Waterfowl populations face many challenges in the Twenty-First Century. From the loss of nesting habitat to changes in agriculture on Texas wintering grounds, very real threats imperil the future of ducks and duck hunting. That is why Texas Waterfowl book author and executive editor of Texas Fish & Game magazine, Chester Moore, is hitting the road December 8.

“I’m doing what I call the ‘Texas Duck Tour’, hunting seven locations in seven regions of the state in seven days,” Moore said. “The idea is to document the habitat and hunting opportunities in these different areas to show what amazing opportunities we have in Texas, and in turn show what we have to lose if we don’t take action now.” Full documentation of the tour will be posted om the magazine’s website, www.fishgame.com, along with conservation notes specific to the species pursued and various regions of the state.

“One example I could give is the hunts we are doing along the Texas coast, “Moore said. “The conservation problems there include a loss of rice production, which is believed to be causing major problems with pintails and leaving Texas in poor health, and also seagrass conservation in Lower Laguna Madre and in the Coastal Bend. “Waterfowl conservation is complex, and by hitting these different areas I hope to drive home to the people hunting those areas how important the habitat is, and that without successful nesting in the prairies, there will poor fall flights.”

Moore enlisted the help of Ducks Unlimited (DU) on this venture to provide logistical support and help choose key areas with specific conservation issues that need addressing. “DU is the leader in wetlands conservation, period,” Moore said. “We at Texas Fish & Game have a great working relationship with that organization, and Tim Soderquist of DU and I will be traveling together on this excursion, working to profile DU volunteers who are extremely important to conservation work, and making sure we maximize our efforts to raise awareness of important issues.”

Texas Fish & Game Publishing, LLC, released Moore’s Texas Waterfowl book last September, and Moore has pledged to donate 20 percent of the royalty proceeds to DU. “Half will be earmarked for the nesting grounds and the other half will go to the Texas CARE project, which is conserving crucial areas in Texas,” Moore said.

Texas Duck Tour Dates/Locations

Dec. 8 / Winnie
Dec. 9 / Crockett
Dec. 10 / Lubbock
Dec. 11 / Fredricksburg
Dec. 12 / Choke Canyon Reservoir
Dec. 13 / Rockport
Dec. 14 / Wharton

The Indiana DNR has passed a temporary rule establishing an experimental 2008 February Canada goose hunting season in selected areas in an attempt to control the population of breeding Canada geese in and around urban areas of the state.

Counties where geese can be hunted during that season, which runs Feb. 1-15, include Steuben, LaGrange, Elkhart, St. Joseph, La Porte, Starke, Marshall, Kosciusko, Noble, De Kalb, Allen, Whitley, Huntington, Wells, Adams, Boone, Hamilton, Madison, Hendricks, Marion, Hancock, Morgan, Johnson, Shelby, Vermillion, Parke, Vigo, Clay, Sullivan, and Greene.

According to Adam Phelps, Indiana DNR waterfowl biologist, populations of breeding Canada geese in Indiana appear to have leveled off during the past few years at about 125,000. The DNR’s target population for reducing human-geese conflicts in urban areas is 80,000.

“We chose February because it’s when geese are most likely to leave cities and towns,” Phelps said. “Urban ponds are most likely to be frozen in February, and grass is most likely to be covered with snow.

“These two conditions may force urban geese into agricultural fields outside of town to feed, where it is usually safe and legal - in season - to hunt them.”

Indiana has used a September season on locally breeding geese for many years. The new “late” season gives wildlife managers another tool to manage local goose populations, and gives waterfowl hunters more days afield.

The bag limit for the experimental season is five Canada geese per day, with a possession limit of 10, same as for the September season. Shooting hours are from a half-hour before sunrise to sunset.

The same regulations and restrictions that apply during the September season apply during the February season. In addition to a valid hunting license, signed Indiana waterfowl stamp (unless exempt), a federal duck stamp, and an HIP (Harvest Information Program) number, a free permit is also required. Free permits are available at (812) 334-3795, goosehuntingpermit@dnr.in.gov, or any state Fish and Wildlife Area, field office, or reservoir during regular January hours.

Hunters must check all geese harvested at a check station. Geese must have the head, a fully feathered wing, and reproductive parts still attached when the bird is checked. Check station staff will age and sex each bird, and will remove and keep the head of all adult birds checked. These heads are measured to determine whether each bird is a Canadian migrant or a local breeder.

This process is required by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine whether more locally breeding geese are being harvested than Canadian-breeding (”migrant”) geese.

Data collected during the season will be used to determine whether the late season will continue to occur in future years. Even if Indiana’s season meets federal guidelines, the season may be closed in future years if local Canada goose populations are sufficiently reduced.

This temporary rule also establishes a one-year Feb. 1 to March 31 season for the lesser snow goose and Ross’s goose. The HIP number and federal duck stamp are not required to take a lesser snow goose or a Ross’s goose.

