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Conservation area · Missouri 2026-27
Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area hunting
A 2026-27 hunter guide to this conservation area in Barton County, 302 acres.
Photo: David Nichols (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Getting to Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area
Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area profile
Expect about 302 acres of public ground at Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area, Barton County. By size it ranks 6th of the 14 conservation areas we list in Barton County. MDC manages it from the Golden Grasslands district of the Southwest Region.
Besides hunting, the MDC area page lists trapping (special use permit).
What the area page says about it: Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area is named after the Osage Indian name for prairie chicken. This 302-acre prairie was purchased by The Nature Conservancy in 1990, and then purchased by the Department later that same year. This native prairie has many showy wildflowers during late spring/early summer and provides good viewing opportunities of migratory grassland birds during the summer. Trapping is allowed by Special Use Permit. Firearms firing single projectiles are PROHIBITED on this area.
Listed game: Deer, Black bear, Turkey, Quail.
From the agency record (Missouri Department of Conservation); checked October 29, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area
Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area: methods MDC allows
The rules below are what MDC lists for Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area on top of statewide seasons.
| Game | Allowed methods | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| White-tailed Deer | Archery only | Allowed |
| Wild Turkey | Archery and firearms | – |
| Black Bear | Archery only | Zone permit |
| Northern Bobwhite Quail | Statewide methods | – |
Plan on archery methods only for deer at Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area; antlerless permits may be used. Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area is archery and firearms for turkey. For drawn bear hunters, Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area is archery only. Code A in the conservation-area table: antlerless permits allowed on Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area. On MDC land, deer hunting is legal only where the area is listed; Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area qualifies.
Sources: area page, area regulations, deer quick view; booklet table: 2026 Fall Deer and Turkey booklet, pp. 42-55. Checked October 29, 2026.
Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area county rules for 2026-27
| Item | Barton County |
|---|---|
| Firearms antlerless limit | 4 deer |
| Antlerless portions | Open |
| CWD sampling Nov. 14-15 | No |
| Feed and mineral ban | Yes |
| Share the Harvest CWD test | Required |
| Fall firearms turkey | Open |
| Dogs, November portion | No rule |
| Elk county | No |
| Bear zone | Zone 3 |
| Duck zone | South |
County rules apply on Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area; Barton County has a firearms antlerless limit of 4 for 2026-27. In Barton County, the Oct. 9-11 and Dec. 5-13 antlerless portions apply. Feeding deer and placing minerals is banned year-round in Barton County. The bear zone here is 3: 250 permits, quota 8, season Oct. 17-30. Removed for 2026: the CWD portion, the management zone and the antler-point restriction.
2026 Fall Deer and Turkey booklet county rules, MDC CWD rules and 2026 bear digest; checked October 29, 2026.
Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area: what is open when
Filtered for Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area by its game list: 4 species, 8 season rows.
| Species | Season | Applies | Opens | Closes | Today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White-tailed deer | Archery, first part | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Archery, second part | Statewide | Nov 25, 2026 | Jan 15, 2027 | |
| Black bear | Bear, zone 3 | Bear zone 3 | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 30, 2026 | |
| Wild turkey | Fall archery | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 | |
| Wild turkey | Fall firearms | Open county | Oct 1, 2026 | Oct 31, 2026 | |
| Wild turkey | Fall archery, part 2 | Statewide | Nov 25, 2026 | Jan 15, 2027 | |
| Bobwhite quail | Youth quail | Statewide | Oct 24, 2026 | Oct 25, 2026 | |
| Bobwhite quail | Quail | Statewide | Nov 1, 2026 | Jan 15, 2027 |
Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area is archery only, so the table shows archery deer dates alone. Spring 2027 turkey dates were not published when these pages were checked.
From the 2026 Fall Deer and Turkey booklet, the 2026-2027 waterfowl digest and the 2026 hunting and trapping summary (Missouri Department of Conservation); checked October 29, 2026. All Missouri seasons.
