Fieldnotes on the Edge - Eyes on Joplin

   Confirmed hunting activity in South Joplin’s Freeman Grove area. Learn what residents need to know to stay safe and protect their pets. This isn’t just another patch of woods. For decades, the tract between Main Street and Jackson Avenue, running parallel to 36th Street, has been more than open land  it has been a gathering place for the Freeman Grove community. Children have run scavenger hunts here in the fall, crunching leaves underfoot as the trees turned gold. Teenagers carved their names into a tree and circled them with a heart. Families have walked the trails, thrilled to spot a deer and, once in a while, a fawn that brought pure joy to young eyes. Neighbors have treated it as an extension of their backyards a space of connection, recreation, and everyday peace. Today, that same beloved corridor is no longer simply a place of community life. It has become an active hunting zone, introducing risks and stress into an area long valued as safe and shared. Wha...

Over the weekend, gunshots were heard across the 29‑acre wooded corridor that many of us walk daily. By morning, residents noticed hunter blinds, game cameras, and deer attractant in the area. While no stand was observed, fresh deer tracks were visible in the soil. Concerned for safety, we contacted the police.  It’s worth noting that many hunters remove their stands when not in use to prevent theft, which may explain why none were present at the time.   Law Enforcement Response The responding officer, Jeremiah McGough himself a hunter confirmed that he had permission to hunt on the property. He acknowledged that the area has been plagued by poachers and instructed us to call the police day or night if we hear projectiles fired. Officer McGough also noted that individuals had confronted him at his blind, questioning why deer hunting in Joplin, Missouri was taking place in a space regularly used by families, dog walkers, ATV riders, and even unhoused individuals se...

    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...

    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...

  For years, we’ve heard claims that Joplin is overrun with deer infested, even. But when my neighbor walked the woods around Silvercreek this week, he found only a few does and late-season fawns. No herds. No mature bucks. No signs of damage or overpopulation. He’s not alone. A recent field report documented a dusk drive through Silvercreek and Leewood. The author saw just a handful of deer mostly does and fawns and noted that the only posted deer crossing sign was near the Tractor Supply on Rangeline. And one in Leewood.   Mercy and Freeman hospitals, both near wooded corridors, had no signage at all, despite frequent crossings. So, we’re asking: Hunters in the Joplin area what are you seeing? Have you found deer inside city limits? Are you spotting mature bucks, or just scattered does and fawns? Are the woods quiet, or are we missing something? Because from where we stand, the “infestation” narrative doesn’t match the evidence. And if deer are crossing near hospi...

      There are two types of deer hunters, in my experience: the trophy hunter and the food hunter . The trophy hunter is after the rack the antlers, the head, the bragging rights. They may field dress the deer for prime cuts, but often leave the carcass behind where the harvest occurred. Once the photo is taken and the venison is packed, they’re gone. The rest of the animal is left to decay in the woods, wasted. Then there’s the hunter who harvests with purpose. The one who uses every part of the deer they can meat, hide, bones because that animal is feeding their family through the winter. These hunters don’t take more than they need. They don’t chase status or social clout. They hunt with reverence. In my family, hunting was never about trophies. My father and both my brothers hunted to stock our freezer and support our neighbors. What we didn’t need, we donated to local charities. My dad always said, “If an animal gives its life, the least we can do is make ...

    Understanding Late-Season Thinness in Does and Why Misdiagnosis Matters Thin Doesn’t Always Mean Sick In Missouri’s CWD Management Zones, hunters are trained to watch for signs of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD): emaciation, drooling, stumbling, and abnormal behavior. But what happens when a healthy doe nursing twin fawns shows visible thinness? Too often, she’s misread as diseased and that misdiagnosis can lead to unnecessary panic, poor harvest decisions, or even false reporting. The Reality of Late-Season Nursing Does that give birth late in the season especially to twins face intense metabolic strain. Their bodies prioritize milk production, often at the expense of fat reserves. This can result in: Prominent ribs and hips A drawn face and lean frame Increased grazing on ornamentals and garden plants Alert, responsive behavior despite thinness These are signs of maternal depletion , not a CWD .   Behavior Is the Key Hunters should observe m...