FWS Proposes Liberal Late Waterfowl Seasons

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed continuation of liberal hunting season lengths for the upcoming 2008-2009 late waterfowl seasons.  Duck hunting season lengths would be 60 days in both the Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways, 74 days in the Central Flyway, and 107 days in the Pacific Flyway. However, in three flyways, the Service Regulations Committee recommends closing the canvasback season due to low populations and restricting scaup harvest due to long-term population declines.  Given increasing wood duck populations, the Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways would get an extra wood duck in the daily bag limit.  … States select their season from within the frameworks which establish the outer limits of season length, bag limits and season beginning and ending date. 

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