News from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

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DEC Announces 2008-2009 Waterfowl Season Selections

September Goose and Other Waterfowl Hunting Seasons Provide Diverse Hunting Opportunities Across the State

ALBANY, NY (08/25/2008; 1241)(readMedia)-- New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis today announced the Department's season dates and other regulations for waterfowl hunting this fall. These season selections will become official as soon as federal and state rule-making procedures are finalized in the next several weeks. Commissioner Grannis urged people who enjoy waterfowl hunting to make plans now to spend more time outdoors this fall and take advantage of the diverse opportunities available across the state.

"Most waterfowl populations in New York are in good shape this year, especially those that breed in eastern North America, where habitat conditions were excellent for nesting and brood-rearing," Commissioner Grannis said. New York's unique configuration of waterfowl management zones provides hunters with open seasons somewhere in the state almost continuously from early September to early March.

Commissioner Grannis reminded hunters to follow safety guidelines, and use good judgement when choosing a time and place to hunt. Being considerate of other people enjoying the outdoors or who live nearby can help avoid potential conflicts and ensure a safe and enjoyable season.

The season selections for most species, except Canada geese, are as follows: Please see attachment below.

The season selections for Canada geese, which are set for different geographic areas than other waterfowl seasons, are shown in the following map (note: some goose hunting boundaries were changed in western New York and western Long Island - see attachment below for details):

This year's season selections were developed by a team of DEC biologists from around the state, with input from many waterfowl hunters, including waterfowl hunter task forces. DEC has used task forces to help select waterfowl hunting season dates for more than a decade.

Some highlights of this year's regulations are noted below.

September Canada Goose Seasons

Fall hunting begins with the September goose season, a time Canada geese are abundant throughout the state. The September season is also an important tool for management of local-nesting or "resident" Canada geese. On average, more than 40,000 geese are taken by New York hunters each September, and this has helped slow the growth of local flocks in some areas and, where hunting is allowed, can help alleviate problems caused by geese.

The daily bag limit for the September Canada goose season is eight geese per day, except in the Lake Champlain Zone, where the bag limit is five geese per day.

Youth Waterfowl Hunt Days

A special waterfowl hunting weekend is provided for youth hunters before the regular duck season in each waterfowl hunting zone. On the dates shown in the table above, Junior Hunters (12-15 years of age) may take ducks, coot, mergansers, Canada geese and brant. Daily bag limits for Youth Waterfowl Hunt Days are the same as during regular waterfowl seasons, except that only two Canada geese may be taken on Youth Days that fall outside of the September Canada goose season. The junior hunter must be fully licensed and accompanied by a licensed adult hunter in accordance with all New York State regulations, but only the junior hunter may take birds on this day (unless the respective regular season is open, such as Canada geese during September).

Duck Seasons

The duck season selections for each zone were based largely on hunter input, with the goal being to provide opportunities for diverse hunting interests in each zone. In the Western, Northeastern, Southeastern, and Long Island zones, DEC adopted dates that were recommended by waterfowl hunter task forces that met back in April. This approach has helped DEC select equitable seasons in some zones for more than a decade. A recent survey of duck hunters in New York showed strong support for using this approach to select season dates.

Dates for the Lake Champlain Zone were set by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board, based on recommendations received from the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, DEC, and public input at meetings during August in Whitehall, New York and Burlington, Vermont.

A special sea duck season, shown in the table above, is available only in the outer coastal waters of the Long Island Zone, defined as the coastal waters of New York State lying in Long Island Sound, Block Island Sound, Great Peconic Bay and associated bays, and any ocean waters lying south of Long Island.

Duck Bag Limits

Daily bag limits for ducks are similar to last year, with some important changes. The total daily bag limit for ducks is still 6 birds, and may include no more than 4 mallards (2 of which may be hens), 1 black duck, 3 wood ducks, 1 pintail, 2 redheads, 1 scaup (except during periods shown in the table above, when the limit is 2 scaup/day), 2 hooded mergansers, 4 scoters, and no canvasback or harlequin ducks. The daily bag limit for the special sea duck season is 7 sea ducks (scoters, eiders, and long-tailed ducks - formerly called "oldsquaw"), including no more than 4 scoters.

The bag limit for wood duck was increased from two per day as its population has grown steadily over the past 50 years, due in part to greater abundance of beaver ponds that provide good habitat for wood ducks, mallards, black ducks and hooded mergansers. Wood ducks are the second most common breeding duck in New York, and they are usually the second or third most common species taken by hunters in the state.

While dabbling ducks such as mallard and wood duck have fared well, some of the diving ducks, which are pursued passionately by a smaller number of hunters, have not. Two of this year's bag limit changes reflect this situation.

The daily limit for scaup (which includes two species - lesser scaup and greater scaup) has been gradually reduced in recent years, and will be reduced further this year from 2/day all season to 2/day for part of the season and 1/day for the remainder. Scaup populations across North America have declined by nearly 50 percent over the past 30 years, but causes of the decline are unknown.

The other duck bag limit change is for canvasbacks, which will go from a limit of 2/day last year to a closed season this year. Population estimates for this species tend to fluctuate a great deal, and because of their relatively small numbers and high hunter interest, harvest regulations have always been conservative. This year's breeding population estimate was below the level that waterfowl managers had previously agreed was necessary for an open season.

Regular Canada Goose Seasons

Traditional fall Canada goose hunting seasons were suspended throughout most of New York during 1995-1998 in response to low numbers of geese breeding in northern Quebec. The population has made a strong recovery from less than 30,000 pairs in 1995 to more than 170,000 pairs in recent years, allowing New York to have 45-day seasons with a daily limit of 3 geese in most areas of the state. Longer seasons will be open on Long Island and across the Southern Tier of New York, where local-nesting or "resident" geese make up most of the birds harvested.

