MDC reminds hunters of waterfowl hunting zone boundary changes in the St. Louis Region

St. LOUIS, Mo.—The fall migration has begun and with duck and goose seasons upon us, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) offers a few tips to help waterfowl hunters in the St. Louis Region, along with a reminder of some revised regional hunting zone boundary changes this season. 

“Having both Missouri and Mississippi River bottoms, MDC’s St. Louis Region offers plenty of opportunities to hunt waterfowl,” said Lincoln County Conservation Agent, Nick Bommarito.

MDC intensively manages three conservation areas in the St. Louis Region for waterfowl hunting:  Columbia Bottom in St. Louis County, Marais Temps Claire in St. Charles County, and BK Leach in Lincoln County. Each of these areas have a morning draw to allocate hunting positions. Morning draw times and procedures can be found on the MDC website at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZFj.

There are three separate duck hunting zones in the state, and St. Louis Region is split by two of these zones: the North Zone and Middle Zone. One change for the 2021-2022 duck season is the boundary for the North and Middle Zones. The section of the boundary in St. Louis Region is now I-70, which puts Columbia Bottom and Marais Temps Clair in the North Zone. A full map of the zone boundaries can be found in our 2021- 2022 Migratory Bird and Waterfowl Hunting Digest.

Bommarito said there are also several open hunting conservation areas that can provide waterfowl hunting opportunities in the region, such as Prairie Slough and Cuivre Island Conservation Areas in Lincoln County.

“Before hunting on any conservation area, be sure to research if there are any special area regulations,” Bommarito reminded hunters.

Waterfowl season dates for the 2021-2022 season are as follows.

Ducks and Coots:

• North Zone:
  • Oct. 30, 2021 – Dec. 28, 2021

• Middle Zone:
  • Nov. 6 – 14, 2021 and Nov.20, 2021 – Jan. 9, 2022
• South Zone:
  • Nov. 25 – 28, 2021 and Dec. 7, 2021 – Jan. 31, 2022

Geese:

• Statewide:
  • Nov. 11, 2021 – Feb. 6, 2022

Bommarito offered these regulation reminders for duck and goose seasons: 

• Permits required to duck and goose hunt in Missouri include a Small Game Hunting Permit, a Migratory Bird Hunting Permit, and a Federal Waterfowl Stamp. An electronic Federal Waterfowl Stamp is only valid for 45 days, after that a physical Federal Waterfowl Stamp must be possessed and signed across the face while waterfowl hunting.
• Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.
• Possession and use of lead shot are prohibited.
• Shotguns must be 10 gauge or smaller and cannot be capable of holding more than three shells.
• The head or one fully feathered wing must remain attached to all waterfowl while being transported from the field to one’s home.
• Daily limits for ducks include a total of 6 ducks with species restrictions of 4 mallards (no more than 2 hens), 3 wood ducks, 2 black ducks, 2 canvasbacks, 2 hooded mergansers, 2 redheads, 2 scaup during the first 45 days of season and 1 scaup during the last 15 days of season, 1 mottled duck, and 1 pintail.
• The daily limit for coots is 15.
• Daily limits for geese include 20 light geese, 3 Canada geese and brant combined, and 2 white-fronted geese.

Other regulations can be found in our 2021-2022 Migratory Bird and Waterfowl Hunting Digest, or on our website at www.mdc.mo.gov.

“Fall and winter is a special time of year for hunters and waterfowl hunting can be a great way to enjoy the outdoors during this time,” said Bommarito.

“As always, the most important thing with hunting is to be safe and have fun.”