Fieldnotes on the Edge - Eyes on Joplin

  Over the weekend, gunshots rang out in the night across the 29-acre wooded corridor many of us walk daily. By morning, we found hunter blinds, game cameras, and deer attractant. The soil showed fresh deer prints. We called the police. The responding officer himself a hunter confirmed he had permission to hunt there and he agreed this area had poachers.  That we were to call the police day or night if we heard projectiles fired.   He said people had been confronting him at his blind, telling him he shouldn’t be hunting in a space used by families, dog walkers, ATV riders, and even homeless individuals. But he did not stop harvesting as he had permission from the landowner.  This raises serious concerns. There are no posted “No Trespassing” signs. The property owner lives elsewhere and may not know how many people use this land daily. Hunting in such a heavily trafficked area is a liability, plain and simple. Just last week, I watched seven deer. This week...

    In the winter of 1908, the heart of Joplin pulsed with a kind of opulence rarely seen in small mining towns. At the corner of Fourth and Main, the newly opened  Connor Hotel  stood like a palace—nine stories of Beaux-Arts splendor, built at a staggering cost of  $723,000  (equivalent to over  $23 million today ). It was a hotel beyond its means, a statement of ambition in a city still dusted with chat piles and mining grit.   At the time,  Joplin’s population hovered around 26,000 , a boomtown swollen by the promise of lead and zinc. The Tri-State Mining District spanning parts of Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma was responsible for  half the world’s lead  and  10% of its zinc  during peak production. Joplin was the business district for this industrial engine, and the Connor was its crown jewel.   The Arrival On Christmas Eve, the hotel’s grand dining room shimmered beneath stained-glass skylights and chandeli...

  This post isn’t about Joplin. Not directly. But Wisconsin’s wolf hunting policy raised a red flag that feels eerily familiar because the mindset behind it is something Joplin might condone. And that’s exactly why it belongs here. Starting November 1, Wisconsin will allow recreational wolf hunting and trapping. Not targeted conservation. Not emergency response. Recreational. The plan includes zone-specific tags, faster kill reporting, and updated harvest zones. But the deeper issue isn’t logistics it’s philosophy. When you hunt the alpha in a wolf pack, you don’t just reduce numbers. You fracture the social structure. In stable packs, only the alpha pair breeds. But when alphas are removed, younger or subordinate wolves may begin breeding, leading to more litters, more pups, and more fragmented behavior. It’s not population control its ecological disruption. And here’s the kicker: Wisconsin removed its numeric population goal. The old benchmark was 350 wolves statewide. Toda...

  “Protection” Means Permission to Harvest Deer   They call Missouri’s white-tailed deer a protected species . But in Joplin, that protection comes with a four-month loophole and zero exemptions for nursing doe or dependent fawns. This blog dives into the contradiction at the heart of urban wildlife policy where conservation language meets convenience, and herd management starts to look a lot like open-season for removal. Doe and two late season fawn If you’ve ever wondered how a city can claim to protect deer while encouraging the harvest of the healthiest breeders, you’re not alone. We’re unpacking the ordinance, the ethics, and the quiet disappearance of maternal lines all under the banner of “population control.”   Urban Bowhunting: Joplin’s Seasonal Exception In 2025, Joplin City Council passed Ordinance 2025-083, allowing bowhunting of deer within city limits during Missouri’s archery season. The decision was framed as a response to:   Frequent deer-...

  In June 2025, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) sent a letter to Joplin City Council congratulating them on the passage of Ordinance 2025-083 . The ordinance legalized urban bowhunting of deer within city limits. MDC praised the city’s “proactive approach to herd management.” But what exactly are they celebrating? This ordinance permits hunters to legally harvest lactating does during Missouri’s archery season, knowing full well that unweaned fawns will not survive without their mothers. These fawns aren’t just losing warmth they’re losing the only teacher they have. White-tailed deer fawns stay with their mothers for nearly a year, learning how to forage, avoid predators, and navigate seasonal shifts. Without her, they’re left vulnerable, confused, and unequipped to survive. This isn’t herd management. It’s maternal erasure. And when the state calls it “responsible,” it’s time to ask: responsible to whom? “The righteous care for the needs of their animals, b...

    Field Report: Thin Does and Spotted Fawns Yesterday, my neighbors went scouting for deer in Silvercreek and reported seeing 14 grazing in the fields across the street. While homes lined the opposite side, no deer were seen in the neighborhood itself. The deer weren’t clustered in one wooded area they were spread out over nearly a mile. Contrary to the city council’s claims of a destructive herd, what they observed were thin lactating does and late-season fawns still bearing spots. No bucks were present. The thinness of the does is likely maternal; they typically regain weight once their fawns are weaned. Their appearance does not suggest overpopulation. Local Hunter’s Perspective This was my neighbor’s second scouting trip. He maintains there are no deer in Joplin and perhaps never were. Because of this, he does not plan to bowhunt locally. He also stated clearly that he will not hunt lactating does fawns or young bucks. Instead, he plans to hunt in November o...

      During my research for this article, I spoke to hunters in my community.   They told me the same thing “Testing for CWD isn’t mandatory during bow season.” And many admitted they wouldn’t test a healthy-looking deer for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). That mindset reveals a dangerous gap in understanding because CWD doesn’t always show symptoms. Infected deer can appear robust for months or even years while silently shedding prions into the soil and plants.   The Risk of Asymptomatic CWD CWD is a fatal, infectious prion disease affecting deer and other cervids. It’s similar to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), which crossed the species barrier to infect humans. While no confirmed human cases of CWD exist, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains a cautionary stance due to the possibility of long incubation periods and unknown transmission risks. Hunters who consume venison from deer harvested in CWD Management Zones ...

    The answer is more unsettling than most hunters realize. Bowhunting involves close-range shots that pierce muscle tissue, blood vessels, and lymph nodes prime sites for prion contamination if the deer is infected. Arrows retrieved are often wiped off and reused, but standard cleaning methods don’t neutralize prions. A study by the National Institutes of Health found that prions bind tightly to steel and plastic surfaces and remain infectious even after routine cleaning. While a five-minute soak in 40% household bleach can deactivate prions on stainless steel, bleach cannot penetrate solid tissue. Infected matter remained infectious after a 30-minute soak in undiluted bleach meaning arrows contaminated with tissue fragments may still carry active prions, even after soaking. 📎 Source: NIH Prion Decontamination Guidelines (PDF)     Bleach vs. Prions: What Actually Works Full-strength household bleach (sodium hypochlorite) can reduce prion infectivity o...

  Every September, when the leaves begin to turn and the air shifts toward crisp, my husband and I lace up our boots and head down to the valley. It’s a quiet ritual walking the creek bed beneath the bluffs, watching the oak and silver maples change color, listening for the rustle of squirrels and the hush of water over stone. That hike has always marked the start of fall for us. But this year, we’re staying home. Not because we want to. Because we have no idea if archers are in the area. Bowhunting Season Begins Without Warning Joplin’s urban bowhunting season opened on September 15th, 2025  The city ordinance allows bowhunting on private property of one acre or more with landowner permission , but it doesn’t require signage. No warnings. No alerts. No indication that privately owned wooded areas near homes, trails, and creeks may now be active hunting zones. We would rather skip the hike than risk walking into a space where arrows are flying and no one’s bee...