Talk Turkey with MDC during Feb. 7 Wild Webcast at noon

News from the region
Statewide
Published Date
01/08/2024
Body

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) invites turkey hunters, landowners and managers, and others interested in Missouri’s wild turkeys and turkey hunting to its “MDC Wild Webcast on Talkin’ Turkey” on Wednesday, Feb. 7, at noon.  

MDC Turkey Biologist Nick Oakley and MDC Turkey Habitat Initiative Coordinator Meagan Duffee-Yates will share information on recent changes to turkey hunting regulations for the spring season and proposed regulation changes for the fall seasons. Oakley and Duffee-Yates will also discuss turkey production and harvest trends, MDC’s annual brood survey and research findings, habitat loss, and impacts of weather and predators on turkey numbers. They will take questions from webcast attendees as time permits.

Starting this year, spring shooting hours for private land only will be extended from a half-hour before sunrise to sunset. Shooting hours on public land will remain a half-hour before sunrise to 1 p.m. 

Proposed changes to fall turkey hunting would require both fall firearms turkey hunters and fall archery turkey hunters to purchase a fall turkey-hunting permit. Turkeys would no longer be included in the archery-deer permit. The bag limit would be reduced from four to two birds. These proposed changes will be open for public comment from Feb. 2 through March 2.

No preregistration is required. Save the link and join the webcast live on Feb. 7 at noon at https://mdc.webex.com/mdc/j.php?MTID=m85090423505f6cd4b752e5b00ed6e5c2

Learn more about Missouri wild turkeys from the MDC online Field Guide at mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/wild-turkey

Learn more about turkey hunting in Missouri online at mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/turkey