Twenty-one Conservation Areas will require nontoxic shot
Beginning March 1, 2007, twenty-one conservation areas will have a nontoxic shot only regulation for all hunting with a shotgun. These conservation areas are larger wetland areas where potentially sizeable numbers of waterfowl and shorebirds concentrate in the fall and spring.
Hunting with nontoxic shot seminars
This summer you can learn everything you need to know to hunt effectively with steel, Bismuth and Hevi-Shot at a Missouri Department of Conservation and Cooperative North American Shotgunning Education Program (CONSEP) seminar on nontoxic shot.
Schedule of seminars
- July 10, 6-9 p.m. Fountain Grove CA Headquarters
- July 12, 6-9 p.m. Nodaway Valley CA Headquarters
- July 13, 6-9 p.m. St. Joseph, MWSU Agenstein Hall Room # 308
- July 14, 6-9 p.m. Smithville High School Gym
- July 24, 6pm-9pm University of Missouri Columbia, Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building, Conservation Hall (corner of Hitt & Rollins St.), Columbia, MO
- July 25, 6pm-9pm, Saline County Justice Center, 1915 West Arrow (Hwy. 20 West) Marshall, MO
- August 13, 6-9 p.m. Clinton High School Cafeteria
- August 14, 6-9 p.m. State Fair Community College in Sedalia -Yeater Building
- August 15, 6-9 p.m. UCM Campus in Warrensburg-Wood Auditorium
- August 16, 6-9 p.m. Nevada Community Center
- August 17, 6-9 p.m. Boy Scouts of America Building in Lowry City
Why use non-toxic shot?
The nontoxic shot regulation will reduce the incidence of lead shot ingestion, which is often fatal to all birds including doves and scavenging birds such as eagles that feed on waterfowl with lead shot in the carcass. Mounting evidence points to lead poisoning occurring in over 30 species of birds other than waterfowl.
The nontoxic shot rule will apply to all hunting with a shotgun including dove, turkey, quail, rabbit and squirrel. Since 1991, waterfowl hunters in Missouri have used nontoxic shot for all duck, geese and rail hunting.
Many of the 21 conservation areas included in the new nontoxic shot requirement offer good dove hunting, which can be a significant source of lead shot poisoning in birds. Good quality nontoxic shot shell alternatives for all gauges are available commercially at a reasonable cost. Modern steel and bismuth/tin shot shells are as effective as lead shot shells in killing birds.
Use or possession of lead shot is prohibited for hunting on the following Department of Conservation areas beginning March 1, 2007:
- Bob Brown Conservation Area
- Black Island Conservation Area
- Columbia Bottom Conservation Area
- Cooley Lake Conservation Area
- Coon Island Conservation Area
- Duck Creek Conservation Area
- Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area
- Fountain Grove Conservation Area
- Four Rivers Conservation Area
- Grand Pass Conservation Area
- B. K. Leach Memorial Conservation Area
- Little Bean Marsh Conservation Area
- Little River Conservation Area
- Marais Temps Clair Conservation Area
- Montrose Conservation Area
- Nodaway Valley Conservation Area
- Otter Slough Conservation Area
- Schell-Osage Conservation Area
- Settle’s Ford Conservation Area
- Ted Shanks Conservation Area
- Ten Mile Pond Conservation Area
