Mallard and Canada goose conservation measures implemented in upcoming seasons
Pennsylvania’s 2019-20 migratory game bird seasons have been set.
Annual
migratory game bird seasons are selected by states from frameworks
established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Game
Commission selections were made after reviewing last year’s
season results, population survey data and public input.
There are three significant changes to Pennsylvania waterfowl seasons this year, said Game Management Division Chief Ian Gregg.
Two of
these changes were required by USFWS season frameworks, Gregg said. They
are a reduced daily bag limit for mallards, and a reduced regular
season length and bag limit for Canada geese in
the Atlantic Population Hunting Zone.
The third
change, a North Zone duck season with fewer days in late October and
early November and more days in late November and early December, was
selected by the Game Commission in response to
public comments, Gregg noted.
Other
migratory game bird seasons are similar to those in recent years.
However, some starting and ending dates are about a week later than in
2018-19 to ensure seasons align with holidays and hunting
seasons for other game.
Waterfowl season highlights
Restrictions
implemented for mallards and Atlantic Population (AP) Canada geese are
necessary to offset recent population declines, said Game Commission
waterfowl biologist Jeremy Stempka.
Mallards
throughout the northeastern United States have experienced a slow,
steady population decline for the past 20 years, Stempka explained. AP
Canada goose numbers have dropped more abruptly
over the past two years.
Consequently,
the Atlantic Flyway Council recommended and the USFWS approved 2019-20
regulatory changes to reverse these population declines.
“AP
Canada geese experienced a near-total reproductive failure in 2018, due
to an extremely late spring on their northern Quebec breeding grounds,”
Stempka explained. “The best available data indicate
recent harvest levels for these species were not sustainable.”
The daily
mallard limit throughout the Atlantic Flyway has been lowered from four
daily (no more than two hens) to two daily (no more than one hen).
For AP
geese, in those areas of the flyway designated as AP harvest zones –
including southeastern Pennsylvania, the length of the regular season
has been decreased from 50 to 30 days and daily
bag limits have been reduced; in Pennsylvania’s AP Zone, the daily
limit decreases from 3 to 2.
Goose-banding
data collected annually by the Game Commission helped waterfowl
managers align goose season restrictions to those times and areas where
significant numbers of AP geese are present,
Stempka emphasized.
“We know
few or no migrant geese are found anywhere in Pennsylvania during the
September season, or in areas outside southeastern Pennsylvania during
regular seasons in late fall and winter,” Stempka
explained. “That’s why the statewide September seasons and regular
seasons in most of Pennsylvania remain similar to previous years,
providing recreational opportunity and population control of resident
geese.”
Some
September goose season restrictions continue in localized areas of
Pennsylvania to maintain stability of resident goose populations on the
Pymatuning and Middle Creek Wildlife Management areas.
In a portion of western Crawford County, the September Canada goose
season will run Sept. 2-14, and the daily bag limit will be one goose.
This shorter season applies to the area
south of state Route 198 from the Ohio state
line to intersection of state Route 18, state Route 18 south to state
Route 618; state Route 618 south to U.S. Route 6; U.S. Route 6 east to
U.S. Route 322/state Route 18; U.S. Route 322/state
Route 18 west to the intersection of state Route 3013; and state Route
3013 south to the Crawford-Mercer county line.
The season on State Game Lands 214 remains closed.
In the
rest of the Southern James Bay Population Zone in northwestern
Pennsylvania, the season remains Sept. 2-25 with a daily bag limit of
one goose.
These bag-limit restrictions do not apply to
youth participating in the youth waterfowl hunting days, when
regular-season regulations apply.
Hunters should carefully consult the maps and descriptions at
www.pgc.pa.gov to determine which specific regulations are applicable to the area they plan to hunt.
Special
regulations also remain in place for the September Canada goose season
in a portion of southeastern Pennsylvania. In the area of Lancaster and
Lebanon counties
north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (Interstate 76) and east of state
Route 501 to state Route 419; south of state Route 419 to Lebanon-Berks
county line; west of Lebanon-Berks county line to state Route 1053 (also
known as Peartown Road and Greenville Road);
and west of state Route 1053 to Pennsylvania Turnpike (Interstate 76),
the daily bag limit is one goose, with a possession limit of three
geese. This restriction does not apply to youth participating in the
youth waterfowl hunting days, when regular season
regulations apply.
The
controlled hunting areas at the Game Commission’s Middle Creek Wildlife
Management Area in Lebanon and Lancaster counties, as well as all of
State Game Lands 46, will
remain closed to September goose hunting.
