Hunters will see minor changes to waterfowl rules and lots of ducks

Hunters will see similar waterfowl rules and bag limits to last year in most areas, but with minor season dates and bag limit changes. Excluding Zone 1 in Southeast Idaho, most of the state will open for waterfowl hunting on Oct. 17 and run until Jan. 29, and the youth hunt will be Oct 3-4. The season will open a week later than the 2014-15 season in response to hunters who want to hunt as late into winter as possible to take advantage of flights coming out of the north. The youth hunt and general waterfowl season in Zone 1 in Southeast Idaho in the Fort Hall area, will have earlier opening dates than the rest of the state. The youth hunt will run Sept. 26-27 and general season will open Oct. 3 and run through Jan. 15. See rules booklet for boundaries for Zone 1. The statewide daily bag limit will be seven ducks; but not more than two female mallards, three scaup, two redheads, two pintails, and two canvasback. Scaup season will be shorter than other duck species because of a smaller population. The daily goose bag limit will be four Canada geese; 10 white-fronted geese; and 20 for light geese (Snow and Ross' geese). The possession limit will be three times the daily bag limit. There will be an early Canada goose hunting season to address crop damage in Bear Lake, Caribou counties, and that portion of Bingham County within the Blackfoot Reservoir drainage. The season will run Sept. 1-15, with a daily bag limit of five and a possession limit of 15. More details on the early season goose season will be available at https://fishandgame.idaho.gov under the "Hunting" tab under "Waterfowl." The full 2015 Waterfowl Season and Rules brochures will be available by mid-September at all license vendors and Fish and Game offices, or online http://fishandgame.idaho.gov in early September. The 2015-16 waterfowl season looks to be excellent nationally with record numbers of ducks available for hunters. Most waterfowl in Idaho are produced from breeding areas in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, which had fair-to-good nesting conditions during spring. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported this summer overall waterfowl numbers for North America are statistically similar to last year and remain strong. Total populations were estimated at 49.5 million breeding ducks in the traditional survey area, which is 43 percent above the 1955-2014 long-term average and the highest count on record. Last year's estimate was 49.2 million birds. Healthy waterfowl populations allow Idaho Fish and Game to offer lengthy hunting seasons and generous bag limits. North American population estimates are:

• Mallards: 11.6 million, which is similar to the 2014 estimate and 51 percent above the long-term average.
• Gadwall: 3.8 million, which is similar to the 2014 estimate and 100% above the long-term average.
• American wigeon: 3.0 million, which is similar to the 2014 estimate and 17% above the long-term average.
• Green-winged teal: 4.1 million, which is 19% above the 2014 estimate and 98% above the long-term average.
• Blue-winged teal: 8.5 million, which is similar to the 2014 estimate and 73% above the long-term average.
• Northern shovelers: 4.4 million, which 17% below the 2014 estimate and 75% above the long-term average.
• Northern pintails: 3.0 million, which is similar to the 2014 estimates and 24% below the long-term average.
• Redheads: 1.2 million, which is similar to their 2014 estimate and 71% above the long-term average.
• Canvasbacks: 0.76 million, which is similar to the 2014 estimate and 30% above the long-term average.
• Scaup: 4.4 million, which is similar to the 2014 estimate and 13% below the long-term average.