MDC invites duck hunters to meetings in Joplin, Springfield

Zone workshops Feb. 4 in Joplin and Feb. 5 in Springfield will give hunters chances to offer input.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) invites area waterfowl hunters to two upcoming waterfowl zone workshops in southwest Missouri where MDC staff will gather hunter input about duck season dates and zone boundary locations for the 2021-2025 hunting seasons.

The upcoming meetings in this part of the state will be Feb. 4 at the MDC’s Shoal Creek Conservation Education Center, 201 W. Riviera Drive, in Joplin and Feb. 5 at MDC’s Springfield Conservation Nature Center in Springfield, 4601 S. Nature Center Way in Springfield. Both meetings will run from 7-9 p.m. and are two of 13 zone workshops MDC is holding around the state.

Participants at these workshops will have opportunities to review long-term data about weather, migration, habitat use, harvests and hunter opinions. Season dates and zone preferences will also be discussed. MDC will use the hunter input gathered through the workshops, along with results of hunter opinion surveys, to help establish the state’s duck season dates and zones for the 2021-2025 seasons.

Before attending a workshop, MDC encourages hunters to review information compiled by MDC biologists on migration, harvest, weather, and hunter preferences for each region of the state. This information is on the MDC website at: Huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/waterfowl-reports-prospects/duck-zones-and-season-dates.