Special Youth Waterfowl Hunt Set For Sept. 30 & October 1

IDAHO FALLS - Even though adult waterfowl hunters need to wait until the 7th of October for the start of the general waterfowl season in the Idaho Falls area, the Idaho Fish & Game Commission has once again provided a special opportunity to help introduce young people to the exciting sport of waterfowl hunting by setting aside next Saturday and Sunday, September 30th and October 1st, for the annual statewide youth waterfowl hunt for those licensed hunters 15 and younger. A nationwide trend of declining young hunters has prompted wildlife management agencies across the nation to try new ideas to help encourage young people to get involved in the exciting sport of waterfowl hunting. The idea of special youth-only hunts was adopted as a way to get young people out when there would be less competition with experienced adult hunters and the birds would be less weary. Thanks to a change in law four years ago, it is legal now for 10 and 11 year olds who have successfully completed hunter education to also hunt waterfowl. Federal waterfowl stamps are not required for the ages included in this special hunt, but youths must have the special HIP migratory game bird harvest validation that cost $1.75. Federal regulations require stamps for anyone 16 and older. Each youth taking part in the special hunt must be accompanied by someone 18 years or older who is a licensed hunter. The adult is there to solely help the young person learn to hunt and is not legally able to hunt during this event. Again this year, the hunt includes both ducks and geese, regular limits and regulations apply. The daily bag limit for ducks is 7 and goose is 4. The total possession limit after the first day of the season is 14 ducks and 8 geese. While bag limits can include any type of geese, duck bag limits are more specific. Of the 7 ducks allowed daily, the bag shall not contain more than the following: only 1 canvasback, 2 female mallards, 2 redheads, 1 pintail and 3 scaup. Hunters preparing for the start of the general waterfowl hunting season also need to be especially sure of where they will be hunting, because different parts of the state have different general opening days. While the majority of the state opens on October 7, the southwest portion of the state opens on October 14. Anyone wanting further information about this exciting opportunity for young people or information about hunting at one of the regions wildlife management areas can contact the regional office at 525-7290.