News Release 475

News Release No. 475

SEVEN STATE PARKS WILL CLOSE TEMPORARILY FOR DEER HUNTS

Volume 33-475	Contact: Sue Holst
(For immediate release)	573-751-6510

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, NOV 18, 2005 -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources will temporarily close seven state parks for public safety reasons for two weekends during December while special hunts are being conducted to alleviate deer overpopulations.

By law, state parks are established as wildlife refuges and hunting is not permitted except under special circumstances. However, these special hunts are being used as a resource management tool because it has been determined that the deer population is too large for the environment of the park and that resources in the park are being damaged.

Special hunts will be conducted at the following parks on the following weekends:

Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial State Park near Wildwood on Dec. 10-11;

Crowder State Park near Trenton on Dec. 10-11;

Cuivre River State Park near Troy on Dec. 10-11;

St. Francois State Park near Bonne Terre on Dec. 17-18;

Rock Bridge Memorial State Park near Columbia on Dec. 10-11;

Watkins Woolen Mill State Park and State Historic Site near Lawson on Dec. 10-11;

Weston Bend State Park near Weston on Dec. 10-11.

The hunts will be conducted following guidelines established by the Missouri Department of Conservation, which regulates hunting in the state. Hunters who will be participating submitted special applications this summer for the Department of Conservation's special managed hunts, which are held annually. Hunters were selected through a random computer drawing. Only those hunters who already have a special permit will be allowed to participate in the hunts.

The Department of Natural Resources administers state parks and historic sites throughout Missouri. All other state parks and historic sites, other than the seven mentioned, will not be affected by the hunts.

For more information about Missouri state parks and historic sites, call the Department of Natural Resources toll free at 800-334-6946 (voice) or 800-379-2419 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) or visit www.mostateparks.com.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of upcoming meetings and events in the state park system, visit the online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/parkssearch.do.

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