Waterfowl hunters can provide input on hunting zone boundaries and season structure in Missouri for the next five-year period (2026-2030) at a series of public meetings the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will hold at select sites across the state this winter.
Locally, meetings will be held on Feb. 13 in Springfield at MDC’s Springfield Conservation Nature Center (4601 S. Nature Center Way) and Feb. 14 in Joplin at MDC’s Shoal Creek Conservation Education Center (201 W. Riviera Drive). The times for both meetings will be 7-9 p.m.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service allows individual states to change waterfowl zone boundaries and season structures at five-year intervals. MDC is conducting these public meetings to obtain information about hunter preferences and season dates. This information will be used to decide if existing zone boundaries and/or season date formulas should be changed. Topics to be discussed at these meetings will include the migrations of various species, habitat availability, and results of hunter attitude surveys.
For information about either of these meetings, people can call MDC’s Southwest Regional Office in Springfield at 417-895-6880, MDC’s Springfield Conservation Nature Center at 417-888-4237 or MDC’s Shoal Creek Conservation Education Center at 417-629-3423. Information about these meetings can also be found at mdc.mo.gov.
