USF&W PROPOSES TO MAINTAIN DUCK HUNTING

[webfoot]

U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE PROPOSES TO MAINTAIN DUCK HUNTING OPPORTUNITIES WITH ADDED RESTRICTIONS FOR SOME SPECIES

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed to maintain hunting
regulations similar to those offered in recent years for most species of
ducks, but restrict opportunities for some species due to continuing
concerns about population status and a poor production outlook this spring
in key nesting areas. Under the Service=s late season frameworks proposal,
hunting-season lengths for pintails will be much more restrictive and the
season for canvasbacks will be closed.

For most duck species, however, the Service is proposing to continue the
same season lengths and bag limits that have been offered since 1997.
Earlier this year, the Service also agreed to extend by about a week the
earliest opening and latest closing dates that individual States can use to
set their hunting seasons.

AWhile it is clear that habitat conditions in the prairies and parklands of
mid-continent North America will lead to a reduced fall flight compared to
last year, duck numbers are still sufficiently high to offer the hunting
opportunities that these seasons afford,@ said Service Director Steve
Williams. AIn light of the unusual situation this year, we have chosen to
restrict hunting for selected duck species whose populations remain a
concern rather than impose blanket reductions in the upcoming waterfowl
season.@

The Service=s proposal was developed after consultation with
representatives from the four Flyway Councils (Atlantic, Mississippi,
Central, and Pacific), which provide state wildlife agencies a formal
mechanism to assist the Service with cooperative management of North
America=s waterfowl populations. The Service will soon publish its proposal
in the Federal Register and is accepting public comments on the proposal
until August 30. After the Service publishes its final late season
frameworks in early September, States will set their own season dates,
lengths and bag limits within the guidelines the frameworks establish.

Under the proposal, the hunting season on pintails would be reduced from
107 to 60 days in the Pacific Flyway, from 74 to 39 days in the Central
Flyway, and from 60 to 30 days in the Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways,
with a bag limit of one pintail per day in each flyway. The Service is
proposing to close the hunting season on canvasbacks because of recent
population declines and a poor outlook for production. Canvasbacks are
extremely sensitive to breeding habitat conditions, and season closures
have been used in the past because of their relatively low abundance.

Breeding populations of scaup remain well below their long-term average,
and as a result the Service is proposing to maintain restrictions enacted
in 1999 that reduced the bag limit from six (seven in the Pacific Flyway)
to three (four in the Pacific Flyway) per day. Restrictions on the harvest
of black ducks in the Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways that have been in
place for a number of years would be continued this year.

The Service=s proposal to allow relatively liberal hunting regulations for
most species of ducks was based on biological assessments, primarily on the
mallard, conducted within a process known as Adaptive Harvest Management
(AHM), which was developed by the Service and Flyway Councils to bring more
scientific rigor and objectivity to the regulations-setting process. This
year, those assessments suggested that such hunting opportunities were
consistent with the long-term welfare of waterfowl populations. More
information on the Adaptive Harvest Management process can be found on the
Service=s internet site at: http://migratorybirds.fws.gov/mgmt/ahm/ahm-intro.htm

A number of factors aside from season length and bag limits, such as the
vagaries of weather, duck migratory behavior and other uncontrollable
environmental factors, can affect hunter success. ACertainly, we cannot
guarantee good hunting success in any year. However, our proposal will
provide hunters the maximum level of opportunity that is consistent with
both the need to maintain healthy duck populations and incorporates the
best available science on waterfowl populations,@ said Williams.

Nonetheless, the Service acknowledges that this year may mark a turning
point from recent years of relatively good habitat conditions in the
mid-continent nesting areas. AWhether more restrictions on hunting
opportunities for ducks may be coming depends heavily on breeding-ground
habitat conditions next year, which of course are hard to predict at this
time,@ said Williams. In addition, the Service and Flyway Councils are
working together to expand the capability of the AHM process to more
directly account for the biology, status, and migratory behavior of a
larger number of duck species.

[ August 09, 2002: Message edited by: Webfoot ]

[peewee]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR> Under the proposal, the hunting season on pintails would be reduced from
107 to 60 days in the Pacific Flyway <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


And the yankees want to gripe about our season. Jeez give me a break.

[ August 09, 2002: Message edited by: peewee ]

[Wingman]

SAVE THE BLUEBILLS!

Wingman
ISAIAH 40:31