc.mo.gov/hunt/wtrfowl/zones/index.htm.
The Commission also made several regulations changes that will take effect in 2007. The Commission voted to:
- Approve the following permit fee increases effective March 1, 2007:
--Nonresident Fishing - current price $35, new price $40,
--Daily Fishing - current price $5.50, new price $7
--Nonresident Small-Game Hunting - current price $65, new price $75
--Nonresident Fur Hunting & Trapping - current price $80, new price $120
--Nonresident Firearms Deer - current price $145/$170, new price $175
--Nonresident Archery Deer & Turkey - current price $120, new price $150
--Nonresident Spring Turkey - current price $145, new price $175
--Nonresident Fall Turkey - current price $95, new price $105.
- Approve the use of atlatls for taking small game and nongame fish, effective March 1, 2007.
- Approve added restrictions on the use of lead shot on 21 CAs effective March 1, 2007. These areas have large wetlands where waterfowl and shorebirds concentrate in the fall and spring. The use or possession of lead shot will be prohibited area-wide on these CAs starting in 2007.
- Establish youth seasons for quail and pheasants to be held the last full weekend in October, effective in 2007.
- Extend the privilege of primitive, river-approach camping on selected CAs with river frontage from April 1 through Sept. 30.
- Change the formula for setting opening day of spring turkey season from the Monday nearest April 21 to the third Monday in April effective in 2007.
- Shorten furbearer hunting and trapping seasons by moving the closing date from Feb. 15 to Jan. 31, effective in the 2007-2008 trapping season.
- Extend catch-and-release fishing at trout parks to include Mondays from the second Friday in November through the second Monday in February. Catch-and-release fishing currently runs from Friday through Sunday, The change will go into effect in November 2006
ADMINISTRATION
The Commission took the following action:
- Approved a contract with County Asphalt Paving Co., Inc., Valley Park, for asphalt work at Columbia Bottom Conservation Area (CA) for $406,014.70.
- Approved the purchase of 85 acres in Cooper County as an addition to Lamine River CA.
- Approved the purchase of 73 acres in Scott County to be named Cape LaCroix Bluffs CA.
- Approved the purchase of 1 acre in Cass County as an addition to Settle's Ford CA.
- Approved the purchase of 33 acres in Hickory County as an addition to Mule Shoe CA.
- Approved the purchase of 7 acres in Wright County as an addition to Buzzard Bluff CA.
- Approved the sale of two tracts of land (7.01 acres and 5.35 acres) in Pettis County.
- Approved renaming Brickley Hollow Access in Benton County to Brickley Hollow CA.
- Approved the advertisement and sale of approximately 2.1 million board feet of timber on 607 acres of Peck Ranch CA in Carter County.
- Authorized Conservation Department Director John Hoskins to sign the Recommendations for Recovery of Greater Prairie-Chicken in Missouri.
- Suspended hunting and/or fishing privileges of 13 Missouri residents and two nonresidents for Wildlife Code violations. Those whose privileges were suspended are:
| Travis J. Baker | Fair Play | 1 year | all sport privileges |
| Joseph S. Bommarito, Jr. | Wickliffe, Ky. | 1 year | all sport and commercial fishing privileges |
| Cody L. Canady | Wheaton | 1 year | all sport privileges |
| Brian R. Capstick | Loose Creek | 1 year | all sport privileges |
| Daniel G. Farrenburg | New Madrid | 1 year | all sport privileges |
| Daniel L. Galbraith | Sunrise Beach | 1 year | all sport privileges |
| Bo D. Hansen | Hopkins | 1 year. | all sport privileges |
| Kayl R. Hansen | Hopkins | 1 year | all sport privileges |
| Kyle E. Hansen | Hopkins | 1 year | all sport privileges |
| Tyler S. Henson | Piedmont | 3 years, | all sport privileges |
| Brian M. Hill | Fair Play | 1 year | all sport privileges |
| Cody D. Hoepker | Hopkins | 1 year | all sport privileges |
| James C. Hunt | Makanda, Ill. | 1 year | all sport and commercial fishing privileges |
| Drew C. Lambeth | Greenwood | 1 year | all sport privileges |
| Noah J. Moore | Springfield | 1 year | all sport privileges |
- Reinstated sport fishing privileges of one Missouri resident, following a court order allowing the resident to obtain a personal fishing permit.
- Suspended the hunting and fishing privileges of one Missouri resident under the provisions of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact.
- Approved the suspension or revocation of all hunting and fishing privileges of 146 Missouri residents and two nonresidents who are not in compliance with applicable child support laws.
- Suspended all hunting privileges of eight resident and one nonresident for periods ranging from one to four years for injuring or fatally wounding other people in firearms-related hunting accidents.
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