The snow geese have arrived in Delaware and Maryland for the 2011-2012 waterfowl season. The madness is about to begin. An expected 3.5 million greater snow geese will be wintering this year  on Delmarva in MD, DE, & VA.

Snow goose hunts are like nothing else in waterfowling on the Eastern Shore. Come join the madness. See white cyclones of thousands of snow geese within feet of your face as the small grain eating varmints settle in on the decoy spread to reek havock on the cropland.

Take pictures our shoot video if you wish. You want to record a memory of a lifetime for sure.  Who knows how many years the snow goose population explosion will last, but it is game on this year.

Maryland Black Bear Hunting Lottery is underway APPLY NOW! Go to http://blackbear.dnr.state.md.us/  Online applications for the Maryland Black Bear Lottery are being accepted until 11:59 p.m. (almost midnight) on Friday, September 2. 
To apply, a $15 nonrefundable application fee must be submitted via credit card, check, or money order. All payments must be received by 12 p.m. on Monday, September 5, 2010. Checks and money orders should be made payable to MDDNR Black Bear and mailed to MDDNR Black Bear, P.O. Box 360, Frostburg, MD 21532.
Only one application per person will be accepted. Duplicate applications will result in disqualification and forfeiture of all fees. Registrations will also be accepted by phone between August 22 and August 26 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 1-888-579-6768. Read what last year’s hunters had to say: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/huntersguide/BearHunt_Testimonials.asp  See photos from prior hunts: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/huntersguide/BearHunt_Photos.asp (Later this year, it could be you in one of those photos). For everything Maryland Black Bear, visit our online resource: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/huntersguide/BlackBearGuide.asp  The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is accepting applications to participate in this year’s lottery for black bear hunting permits through September 2. Applications issued will be valid for this year’s black bear hunting season, which will take place October 24 through October 29.
This year’s hunt will follow the same successful model we’ve used for the previous bear hunting seasons.
The application process will follow the Preference Point System for bear hunting permit applications that DNR implemented in 2007. Hunters who apply this year will receive one entry in the random drawing as well as one additional entry for each past consecutive year they have applied. Therefore, those hunters who applied unsuccessfully in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 will receive five entries in the drawing when they apply this year. The following rules also apply: Applicants must apply each year to retain preference points. If an applicant skips a year, all preference points will be forfeited. Once an applicant is selected to receive a bear hunting permit in the random drawing, all preference points will be forfeited. If an applicant is selected in the random drawing, but forfeits the permit, all preference points will be forfeited. Applicants will have the opportunity to purchase a preference point. This will allow those hunters who cannot hunt in 2010 the opportunity to retain their preference points for use in future drawings. DNR will issue 260 bear hunting permits with a quota of 55-80 bears and will close the hunt when the quota is reached. The opportunity to hunt black bears in Maryland remains limited to Garrett and Allegany counties.   

 Jill Kubatko

Publications Manager/Outreach Office of CommunicationsOffice: 410-260-8007

Cell: 443-924-0080jkubatko@dnr.state.md.us

WATERFOWL POPULATION EXPLODES – EXCELLENT NESTING CONDITIONS

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – June 30, 2011 – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released its preliminary report today on breeding ducks and habitats, based on surveys conducted in May and early June. Total duck populations were estimated at 45.6 million breeding ducks on the surveyed area. This estimate represents an 11 percent increase over last year’s estimate of 40.9 million birds and is 35 percent above the 1955-2010 long-term average. This was only the fifth time in the survey’s history that the total duck population exceeded 40 million.

“The BEST waterfowl habitat conditions and breeding duck population levels since recors keeping began in 1955.

Habitat conditions across the U.S. and Canadian prairies and parklands were considered excellent. Further north, wetland conditions in most boreal regions of Alaska and northern Canada were good to very good at the time of the survey. During the survey and into early summer, many regions important to breeding ducks continued to receive significant snow melt and further precipitation, which could increase later breeding efforts and ensure brood survival. If these wet conditions continue, prospects going into the winter and possibly into spring 2012 will be favorable as well.