In
the remainder of Pennsylvania (Resident Population Zone and most of the
Atlantic Population Zone), the September Canada goose season runs Sept.
2-25 with a daily bag
limit of eight Canada geese, and a possession limit of 24. Statewide
shooting hours during the September goose season are one-half hour
before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset, except on Sept. 14 when
the season overlaps with the statewide youth waterfowl
hunting day and shooting hours end at sunset.
It is
unlawful to hunt waterfowl on or near managed dove fields, some of which
are located on State Game Lands and will be active during the month of
September. These fields will generally be posted
with signage to allow waterfowl hunters to identify them and avoid
hunting in the vicinity.
The change in the North Zone duck season structure provides season dates more similar to those used prior to 2012.
“In 2012,
we shifted days in the North Zone from late November and early December
to late October and early November based on data from the Game
Commission’s 2011 waterfowl hunter survey, showing
a preference for more hunting days in the early fall,” explained Gregg.
“However, we’ve heard from an increasing number of hunters at the
annual Waterfowl Symposium and through other public comments that in
recent warm autumns, the North Zone season dates
have not aligned with greatest availability of migrating ducks.
Preliminary
analysis of available data on waterfowl migration patterns appears to
confirm that on average, more ducks are available in the North Zone
later in the fall. Therefore, while recognizing
there is no way to guarantee the season dates will fit the weather
patterns in any given year, we can up the odds for good hunting
conditions by making this season change for 2019-20.”
In
addition to the three major changes to waterfowl seasons, federal
frameworks have reduced season length for Atlantic brant, and daily bag
limit for northern pintails in 2019-20, Stempka said.
“Brant
and pintails are not frequently harvested in Pennsylvania, but hunters
should be aware of the changes for this year so that they can remain in
compliance with season dates and bag limits
in the event they do encounter these uncommon species when afield.”
Similar
to past years, there will be a statewide youth waterfowl hunting day in
mid-September (Sept. 14) and a second youth day varying by duck zone.
The second day in the Lake Erie Zone will be
Oct. 19; in the Northwest Zone, Dec. 21; in the North Zone, Jan. 18;
and in the South Zone, Jan. 25.
Youngsters participating in the youth days
must be accompanied by an adult, who may
assist the youth in calling, duck identification and other aspects of
the hunt. During those hunts, youth can harvest ducks, Canada geese,
mergansers, coots and gallinules. Licensed adults can
harvest Canada geese if there is a general Canada goose season open in
the area being hunted.
On
youth waterfowl days occurring when there is a general Canada goose
season open, youth and adults have the same daily limit for Canada geese
in the area being hunted.
On youth waterfowl days occurring when there is not a general Canada
goose season open, accompanying adults may not harvest Canada geese, and
the bag limit for youth hunters is the same as in the regular season
for the area being hunted. Bag limits for ducks,
mergansers, coots and gallinules also are consistent with the limits
for the regular season.
Pennsylvania’s youth days will not be expanded to include other categories of hunters this year.
To hunt
waterfowl, in addition to a regular Pennsylvania hunting license,
persons 16 and older must have a Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and
Conservation Stamp, commonly referred to as a “Duck
Stamp.” It must be signed in ink across its face and possessed while
hunting.
A
temporary, electronic Federal Duck Stamp (eDuck) may be purchased online
through the Pennsylvania Automated License System, and is valid for 45
days from date of purchase to hunt migratory waterfowl
within Pennsylvania and other states that have approved its validity.
The eDuck stamp may be printed out or downloaded onto a mobile device,
and must be carried while hunting waterfowl.
Within 45
days of purchasing an eDuck stamp, a physical Duck Stamp will be mailed
to the purchaser, at which time it should be signed and carried afield
while hunting.
Regardless
of age, all hunters must have a Pennsylvania Migratory Game Bird
License to hunt waterfowl and other migratory birds, including doves,
woodcock, coots, gallinules, rails and snipe. All
migratory game bird hunters in the United States are required to
complete a Harvest Information Program survey when they purchase a state
migratory game bird license. The survey information is then forwarded
to the USFWS.
“By
answering questions when purchasing a new hunting license, hunters help
improve survey efficiency and the quality of information used to track
the harvest of migratory birds for management purposes,”
Stempka said.
To
participate in light goose conservation hunts, hunters will need to
obtain a light goose conservation season permit, in addition to their
other required licenses, and file a mandatory report
of harvest/participation. Permits will be available in the Pennsylvania
Automated Licensing System in late 2019.
