spectr17
07-19-2003, 12:47 AM
Goose-hunt harvest takes big hit
July 13, 2003
Commission reduces daily limit, season
By Charlie Meyers, Post Outdoor Editor
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS - After decades of progressive prosperity, eastern Colorado waterfowl enthusiasts this fall will take a severe hit both in bag limits and days in which to hunt.
The Colorado Wildlife Commission on Friday approved what quite literally promises to be a mixed bag for the coming autumn - almost full if you're a duck hunter, nearly half-empty if your passion is for geese.
Under the preliminary framework of regulations approved by the wildlife body, the daily bag limit on Canada geese for the Central Flyway, that part of Colorado east of the Continental Divide, will be three, compared with the former limit of five. The length of the season will be reduced from 107 days to 95.
At the same time, hunters can anticipate a liberal duck season similar to that of the past several years, thanks to improved water conditions in the prairie pothole country that turned out much better than expected. Although this initial declaration of state rules is subject to final implementation of federal guidelines due Aug. 1, the duck basics shouldn't change much: a three-way split season the same duration as last year with an almost identical bag.
Geese are quite another matter. After years of long seasons and bulging bag limits for dark geese, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this year put the clamps on hunter harvest.
The reason?
"Lesser Canadas that breed in the Arctic have been spiraling downward in recent years," said Jim Gammonley, waterfowl expert with the Colorado Division of Wildlife. "These birds now migrate with the larger geese and are mingled on the wintering grounds. The larger birds are doing OK, but if we're going to protect the smaller geese, we have to protect them all."
From population peaks in the late 1980s and early '90s, this so-called short-grass prairie goose has taken a nose dive that concerns wildlife officials. Until recently, smaller geese migrated separately and kept to different winter quarters. Now the two species, virtually identical except in size, move about the prime hunting areas of northeast Colorado in blended flocks.
Goose hunting will begin with a Oct. 4-12 early session along the upper Front Range and in several high-mountain valleys. The main season will be Nov. 15-Feb. 8 in the Central Flyway. The Pacific Flyway, unaffected by lesser Canada problems, will have a novel split season, Oct. 4-10 and Oct. 29-Jan. 25. The length of the special control period for light geese also is shorter and now will run March 1-31.
Late moisture on the prime duck-breeding grounds of south- central Canada and north-central U.S. boosted production considerably and almost certainly will sidetrack sentiment for more restrictive season and bag limits.
The eastern Colorado duck proposal for a three-part season - Oct. 4-26, Nov. 1-30 and Dec. 7-Jan. 18 - is a virtual carbon copy of last year's. So, too, is the daily bag of six ducks, five of which can be mallards, only two of these hens. The Pacific season was set for Oct. 4-19 and Oct. 29- Jan. 25.
A special youth hunt for both ducks and geese will be Sept. 27-28 in both flyways.
The breeding duck survey conducted jointly by USFWS and the Canadian Wildlife Service reveals an overall increase in breeding ducks from 31.2 million in 2002 to 36.2 million in '03. More important, the index for breeding habitat stood at 5.2 million ponds, up 91 percent from the 2.7 million counted last year.
Gammonley said the federal agencies consider two prime indicators in setting guidelines: the numbers of wet ponds and the health of the mallard population. Mallards, the most popular species with hunters, increased from 7.5 million to 7.9.
"The feds put all the figures into a computer model that projects both what we know and don't know," he said. "This provides an objective way of making a decision."
Based on what we know of breeding success, the Colorado biologist is reasonably certain eastern Colorado, and the rest of the Central Flyway, will emerge within a liberal framework for season and bag. Alberta and Saskatchewan, which provide most of the ducks that migrate to the state, proved much wetter and more productive, as have ponds along the Front Range.
Most mountain valleys, such as North Park, also rebounded from disastrous conditions in 2002. The San Luis Valley, Colorado's best duck factory, proved the major exception. The valley remains woefully dry, with production severely depleted.
Although the water essential to nesting success arrived later than biologists preferred, the health of the continent's ducks improved dramatically. Each of the 10 most common species demonstrated an increase in 2003, most notably the pintail. Although still 39 percent below a long-term average, this large bird rebounded smartly from a low of 1.8 million to 2.6 million, a 43 percent increase.
Scaup, another species of concern, grew slightly from 3.5 million to 3.7. Widgeon, a duck common to eastern Colorado, increased 9 percent, but remains 14 percent below the continental objective. Gadwall increased 14 percent, and both teal species also showed a healthy hike toward a season that runs Sept. 6-14 in a large part of eastern Colorado.