In addition to extensive grassland cover, one of the most important elements in duck breeding success is the amount of water present in portions of prairie and parkland Canada and the north-central United States. Total pond counts for the United States and Canada combined showed 8.1 million ponds, a 22 percent increase from last year’s estimate and 62 percent above the long-term average. This was the second time in the survey’s history that ponds exceeded 8 million.

Of the 10 species traditionally reported, eight were similar to or increased in number from 2010. Two species (scaup and American wigeon) remained below their long-term average. Northern shovelers, blue-winged teal and northern pintails were bright spots on this year’s survey. Northern shovelers and bluewings reached record highs (4.6 and 8.9 million, respectively), and northern pintail numbers surpassed 4 million for the first time since 1980. Scaup numbers were similar to 2010 and remain below their long-term averages. Only three species—scaup, northern pintail and American wigeon—remain below North American Waterfowl Management Plan population goals.

As good as the news is this week, waterfowl and prairie habitats continue to face significant long-term threats. Grassland habitat is under siege on many fronts and is being lost at alarming rates. Key public policies such as the Farm Bill and North American Wetlands Conservation Act will need to continue to focus on conservation for the good news to carry into the future. That’s our challenge in years to come.”

Nesting cover across the Prairie Pothole Region continues to decline, particularly on the U.S. side of the border. During the survey, observers noted many large tracts of former Conservation Reserve Program grasslands that had been converted to cropland since last year or were in the process of being plowed. Expiring CRP contracts and high commodity prices driven by biofuel demands and other economic factors are pushing these conversions. North Dakota alone has lost 22% of its CRP acres since 2007. Experts project that another 387,000 acres will be lost in 2010-2011 and more than 1 million acres will be lost in 2012-13. The continued loss of critical nesting cover will negatively impact the future of breeding ducks.

As always, fall weather and habitat conditions along migration routes will have a big impact on migration chronology and local hunting success.

In light of a very favorable breeding ground report, it’s still quite a while before we can put out the decoys. We will have to monitor how broods fare this summer and what impact summer flooding has on many migration and wintering areas before we get better insight into what to expect this fall.”

The FWS spring surveys provide the scientific basis for many management programs across the continent including the setting of hunting regulations. The four Flyway Councils will meet in late July to recommend and adopt the season structure and bag limits for 2011-12. Individual states will make their specific selections within a federal framework of season length, bag limit, and outside dates. Hunters should check their state’s rules for final dates.

Guided Canada goose Hunts

Tentative 2011-12 Canada Goose Seasons

Goose Hunting Area Boundary Descriptions

Shooting Hours: one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.

Bag Limits: The daily bag limit is the maximum number of birds that any person may take or possess in the field during any one day. The possession limit is twice the daily bag limit for all waterfowl species except snow geese. The possession limit is the maximum number of birds that any person may possess in total in the field, at home, in transit, or in storage. See table below for specific bag limits for each Goose Hunting Area.

Non-toxic shot: Required

Other: You must register with HIP to hunt geese.

^a These season dates will not be finalized until federal regulations have been adopted in late summer. Be sure to check the final regulations before going hunting.
^b See map (above) and boundary descriptions (below) before going afield.
^c September season in Western Long Island will be closed to allow extension of the regular season in this area only.
^d The Special Late Season is open only in a small portion (north shore) of the Central Long Island Area (see description below).
^e Cackling geese and white-fronted geese may be taken as part of the Canada goose daily and possession limits.

TENTATIVE Special Late Canada Goose Season

DEC offers a special Late Canada Goose Hunting Season. The Late Canada Goose Hunting Area is that area of the Central Long Island Goose Hunting Area (see Regular Goose Season map) lying north of State Route 25A and west of a continuous line extending northward from State Route 25A along Randall Road (near Shoreham) to North Country Road, then east to Sound Road, then north to Long Island Sound, and then due north to the New York-Connecticut boundary.

Season Dates: February 5 – February 15

Bag Limit: 5 geese per day, 10 in possession.

Shooting Hours: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset

Non-toxic Shot: Required

Other: All migratory bird hunters must register with HIP.

New York State Goose Hunting Area Descriptions

NOTE: Change to Northeast-Hudson Valley boundary in the Washington-Saratoga Co. area!

