News & Events

By Joe Jerek

Grab Your Frogging Gear!

Frogging is a great way to introduce kids and adults to the outdoors. Frogging season begins June 30 at sunset and ends Oct. 31. Bullfrogs and green frogs are legal game. Bullfrogs are larger and therefore more sought-after.

The daily limit is eight frogs of both species combined and the possession limit is 16 frogs of both species combined. Only the daily limit may be possessed on the waters or banks where limits apply. Daily limits end at midnight, so froggers who catch their daily limits before midnight and then want to return for more frogging after midnight must remove the daily limit of previously caught frogs from the waters or banks before returning for more.

Frogs can be pursued with either a fishing permit or a small-game hunting permit. Children under the age of 16 and Missouri residents 65 years of age or older are not required to have a permit. Those with a fishing permit may take frogs by hand, hand net, atlatl, gig, bow, trotline, throw line, limbline, bank line, jug line, snagging, snaring, grabbing, or pole and line. With a small game hunting permit, you may harvest frogs using a .22-caliber or smaller rimfire rifle or pistol, pellet gun, atlatl, bow, crossbow, or by hand or hand net. The use of an artificial light is permitted when frogging.
For more information about frog hunting, including how to get started and tasty recipes to try, visit short.mdc.mo.gov/ZZm.

Lend Your Voice and Celebrate 80 Years of Conservation

In honor of our 80th anniversary, the Conservation Department will be hosting open houses around the state, starting this summer and into the fall, to celebrate what makes conservation so great in Missouri — citizens like you who care deeply about conservation! Director Sara Parker Pauley will be in attendance at the free open houses, as well as Conservation Commissioners, to share insights on top conservation priorities and challenges on the horizon. Attendees will also have the chance to give direct feedback on the department’s regulations, infrastructure, strategic priorities, and key conservation issues on a local and statewide level.

• Southeast Region: Aug. 8, 2017, 6–8 p.m. Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center 2289 County Park Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701
• Central Region: Aug. 10, 2017, 6–8 p.m. Runge Conservation Nature Center 330 Commerce Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65109
• Northeast Region: Aug. 14, 2017, 6–8 p.m. MDC Northeast Regional Office 3500 S. Baltimore, Kirksville, MO 63501
• St. Louis Region: Sept. 7, 2017, 6–8 p.m. Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center 11715 Cragwold Road, Kirkwood, MO 63122
• Northwest Region: Sept. 26, 2017, 6–8 p.m. Missouri Western State University Kemper Recital Hall (located in the Spratt Hall 101 Building) 4525 Downs Drive, St. Joseph, MO 64507
• Southwest Region: Oct. 10, 6–8 p.m. Springfield Conservation Nature Center 4601 S. Nature Center Way, Springfield, MO 65804
• Ozark Region: Oct. 12, 6–8 p.m. Twin Pines Conservation Education Center 20086 Highway 60, Winona, MO 65588
• Kansas City Region: Oct. 26, 2017, 6–8 p.m. The Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center 4750 Troost Ave., Kansas City, MO 64110

Come talk with department staff about fish, forest, and wildlife efforts and share your thoughts about the future of conservation in Missouri. No registration is required for the open houses.

For more information about the events, contact Michele Baumer, public involvement coordinator, at 573-522-4115, ext. 3350, or Michele.Baumer@ mdc.mo.gov.

Get Hooked With Free Fishing Days

Fishing is a perfect low-stress, low-impact activity that keeps you moving for hours, plus being in the outdoors has been shown to boost your brain power. Want to give it a try? Get hooked on fishing with our Free Fishing Days June 10 and 11. Anyone can fish in the Show-Me State without a fishing permit, trout permit, or trout park daily tag. Normal regulations, such as limits on size and number of fish an angler may keep, remain in effect. Special permits may still be required at some county, city, or private fishing areas.

Our free MO Fishing mobile app helps anglers find the best places to fish in Missouri, access regulation information, identify fish by species, and more. Anglers can also buy, store, and show fishing permits right on their mobile devices.

For information on Missouri fishing regulations, fish identification, and more, get a copy of our 2017 Summary of Missouri Fishing Regulations where permits are sold or online at huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/fishing.

80 Years of Conservation

Eighty years ago, fish were scarce in many sections of Missouri’s rivers and streams because of runoff from little-regulated, clearcut logging. Through conservation efforts over the past eight decades, Missouri has healthy populations of about 200 fish species with over 20 game fish for the state’s more than 1.1 million anglers. Conservation efforts continue with our fish hatcheries stocking more than 7 million fish for anglers and others each year. Learn more at short.mdc.mo.gov/ZoL.

Did You Know?

Conservation makes Missouri a great place to hunt and fish.

Providing Access to Hunting, Fishing, and Outdoor Recreation Opportunities for 80 Years

• MDC established its conservation area program to provide permanent fish and wildlife habitat and public outdoor recreation opportunities.
• Shortly after its creation in 1937, MDC began purchasing land for conservation areas and pursuing cooperative management with local parks and community lakes. Today, MDC owns or cooperatively manages nearly 1,000 areas statewide.
• Conservation areas can include a number of features such as boating accesses, shooting ranges, nature and interpretive centers, natural areas, and more.
• Some areas, like nature centers and hatcheries, have staffed visitor centers, while others provide a wilder outdoor experience with little more than parking areas and access trails.
• Find Places to Go is a searchable online atlas that lets you browse every conservation area in the state, so you can know the area’s recreation opportunities, regulations, hours of operation, facilities, and directions before you visit. Direct your browser to mdc.mo.gov/atlas.
• Sort areas by activities like hunting or fishing; by facility type like boat ramps or hunting blinds; by natural feature like fishing lake or prairie; or by other options such as disabled accessibility, designated trails, and shooting ranges.