Hunters should note that regular Canada goose hunting seasons do not follow the same hunting zone boundaries as other waterfowl seasons in New York. Instead of the five traditional zones that New York uses for duck seasons, the state is divided into nine "goose hunting areas" with seasons and bag limits set for each (see map above). This approach allows Canada goose hunting seasons to be tailored according to the origins of birds that occur in each area. In general, more liberal seasons (more days, higher bag limits) are allowed where resident geese make up a larger proportion of the harvest. This approach has been used since 2002.

Two boundary changes were made this year to allow for additional harvest of resident Canada geese in affected areas. In western New York, Wildlife Management Units 8M, 8N and 8P were moved from the West Central to the South Goose Hunting Area, resulting in a longer season and higher bag limit for goose hunters in those units. Similarly, the area referred to as Western Long Island last year was divided into two new goose hunting areas, Western Long Island and Central Long Island. The new Western Long Island area has the most liberal goose hunting regulations possible. The boundary between the two new areas generally extends from Sunken Meadow State Park to Robert Moses State Park.

All goose hunters should review the current hunting area boundaries and corresponding regulations before going afield. Detailed area descriptions, based largely on Wildlife Management Units (WMU) or waterfowl zones, are listed in the annual waterfowl regulations brochure. Road boundary descriptions of each area can be found on the DEC website.

Snow Goose and Brant Seasons

Hunting regulations for snow goose remain very liberal, with 107-day seasons, a daily bag limit of 15 geese, and no possession limit. Snow goose seasons in several zones include an open period extending to March 10, when some of these birds may begin their spring migration back through New York State. The Atlantic Flyway snow goose population has grown from 25,000 birds in the 1960s to nearly 1 million birds in recent years. Biologists are concerned that these birds are causing long-term habitat and agricultural damage in breeding, migration and wintering areas. Due to these concerns, there is a possibility that some additional harvest (after March 10) may be allowed by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in spring 2009, but this will be decided later this fall apart from adoption of normal hunting season regulations.

Brant seasons have been increased to 60 days (from 50 days last year), and the bag limit increased to 3/day, following several years of good population levels in the flyway.

License and Stamp Requirements

All waterfowl hunters 16 years of age and older must have a 2008 federal duck stamp to hunt during any of the 2008-2009 seasons, including those held in September 2008. Federal duck stamps cost $15 and are available at most post offices and some sporting goods stores. They are also available by calling toll-free 1-800-852-4897 or visiting the website www.duckstamp.com. Stamps must be signed across the face by the hunter before they become valid, but they do not have to be attached to the hunting license.

All migratory game bird (waterfowl, woodcock, snipe, rails and gallinules) hunters, including junior hunters (age 12-15), must register with New York's Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program (HIP) prior to hunting in any of the 2008-2009 seasons. HIP registrations are valid from July 1 through June 30 annually (the same as federal duck stamps), so every migratory game bird hunter needs to register in HIP for 2008-2009 before going afield on or after September 1. Hunters must register every year and for each state in which they plan to hunt migratory game birds, and they must carry proof of compliance whenever going afield.

To register in HIP, call toll-free 1-888-427-5447 (1-888-4 ASK HIP) or visit the new New York HIP website: www.NY-HIP.com. Registration is free and takes only about 5 minutes, after which a confirmation number is given as proof of compliance.

Report Banded Birds

Hunters are encouraged to report any banded birds they shoot to the federal Bird Banding Lab. A new internet reporting option is available this year (www.reportband.gov) in addition to toll-free telephone reporting (1-800-327-2263). Either reporting system will ask for the band number and how, when, and where it was recovered. Tens of thousands of ducks and geese are banded in North America every year and band reporting by hunters helps managers determine appropriate hunting regulations for each species. DEC staff and cooperators annually band more than 5,000 ducks and geese to help monitor populations and harvest pressure.

Bird Flu Surveillance

DEC staff will be working with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services staff again this fall and winter to test wild waterfowl for the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus (HPAI). Avian influenza, or "bird flu" is a disease of birds that is often found in wild waterfowl. There are many strains of the virus, but the H5N1 virus is of particular concern because it has made many domestic birds (poultry) and a few hundred people sick in Asia, Europe and Africa.

DEC and USDA plan to sample approximately 1,600 birds in New York during 2008-2009, most of which we hope to obtain from cooperating hunters. During the past two years, more than 3,000 birds were tested from New York and more than 100,000 have been tested from across North America. To date, there have been no detections of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus in North America.

Hunter Responsibilities and Ethics

Hunters are reminded to be considerate of property owners and other people using the outdoors or residing close to waterfowl hunting areas. Following regulations, using safe and responsible shooting practices, and avoiding interference with other activities, all help to ensure a positive hunting experience and continued public acceptance of hunting in New York State.

For More Information

Copies of New York's 2008-2009 Waterfowl Hunting Seasons and Regulations brochure will be available soon on the DEC website, and a copy of the brochure will be mailed to everyone who registered in HIP for New York last year. Copies will also be available in September at most license-issuing agents and DEC regional offices.

For more information about waterfowl hunting in New York, including public hunting areas around the state, contact any DEC wildlife office. Contact information for all regional offices can be found on the DEC website at www.dec.ny.gov.

Attachments

Waterfowl Hunting Season Chart
2008_2009_Waterfowl_Hunting_Seasons_Chart.doc

Waterfowl Map
waterfowl_map