For descriptions of these areas based on road boundaries, rather than Wildlife Management Units, see Road Boundary Descriptions of New York State Goose Hunting Areas

1. The Lake Champlain Goose Hunting Area is the same as the Lake Champlain Zone.
2. The Northeast Goose Hunting Area is the same as the Northeastern Waterfowl Hunting Zone: That area north of a continuous line extending from Lake Ontario east along the north shore of the Salmon River to Interstate 81, south along Interstate Route 81 to Route 31, east along Route 31 to Route 13, north along Route 13 to Route 49, east along Route 49 to Route 365 to Route 28, east along Route 28 to Route 29, east along Route 29 to Route 22, north along Route 22 to Route 153, east along Route 153 to the New York – Vermont boundary, exclusive of the Lake Champlain Zone.
3. The East Central Goose Hunting Area consists of the following WMUs: 4A, 4F, 6P, 6R, 6S, 7M, and 7P. The East Central Goose Hunting Area also includes those parts of WMUs 7F and 7J lying south of Route 31 and east of Route 81.
4. The South Goose Hunting Area consists of the following WMUs: 3A, 3C, 3H, 3K, 3N, 3P, 3R, 4G, 4H, 4O, 4P, 4R, 4W, 7R, 7S, 8M, 8N, 8P, 8T, 8W, 8X, 8Y, 9A, 9C, 9F, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M, 9N, 9P, 9R, 9S, 9T, 9W, 9X, and 9Y. The South Goose Hunting Area also includes: that part of WMU 8G lying south and west of a continuous line extending along the New York State Thruway from Crittenden-Murrays Corners Road (near the Erie-Genesee County line) to Exit 48 in Batavia, then south along State Route 98 to State Route 20; that part of WMU 3G lying in Putnam County; and that part of WMU 3S lying north of Interstate Route 95.
5. The West Central Goose Hunting Area consists of the following WMUs: 7A, 7H, 8A, 8C, 8F, 8H, 8J, 8R, and 8S. The West Central Goose Hunting Area also includes: that part of WMU 6K lying west of a continuous line extending along the north shore of the Salmon River from US Route 11 to Interstate Route 81, then south along Route 81 to Route 49; those parts of WMUs 7F and 7J lying west of Interstate Route 81; and that part of WMU 8G lying north and east of a continuous line extending along the New York State Thruway from Crittenden-Murrays Corners Road (near the Erie-Genesee County line) to Exit 48 in Batavia, then south along Route 98 to Route 20.
6. The Hudson Valley Goose Hunting Area consists of the following WMUs: 3F, 3J, 3M, 4B, 4C, 4J, 4K, 4L, 4S, 4T, 4U, 4Y, 4Z, and 5R; that part of WMU 5S lying south of a continuous line extending east along Route 29 to Route 22, north along Route 22 to Route 153, then east along Route 153 to the New York – Vermont boundary; and that part of WMU 3G lying in Dutchess County.
7. The Western Long Island Goose Hunting Area is that area of Westchester County and its tidal waters southeast of Interstate Route 95 and that area of Nassau and Suffolk Counties lying west of a line extending from the New York-Connecticut boundary due south to the northernmost end of the Sunken Meadow State Parkway, south along the Sunken Meadow State Parkway, the Sagtikos State Parkway, and the Robert Moses State Parkway to its southernmost end, then due south to international waters.
8. The Central Long Island Goose Hunting Area is that area of Suffolk County lying between the Western and Eastern Long Island Goose Hunting Areas, as defined above and below.
9. The Eastern Long Island Goose Hunting Area is that area of Suffolk County lying east of a continuous line extending due south from the New York-Connecticut boundary to the northernmost end of Roanoke Avenue in the Town of Riverhead, south on Roanoke Avenue (which becomes County Route 73) to State Route 25, west on Route 25 to Peconic Avenue, south on Peconic Avenue to County Route (CR) 104 (Riverleigh Avenue), south on CR 104 to CR 31 (Old Riverhead Road), south on CR 31 to Oak Street, south on Oak Street to Potunk Lane, then west on Stevens Lane, then south on Jessup Avenue (in Westhampton Beach) to Dune Road (CR 89), then due south to international waters.
10. The Special Late Canada Goose Hunting Area is that portion of the Central Long Island Goose Hunting Area lying north of State Route 25A and west of a continuous line extending northward from State Route 25A along Randall Road (near Shoreham) to North Country Road, then east to Sound Road, then north to Long Island Sound, and then due north to the New York-Connecticut boundary.