The DNR director has exclusive authority to adopt temporary rules regarding such issues. Such rules are valid for a maximum of one year and can be renewed by the director for an additional period not to exceed one year.

The Department of Natural Resources reminds hunters that the Lame Duck Foot Access Area (LDFAA) located in 11,000 acres of state forest land in northeast Gladwin County provides walk-in hunting opportunities. Only walk-in access is permitted.

The area is bounded by county roads on the north, east and south and the Tittabawassee River on the west side. The land is managed for timber production and wildlife habitat, just as all other state forest land in Gladwin County, said Gladwin State Forest Unit Manager Courtney Borgondy.

All types of foot travel, including cross-country skiing, hiking and snowshoeing are allowed in the LDFAA. Motor vehicles of any kind are prohibited, including two- and four-wheel drive vehicles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles. Bicycles also are prohibited.

Designated forest trails are open along the perimeter of the area for parking and camping. Road licensed vehicles and camping units are allowed in these areas. Wheelchair access to the area also is available at selected locations. There are numerous walking trails within the area, providing easy access to good hunting areas. There is a parking area near where Hemer Road intersects Alger Road.

For more information on the LDFAA, call the Wildlife Division of the DNR at the Gladwin Field Office at (989) 426-9205, ext. 7630 or 7631. For more information on hunting, visit the DNR’s Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnr.

The daily bag limit for Canvasback ducks has increased from one per day to two per day effective Oct. 25, 2007. Following action by the Fish and Game Commission on Oct. 16, the Office of Administrative Law’s approval has put the increase into effect.

“It was a very unusual situation for the federal government to liberalize a hunting regulation that we did not anticipate or address in our California Environmental Quality Act documentation,” said Melanie Weaver, a biologist in the Department of Fish and Game’s (DFG) Waterfowl Investigations Project. “It has obviously caused some confusion and some lost hunting opportunities in the northeastern zone, but for the bulk of the state’s hunters, this action by the OAL is timely.”

The federal government sets regulation ‘frameworks’ in early August after analyzing current waterfowl population data and considering input from the various flyway councils and the public. The frameworks specify the outside dates, total number of hunting days, daily bag limits, shooting hours, and methods of take authorized for migratory game birds and are developed to ensure that there are sustainable populations of migratory game birds. These frameworks allow a daily bag limit of two canvasbacks per day during the 2007-2008 hunting season, an increase from recent years when the bag limit was one per day.

However, the Environmental Document prepared by DFG and certified by the Fish and Game Commission did not anticipate an increase in the canvasback daily bag limit in the federal frameworks and did not analyze this change to the hunting regulations. That environmental document was circulated for public review for 45 days ending July 31, 2007. Additional environmental review was undertaken with a comment period that ended Sept. 20, 2007.

The continental canvasback population in 2007 is at a record high level of 865,000. The federal government established a harvest strategy for canvasbacks in 2004 which limits harvest regulations to either a closed season (bag limit = 0) or a 1-bird daily bag limit.  Based on this Strategy, DFG’s original recommendation and environmental review of changes in duck hunting regulations for 2007 did not provide for a 2-bird daily bag limit for canvasbacks. Increasing the daily bag limit
for canvasbacks is expected to provide additional hunting opportunity without adversely affecting the canvasback population.

Oklahoma youth have an opportunity this fall to apply for one of several waterfowl hunts sponsored by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

The hunts are designed to provide youth who do not have an adult mentor who waterfowl hunts an opportunity to experience the traditions of waterfowling.

“Taking our youth hunting is a very important part of keeping our hunting traditions strong, not to mention the sport can draw individuals and families closer together. These waterfowl hunts provide a way for Oklahomans to do just that,” said Mike O’Meilia, migratory game bird biologist with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. “We hope the kids who go on these hunts develop an interest in wildlife conservation, and discover the lifelong hobby of hunting as well.”

Applicants must be 12 to 15 years of age, have proof of successfully completing a certified hunter education course and have an adult guardian who can accompany them on the hunt.

A Wildlife Department employee will accompany each youth and their adult guardian for the controlled waterfowl hunt at one of several Department-managed areas. Only the youth hunter will be allowed to hunt.

To be eligible for the drawing, each youth applicant and their guardian may apply only once and must provide the following information on a 3×5 postcard: names, addresses, telephone numbers, youth’s hunter education number, and the name of the desired hunt location and two alternate hunt locations where they would like to hunt. The scheduled date of the hunt will be coordinated with successful applicants after the drawing.

Hunt locations include Altus-Lugert Lake, Canton Lake, Ft. Gibson Refuge, Ft. Cobb Lake Refuge, Hackberry Flat Refuge, Vann’s Lake, Wagoner Co., Webbers Falls Refuge, and Wister Lake Refuge.

