2 from Southeast Mo. attend Quality Deer Management Assoc. classes | Events

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KFVS) - Two people from Southeast Missouri attended the Quality Deer Management Association - Deer Steward II Class in LaGrange, Ky. at Historical Ashbourne Farms on June 22-25.

Allen Morris of Jackson, Mo. of the SEMO Trail of Tears Branch and Andrew Clifton of Frona, Mo. of the Southeast Missouri branch in Ste. Genevieve attended the Deer Steward Course IIl.

Andrew Clifton also works for Dr. Grant Woods at the Proving Grounds near Branson, Mo. which produces the Growing Deer Show at www.growingdeer.tv.

The Deer Steward II course is a focus on the application of principles covered in Deer Steward I in which only 372 people in the nation have taken and only 12 in the state of Missouri. Deer Steward I is a prerequisite for Deer Steward II.

Those principles being the four cornerstones of Quality Deer Management: herd management, habitat management, hunter management and herd monitoring. Level II included a mix of classroom and field instruction, and the course ended by having the students apply their knowledge and develop an actual deer management plan.

The course was two-and-a-half days in length with written and practical testing at the end, and individuals from across the country representing 12 states and Canada attended this class. Only 240 people in the nation have taken the advance Deer Steward II training and only 5 in the state of Missouri.

The top Deer and Wildlife Biologist from across the country are on hand to teach the class and labs.

Objectives of the classes are to increase knowledge and understanding of deer biology, ecology, and management and wildlife conservation, to improve management of deer herds and deer habitats to enable sustainable, high quality deer herds for the future and to create deer hunting and deer management that will promote Quality Deer Management practices.

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