<strong><span class="subhead">The week ahead</span></strong></p><p>Many area hunters are gearing up for the biggest weekend of the fall.</p><p>Almost 500,000 hunters are expected to be in the field on Saturday as the Missouri firearms deer season and the Kansas pheasant season open.</p><p>So what can they expect? Good, maybe great things.</p><p>The outlook for both seasons is outstanding, according to wildlife biologists.</p><p>The Missouri deer population is in good shape, with a good carryover of whitetails from last year. As usual, northern Missouri is expected to be the most productive. But parts of the Ozarks also have good deer numbers.</p><p>In Kansas, surveys indicate that the pheasant population is thriving after a good nesting season. The best numbers are in the northwest and the north-central regions, but the central and southwest regions should have plenty of birds.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Fall turkey season</span></strong></p><p>OK, the recently concluded Missouri fall turkey season was better than last year. But the harvest of 8,355 was still the second-lowest in the 32-year history of the fall hunt.</p><p>Wildlife biologists with the Missouri Department of Conservation cite waning interest for much of the decline. In the late 1980s, almost 53,000 hunters bought permits. Currently, fewer than 25,000 hunters are buying permits.</p><p>Biologists attribute that decline to increasing interest in other types of hunting and the differences between fall and spring turkey hunting.</p><p>In the spring, the big gobblers are more vocal, calling to hens during the mating season. In the fall, hunters are primarily hunting younger birds that gather in brood flocks.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Mark your calendar</span></strong></p><p>&bull;<strong>Today:</strong> Last day of youth upland gamebird season in Kansas.</p><p>&bull;<strong>Monday:</strong> Last day of Missouri dove season.</p><p><strong>&bull;Now open: </strong>Duck seasons in Missouri North Zone and Kansas Early and Late Zones.</p><p>&bull;<strong>Now open: </strong>Kansas goose seasons.</p><p>&bull;<strong>Now open: </strong>Archery deer season in Missouri and Kansas.</p><p>&bull;<strong>Now open: </strong>Kansas turkey season.</p><p>&bull;<strong>Now open: </strong>Rabbit season in Missouri and Kansas.</p><p>&bull;<strong>Now open: </strong>Squirrel season in Missouri and Kansas.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">When license fee increases fail</span></strong></p><p>Increases in the price of hunting and fishing licenses don&rsquo;t always work out the way fish and game agencies anticipate.</p><p>Take it from officials with the Idaho Fish and Game Department.</p><p>They raised fees this year, hoping to generate an extra $2.5 million for programs. For example, nonresident deer permits were raised from $256.75 to $300, elk permits went from $370.75 to $415 and hunting-fishing licenses that had been $198 went to $235, according to The Spokesman-Review newspaper in Spokane, Wash.</p><p>But out-of-state hunters and fishermen apparently aren&rsquo;t buying it. Sales are about $1 million below what they were last year at this point.</p><p>A survey showed that there were three main reasons why nonresidents weren&rsquo;t returning: the fee increase, the economy and an increase in the wolf population.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Weird stuff</span></strong></p><p>A Wyoming hunter ran into more than he had bargained for after he shot a deer with his bow.</p><p>When he went to retrieve the deer, he found that the dead whitetail was covered with grass and brush. Then he discovered why.</p><p>Sitting nearby was a mountain lion, protecting its next meal, the Sheridan Press reported.</p><p>The hunter backed off and called the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Officials told him he had two choices: He could attempt to scare the mountain lion away by making a lot of noise as he approached or he could buy a mountain lion hunting license.</p><p>He opted for the latter and dropped the animal with one shot.</p><p><hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> </div>