# ND Duck Season Set



## Hunter_58346 (May 22, 2003)

http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandfork ... 155659.htm

*WATERFOWL: 'Hunter's Choice' set to fly in N.D.*

Service OKs liberal regulations; N.D. season likely to begin Sept. 23, Minnesota's on Sept. 30
By Brad Dokken
Herald Staff Writer
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has approved a "Hunter's Choice" aggregate duck limit for North Dakota and four other Central Flyway states during the 2006 waterfowl season.

The service also approved the "liberal" package of waterfowl regulations for the upcoming season. Federal waterfowl managers use a formula called Adaptive Harvest Management, which looks at spring mallard numbers and Canadian wetland conditions, to set fall hunting seasons.

Spring conditions were good enough to warrant the liberal package again this year, officials said. The other options are "moderate" and "restrictive" packages with shorter seasons and reduced bags.

Paul Schmidt, assistant director of migratory birds, made the announcement Friday during a conference call with outdoor writers from across the country. The liberal package means a maximum 74-day season in the Central Flyway and a 60-day season in the Mississippi Flyway, which includes Minnesota.

Three-year test

With approval of the Hunter's Choice regulations, North Dakota hunters will have a five-duck limit instead of the traditional six that liberal regulations traditionally allow. Basically an aggregate limit, Hunter's Choice eliminates the "season within a season" for less abundant species such as pintails and canvasbacks. Hunters can have one mallard hen, one pintail or one canvasback in their five-bird bag.

Other species restrictions include a two-bird limit on scaup and wood ducks. In the category of abundant ducks, hunters can shoot five birds of such species as teal, wigeon and mallards, but only one of those mallards can be a hen.

Other Central Flyway states offering Hunter's Choice regulations are South Dakota, Wyoming, Texas and Kansas. The goal of the three-year experiment is to reduce the harvest of pintails and canvasbacks.

The remaining Central Flyway states will be "control" states adhering to the traditional limited seasons for pintails and canvasbacks.

"That's going to be really exciting to see how that works," said Randy Kreil, wildlife division chief for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department in Bismarck.

Residents-only opener

Approval of liberal regulations clears the way for North Dakota to open its duck season Sept. 23. Kreil said the state again this year is recommending to set aside the first week of season for resident hunters only. Nonresident hunters could begin hunting waterfowl Sept. 30.

Despite drought conditions across North Dakota and other prairie pothole states, Kreil said he wasn't surprised the service opted for liberal regulations over the moderate or restrictive packages.

"What people need to realize is the factors that determine whether we're in a liberal package are the mallard population, which is still high, and the habitat on the Canadian prairies," Kreil said Friday. "Water conditions all across the prairies and boreal forest (of Canada) are excellent, so that is going to lend itself to very good duck production in Canada."

In Minnesota, the Department of Natural Resources again this year is expected to offer a 60-day season beginning Sept. 30, according to Steve Cordts, waterfowl staff specialist for the DNR in Bemidji. Bag limits have yet to be determined, Cordts said Friday, and the DNR likely will issue a news release with more information this week.

Minnesota last year had a four-duck limit, even though they could have offered six birds under the liberal package. That's likely to be the case this year, too, if spring population surveys are any indication. The DNR estimated spring mallard numbers in the state at 161,000 - 33 percent lower than 2005 and the lowest recorded since 1983.

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Hunter

I added the text to go with your link

Bob


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

If ND does not get a LOT of rain quickly, the birds will not stop... there will be no place for them to loaf.

The people coming to ND this year will have a huge wakeup call. It is NOTHING like it has been for many, many years.

I would imagine that this year will weed out many of the nonresidents, because of the lack of water - this may be a good thing.


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## Hunter_58346 (May 22, 2003)

Thanks Bob,,,,,And the lack of moisture is going to weed out lots of hunters, resident and non resident alike. Saw couple thousand feeding with 500 honkers in a winter wheat field yesterday....to be continued.............


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## Blue Plate (Jul 31, 2006)

I envision many hen mallards getting stomped into the mud this fall.

I think it's a good thing; the resource should be helped this year with the dry conditions.


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

> I envision many hen mallards getting stomped into the mud this fall.


And if you do, I hope that you report the guilty party!!!!


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## Blue Plate (Jul 31, 2006)

No one in my group will ever do this. If I'm pulling on a mallard it's going to have green on it.


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## 4CurlRedleg (Aug 31, 2003)

Blue Plate said:


> I envision many hen mallards getting stomped into the mud this fall.


What? Why would that be?


