Roger V. and Viola Wachal Smith Conservation Area hunting

Roger V. and Viola Wachal Smith Conservation Area profile

Expect about 517 acres of public ground at Roger V. and Viola Wachal Smith Conservation Area, Cole and Moniteau counties. By size it ranks 5th of the 5 conservation areas we list in Cole County. MDC manages it from the Lake Ozark district of the Central Region.

Besides hunting, the MDC area page lists camping (open camping – walk-in/float-in/backpack).

What the area page says about it: This area was donated to the Department in 1993 by Mrs. Smith with the intention that the area being used for public hiking, hunting, camping and a place where people could enjoy nature through recreational activities. Since the Department took ownership, a cedar harvest was conducted on ~100 acres of old field in order to restore native grasslands and glades back to the landscape. Furthermore, ~250 acres of woodland has been thinned and burned in order to improve forest health and wildlife habitat. Lastly, the remaining old fields in the middle of the area are being improved through fire, over seeding with native grasses and forbs, and are being treated for invasive species. Hiking and wildlife viewing are good activities on the area, and hunting pressure is fairly low.

Listed game: Deer, Black bear, Turkey, Rabbit, Squirrel, Dove, Quail.

• White-tailed Deer
• Black Bear
• Wild Turkey
• Eastern Cottontail
• Gray Squirrel
• Fox Squirrel
• Mourning Dove
• Northern Bobwhite Quail

From the agency record (Missouri Department of Conservation); checked October 29, 2026.

Neighbors of Roger V. and Viola Wachal Smith Conservation Area on the map

Crow-flight distance from Roger V. and Viola Wachal Smith Conservation Area to Marion Bottoms Conservation Area is 5.2 mi (northeast); the table runs outward from there.

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.

Roger V. and Viola Wachal Smith Conservation Area legal shooting light

Rabbits are sunrise to sunset, migratory birds half an hour before sunrise to sunset, and big game gets the extra half hour after sunset.

Times are prevailing local time, Central Daylight Time until Nov. 1 and from March 14.

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.

Leaving for Roger V. and Viola Wachal Smith Conservation Area?

Confirm methods, permits and the Cole County deer rules for Roger V. and Viola Wachal Smith Conservation Area before the drive.

Sources: source · source · source · source; regulations from the 2026 Fall Deer and Turkey booklet. Checked October 29, 2026.