September 2013 - March 2014 MIGRATORY BIRD HUNTING GUIDE Includes season dates for woodcock, snipe, and rails Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Daniel C. Esty, Commissioner Susan Whalen, Deputy Commissioner Bureau of Natural Resources William Hyatt, Chief Wildlife Division Rick Jacobson, Director Table of Contents This guide provides a summary of the most pertinent laws and regulations concerning the hunting of migratory birds. No attempt has been made to employ New for 2013-2014 .......................................................................................2 the exact wording of laws and regulations, nor to provide their complete listing. September and Late Canada Goose Hunting Seasons............................2 For legal purposes, the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies and the Statewide Youth Waterfowl Hunter Training Days ...................................2 General Statutes of Connecticut should be consulted. How Annual Waterfowl Regulations Are Set ............................................3 Cover Art: The cover art on this guide is the painting that won the 2013 Explaining Migrant Canada Goose Seasons ............................................3 Connecticut Duck Stamp Art Contest. It will be featured on the 2014 Connecticut Access Restrictions Due to Heightened Security ....................................4 Duck Stamp. The winning painting, by wildlife artist John Brennan, was selected by a panel of judges as the best out of 19 other entries submitted by artists from across Falconry Seasons ........................................................................................4 the country, from Oregon to Georgia, including five from Connecticut artists. John Avian Influenza ............................................................................................5 Brennan is an artist working from his studio in Lutz, Florida. He has a B.A. in music Hunter Ethics ...............................................................................................6 from the University of South Florida School of Music. His gift for music is matched Waterfowl Hunting in Urban Settings ........................................................6 by his talents in the visual arts. His award winning work has been juried into state Contaminants in Waterfowl ........................................................................6 art shows and has traveled in national touring exhibits with the Federal Duck Stamp Contest. His work has also graced the cover of Florida Wildlife Magazine and has Federal Regulations ....................................................................................7 been selected as the poster art for the Clearwater Jazz Holiday. John’s recent win in Open Waterfowl Seasons and Bag Limits .................................................8 the Oklahoma Waterfowl Stamp Contest makes him the youngest person to do so in Connecticut Regulations ..........................................................................10 State Duck Stamp history. Local Regulations ......................................................................................11 All waterfowl hunters age 16 and older are required to purchase and carry the State-owned or Controlled Waterfowl Hunting Areas ............................14 current Connecticut and federal Duck Stamps – but conservationists, stamp Report Waterfowl Bands ...........................................................................14 collectors, and others also purchase stamps in support of wetland habitat Woodcock and Snipe Seasons ................................................................16 conservation. Revenue from the sale of Connecticut Duck Stamps is a major source of funding for wetland restoration projects in our state. Since 1994, Rail Season ................................................................................................16 Connecticut Duck Stamp funds have been used to restore and enhance over Report Violations .......................................................................................16 3,145 acres of wetlands, encompassing nearly 50 sites, mostly on state-owned Don’t Forget to Get HIP .............................................................................16 wildlife management areas. Connecticut Duck Stamp funds also have been used Sunrise/Sunset and Tide Chart ................................................................17 to purchase specialized large equipment to conduct extensive marsh restoration Connecticut Migrant Goose Zones ...........................................back cover work, particularly along the coast. Connecticut Duck Stamps can be purchased for $13 each wherever hunting and fishing licenses are sold: participating town clerks, participating retail agents, DEEP License and Revenue (79 Elm Street in Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources / Wildlife Division Connecticut Hunting & 79 Elm Street Fishing Appreciation Day Hartford, CT 06106-5127 www.ct.gov/deep Saturday, September 28, 2013 Sessions Woods Wildlife Management Area, Burlington This free event features fun activities for all ages, along with educational programs and workshops about hunting and fishing. Practice your shooting and casting skills. Talk to DEEP biologists about wildlife and fisheries. Be sure to bring the kids and grandkids. Older children will be able to test their skills on the .22 rifle and archery ranges. Younger The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer that children will be able to enjoy learning about wildlife and making crafts. is committed to complying with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please contact us at 860-418-5910 or [email protected] if you: have a disability and need a communication aid or service; have limited proficiency in Food will be available for sale. English and may need information in another language; or if you wish to file an ADA or Title VI discrimination complaint. For more information, visit www.ct.gov/deep/huntfishday or call the Artwork and photographs used in this publication are copyrighted. Reproduction without permission is Sessions Woods office at 860-675-8130. prohibited. Cover artwork 2014 Connecticut Duck Stamp © John Brennan 1 Hartford), and through the online Sportsmen's Licensing System (www.ct.gov/deep/ How Annual Waterfowl Regulations Are Set sportsmenlicensing). Upon request, stamps can be sent through the mail. The 2013 Connecticut Duck Stamp, which will expire on December 31, 2013, features wood The annual process of setting migratory gamebird hunting regulations in the United ducks. The 2014 Duck Stamp, with John Brennan's hooded merganser painting, will States begins in January and ends in September and is based on a system of resource be valid from January 1 through December 31, 2014. monitoring, data analyses, and regulation development. Hunting regulations for ducks, geese, woodcock, mourning doves, and other migratory gamebirds are set Proceeds (98%) from the federal Duck Stamps go into the Migratory Bird annually and based on the population status of each species. Estimates of both the Conservation Fund, which supports the purchase of wetlands for inclusion into the number of birds and hunting harvests are needed to monitor and ensure appropriate National Wildlife Refuge System. Federal Duck Stamp sales raise about $25 million and sustainable populations of each species. each year to fund wetland habitat acquisition for the National Wildlife Refuge System. To date, federal Duck Stamp funds have been used to acquire over 6 million Each year, surveys, such as the waterfowl breeding pair, woodcock singing ground, acres of critical habitat at hundreds of refuges in nearly every state in our nation. and dove call count, are conducted. The results of these various surveys are used to In Connecticut, 39% of the acreage of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife assess the populations. In addition, leg banding of various waterfowl species and Refuge was purchased with federal Duck Stamp funds. Federal Duck Stamps can be others, such as mourning doves, is used to determine harvest and survival rates for purchased at local post offices for $15 each. use in harvest and population models. Information on hunter numbers and harvests is obtained from the Harvest Information Program (HIP). Habitat conditions are also Hunting licenses, CT Duck Stamps, and HIP permits are annually assessed across the waterfowl breeding ranges of North America. now available on the DEEP website at www.ct.gov/deep/ All these data are analyzed annually by the biologists of each of the 4 Flyway sportsmenlicensing. Councils (Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, and Pacific). The councils develop waterfowl and other migratory gamebird hunting regulation proposals, which are, in turn, submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for evaluation and New for 2013-2014 approval or denial. Posession limits for all migratory gamebird species have been increased from two After extensive public review, the USFWS Regulations Committee (SRC) sets times the daily bag limit to three times the daily bag limit. migratory bird hunting regulations by establishing the frameworks, or outside limits, The daily limit for scaup will be reduced to 2 due to a decline in the estimated for season lengths, bag limits, and areas for migratory bird hunting. For example, breeding population. the current duck hunting