Applications must be received by November 15, 2007, and should be mailed to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Youth Waterfowl Hunts, P.O. Box 53465, Oklahoma City, OK 73152. Successful applicants will be notified.

The Wildlife Department will provide successful applicants the necessary nontoxic shotgun shells, and a 20 gauge single shot shotgun will be available for use if the youth does not have his or her own shotgun. For more information, contact Jeff Neal, Wildlife Department migratory game bird technician at (405) 424-0122.

Additionally, youth ages 14 or 15 years of age have another opportunity to participate in a special two-day waterfowl hunt coordinated by the Wildlife Department. The hunt will take place Thursday, Dec. 20 and Friday, Dec. 21 on the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge near Vian.

Thursday will be a field day, where youth will participate in several waterfowl hunting related demonstrations including duck calling, hunting safety, decoy placement, waterfowl identification, shotgun shooting and retriever training.

On Friday, the youth will be taken on a guided waterfowl hunt on the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.

Participants must apply for the hunt by mailing an application to the Refuge Headquarters by Nov. 1. Call the Refuge at (918) 773-5252 for more information.

Waterfowl hunters in South Dakota won’t have much time to regroup between seasons this year.
The Canada goose hunting season in Unit 2, which includes many of the counties on either side of the Missouri River, ends on Friday, Feb. 9. The next day, Feb. 10, marks the statewide start of the Light Goose Conservation Order.
The Light Goose Conservation Order continues through May 8. Species legal to harvest include snows, blues and Ross’ geese with a daily limit of 20 and an unlimited possession limit.
The same requirements and restrictions of the regular state waterfowl seasons apply with these exceptions:
Electronic calls may be used.
Shotguns capable of holding more than three shells are allowed.
Shooting hours are slightly longer in the evening, going from a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset.
Except for the Wall Lake Game Bird Refuge in Hand County, Silver Lake in Hutchinson County, and the waterfowl refuges on the Missouri River that include lakes Oahe, Sharpe and Francis Case, the taking of light geese is allowed on state game, game bird and waterfowl refuges. Some refuges include private land and hunters must get landowner permission to hunt in those areas. Some federal refuges may allow light goose hunting in a portion of the refuge. Check with the specific refuges for details.
Resident license requirements include a 2007 combination or small game license plus the South Dakota Migratory Bird Certification. Nonresidents need a spring light goose license. The cost of the state migratory bird certification is included in the price of the nonresident license. A federal waterfowl stamp is not required for this season.
Licenses are available from license agents around the state. To see a listing for those agents or to purchase a license online, go to the department’s Web site at www.sdgfp.info.
The harvest of light geese during the conservation order has averaged 89,617 annually for the past eight years. The conservation order is part of an ongoing effort in the U.S. and Canada to reduce the mid-continent population of light geese that is causing degradation to arctic Canadian breeding grounds.

MADISON - Preliminary estimates from the early goose hunting season in Wisconsin show that hunter success was up, with this year’s harvest significantly exceeding last year’s total. State wildlife officials say approximately 20,650 Canada geese were harvested this fall from Sept. 1 through 15.
“This number exceeds all earlier years’ totals for the early goose season,” says Kent Van Horn, migratory game bird ecologist for the state Department of Natural Resources. “We predicted it would be a very good year for Canada goose hunting in Wisconsin and we’re happy hunters had a good early season.”
In comparison, last year’s estimated harvest during the early season was 13,410 geese. 2001 was the second highest early season harvest at 16,000 geese.
The early goose season targets the resident population of Canada geese that breed in Wisconsin, since Canada geese that breed in Ontario do not migrate to Wisconsin until later in September or October. Canada geese that breed in Wisconsin are viewed differently by Wisconsin residents.
Some residents value these geese for their aesthetic value, some enjoy them as a recreational hunting resource while other residents view them as a nuisance, particularly in urban\suburban park-like settings. The harvest level this year continues to demonstrate that the early September Canada goose hunting season remains an effective tool for managing our resident Canada goose population.
The regular Canada goose hunting season in the Exterior, Horicon and Collins zones began on Sept. 16 following the early season and will continue until Dec. 16 for all zones except the Collins zone which runs through Nov. 17 and the Mississippi River subzone of the exterior zone where the season is scheduled to run from Sept. 30 through Oct. 6 and Oct. 14 through Dec. 15.

