ALBANY — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has invited hunters to submit recommendations to regional Waterfowl Hunter Task Forces for the dates of the fall 2010 duck hunting seasons.
The DEC will evaluate the task force recommendations in setting waterfowl seasons, which must comply with federal rules.
New York is divided into five waterfowl hunting zones: Western, Southeastern, Northeastern, Lake Champlain and Long Island. The DEC recently appointed task forces for each zone (except Lake Champlain, see link below) to solicit recommendations for the fall 2010 hunting seasons, including opening and closing dates, split seasons and a special hunting weekend for youths.
Each task force includes representatives from the New York State Conservation Council, established waterfowl hunting organizations and individual waterfowl hunters who were chosen to provide input.
The recommended dates must be within federal guidelines established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). For fall 2010, the DEC expects the USFWS to allow a 60-day duck season, split into no more than two segments per zone, opening no earlier than Sept. 25, 2010, and closing no later than Jan. 30, 2011.
Waterfowl hunters can participate by providing duck season suggestions to any task force member on or before March 25, 2010. Names and contact information for all task force members are listed on the DEC Web site at http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/42364.html.
Comments can be provided by mail, telephone or e-mail. The comment due date is important because the task forces will meet in late March and April, and DEC plans to announce tentative duck hunting season dates in June.
Input on hunting seasons for other migratory game birds, including Canada geese, snow geese, brant and woodcock, may be submitted to any member of the DEC's season-setting team. However, due to greater uncertainty about federal regulations for those species, decisions and tentative dates will probably not be known until later in the summer.
Waterfowl seasons in the Lake Champlain Zone will continue to be set by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Management Board, with input from the DEC and waterfowl hunters in New York and Vermont. Although there is no formal task force for this zone, hunters can send their suggestions to any DEC season-setting team member.
Descriptions of New York state's waterfowl hunting zones can be found on the DEC Web site at http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/28497.html and are listed in the DEC's Waterfowl Hunting Seasons and Regulations brochure.
The tentative waterfowl hunting season dates will be posted on the DEC Web site and announced by news release in June.
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