The Missouri Five
The five lucky hunters will have the opportunity to hunt in a 20-acre area known as the “Elk Restoration Zone” in Southern Missouri. Elk have not been hunted in Missouri since the 1800s when Lewis and Clark first arrived in the state.
According to KRSM news, The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is offering Missourians the state’s first elk-hunting season in modern history starting this October. For the inaugural season, MDC will issue one permit each to five lucky Missourians randomly drawn from 19,215 permit applications, including 33 for one resident-landowner antlered-elk permit and 19,182 for four general permits.
Hunters
Bill Clark, Joseph Benthall, Michael Buschjost, Samuel Schultz, and Eugene Guilkey were the lucky few to drawn for the resident-landowner antlered-elk permit. Each of the five can purchase their elk-hunting permit starting July 1 for a cost of $50. The hunters are allowed to hunt both Archery Oct. 17th to the 25th and Rifle in Dec. 12th to the 20th.
Learn more about elk hunting in Missouri online at huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/elk.
Native Species
Elk are a native species in Missouri but were hunted to extinction in the state through unregulated hunting during the late 1800s. Missouri’s first pending elk hunt this fall comes after years of restoration efforts of the native species by MDC, numerous partners including the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and many supporters including local communities and area landowners. Learn more about elk restoration in Missouri at short.mdc.mo.gov/ZYJ.
It’s great to see conservation efforts paying off for the Missouri Outdoors men that have put so much effort, time, and money into the re-habitation of Elk in the state. Hunters are the number one supporters of projects like these so remember to get out there to Conventions, Banquet Dinners and Fund raiser to keep our wilds prospering!
Source: GotHunts.com