Agents from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division recently cited two men for alleged violations of the Federal Migratory Treaty Act while hunting teal in the Big Branch National Wildlife Refuge in St. Tammany Parish.
Jacob Ryan Lyncker, 20, of New Orleans and Zachary Paul Martin, 19, of Slidell were each cited for placing bait to take migratory game birds, hunting over bait, possessing ducks other than teal during teal season, wanton waste, transporting illegally taken migratory game birds, hunting in a closed area, placing and hunting over bait in a National Wildlife Refuge and possessing freshly killed migratory game birds during a closed season. Lyncker was also cited for improper boat numbers when he was found with an illegally possessed displaced boat from Hurricane Katrina. LDWF seized the boat and will attempt to locate the registered owner.
Agents observed the two hunters for most of the morning in an area known as Fritchie Marsh, an area of the Big Branch National Wildlife Refuge that was closed to hunting. As the agents approached the hunters, they observed the two men throwing ducks into the marsh from their boat. Agents later recovered a total of eight wood ducks, seven blue wing teal and one mottled duck. Upon further investigation, agents discovered and documented two types of grain from the floor of the vessel and from the pond the two men had hunted.
Violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act are punishable by fines up to $5,000, imprisonment for up to six months or both. The case will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Agents participating in the case were Sgt. Darryl Galloway, Senior Agent Lee Davis and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Agents Bill Mellor and Stephen Clark.
For more information, contact Lt. Col. Keith LaCaze at 225-765-2988 or klacaze@wlf.louisiana.gov.

There is a new process this year for duck hunters wanting to apply for T.M. Goodwin’s coveted waterfowl hunt permits.
Hunters now have to apply through the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Total Licensing System, instead of telephoning in their request on the Wednesday morning prior to the hunt, as it was done in the past. The new system will expedite and simplify the permit issuance process for hunters.
Duck hunters interested in hunting the 6,270-acre marsh in Brevard County will need to complete a “2006-2007 T.M. Goodwin Unit/Broadmoor Marsh Unit Waterfowl Quota Hunt Permit Worksheet” and submit it to any county tax collector’s office, or they can apply online at MyFWC.com/license during the application periods.
Successful Internet applicants who do not receive their permits in the mail in time for their scheduled hunt date will be admitted into the area by showing identification to the check station operator.
Hunters may receive only one permit per hunt date, and no permit applications will be accepted by license vendors or through the telephone or mail.
Worksheets are available at MyFWC.com/hunting under “Waterfowl Permits.” There is a separate worksheet for hunters interested in the area’s youth hunt.
Permits will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis during five application periods beginning 10 a.m. on the first day of each application period. The application periods are Nov. 1, Nov. 29, Dec. 13, Dec. 27 and Jan. 10 .
Each permit enables up to four hunters access to the area for each hunt date. Previously these waterfowl quota permits were transferable from one hunter to another, but starting this year, they will not be. Also, there are no exemptions allowed.
During the application periods, hunters still get to choose which unit they wish to hunt — either Goodwin or Broadmoor, but this year, the hunt zone within each unit will be selected at the check station the morning of each hunt. Selection preference will be given in the order that hunters applied.
Last year, permit holders needed to arrive at the check station no later than 5 a.m. This year, hunters must “check in” by 4:30 a.m. Any permits not claimed by that time will be made available to “walk-in” hunters on a first-come, first-served basis, the same as it was done last season.
In addition to the waterfowl quota hunt permit, hunters also are required to have a valid Florida hunting license, Florida waterfowl permit, federal duck stamp and a migratory bird permit to duck hunt on the area. A management area permit is not necessary.
Also new this year will be a mobility-impaired duck blind available for use on Goodwin Lake. Only hunters certified mobility impaired may apply to use the blind, and they can do so by calling 726-2862 beginning 10 a.m. the Wednesday prior to the hunt date. The blind will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. Up to three hunters can accompany the mobility-impaired permit holder in the blind.
For more information on the T.M. Goodwin waterfowl area, visit MyFWC.com/hunting or call 726-2862. Hunters also may go to the Web site to check permit availability, by looking under “Limited Entry Hunts” and clicking “Check Permit Availability and Drawing Results.”

Final late migratory game bird regulations will be presented at a public meeting Oct. 10, 7 p.m. at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Casper Regional Office.
With this year’s healthy waterfowl numbers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has again offered Wyoming the “liberal package” of seasons and bag limits for duck hunters. For the Central Flyway, Wyoming has adopted the “hunter’s choice” option with all species legal throughout the season, including bagging one from the group of canvasbacks, pintails and hen mallards. In the Central Flyway, the total daily limit would be five ducks and in the Pacific Flyway seven ducks.
After the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established and posted the final waterfowl rules in the Federal Register in August, the Game and Fish Commission adopted an emergency regulation to allow the seasons to temporarily proceed. This public input process will establish the permanent regulation.
“The meeting and written comment period is a good opportunity for hunters to offer their opinions about future regulation changes and to discuss Wyoming waterfowl hunting in general,” said Larry Roberts, waterfowl biologist for the Game and Fish Department who will conduct the meeting.
Written comments will be accepted through 5 p.m. Oct. 16 by mailing: Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Regulations, 3030 Energy Lane, Suite 100, Casper, WY 82604. All comments will be presented to the commission before they address the regulations at their Nov. 16-17 meeting in Sundance.
The Game and Fish supports the Americans with Disabilities Act. Every effort will be made for reasonable accommodations by contacting the Casper G&F Office at 473-3400.

