Public Meeting Set for Comments on Waterfowl Seasons

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is seeking public comments on proposed waterfowl seasons for 2009. A public meeting will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, August 12, at the Panhandle Region office, 2885 Kathleen Ave., Coeur d'Alene. Individuals with disabilities may request meeting accommodations by contacting Jim Hayden at the Idaho Department of Fish and Game directly at 208-769-1414; or through the Idaho Relay Service at 1-800-377-2529 (TDD) at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. Fish and Game has received the tentative waterfowl season framework from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees waterfowl management at the national level. Fish and Game's proposals include:

• No change in the goose season lengths from last year. The proposal calls for a 107-day season. It is expected to run from October 3 through January 15, 2010, in northern and eastern Idaho and the Fort Hall Reservation; and to run from October 10 through January 22, 2010, in the southwestern part of the state.
• The bag limit would be four geese.
• For most ducks, the proposed season would also be 107 days, running from October 3 through January 15, 2010, in northern and eastern Idaho and the Fort Hall Reservation; and from October 11 through January 23, 2009, in the southwestern part of the state.
• For scaup, a shorter season is proposed. It would run from October 24 through January 15 in northern and eastern Idaho and the Fort Hall Reservation; and to run from October 31 through January 22, 2009, in the southwestern part of the state.
• The 2009 season would reopen for canvasbacks.
• The daily bag limit would be seven ducks; but no more than two female mallards, two redheads, three scaup, two pintails and one canvasback. The possession limit would be twice the daily limit.
• The youth waterfowl hunt is proposed to run September 26 and 27, for those licensed youth age 15 and under.

A proposal in the Panhandle Region would simplify regulations and omit the Pend Oreille River closure. The closure is 3.25 miles long and 400 yards wide, with all but 1 mile abutting the city of Sandpoint. Part of the closure lies within the Sandpoint city limits, such that the Fish and Game rule closure is applicable on only 0.56 square miles. For details on the proposed seasons contact Idaho Fish and Game, or visit: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/public/. Written comments may be sent to Waterfowl Comments, IDFG, P.O. Box 25, Boise ID 83707. The deadline for comments is 5 p.m. August 14. Information collected from across the state will be summarized and presented to the Idaho Fish and Game Commission, which is scheduled to consider sage-grouse seasons during a meeting Monday afternoon, August 17, in Idaho Falls.