CU 07-33

Improved Waterfowl Populations Lead U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Continue Liberal Waterfowl Regulations for Upcoming Hunting Season – Congressional Notification

Record Numbers Allow Two Bird Canvasback Bag Limit in Three Flyways

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed continuation of liberal hunting regulations for the upcoming 2007-2008 late waterfowl seasons due to improved habitat conditions and waterfowl population estimates.  Duck hunting season lengths will be 60 days in both the Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways, 74 days in the Central Flyway, and 107 days in the Pacific Flyway.

"Based on Spring duck numbers, improved breeding habitat conditions and an improved outlook for production in many breeding areas, we propose to give hunters a wide range of hunting opportunities," said Service Director H. Dale Hall.  “We have five species that are at record or near record highs, including canvasbacks, and there are good breeding conditions on the prairies.  However, we remain concerned that pintails and scaup have not yet responded to the improved habitat conditions and remain well below long-term averages.”

 “The scaup population has experienced a significant long-term decline and this year’s estimate is the third lowest on record,” said Hall.  “The Service is proposing to continue the reduction on the daily bag limit that has been in place the last two years in all flyways.   We may need to consider additional restrictions in the future if the trend continues.” 

States select their season from within the frameworks or the outer limits of season length, bag limits and season beginning and ending date.

Brief highlights of the proposed frameworks include:

·          Record populations allow for an extra canvasback in the bag in the Atlantic, Mississippi and Pacific Flyways.  Due to the ongoing “Hunters’ Choice” experiment in the Central Flyway, that flyway will continue with a one bird daily bag limit.

·          The Central Flyway will continue into a second year of its three year evaluation of the Hunter’s Choice duck bag limit on hen mallards, canvasbacks, pintails and mottled ducks.

·          A full season on pintails with a one bird daily bag limit will be similar to last year.

·          The Atlantic Flyway will be afforded an increase in the Atlantic brant season from 30 to 50 days.

Under earlier published regulations, the special September teal season is available to certain states between September 1 and September 30, and may not exceed nine consecutive days in the Atlantic Flyway and 16 days in the Mississippi and Central Flyways.  The daily bag limit is four teal. The seasons for September Canada goose, youth hunting days, sea ducks, snipe, woodcock, rails, common moorhens and purple gallinules, sandhill cranes, band-tailed pigeons, mourning doves, white-winged and white-tipped doves and falconry will continue with little change from last year.

The proposed late season waterfowl frameworks will appear in a mid-August edition of the Federal Register for public comment and on <http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/fedreg/MGBHR.HTML>.  The proposed early season regulations posted on July 23.

Audio recording of season highlights will be available at <http://www.doi.gov/audio.html>.

Highlights of the proposed late-season frameworks are as follows.

Mississippi Flyway: Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin

Ducks: A hunting season is proposed of not more than 60 days between September 22, 2007, and January 27, 2008. The proposed daily bag limit is six and may include no more than four mallards (two hens), three mottled ducks, two scaup, two wood ducks, two redheads, one black duck, one pintail, and two canvasbacks. The proposed daily bag limit of mergansers is five, only two of which may be hooded mergansers.

Geese: Generally, seasons for Canada geese would be held between September 22, 2007, and January 31, 2008, and vary in length among States and areas, with daily bag limits varying from one to three. States would be able to select seasons for light geese not to exceed 107 days with 20 geese daily between September 22, 2007, and March 10, 2008; for white-fronted geese this proposed season would not to exceed 72 days with a two-bird daily bag limit or 86 days with a one-bird daily bag limit between September 22, 2007, and February 17, 2008; and for brant it would not exceed 70 days with a two-bird daily bag limit or 107 days with a one- bird daily bag limit between September 22, 2007, and January 31, 2007. There would be no possession limit for light geese.