Central Flyway Council Alberta Kansas Nebraska North Dakota Oklahoma South Dakota Wyoming Colorado Montana New Mexico Northwest Territories Saskatchewan Texas www.flyways.us/central Recommendation No. 1 Pertaining to: 2017-2018 duck, coot, and merganser hunting regulations. Recommendation: The Central Flyway Council (Council) recommends that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) adopt the following regulations for duck, coot, and merganser hunting in the Central Flyway: The opening framework shall be the Saturday nearest September 24 (September 23, 2017), and the closing framework shall be the last Sunday in January (January 28, 2018). In all states, the season length shall be 74 days. Within the High Plains Mallard Management Unit, an additional 23 days of season shall be available, provided that these days are taken starting no earlier than the Saturday closest to December 10 (December 9, 2017). The daily bag limit shall be 6 ducks, with species and sex restrictions as follows: mallard – 5, no more than 2 of which may be females; wood duck, scaup – 3; redhead, canvasback – 2; pintails – 1. In addition to the daily bag limit of 6 ducks, 2 bonus blue-winged teal will be permitted in the daily bag during the first 16 days of the regular duck season in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming. In Texas, the daily bag limit on mottled ducks shall be 1, and harvest of mottled ducks is prohibited during the first 5 days of the season. The possession limit shall be three times the daily bag limit. The season on coots shall run concurrently with the duck season. The daily bag limit shall be 15. The possession limit shall be three times the daily bag limit. The season on mergansers shall run concurrently with the season on other ducks. The bag limit for mergansers may be separate from that of other ducks. The daily bag limit shall be 5, of which no more than 2 may be hooded mergansers. In States that include mergansers in the duck daily bag limit, the daily limit may be the same as the duck bag limit, only 2 of which may be hooded mergansers. The possession limit shall be three times the daily bag limit. Shooting hours for ducks, coots and mergansers shall be one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. Justification: The Council continues to support the adaptive harvest management process for mid-continent mallards. The Council agrees that the liberal alternative is the optimal choice based on the management objective and population status of a mid-continent breeding population of 11.9 million mallards in the traditional survey area minus AK plus MN, WI, and MI, and 3.5 million ponds in prairie Canada in 2016. Council recommendations for regulations for pintails, wood ducks, and scaup are consistent with the current harvest strategies for these stocks, and the interim guidelines for canvasbacks. Council recognizes that there is dissatisfaction with current duck harvest strategies; however, we intend to address those issues through the MCM AHM revision process. Council does not support changes, by any flyway, to packages and frameworks prior to the conclusion of MCM AHM revision process. Adopted by: Central Flyway Waterfowl Technical Committee Steamboat Springs, CO September 19, 2016 ______________________________ Central Flyway Council Steamboat Springs, CO September 23, 2016 TC Contact: Jim Gammonley Central Flyway Council Alberta Kansas Nebraska North Dakota Oklahoma South Dakota Wyoming Colorado Montana New Mexico Northwest Territories Saskatchewan Texas www.flyways.us/central Recommendation No. 2 Pertaining to: 2017-2018 dark goose (Canada geese, white-fronted geese and all other geese except light geese) regulations in the east-tier states (North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas). of the Central Flyway. Recommendation: The Central Flyway Council recommends that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service adopt the following 2017-2018 dark goose regulations for the east tier states of the Central Flyway: For Canada geese framework dates will be the Saturday nearest September 24 (September 23, 2017). The closing date framework will be the Sunday nearest February 15 (February 18, 2018). Season length will be 107 days in east-tier states with the opportunity to split the season twice (3 segments) with a daily bag of 8. The possession limit will be three times the daily bag limit. For white-fronted geese framework dates will be the Saturday nearest September 24 (September 23, 2017) until the Sunday nearest February 15 (February 18, 2018). A season length of 74 days with a daily bag of 3 will be available in all states of the east tier, with the option of an 88-day season with a daily bag of 2, or a 107-day season with a 1 bird daily bag limit. The possession limit will be three times the daily bag limit. Justification: This recommendation represents no change from 2016-2017. The 3 year average mid winter survey results for east tier CFAN and WP/GP Canada geese are 213,601 and 520,941 birds respectively. The most recent population estimate using the Lincoln estimator