News Release 541

ST. JOE STATE PARK WILL CLOSE TEMPORARILY
FOR DEER HUNT

Volume 35-541

Contact: Sue Holst

(For immediate release)

573-751-6510

JEFFERSON CITY, MO., NOV. 19, 2007 -- St. Joe State Park in Park Hills will be closed Dec. 8 and 9 for public safety reasons while special hunts are being conducted to alleviate deer overpopulations, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources announced today.

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

"We have observed that the deer have been increasing in the park for several years, and we don't want them to become so numerous that they harm the park or surrounding resources to the extent that they have in other parks. There are many indications, including the level of impact on plant growth and browse lines on vegetation," said Ken McCarty, resource steward with the department's Division of State Parks. "Our goal is to bring down the number of deer in the park so they are in balance with the environment."

McCarty said once they have reached that balance, the goal will be to maintain that number so the deer and the park vegetation are both healthy. The park and its resources will continue to be monitored to determine deer population and its impact.

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 MDC's special managed hunts. Hunters were selected by MDC through a random computer drawing. Only those hunters who already have a special permit will be allowed to participate in the hunt. For the special hunt at St. Joe State Park, 150 hunters have received special permits, and they will be allowed to hunt on 7,000 of the park's 8,243 acres.

"We have been allowing special hunts to reduce deer overpopulations in state parks since 1986. They have worked well for the park, the community and the neighbors," said Douglas Eiken, director of the department's Division of State Parks. Some of these hunts have been held in state parks next to or within urban areas, such as Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial State Park in Wildwood and Rock Bridge Memorial State Park outside of Columbia. The nearest state park that has held a special hunt in the past is St. Francois State Park near Bonne Terre.

Although only 7,000 acres of the park will be open for hunting, the entire park will close to the general public both Saturday and Sunday for safety reasons. Only hunters with special permits will be allowed in the park. Hunters participating in the hunt will be allowed to use the campground Friday through Sunday on a first-come, first-served basis.

St. Joe State Park is one of eight parks that will be closed temporarily in December for special deer hunts. Other parks that will be closed include Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial State Park at Wildwood on Dec. 8 and 9; Crowder State Park near Trenton on Dec. 8 and 9; Cuivre River State Park near Troy on Dec. 8 and 9; Knob Noster State Park near Knob Noster on Dec. 15 and 16; Pershing State Park near Laclede on Dec. 1 and 2; Watkins Woolen Mill State Park and State Historic Site near Lawson on Dec. 8 and 9; and Weston Bend State Park near Weston on Dec. 8 and 9.

For more information about 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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