PIERRE, S.D. - With South Dakota’s primary waterfowl seasons set to open, migratory game bird hunters need to make sure they aren’t set up and hunting unknowingly in a baited field. That’s the word in this drought year from the S.D. Game, Fish and Parks and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Because of the drought conditions, many farmers’ fields, especially in central South Dakota, yielded drought-stressed crops that weren’t harvested. Dale Gates, GFP regional law enforcement specialist said, “If the farmer doesn’t harvest a crop, the field may be disced, tilled, or something of that nature. Such a situation makes a field baited because it was never harvested.”
Manipulating a field, without harvesting the grain, increases loose grain availability on the ground, creating an unfair advantage to the hunter, Gates said. Agricultural crops include corn, soybeans, wheat, millet, milo, oats, and other similar crops. Common agricultural manipulation practices can be discing, mowing, brush-hogging, or other similar actions, Gates said.
Species covered by the baiting regulations are all migratory waterfowl such as ducks, geese, cranes, swans and coots. Resident game birds, such as pheasants, sharp-tailed grouse or Hungarian partridges, are not affected by baiting, Gates said. Wheat, corn and soybeans were especially affected by the drought conditions in central South Dakota.
Hunters need to inspect any field they intend to hunt to ensure that it has been harvested rather than just disced or just knocked down. If after inspection hunters are still not sure, the best advice is to contact the landowner or whomever has control over that land and ask, “Did you
harvest that crop?” “If hunters do a little investigation prior to taking to the field,” Gates said, “a lot of concerns can be avoided.”
Gates describes the normal agricultural cycle as consisting of three parts: “First there’s normal agriculture planting, followed by the normal agriculture harvest at the right time of year, with the right type of machinery to remove grain from the field. Finally, there’s the normal post-harvest
manipulation.” The baiting situation occurs when the second part of the cycle is omitted because the harvest didn’t happen. South Dakota waterfowl hunters need to keep that three-part cycle in mind.
An informational pamphlet on waterfowl hunting and baiting regulations is available at most Game, Fish and Parks Offices.

SALEM - Goose hunters in the Northwest Oregon Permit Goose Zone and the Willamette Valley portion of the Northwest Oregon General Zone can now complete the required goose identification test online.
Hunters still have the option to attend an in-person exam; see page 20 of the current Oregon Game Bird Regulations for dates and locations.
Management of geese in northwest Oregon is complex because many subspecies of Canada geese winter in the area. Because all Canada geese look similar, state wildlife officials in Oregon and Washington implemented a goose identification test requirement to minimize the harvest of dusky Canada geese while still providing a hunting opportunity and addressing other management objectives.
This year, hunters in the Willamette Valley portion of the Northwest Oregon General Goose Zone will also be required to pass the identification test. However, other permit zone regulations such as required check-in and special shooting hours will not apply in the general zone. Hunters with a valid Northwest Oregon Goose Hunting Permit do not need to take the test again to hunt in the Willamette Valley portion of the Northwest Oregon General Zone.
Hunters can try the test three times per season; a score of 80 percent is required to pass.
The Northwest Oregon Permit Zone goose season opens Oct. 21. More information is available at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/hunting/waterfowl/.

LITTLE ROCK - This week’s much-needed rain is a welcome sight for Arkansas’ teal hunters. Blue-winged teal are riding on the coattails of the cool front that reached Arkansas on Monday, perfect timing for the September season which gets underway this Friday. The special September teal season in Arkansas begins on Sept. 15 and continues through Sept. 30.
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission waterfowl biologist Luke Naylor said the recent cold front likely pushed some bluewings down from the north. “The tricky part is having water to attract and hold migrating birds - particularly with shallow water,” he added.
Scouting is important, but teal are often here today and gone tomorrow, so even if teal appear to have left an area you still may have a quality hunt due to birds jumping from one place to another or new birds arriving, Naylor explained. “In other words, do some preseason scouting to find an area with some teal and give it a try or just head out to a spot that has water where you’ve had success in the past,” he said.
“Blue-winged teal are very sensitive to cold weather,” said Luke Naylor waterfowl biologist for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. “In September, as cold fronts push down from Canada and the northern U.S., large concentrations of blue-wings will migrate southward to warmer climates. Their primary wintering grounds include the coastal marshes of Louisiana and Texas as well as Central and South America,” he said.
Naylor said blue wings make up 95 percent of the September migration and will seek out a variety of habitat during their stopovers in Arkansas.
“They prefer marshes, harvested rice fields, moist-soil impoundments and agricultural reservoirs. Teal prefer shallow mud flats. Ideal water depth is less than six inches,” he said. “Having said that though, inland reservoirs and oxbow lakes also provide good teal habitat in their upper reaches. Shallow water is the key,” he added.
Scouting early will help hunters find the best spots to set decoys. “Hunters don’t need many decoys. I generally use 12 to 18 decoys, teal if possible, but mallard decoys will also work,” he explained.