Map around Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area
Crow-flight distance from Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area to Redwing Prairie Conservation Area is 2.8 mi (west); the table runs outward from there.
| Place | Type | Acres | County | Miles off | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redwing Prairie CA | Conservation area | 160 | Barton | 2.8 mi | west |
| Buffalo Wallow Prairie CA | Conservation area | 1,113 | Barton | 6.6 mi | northeast |
| Bushwhacker Lake CA | Conservation area | 4,790 | Barton, Vernon | 8.2 mi | north |
| Comstock Prairie CA | Conservation area | 320 | Barton | 9.2 mi | northwest |
| Clear Creek CA | Conservation area | 972 | Barton, Vernon | 10 mi | northeast |
| Drywood CA | Conservation area | 100 | Barton | 11 mi | northwest |
| Bethel Prairie CA | Conservation area | 260 | Barton | 11 mi | south |
| Treaty Line Prairie CA | Conservation area | 168 | Barton | 11 mi | southeast |
Points: MDC Conservation Area Centroids layer (https://gisblue.mdc.mo.gov/arcgis/rest/services/Discover_Nature/MDC_Administrative_Areas/FeatureServer/4). Straight-line distances. Statewide public land map.
Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area area harvest by year
Whole-county counts.
Hunters in Barton County checked 1,844 deer in 2025, against 1,850 the year before; there is no figure for Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area alone. The spring 2026 count for Barton County was 353 turkeys (12 on public land). Recent CWD results for Barton County: 34 positives, first detected in 2022-2023.
| Permit year | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 993 | 117 | 734 | 1,844 |
| 2024 | 1,003 | 121 | 726 | 1,850 |
| 2023 | 993 | 152 | 821 | 1,966 |
| 2022 | 1,057 | 149 | 887 | 2,093 |
| 2021 | 1,001 | 122 | 788 | 1,911 |
| 2020 | 1,023 | 132 | 793 | 1,948 |
| Season | Spring | Public | Youth | Firearms (fall) | Archery (fall) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 353 | 12 | 40 | – | – |
| 2025 | 336 | 20 | 42 | 11 | 5 |
| 2024 | 308 | 28 | 36 | 4 | 7 |
| 2023 | 288 | 22 | 20 | 6 | 9 |
| 2022 | 227 | – | 20 | 4 | 14 |
| 2021 | 199 | – | 20 | 4 | 12 |
| Year | Samples | CWD found |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 25 | 1 |
| 2024 | 545 | 9 |
| 2023 | 722 | 15 |
| 2022 | 702 | 9 |
| 2021 | 70 | 0 |
MDC 2025 deer harvest summary, MDC turkey harvest summaries and MDC CWD dashboard; earlier years from the yearly reports. Checked October 29, 2026.
Towns, MDC offices and shops by Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area
From Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area, Lamar is 6.7 mi away. Largest of the five: Carthage, 15,703 people. Directions on file: From Lamar, take I-49/Highway 71 north to exit 80, then Route DD west 4 miles. Shawnee Trail Conservation Area Field Office (Mindenmines) sits 13 mi from Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area, closer than any other MDC office.
| Town | County | People (2024) | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamar | Barton | 4,299 | 6.7 mi | southeast |
| Sheldon | Vernon | 436 | 8.7 mi | northeast |
| Mindenmines | Barton | 277 | 12 mi | southwest |
| Nevada | Vernon | 8,294 | 20 mi | north |
| Carthage | Jasper | 15,703 | 28 mi | south |
Towns from places.json (Census 2024); offices and businesses from services.json (MDC offices and business listings, chain stores and permit vendors left out); straight-line miles. Checked October 29, 2026.
Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area hunters: public range and clubs
Drive about 50 miles from Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area to reach Andy Dalton range, the nearest public lanes. Nearby gun clubs fill the other cards.
From MDC area pages and the MDC Shooting Ranges layer, the operators’ pages and directory listings, checked October 29, 2026.