July 13, 2003
Commission reduces daily limit, season
By Charlie Meyers, Post Outdoor Editor
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS - After decades of progressive prosperity, eastern Colorado waterfowl enthusiasts this fall will take a severe hit both in bag limits and days in which to hunt.
The Colorado Wildlife Commission on Friday approved what quite literally promises to be a mixed bag for the coming autumn - almost full if you're a duck hunter, nearly half-empty if your passion is for geese.
Under the preliminary framework of regulations approved by the wildlife body, the daily bag limit on Canada geese for the Central Flyway, that part of Colorado east of the Continental Divide, will be three, compared with the former limit of five. The length of the season will be reduced from 107 days to 95.
At the same time, hunters can anticipate a liberal duck season similar to that of the past several years, thanks to improved water conditions in the prairie pothole country that turned out much better than expected. Although this initial declaration of state rules is subject to final implementation of federal guidelines due Aug. 1, the duck basics shouldn't change much: a three-way split season the same duration as last year with an almost identical bag.
Geese are quite another matter. After years of long seasons and bulging bag limits for dark geese, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this year put the clamps on hunter harvest.
The reason?
"Lesser Canadas that breed in the Arctic have been spiraling downward in recent years," said Jim Gammonley, waterfowl expert with the Colorado Division of Wildlife. "These birds now migrate with the larger geese and are mingled on the wintering grounds. The larger birds are doing OK, but if we're going to protect the smaller geese, we have to protect them all."
From population peaks in the late 1980s and early '90s, this so-called short-grass prairie goose has taken a nose dive that concerns wildlife officials. Until recently, smaller geese migrated separately and kept to different winter quarters. Now the two species, virtually identical except in size, move about the prime hunting areas of northeast Colorado in blended flocks.
Goose hunting will begin with a Oct. 4-12 early session along the upper Front Range and in several high-mountain valleys. The main season will be Nov. 15-Feb. 8 in the Central Flyway. The Pacific Flyway, unaffected by lesser Canada problems, will have a novel split season, Oct. 4-10 and Oct. 29-Jan. 25. The length of the special control period for light geese also is shorter and now will run March 1-31.
Late moisture on the prime duck-breeding grounds of south- central Canada and north-central U.S. boosted production considerably and almost certainly will sidetrack sentiment for more restrictive season and bag limits.
The eastern Colorado duck proposal for a three-part season - Oct. 4-26, Nov. 1-30 and Dec. 7-Jan. 18 - is a virtual carbon copy of last year's. So, too, is the daily bag of six ducks, five of which can be mallards, only two of these hens. The Pacific season was set for Oct. 4-19 and Oct. 29- Jan. 25.
A special youth hunt for both ducks and geese will be Sept. 27-28 in both flyways.
The breeding duck survey conducted jointly by USFWS and the Canadian Wildlife Service reveals an overall increase in breeding ducks from 31.2 million in 2002 to 36.2 million in '03. More important, the index for breeding habitat stood at 5.2 million ponds, up 91 percent from the 2.7 million counted last year.
Gammonley said the federal agencies consider two prime indicators in setting guidelines: the numbers of wet ponds and the health of the mallard population. Mallards, the most popular species with hunters, increased from 7.5 million to 7.9.
"The feds put all the figures into a computer model that projects both what we know and don't know," he said. "This provides an objective way of making a decision."
Based on what we know of breeding success, the Colorado biologist is reasonably certain eastern Colorado, and the rest of the Central Flyway, will emerge within a liberal framework for season and bag. Alberta and Saskatchewan, which provide most of the ducks that migrate to the state, proved much wetter and more productive, as have ponds along the Front Range.
Most mountain valleys, such as North Park, also rebounded from disastrous conditions in 2002. The San Luis Valley, Colorado's best duck factory, proved the major exception. The valley remains woefully dry, with production severely depleted.
Although the water essential to nesting success arrived later than biologists preferred, the health of the continent's ducks improved dramatically. Each of the 10 most common species demonstrated an increase in 2003, most notably the pintail. Although still 39 percent below a long-term average, this large bird rebounded smartly from a low of 1.8 million to 2.6 million, a 43 percent increase.
Scaup, another species of concern, grew slightly from 3.5 million to 3.7. Widgeon, a duck common to eastern Colorado, increased 9 percent, but remains 14 percent below the continental objective. Gadwall increased 14 percent, and both teal species also showed a healthy hike toward a season that runs Sept. 6-14 in a large part of eastern Colorado.