Late rice planting will delay the opening of waterfowl season by one week on type “A” wildlife areas in the Northern Sacramento Valley.
According the Department to Fish and Game, the delay, which was made in consultation with the Sacramento Valley Rice Advisory Committee, doesn’t affect other areas of the state, or private waterfowl hunting clubs. They will open on the normal scheduled date. For current waterfowl hunting regulations, go to DFG’s website: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/.
The Sacramento Valley Rice Advisory Committee is comprised of staff from DFG, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Rice Commission, California Waterfowl Association and local farmers. The Committee evaluates the probability of a majority of the rice in the Northern Sacramento Valley being harvested by the opening of waterfowl season. As a result of the late spring rains, rice was planted later than desired. The late planting will result in a late harvest, which has the potential for depredation of rice crops by migratory waterfowl. Birds can be driven off of public hunting areas into agricultural areas, where they can consume a tremendous amount of rice. The delay will be the first in three years and only the third since the 1983-84 waterfowl season. Since 1953, the season was delayed 33 times over depredation concerns.
In the 1940’s, the Lea act was passed to fund the purchase and management of public lands to decrease crop depredation in the surrounding landscape. While many other acts have been passed to expand, fund and operate these wildlife areas over the years, decreasing depredation of crops is still one of the benefits of these areas and on some, one of the primary goals.
The following areas will open for waterfowl hunting on Oct. 28, 2006 :
Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, Yolo County
Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, Butte County
Upper Butte Basin Wildlife Area , Butte County Sutter National Wildlife Refuge, Sutter County Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, Colusa County Delevan National Wildlife Refuge, Colusa County Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, Glenn/Colusa Counties

JONESBORO - On Monday, the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis affirmed a lower court ruling that the AGFC’s regulations of captive-reared mallards are valid and do not conflict with the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act or federal regulations. The Court of Appeals affirmed a District Court decision in favor of the AGFC that was rendered by Judge Leon Holmes in Little Rock in June 2005.
The decision upholds the Commission’s regulation that prohibit release of captive-reared mallard ducks into the wild, plus related regulations that require breeders to keep these birds in covered pens and limit game bird shooting resort owners to release of the birds only on the day of hunting or during daylight hours while flight training.
In November 2004, a mallard duck breeder and two game preserve owners were cited by the AGFC for violation of various regulations and permit conditions that require keeping captive ducks in enclosed areas, prohibit releasing the birds without obtaining permission, and other conditions. The three men sued the AGFC in December, claiming that the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act provided for exclusive regulation of their duck breeding and shooting activities, and that the more restrictive requirements enforced by AGFC were illegal.
Judge Holmes ruled in favor of the AGFC and against the three duck operators — W.H. Noe, owner of Ducks and Ducks Inc., based in Lake City; Tommy Taggart, operator of Mallard Magic in Augusta; and Brian Herndon of Lee County-based Big Creek Hunting. Both the District Court Judge and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that nothing in the MBTA prohibits states from further regulating migratory birds, or requiring permits for possession, sale and release of captive-reared mallard ducks.
Noe had been notified by the Commission in September and, again, in October 2004 that he was operating in violation of AGFC permit requirements. After he refused to correct the violations, the Commission revoked Noe’s commercial breeding permits.
Taggart also received notification from the AGFC in 2005 that his operations were in violation of regulations dealing with the release of captive mallards into the wild without Commission approval. Taggart was also notified that he was violating permit conditions that require exterior boundaries of a game bird shooting resort to be clearly defined and posted with proper signage and the requirement that birds are to be enclosed in buildings or covered pens prior to the day of hunting. The Commission revoked his permits on Nov. 19, 2004. An administrative hearing officer, retired State Supreme Court Justice Jack Holt Jr., upheld the Commission’s permit revocation decision for Taggart in a March 18, 2005 ruling.
Herndon was also cited for violating the regulation that prohibits the releasing of mallards into the wild without Commission approval. Following a trial held in October 2005 in District Court in Marianna, Herndon was found guilty of illegally releasing 2,000 captive mallards. However, Herndon’s conviction was overturned by Lee County Circuit Judge Harvey J. Yates, who ruled that the MBTA prohibited the AGFC from enforcing additional state regulations of waterfowl.

