MDC Releases Latest Numbers On Annual Hunting Seasons

The Missouri Department of Conservation reports that Missouri hunters harvested eight black bears during the 2022 bear-hunting season, which ran from October 17^th through the 26^th.

Nearly 59-hundred  hunters applied for bear hunt permits.

Meanwhile Early data from the department says young hunters, ages 6 to 15, harvested 13,759 deer during Missouri’s early youth portion of the 2022 deer hunting season which was held last Saturday and Sunday.

That’s down from just over 15-thousand 6-hundred last year.

The top counties this year were Franklin with 330 deer harvested, and Osage with 310.

Locally the Lake area saw 182 in Benton, 166 in Camden, 214 in Miller and 201 in Morgan.

Some parks across the State, including the Lake Area, will be closed for Hunting starting this week. See below for more details….

To safely and effectively manage the deer population in some state parks, managed hunts are held in a coordinated effort between the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Division of State Parks and the Missouri Department of Conservation. For everyone’s safety, the following parks will be temporarily closed on the specified dates listed below.

• Edmund A. Babler Memorial State Park – Nov. 5-6 and Dec. 3-4
• Robertsville State Park – Nov. 5-6
• Crowder State Park – Dec. 10-11
• Cuivre River State Park – Nov. 5-6
• Harry S Truman State Park – Nov. 5-6
• Mark Twain State Park – Nov. 5-6 and Dec. 10-11
• Montauk State Park – Nov. 5-6
• Pershing State Park – Dec. 10-11
• Francois State Park – Dec. 3-4
• Stockton State Park – Nov. 5-6

Before heading to a Missouri state park, be sure to check the Park and Site Status Map at mostateparks.com for any temporary closures that may impact your visit.

For more information on state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.