Hunters
must use non-toxic shot while hunting ducks, geese or coots in
Pennsylvania. The use of any sort of artificial substance or product as
bait or an attractant is prohibited.
Webless Migratory Game Bird Seasons
Sept. 2
will mark the beginning of dove season statewide. The first segment of
the season will run through Nov. 29. It will then re-open on Dec. 21 and
run through Jan. 4. Hunting hours are one-half
hour before sunrise to sunset throughout the entire dove season.
For both dove-season segments, the daily bag limit is 15, and the possession limit is 45.
Pennsylvania’s
woodcock and common snipe seasons also have two segments. For both
species, the first segment opens on Oct. 19 and closes on Nov. 29, and
the second segment
opens on Dec. 16 and runs through Dec. 24. Daily limits are three
woodcock and eight snipe, with possession limits three times the
respective daily bag limits.
Virginia
and sora rail hunting will run from Sept. 2 to Nov. 21. Bag limits,
singly or combined, are three daily and nine in possession. The season
for king and clapper
rails remains closed.
Hunting for gallinules also runs from Sept. 2 to Nov. 21, and the bag limits are three daily and nine in possession.
Migratory
game bird hunters, including those afield for doves and woodcock, are
required to obtain and carry a Pennsylvania migratory game bird license
($3.90 for residents,
$6.90 for nonresidents), as well as a general hunting, combination or
lifetime license.
Hunting hours for woodcock, snipe, rails, and gallinules are one-half hour before sunrise until sunset.
Federal regulations posted on Game Commission’s website
In addition to
posting the migratory game bird seasons on its website, the
Pennsylvania Game Commission has posted a synopsis of federal
regulations that govern migratory game bird and waterfowl seasons
to assist hunters in finding answers to questions.
To review the information, go to
www.pgc.pa.gov,
put your cursor on “Hunt/Trap” in the menu bar at the top of the page,
click on “Hunting,” scroll down and click on “Waterfowl Hunting and
Conservation,” then scroll down
and click on “Federal Waterfowl Regulations” in the “Waterfowl Hunting
Regulations” section.
Additional information can be found on the USFWS website,
www.fws.gov/hunting/whatres.html,
where a complete version of the federal regulations (50 CFR Part 20) is
posted. When state law differs from the federal law, hunters must
comply with the more restrictive law.
Hunters encouraged to report banded birds
Migratory game bird hunters who harvest banded ducks, geese, doves and woodcock are encouraged to report them online at
www.reportband.gov.
Telephone
reporting has been eliminated by the federal Bird Banding Laboratory
due to cost and data-quality concerns, said Stempka. Hunters
encountering older bands inscribed with the 1-800-327-BAND
telephone number can still report them, but will need to use
www.reportband.gov to do so.
Callers to the 1-800 number will receive a recorded message directing them to the website.
Hunters
will be requested to provide information on where, when and what species
of migratory birds were taken, in addition to the band number. This
information is crucial to the successful management
of migratory birds.
Stempka
also stressed that reporting leg-bands helps the Game Commission and the
USFWS learn more about migratory bird movements, and survival and
harvest rates, which are critical to population
management and setting of hunting regulations. Each year, nearly
380,000 ducks and geese and 30,000 mourning doves are banded across the
United States and Canada. Last year, over 6,000 migratory game birds,
including more than 5,000 waterfowl, were banded
in Pennsylvania.
“Pennsylvania
continues to monitor migratory game bird populations in cooperation
with other wildlife management agencies across North America,” Stempka
explained. “Information provided by hunters
is essential to manage migratory game bird populations and support
sustainable hunting opportunities through time. By reporting the
recovery of a leg-band, hunters not only assist in managing the
resource, but also have an opportunity to learn interesting
facts about the bird they harvested.”
Stempka
noted that modern band-reporting systems have produced big dividends.
Under the old reporting system, used until the mid-1990s, only about
one-third of recovered banded birds were reported
by hunters. Since initiation of the online and toll-free methods, band
reporting rates have improved to more than 70 percent. This has greatly
improved migratory bird management while reducing monitoring costs.
2019-20 MIGRATORY GAME BIRD SEASONS AND BAG LIMITS
DUCKS:
North Zone: Ducks, sea ducks, coots and mergansers, Oct. 12-26, and Nov. 19 – Jan. 11.
South Zone: Ducks, sea ducks, coots and mergansers, Oct. 19-26, and Nov. 19 - Jan. 18.
Northwest Zone: Ducks, sea ducks, coots and mergansers, Oct. 12-Dec. 14, and Dec. 27-Jan. 1.