West Virginia’s 2006-07 waterfowl seasons will begin September 1 with the opening of the early Canada goose season, according to Curtis I. Taylor, Chief of the Division of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Section.
The 2006 September Canada goose season will be open statewide September 1 through September 16. The daily bag limit is five Canada geese and the possession limit is 10. Shooting hours are ½; hour before sunrise until sunset. All other general waterfowl hunting regulations apply to the September season. Hunters must possess a federal waterfowl stamp and a free Harvest Information Program registration card in addition to their regular hunting license.
“Canada goose populations remain high and production was good this year so plenty of birds should be available,” Taylor advised. “However, even with large numbers of geese, hunting can be difficult. Canada geese are very wary and will quickly change their habits and feeding areas in response to hunting pressure or crop harvesting. Successful hunters scout regularly, maintain good relations with numerous landowners and adjust their tactics.”
Finally, waterfowl hunters are reminded of two important toll free numbers. Federal waterfowl stamps may be purchased with a credit card by calling 1-800-Stamp24 . Hunters who harvest a banded bird may call 1-800-327-Band to report the bird and find out when and where it was banded. Banded birds may also be reported online at www.pwrc.usgs.gov .

MOUNT VERNON - Washington waterfowl hunters will enjoy seasons similar to last year’s under a package adopted by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission at a meeting here Saturday.
The commission, which sets policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife , approved the waterfowl hunting seasons based on stable duck and goose populations.
The statewide duck hunting season will run Oct. 14-18 and Oct. 21-Jan. 28, and a special youth hunting weekend is scheduled for Sept. 23-24. Special limits for hen mallard, pintail, scaup, canvasback, redhead, harlequin, scoter and long-tailed duck are included in the 107-day hunting season.
Goose hunting seasons vary by management areas across the state, but most open Oct. 14 and run into January 2007.
The commission also addressed public safety concerns on Fir Island by prohibiting waterfowl hunting within 100 feet of paved public roads for the entire hunting season and increasing penalties for noncompliance.
“There’s been a lot of public concern the past couple of years regarding snow goose hunting activity on Fir Island,” said Ron Ozment, commission chair. “We’ve aimed to strike a balance by addressing the concerns of the residents while continuing to provide hunters recreational opportunity on the island.”
In addition, the commission shifted Grays Harbor County from Goose Management Area 2B in southwest Washington to GMA 3. Transferring the county from GMA 2B eliminates a requirement that hunters check all geese harvested in the county. That requirement is intended to document the harvest of dusky Canada geese, which are rarely found in Grays Harbor County, said Don Kraege, WDFW waterfowl section manager.
The commission also added two extra hunting days in Skagit and Pacific counties for brant, increasing the season to a total of seven days in both counties.
In other action, the commission:
Approved WDFW’s final legislative and budget proposals for the 2007-09 biennium.
Amended regulations to allow for the import of meat from game-farm raised deer and elk in other states or countries. The meat must arrive from a licensed game farm, boned and packaged for sale. The amendment also eliminates the need for a special permit to sell cougar hides.
Approved several land transactions, including the addition of 2,206 acres to the Quilomene Wildlife Area in Kittitas County.
Amended regulations requiring trappers to pay late reporting penalties and report their trapping activity to WDFW before purchasing another annual trapping license.
Received briefings on canary and yelloweye rockfish, coastal spot shrimp seasons, the Puget Sound Recreational Fishery Enhancement Program, and spotted owl management.

PIERRE, S.D. — The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission set the opening dates for the waterfowl hunting seasons at its meeting in Pierre on Thursday.
Of note for many hunters are two changes in the High Plains Zone. One change endorsed by the commission expanded the eastern border of the zone to encompass a little more of the Missouri River area. The High Plains Zone extends to the state’s western border and allows an additional 23 days of hunting opportunity.
The second change was in the High Plains season opening date which the commission pushed back to Sept. 30. The season will run continuously through Jan. 4, 2007.
Commissioner Jeff Olson of Rapid City proposed moving back the opening date, saying that there’s still good waterfowl hunting in January in West River South Dakota. “The ducks come through in January,” Olson said.
Season dates for the other zones include: Low Plains North and Low Plains Middle, Sept. 23 through Dec. 5 and Low Plains South, Oct. 7 through Dec. 19.
Other changes in the duck hunting season approved by the commission included:
Increasing the daily bag limit on hooded merganser from one to two daily and from two to four in possession.
Adjusting the boundary between the High Plains and Low Plains Middle and South zones which will move a little more of the Missouri River area into the High Plains Zone.
Changing the total duck limit from six to five.
Establishing a hunter’s choice aggregate daily bag limit of one hen mallard or one pintail or one canvasback.
Removing special season dates on pintails and canvasbacks.
The commission approved starting the Canada Goose hunting season on Sept. 23 in Units 1 and 3. In Unit 1 it runs through Dec. 24. In Unit 3 the season will last until Dec. 16. The Unit 2 season runs from Oct. 28 through Feb. 9, 2007. Unit 4 has a nine-day season running from Jan. 13 through Jan. 21, 2007.
The season dates in Unit 2 are two days shorter than previously proposed, GFP Assistant Director George Vandel explained, because the original dates did not take into consideration the two-day resident youth waterfowl season which allows the taking of Canada geese.
Other changes in the goose hunting season included:
A change in the season length in Unit 3 from 86 days to 85 days.
A change in the season length for light geese and white-fronted geese from 86 days to 85 days.