Legal hours for Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area
Rabbits are sunrise to sunset, migratory birds half an hour before sunrise to sunset, and big game gets the extra half hour after sunset.
| Day | Moment | First sun | Last sun | Deer hours | Bird hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2026 | Dove opener | 6:47 a.m. | 7:48 p.m. | 6:17 a.m. to 8:18 p.m. | 6:17 a.m. to 7:48 p.m. |
| Sep 15, 2026 | Archery opener | 6:59 a.m. | 7:26 p.m. | 6:29 a.m. to 7:56 p.m. | 6:29 a.m. to 7:26 p.m. |
| Oct 1, 2026 | Fall firearms turkey | 7:14 a.m. | 7:00 p.m. | 6:44 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. | 6:44 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. |
| Nov 7, 2026 | Middle Zone ducks | 6:51 a.m. | 5:11 p.m. | 6:21 a.m. to 5:41 p.m. | 6:21 a.m. to 5:11 p.m. |
| Nov 14, 2026 | November firearms opener | 6:59 a.m. | 5:05 p.m. | 6:29 a.m. to 5:35 p.m. | 6:29 a.m. to 5:05 p.m. |
| Dec 26, 2026 | Alternative methods | 7:34 a.m. | 5:03 p.m. | 7:04 a.m. to 5:33 p.m. | 7:04 a.m. to 5:03 p.m. |
| Jan 15, 2027 | Archery close | 7:34 a.m. | 5:21 p.m. | 7:04 a.m. to 5:51 p.m. | 7:04 a.m. to 5:21 p.m. |
Hours rule and the Jefferson City sunrise and sunset table from the MDC Migratory Bird and Waterfowl Digest (same table in the Fall Deer and Turkey booklet), adjusted 1 minute per 13.5 miles east or west as MDC directs; checked October 29, 2026. Legal hours for every county.
Events tied to Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area and its surroundings
Kinds close by: NWTF chapter dinner. Count: 1 upcoming event.
Booked dates
| Held on | Event | Miles off | Where held | Link | Checked at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 6, 2027 | Muddy Creek Gobblers NWTF Banquet · NWTF chapter dinner | 7 | Lamar | Buy tickets | Source |
Scenery to match Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area
Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area questions with sourced answers
How far is the nearest town from Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area?
Lamar is the nearest town we cover, 6.7 mi off.
Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area crowded: where next?
Next in line: Redwing Prairie Conservation Area (2.8 mi), Buffalo Wallow Prairie Conservation Area (6.6 mi) and Bushwhacker Lake Conservation Area (8.2 mi).
Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area: which permits apply?
The right MDC permit: Archer's or Firearms for deer, Small Game for small game, Migratory Bird for doves and ducks.
Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area: size and manager?
Missouri Department of Conservation handles it, and it spans 302 acres.
Can I use a rifle for deer on Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area?
Archery methods only on this area. Antlerless permits are allowed.
Is Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area open for hunting this season?
Yes, deer, black bear, turkey and quail, following statewide seasons and any area limits.
What are the CWD rules around Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area?
No mandatory station visit in this county. Do not feed deer or put out minerals.
What is the firearms antlerless limit around Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area?
4 antlerless deer with firearms permits, under the Barton County rule.
Bear hunting near Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area?
Bear here means a Zone 3 permit (quota 8).
Can I hunt turkey on Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area?
Use archery and firearms. Fall gun season: Oct. 1-31.
What are deer hours at Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area on Nov. 14?
Nov. 14 at the Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area point: 6:29 a.m. to 5:35 p.m. for deer (sunrise 6:59 a.m.).
Last word on Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area
Confirm methods, permits and the Barton County deer rules for Mo-No-I Prairie Conservation Area before the drive.
Sources: source · source · source · source; regulations from the 2026 Fall Deer and Turkey booklet. Checked October 29, 2026.
Other photos on this page: David Nichols (CC BY-SA 2.0); mostateparks (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Martin Lopatka (CC BY-SA 2.0).