New Regulations Set for Upcoming Waterfowl Season

October 3, 2003

The Colorado Wildlife Commission has finalized this year’s waterfowl hunting regulations and while the duck regulations will remain similar to last year, there have been some substantial changes to the goose regulations.

The most significant change for this fall is lowering the dark goose bag limit along the Central Flyway, which in Colorado spans east from the Continental Divide. The change will lower the dark goose limit from five to three and reduce the number of season days from 93 to 85.

Lowering the dark goose limit might seem odd to those who typically see Canada geese overrunning golf courses, parks and suburban yards in the Denver area, but there is good biological reason for the shift. There are several subspecies of dark, or Canada, geese. While the population of large Canada geese, the geese seen locally throughout the year, is doing well and might be increasing based on counts, the population of "lesser" or Shortgrass Prairie Canada geese, which breeds in northern Canada, has decreased according to results of recent mid-winter counts.

Because of that decline, both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and stakeholders in the Central Flyway have called for action to reduce harvest of the lesser species.

"The Shortgrass Prairie population has been declining over the last six to eight years," said Jim Gammonley, a Colorado Division of Wildlife waterfowl biologist. "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service strongly advised us to consider more restrictive hunting regulations. We believed it was better for us to make some changes now and allow the population to recover, rather than risk having even more restrictive regulations imposed on us later.

"Since both the large and small Canada geese mix together in flocks across all of the Eastern Plains, and it is difficult for many hunters to tell the difference between them, the regulations had to encompass the whole eastern half of the state."

Based on harvest surveys, it’s Colorado hunters who take a large percentage of the lesser species in the Central Flyway, Gammonley said. Therefore, the theory is if Colorado could be proactive in responding to the decline in the lesser species, regulations would remain more liberal than if the federal government mandated changes.

The 2003-2004 Goose Season will run from Nov. 22 through Feb. 15, 2004 in the Central Flyway. The bag limit is three geese and the possession limit is 20.

The Pacific Flyway goose season will run from Oct. 4 through Oct. 10 and October 29 through January 25, 2004. The bag limit is three geese and the possession limit is six geese.

While goose populations are being questioned, duck populations appear to have taken an unexpected upward turn amid concerns about recent drought conditions and evaporating wetlands. A wet spring graced much of western Canada and the western U.S., which paved the way for another year under the liberal duck package of higher bag limits and a longer season.

Colorado’s breeding population fared better than last year, but still sputtered through a dry spring that didn’t see much-needed precipitation until after the critical nesting period. The San Luis Valley, traditionally one of the top duck-breeding factories in the western U.S., saw little relief from drought.

Since local ducks typically make up a large percentage of the early season bag for Colorado hunters, waterfowlers should expect the season to start out slow in the early split and crescendo into great hunting as the second and third splits get supplemented by hefty populations of northern ducks migrating south.

The Central Flyway duck season will run from Oct. 4 through Oct. 26, Nov. 1 through Nov. 30 and Dec. 7 through January 18, 2004. The bag limit is six ducks including no more than five mallards, of which no more than two can be female mallards, one pintail, one canvasback, two redheads, one mottled duck, two wood ducks and three scaup. No pintails or canvasbacks are allowed in the bag after Nov. 16. The possession limit is two daily bag limits.

The Pacific Flyway duck season will run from Oct. 4 through Oct. 19 and Oct. 29 through Jan. 25, 2004. The bag limit is seven ducks including no more than two female mallards, one pintail, one canvasback, two redheads and four scaup. Pintails or canvasbacks are not allowed in the bag after Dec. 11. The possession limit is two daily bag limits.

Hunters should take into account that high populations of northern ducks are just one of the factors that lead to a successful season. Another major factor is weather - a heavy cold snap can push migrating birds through Colorado quickly, giving hunters little opportunity, while a lack of any significant changes in weather can keep the majority of the birds north until after the season. The best scenario for hunters would be a sustained wave of mild weather events up north, pushing small waves of birds into Colorado.

The light goose season in the Central Flyway will run from Nov. 8 through Feb. 22, 2004. The bag limit is 20 geese and there is no possession limit.

The fate of the late snow goose conservation season could be in the hands of the courts this year. As they have in the past, anti-hunting groups are expected to sue the Fish and Wildlife Service over the season, which targets lesser snows in the Central Flyway because of overpopulation and the resulting destruction of arctic habitat. There is a slight possibility the season, which typically takes place in March on the Eastern Plains, could be halted during the legal process. The conservation season is set for March 31 with no daily bag or possession limit.

For more information on special waterfowl seasons or other waterfowl species, please consult the 2003-2004 Waterfowl Brochure. The brochure is available at DOW offices and from license agents throughout the state.