MADISON — Preliminary breeding survey results show an increase in both migratory Canada geese and local breeding Canada geese populations, which wildlife officials say will likely result in increased permit numbers for this fall’s Wisconsin goose hunting seasons. Final season structure and regulations for the Wisconsin waterfowl seasons will be set by the state Natural Resource Board at their August 16 meeting.
“There are two different populations of Canada geese that are present in Wisconsin during the regular fall hunting season,” says Kent Van Horn, waterfowl specialist for the Department of Natural Resources. “One population is our resident giant Canada geese that nest in Wisconsin. A second population of slightly smaller birds nests in northern Ontario along the coast of Hudson Bay and then migrates through Wisconsin and other Midwestern states.”
The 2006 breeding population estimate for giant Canada geese nesting in Wisconsin is 134,683, which is up 9 percent from 2005 and 83 percent above the long-term mean. This is generally consistent with a growing population of Canada geese nesting in Wisconsin.
The migratory population of smaller Ontario nesting birds is called the Mississippi Valley Population . Results from the most current banding data indicate that about 45 percent of Wisconsin’s regular goose season harvest comes from the MVP.
Information on Ontario breeding Canada geese in 2006 suggests a second very good breeding year in a row following one of the poorest breeding years on record during 2004, Van Horn says.
“An early spring produced very good breeding conditions for the MVP Canada geese in Ontario this year and it appears that the adult breeders should have a another very good production year,” he said.
The breeding survey of MVP Canada geese estimated 384,353 breeding adults, which is the highest level since 1999 and 6 percent above the 1989-2006 average. The harvest of MVP geese is shared by several other states and provinces so harvest quotas are set to protect the breeding population and distribute harvest among several states.
Wisconsin’s harvest quota will be set at the Mississippi Flyway Council meeting on July 23. Based on the preliminary spring survey results, Van Horn says, “it appears that we will have the highest quota we have had in over 10 years.”
In addition to the good spring breeding numbers, recent banding and harvest analysis by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service indicates that Wisconsin’s Canada goose harvest has continued to shift toward a greater proportion of resident giant Canada geese.
“This shift helps to increase our overall harvest quota because the resident Canada goose numbers buffer the impact of harvest on the migrant MVP population,” Van Horn says.

If the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grants approval, the Central Flyway will begin a three-year evaluation of the Hunter’s Choice Bag Limit starting with the 2006 season.
Hunter’s Choice uses an aggregate bag limit to restrict the harvest of species needing additional protection like canvasback and pintail while maintaining full hunting opportunity on abundant species or stocks of ducks such as drake mallards.
Spencer Vaa, senior wildlife biologist for the Department of Game, Fish and Parks offers this example of the Hunter’s Choice Bag Limit: The daily bag shall be five ducks with the following restrictions - scaup, redhead, wood duck - two, and only one from the following aggregate bag: one hen mallard or one pintail or one canvasback.
According to Vaa, for the species included in the aggregate bag, the harvest of one will “buffer” the harvest of the others, thus reducing the harvest of all. “In addition,” Vaa said, “it will prevent season closures and seasons within a season for canvasback and pintails.”
Vaa said a look at the recent history of the Central Flyway shows why the Hunter’s Choice Bag Limit concept is being advocated.
Since the advent of Adaptive Harvest Management in 1995, the regulatory alternative–liberal, moderate, restrictive–selected annually is based on the number of mallards and the number of ponds in Prairie Canada surveyed during the May Breeding Pair and Habitat Survey. It is a mallard-driven harvest management strategy.
Liberal season lengths, 74 days in the Central Flyway since 1997, combined with a long-term decline in pintails and a small continental population of canvasbacks have led flyway biologists to believe these species may need additional protection. For the past three hunting seasons, 2003-2005, seasons within a season of 39 days have been used to limit the harvest of pintails and canvasbacks.
“The Hunter’s Choice has the potential to do the same,” Vaa said, “and it may be more acceptable to hunters.”
The primary objectives of the Hunter’s Choice are to limit harvest of species needing additional protection, maintain full hunting opportunity on abundant species and prevent season closures and seasons within a season.
The Central Flyway plans to conduct a three-year evaluation of Hunter’s Choice starting with the 2006 season contingent upon approval from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For the duration of the evaluation, five states-North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Texas and Wyoming–will be under Hunter’s Choice regulations and the other five Central Flyway states-Nebraska, Oklahoma, Montana, Colorado and New Mexico– will use the seasons within a season framework.
The objectives of the Hunter’s Choice Evaluation are to:
Determine if the harvest of canvasback and pintail under Hunter’s Choice regulations are similar to those obtained through seasons within a season regulations.
Determine hunter preferences.
Determine the harvest of hen mallards under Hunter’s Choice regulations.