Missouri couple restored 300 acres into refuge for thriving deer herd
A Missouri couple restored 300 acres of land into a thriving habitat for white-tailed deer, contributing to the state's broader conservation success. Their efforts reflect a decades-long partnership with wildlife officials to reverse local population declines.
Why it matters
This case study demonstrates the effectiveness of private land management and conservation policies in restoring local ecosystems.
Every time Mike and Dana Blevins take their side-by-side around their 300-acre property in Perryville, Missouri, they see something they once had to work hard to bring back: white-tailed deer. “We take the side-by-side out with our grandkids, and we will always see deer,” the couple told the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) in its September 2026 Missouri Conservationist feature. “Watching them year-round is a way we monitor the herd.” That routine is more than a family outing. It is also a quiet measure of how dramatically the property has changed since the Blevins bought it in 1992.A property where deer habitat had sufferedWhen the couple acquired the land, it was not being managed with a healthy deer population in mind.
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