News Release 530

SEVEN STATE PARKS WILL CLOSE TEMPORARILY FOR DEER HUNTS

Volume 34-530	Contact: Sue Holst
(For immediate release)	573-751-6510

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, NOV 29, 2006 -- 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. 9-10;
Crowder State Park near Trenton on Dec. 9-10;
Knob Noster State Park near Knob Noster on Dec. 9-10;
Pershing State Park near Laclede on Dec. 2-3;
Rock Bridge Memorial State Park near Columbia on Dec. 9-10;
Thousand Hills State Park near Kirksville on Dec. 9-10; and
Watkins Woolen Mill State Park and State Historic Site near Lawson on Dec. 9-10;

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. No other state parks or historic sites, other than the seven mentioned, will 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 the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/parkssearch.do.

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