MDC puts pause on waterfowl hunting at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Waterfowl hunting at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area has been put on pause, according to a Wednesday press release from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

MDC wrote that hunting is being suspended “due to limitations in the area’s water supply infrastructure.”

Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area “relies on water from the Missouri River, natural precipitation and treated water from the City of Columbia’s wastewater treatment facilities to manage wetland habitat,” the release says.

The city counts for about 12-20% of the area’s “full water needs” and the river water supply pumps are needed to manage water in the area, the release says. Those are currently being replaced and MDC is not able to maintain the conditions needed to manage waterfowl hunting, the release says.

The date for when waterfowl hunting can start again was not provided, nor was the cost of the water pump replacement.