was 3.76 million birds. All of these estimates are above population objectives. The regulation options for white-fronted geese are consistent with current management plan. Adopted by: Central Flyway Waterfowl Technical Committee Steamboat Springs, CO September 19, 2016 ______________________________ Central Flyway Council Steamboat Springs, CO September 23, 2016 TC Contact: Rocco Murano Central Flyway Council Alberta Kansas Nebraska North Dakota Oklahoma South Dakota Wyoming Colorado Montana New Mexico Northwest Territories Saskatchewan Texas www.flyways.us/central Recommendation No. 3 Pertaining to: 2017-2018 dark goose (Canada geese, white-fronted geese and all other geese except light geese) regulations in the west-tier states (Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and the Western Goose Zone of Texas) of the Central Flyway. Recommendation: The Central Flyway Council recommends that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service adopt the following 2017-2018 dark goose regulations for the west tier states of the Central Flyway: The opening date framework will be the Saturday nearest September 24 (September 23, 2017). The closing date framework will be the Sunday nearest February 15 (February 18, 2018). The season may be divided into 2 segments, except in Wyoming, where the season may be divided into 3 segments. Season length will be 95 days in Texas and 107 days in the remainder of the west-tier states. Daily bag limit will be 5 dark geese in the aggregate, except in the Western Goose Zone of Texas, where the daily bag limit will be 5 dark geese in the aggregate, with no more than 2 white-fronted geese. The possession limit will be three times the daily bag limit. Justification: This recommendation represents no change from 2016-2017. Populations of Hi-Line (376,866) and Central Flyway Arctic-Nesting (CFAN) geese remain above objective levels. The most recent population estimate for CFAN geese using the Lincoln estimator was 3.76 million birds. Adopted by: Central Flyway Waterfowl Technical Committee Steamboat Springs, CO September 19, 2016 ______________________________ Central Flyway Council Steamboat Springs, CO September 23, 2016 TC Contact: Nate Huck Central Flyway Council Alberta Kansas Nebraska North Dakota Oklahoma South Dakota Wyoming Colorado Montana New Mexico Northwest Territories Saskatchewan Texas www.flyways.us/central Recommendation No. 4 Pertaining to: 2017-2018 hunting regulations for light geese in the Central Flyway Recommendation: The Central Flyway Council recommends the states of the Central Flyway be allowed a light goose hunting season of 107 days with a daily bag limit of 50 and no possession limit. The framework dates shall begin on the Saturday nearest September 24 (September 23, 2017) and end on March 10, 2018. Shooting hours shall be from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. Justification: There are no changes from the 2016-2017 season. Adopted by: Central Flyway Waterfowl Technical Committee Steamboat Springs, CO September 19, 2016 ______________________________ Central Flyway Council Steamboat Springs, CO September 23, 2016 TC Contact: Tom Bidrowski Central Flyway Council Alberta Kansas Nebraska North Dakota Oklahoma South Dakota Wyoming Colorado Montana New Mexico Northwest Territories Saskatchewan Texas www.flyways.us/central Recommendation No. 5 Pertaining to: Extension of North Dakota’s September early Canada goose season date frameworks. Recommendation: The Central Flyway Council recommends an extension of North Dakota’s September early Canada goose season framework to 22 September. Justification: Beginning in 1999, states in the Central Flyway were experimentally allowed to hold early Canada goose seasons beginning 1 September. These seasons are intended to target temperate breeding Canada geese that are considered to be above population objectives and cause considerable socio-economic conflicts. During the experimental evaluation, goose parts from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Parts Collection survey were analyzed to determine the extent of harvest made up by small, migrant Canada geese. During 2000 – 2002, North Dakota exceeded the 10% threshold determined to be small, migrant Canada geese. As a result, the season ending date in North Dakota was pared back to 15 September. Recent evaluations by USFWS have determined that the proportion of small, migrant Canada geese in the front-end of North Dakota’s waterfowl season has decreased and are below the 10% threshold (Figure 1). Thus, exposure of small, migrant Canada geese during the mid to latter portions of September has also diminished. Moreover, population sizes of large, temperate breeding Canada geese have continued to burgeon, providing an increasing buffer in the Canada goose harvest. Canada goose population estimates (USFWS) in North Dakota during May exceeded 290,000 for the past 7 years, substantially above the state’s current objective of 80,000. Figure 1. Proportion of small Canada geese in the harvest during 5-day periods of September and October 2005-2014 in North Dakota.