Pitching a tent at Atlanta Conservation Area or sighting in a rifle at its shooting range will take a state permit starting in March 2027, under rules the Missouri Conservation Commission gave final approval Oct. 23.
The commission, meeting in Cape Girardeau, approved three changes from the Missouri Department of Conservation: a $5 camping permit for MDC areas, a small-game permit requirement for the department’s unstaffed shooting ranges, and a new $165 permit for nonresidents who hunt deer on public land, according to MDC releases.
Camping on MDC areas has been free, with no permit and no registration. Starting in March, campers will need a $5 permit that covers up to five days for up to 10 people, even if fewer days are used or fewer people go. MDC calls it the "$5-for-5-for-10" permit.
Macon County has several places the rule will reach. MDC’s map data show primitive camping sites at Atlanta and Hidden Hollow conservation areas, and at four areas that lie partly in the county: Mussel Fork, Thomas Hill Reservoir, Montgomery Woods, and Bee Hollow.
Camping will stay first come, first served. Each tent or camper must carry a label with the permit holder’s full name and address, or conservation number, visible from outside. Groups larger than 10 will need a special use permit along with the camping permit. A person can hold no more than three camping permits in a row and six a year.
MDC said campers and staff have reported more problems on camping areas, including vandalism, illegal activity, and illegal stays, and that without registration, agents have had a hard time identifying campers causing trouble. The department manages about 1,000 conservation areas, more than 320 of them with free camping.
After public comments this summer, MDC dropped a proposed rule that personal property could not be left unattended for more than 24 hours. The commission also changed the rules to let campers gather dead and downed wood on MDC areas for personal fires. Collecting firewood on MDC areas is currently banned, and wood collected under the new rule cannot leave the area.
Permits go on sale in March online, from permit vendors, and by phone, and can be shown in MDC’s MO Hunting and MO Fishing apps.
Camping at state parks, such as Long Branch State Park, is handled separately by Missouri State Parks.
The shooting range rule will reach Atlanta Conservation Area’s rifle and pistol range, the only MDC range in Macon County, according to the department’s map data. Starting in March, anyone using one of MDC’s more than 35 unstaffed firearms ranges will need a valid small-game hunting permit. The annual resident permit costs $11.50. Nonresidents can buy a daily small-game permit for $16 or an annual one for $108.50.
Existing age and disability exemptions stay in place. The rule does not apply to partner ranges or MDC’s five staffed ranges, none of which is in Macon County.
MDC said range use has grown with more self-defense practice and modern sporting rifles, bringing damage to signs and shooting booths and more litter from spent shells and targets. Because firearms hunting permits require hunter education unless a person is exempt, the department said the rule will make sure range users have had safety training. MDC said many range users already buy a small-game permit or are exempt.
The third change takes effect with the 2027 deer season. Nonresidents will need the $165 Nonresident Public Land Deer Hunting Permit, on top of their regular nonresident deer permit, to hunt deer on conservation areas and other public land. It will not be needed on private land, which makes up more than 90 percent of Missouri.
About 20,000 nonresidents hunted deer in Missouri 20 years ago, about 4 percent of the state’s hunters, according to MDC. By 2025 the number was about 42,000, about 9 percent.
"MDC strives to provide quality hunting opportunities for resident hunters and recognizes the important contributions resident hunters and landowners make to sustaining a healthy deer herd in Missouri," said Jason Isabelle, MDC’s cervid program supervisor. "We’re thankful for the input from our resident hunters on this issue and certainly appreciate their concerns."
More on camping on MDC areas is at mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/activities/camping.