Lake Erie Zone: Ducks, sea ducks, coots and mergansers, Oct. 28-Jan. 4.
Total Duck Bag Limits:
6 daily, 18 in possession of any species, except for the following
restrictions: daily limit may not include more than 2 mallards including
1 hen mallard, 2 scaup, 2 black ducks, 3
wood ducks, 2 redheads, 2 canvasbacks, 1 pintail, 1 mottled duck, 1
fulvous whistling duck, 4 eiders, 4 long-tailed ducks, and 4 scoters.
Possession limits are three times the daily limits.
Mergansers: 5 daily, 15 in possession (not more than 2 hooded mergansers daily, 6 hooded in possession).
Coots: 15 daily, 45 in possession.
CANADA GEESE (includes WHITE-FRONTED GEESE):
Resident Population Goose Zone (RP)
All of Pennsylvania except for the Southern James Bay Population and the Atlantic Population zone.
Sept. 2-25 (8-goose daily bag limit); and Oct. 26-Nov. 29, Dec.
16-Jan. 18, and Jan. 31-Feb. 22 (5-goose daily bag limit in latter 3
segments).
Southern James Bay Population Zone (SJBP)
The area north of I-80 and
west of I-79 including in the city of Erie west of Bay Front Parkway to
and including the Lake Erie Duck zone (Lake Erie, Presque Isle and the
area within 150 yards of Lake Erie Shoreline).
Sept. 2-25 (except in a portion of western Crawford County defined
under the “Waterfowl season highlights” section in this news release;
1-goose daily bag limit for entire zone); and Oct. 12-Nov. 29 and Dec.
16-Jan. 25 (3-goose daily bag limit in latter
2 segments).
Atlantic Population Zone (AP)
The area east of SR 97
from Maryland State Line to the intersection of SR 194, east of SR 194
to intersection of US Route 30, south of US Route 30 to SR 441, east of
SR 441 to SR 743, east of SR 743 to intersection
of I-81, east of I-81 to intersection of I-80, south of I-80 to New
Jersey state line.
Sept. 2-25 (8-goose daily bag limit); and Nov. 19-29 and Dec. 27-Jan. 18 (2-goose daily bag limit in latter two segments).
Exception: Areas
outside of the controlled goose hunting areas at the Middle Creek
Wildlife Management Area and State Game Lands 46 in Lebanon-Lancaster
counties have a daily limit of one, and a possession
limit of three during the regular Canada goose season. Areas inside the
goose hunting areas at the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area and
State Game Lands 46 have a season limit of one.
BRANT (All Zones): Oct. 26-Nov. 29. 2 daily, 6 in possession.
LIGHT GEESE (Snow Geese and Ross’ Geese):
Atlantic Population Zone:
Regular: Oct. 1-Jan. 25, 25 daily, no possession limit.
Conservation Hunt: Jan. 27 – April 24; 25 daily, no possession limit.
Southern James Bay Population Zone:
Regular: Oct. 1-Jan. 25; 25 daily, no possession limit.
Conservation Hunt: Jan. 27 – April 24; 25 daily, no possession limit.
Resident Population Zone:
Regular: Oct. 22-Feb. 22; 25 daily, no possession limit.
Conservation Hunt: Feb. 24 – April 24; 25 daily, no possession limit.
HARLEQUIN DUCKS, and TUNDRA and TRUMPETER SWANS: No open season.
JUNIOR WATERFOWL HUNTING DAYS:
Statewide: Sept. 14; also in Lake Erie Zone, Oct. 19; in Northwest
Zone, Dec. 21; in North Zone, Jan. 18; and in South Zone, Jan. 25. Open
to licensed junior hunters ages 12-16,
when properly accompanied, for ducks, mergansers, gallinules and coots,
and Canada goose as permitted. Same daily bag limits as regular season.
Hunting hours to close at sunset.
DOVES: Sept. 2-Nov. 29, and Dec. 21-Jan. 4.
15 daily, 45 in possession.
WOODCOCK: Oct. 19-Nov. 29, and Dec. 16-24. 3 daily, 9 in possession.
COMMON SNIPE: Oct. 19-Nov. 29, and Dec. 16-24. 8 daily, 24 in possession.
GALLINULES: Sept. 2-Nov. 21. 3 daily, 9 in possession.
VIRGINIA AND SORA RAILS:
Sept. 2-Nov. 21. Bag limits singly or in the aggregate; 3 daily, 9 in possession.
CLAPPER AND KING RAILS: No open season.
