Forest Service proposes feral hog hunting ban

ROLLA, Mo. — Joining with the Missouri Department of Conservation and St. Louis District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of the Missouri Feral Hog Partnership, the Mark Twain National Forest has begun the process to potentially ban the hunting of feral hogs on the 1.5-million-acre forest.

“The Forest Service supports the elimination of feral swine as an essential step in the conservation of our public lands and to ease the enormous financial burden the animals cause Missouri farmers and other private land owners,” said Mark Twain National Forest Public Affairs Officer Cody Norris in a prepared statement.

The proposal, Norris said, came after a request from the state’s Department of Conservation to do so and would align the eradication efforts of the major government agencies.

Both the St. Louis District of the Corps of Engineers and MDC already ban hog hunting on the properties they own and manage, and the Ozark National Scenic Riverways is considering doing the same.

Because the land surrounding Clearwater Lake (Little Rock District) is leased and managed by MDC, feral hog hunting also is not allowed there, however, incidental take of pigs while hunting other species in their respective season is allowed on the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge.

On Friday, the Forest Service published in the federal register a public notice of a comment period for the potential regulation.

According to the documentation, a 60-day public comment period begins May 24 and all comments must be received by July 23.

The proposal can be read online at https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/ntnf/feralswine.

“The Forest Service encourages people to take advantage of the comment period,” Norris emphasized, noting the proposal is “not a foregone conclusion and things could be changed or modified. All comments will be considered.”

Comments will be taken by email at SM.FS.MTFeralSwine@usda.gov or by postal mail sent to ATTN: Feral Swine Comment, Mark Twain National Forest, 401 Fairgrounds Rd., Rolla, Mo., 65401.

A single public open house, where comments also will be collected, will be held from 6-8 p.m. on June 18 at the Signature Event Center in Rolla.

The preferred method of feral hog eradication of state and federal agencies is trapping, where large groups, or sounders, of swine can be captured at one time.

Hunting, land managers say, only removes a few hogs at a time and causes them to spread out and become shy of trapping sites, furthering the problematic growth of the species.

Hog hunters, on the other hand, say they’re helping to remove hogs from the landscape and trapping hasn’t been as effective as advertised.

The burgeoning feral hog problem, not only in Missouri but nationwide, according to Forest Service statistics, results in roughly $2.5 billion in damage to crops and land annually.

“The proposed closure would provide a meaningful step forward in a multi-agency approach in Missouri to eliminate feral swine,” Norris said.