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Mallards look OK, not canvasbacks It's time for a little catch up on the outdoor desk. After returning this week from a less-than-spectacular fishing trip to Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, (I'll tackle this one in another column) I returned to a desk stuffed to the gills with faxes, news releases and e-mails. At the top of the pile was news from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife announcing that duck and goose hunting seasons were set by the state Fish and Wildlife Commission Aug. 2-3 in Aberdeen. Despite the fact that duck populations were significantly affected by drought in much of the Midwest and Canadian prairie provinces, the state adopted seasons largely similar to the 2001-02 season. Dave Ware, the state's game division manager, said the 2002-03 season reflects fairly stable mallard duck and Canada goose populations along the Pacific Flyway. However, the regulations do provide protection for poor canvasback populations. Canvasbacks are off limits to hunters this year because of weak numbers. Ware said hunters will need to use extra care when hunting redheads, which are similar to canvasbacks. Hunters also will need to clearly identify their targets as female pintails can be difficult to pick out among the more common female mallards. Pintail numbers also are down significantly. This year, the waterfowl season begins statewide Oct. 5-16, with a nine-day closure. It resumes Oct. 26-Jan. 26. Also, the duck bag limit remains seven birds, of which all seven can be drake mallards. Hunters, however, are permitted to shoot two hen mallards or one pintail as part of the seven-bird limit. Goose seasons set by the commission were similar to last year's package, including protection for dusky goose populations in the Grays Harbor and lower Columbia River areas. Hunters must have written permits from the state to hunt dusky geese. In Eastern Washington's Goose Management Area 4, the season is open Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays only from Oct. 5-24 and Nov. 9 to Jan. 19, and Nov. 11, 28, 29 and every day from Jan. 20-26. In Area 5, the season runs from Oct. 5-24 and Nov. 9-Jan. 26. The daily bag limit remains four geese. The traditional statewide waterfowl Youth Only Hunt is Sept. 21-22 and the early goose season is Sept. 7-12. Ware said the complete waterfowl hunting seasons and rules will be available near the end of August in pamphlet form and on the state's Web site: www.wa.gov.wdfw. Also at the meeting, the commission approved changing the deadline for cougar public safety removal permit applications from Nov. 1 to Oct. 1 and changed the permit season start date from Dec. 16 to Dec. 1. All participants also will be required to view an educational video. Ware said changing the deadline application provides more timely notification to successful permit applicants and gives them time to gain access to property within the permit areas. The earlier start date, he added, will allow additional hunting time in areas where early snowfall occurs. The state created the public safety cougar removal program at the request of the state Legislature after the use of dogs to hunt cougars was banned in 1996. Today, a limited number of permits are issued each year to qualified hunters to remove cougars with dogs in areas where they present a danger to people, pets and livestock. Applications for cougar removal permits will be available by mid-August at state regional offices and online via the state's Web site. Also on the hunting front, Washington and Oregon have set a number of public meetings to discuss the future of hunting for the next several years. In Washington, seven meetings will be held this month to gather comments on a draft environmental impact statement recently issued for the state's six-year big-game plan. The plan is being developed to define the management direction of the state's game species including deer, elk, migratory and upland birds, cougar, moose, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, black bear, furbearing animals and unclassified game animals. The 2003-09 plan calls for managing game populations at sustainable harvest levels, providing a variety of recreational purposes and ensuring healthy and productive populations. The nearest meeting for Tri-City hunters is 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Aug. 13 at the Yakima Regional Library, 102 N. Third St. In Oregon, Greg Rimbach, assistant district wildlife biologist for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, said an Aug. 15 public meeting in Pendleton will allow Tri-City hunters to comment on all aspects of big-game hunting in Oregon for the next 10 years. Rimbach said 12 such meetings will be held around the state to gather comments which will be used to update existing mule deer and elk management plans. When completed, the plans will guide deer and elk management until at least 2013. "I know there are a lot of Tri-City hunters who hunt in Oregon and this is their chance to bring up anything they want to about big-game hunting in Oregon, including season dates and lengths, tag prices and out-of-state hunting fees," he said. Rimbach said some of the elk plan recommendations that will be discussed include continuing cooperative efforts with landowners, streamlining the process to issue tags to landowners, reviewing populations management objectives, discussing off-road vehicles use, increasing penalties for game violators and revising game ranching rules to protect wild elk herds from disease. The mule deer plans includes recommendations to identify the carrying capacity of lands that support mule deer herds, standardizing herd data collection, limiting off-road vehicle use in wildlife ranges and monitoring the prevalence of disease. The meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., will be held at the Pendleton Convention Center, 1601 Westgate. For more information, call 541-276-2344. n Ken Hoopengarner has been the Herald's outdoor editor for 21 years.
He can be reached at 582-1544 or via e-mail at khoopengarner@tri-cityherald.com.
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