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## Bert (Sep 11, 2003)

A liberal season? Why?

Id like to do an experiment.

Nationwide, if all duck hunters banded together and bought their duck stamps and didnt hunt (or at least not with guns) for one season, I wonder what that would do for populations. Im willing.

In Minnesota, the limit could be 50 a day and you would still shoot 5.

In North Dakota, the limit should be lowered as it is easy to shoot 6 birds a day out there.

I dont know where the Feds get their numbers but...there used to be lots of ducks in North Dakota, lots of ducks in Minnesota, lots of ducks in Wisconsin and now...there are lots of ducks in North Dakota period.
This liberal season crap has got to end.

I am buying my stamps this year but will not hunt.


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## Bird_Killer09 (Mar 8, 2006)

No true duck hunter that cares about duck management should ever purposely shoot a hen mallard


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## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

From The *USFW*

Contact: Joshua Winchell, 202/208.5634

On Friday, July 28, 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed
liberal hunting regulations for the upcoming 2006-2007 late waterfowl
seasons due to improved habitat conditions and waterfowl production
estimates. 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 improved breeding habitat conditions and an improved outlook for
production in many breeding areas, the agency adopted the 'liberal
package,'" said Service Director H. Dale Hall. "Good to excellent
conditions in the northern grasslands and parklands of Manitoba and
Saskatchewan, and above average precipitation in previously dry portions of
Southern Alberta will benefit many prairie-nesting species this year. The
exception is in the Dakotas."

When compared to last year, there will be an extra hooded merganser in the
daily bag limit in three eastern flyways. The canvasback and pintail daily
bag limit will be one for the entire season. Last year's reduction in the
daily bag limit to two scaup in the Atlantic, Mississippi and Central
Flyways and three in the Pacific Flyway will remain unchanged.

"The scaup population has experienced a significant long-term decline and
this year's estimate is the lowest on record," said Hall. "The Service is
proposing to continue the reduction on the daily bag limit it established
last year in all flyways. We may need to consider additional restrictions
in the future if the trend continues."

Highlights of the proposed frameworks (states select their season from
within the frameworks or the outer limits of season length, bag limits and
season beginning and ending date) include:

· Hunters in the Atlantic, Mississippi and Central Flyways will be
allowed two hooded mergansers per day; and
· The Central Flyway will initiate a three year evaluation of the
Hunter's Choice duck bag limit.

"It is also important to consider what hunters think about waterfowl
regulations in developing the season proposals," said Hall. "Until now,
wildlife managers did not have data to quantify this. Thanks to efforts by
the National Flyway Council and the Wildlife Management Institute and
completion of The National Duck Hunter Survey 2005, that information is
available and was used in development of these frameworks. It will help us
recruit and retain duck hunters and allow managers to fine tune the
regulations process."

The survey is available at <www.ducksurvey.com>.

The Service also published its proposed early season waterfowl hunting
regulations in Friday's Federal Register. Under these regulations, *the
special September teal season is available 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 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.*

Both the early and late season waterfowl frameworks appear in the Federal Register *for public comment *and on:

<http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/fedreg/MGBHR.HTML>.

The early season regulations will post today. The late season posted
Friday.

......................................................................................................

I wonder where the "Economic Factor" fits into the data.

Does anyone know if the state G&F agencies can lower the bag limit below Federal Guidlines with the hunters choice experiment like they could with AHM??

Bob


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## dakota31400 (Jun 10, 2006)

Blue Plate said:


> No one in my group will ever do this. If I'm pulling on a mallard it's going to have green on it.


You waiting till late in October to hunt?


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## hydro870 (Mar 29, 2005)

> You waiting till late in October to hunt?


I shoot limits of greenheads during the resident only week in September. A fraction of the drakes have green on their heads. You just shoot at that fraction. Sometimes, you don't shoot at all when a flock of 30 decoy in. Sometimes you see just one greenhead in a flock of 30, and you shoot that one. People act like they have to pull the trigger on every flock :eyeroll:


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## Ima870man (Oct 29, 2003)

I think the hunters choice concept is not that bad of a concept. Having the opportunity to shoot a late November drake pintail is going to be awesome. If you cannot ID the duck, it is plain and simple -- do not shoot. There is more to the hunt than harvesting birds. The fresh air, being away from the rat race, squaking on the calls, birds committing to the decoys, and plain enjoying the day in the great outdoors are a few of the memories that keep me sane and coming back for more! Do not fight it, but rather flow with it, and I will guarantee you will enjoy it a lot more. :lol:

Ima870man :beer:


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