Snow Goose Hunting in New York

PROPOSED 2011-12 Waterfowl Hunting Seasons NY

Shooting Hours: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset in all hunting zones

Non-toxic Shot: Required

Season Zones: Most waterfowl seasons are set based on five waterfowl hunting zones that have been approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

NOTE: (1) The following hunting season dates are PROPOSED and will not be finalized until federal regulations have been adopted in late September. Be sure to check the final regulations before going hunting; and (2) You must register with HIP to hunt any of these species.

^a Youth Days are additional days for Junior Hunters only. Young hunters, 12 to 15 years of age, possessing a junior hunting license may hunt ducks, coots, mergansers, Canada geese, and brant on 2 special days in each zone. Daily bag limits for ducks are the maximum allowed during the regular duck season, and 2 per day for Canada geese. Young hunters must be accompanied by a licensed (including current HIP registration and duck stamp) adult hunter, but the adult may not shoot any birds unless the respective regular season is open. Note: A 2010-11 hunting license is needed to hunt on any Youth Day in September 2011.
^b In the special sea duck area only.

PROPOSED 2011-12 Waterfowl Bag Limits

The daily bag limit is the maximum number of birds of each species that any person may take or possess in the field during any one day. The possession limit is twice the daily bag limit for all waterfowl species except snow geese. The possession limit is the maximum number of birds that any person may possess in total in the field, at home, in transit or in storage.

* The daily limit of 6 ducks includes all species of mergansers, and may include no harlequin ducks and no more than 4 mallards (no more than 2 of which may be hens), 1 black duck, 3 wood ducks, 2 pintail, 2 redheads, 2 scaup, 1 canvasback, 4 scoters or 2 hooded mergansers.

** The daily limit of 7 sea ducks (scoters, eiders and long-tailed ducks – formerly called oldsquaw) is in addition to the regular duck bag in coastal waters of the Long Island Zone only. No more than 4 scoters may be included in the daily bag of sea ducks. In all other areas, sea ducks are part of the regular duck bag limit.

# Cackling geese and white-fronted geese may be taken as part of the Canada goose daily and possession limits. Snow geese and Ross’ geese may be taken as part of the snow goose limits.

GUIDED DEER HUNTS MD

GUIDED TURKEY HUNTS MD DE VA

 

Maryland Hunting, Trapping Seasons and Bag Limits for 2011-2012
( Maryland’s hunting license year is August 1 to July 31)

MIGRATORY GAME BIRDS

Seasons, bag limits and possession limits for migratory game birds must conform to regulations and season frameworks adopted by the Secretary of the Interior.  To provide additional opportunity for public involvement in this process, the Department presents the following proposals for selected migratory species with the understanding that they may change to comply with forthcoming Federal frameworks. 

Early Waterfowl Seasons & Bag Limits
2011-2012

Ducks, Coots, and Mergansers

Daily Bag and Possession Limits

The daily bag limit of ducks is 6. The 6-duck limit (including mergansers) shall consist of no more than 5 long-tailed ducks, 4 scoters, 4 mallards (max. 2 hen mallards), 3 wood ducks, 2 redheads, 2 scaup, 2 hooded mergansers, 2 pintails, 1 canvasback, 1 fulvous tree duck, 1 mottled duck, and 1 black duck (during black duck season). All other species of ducks (except harlequin ducks) may be taken up to the 6-duck limit. There is no open season for harlequin ducks. In addition to the duck bag limit, hunters may take 15 coots per day.

Sea Ducks (Scoters, Long-tailed Duck, and Eiders) in Special Sea Duck Zone

Atlantic Population (AP) Canada Geese

AP Harvest Zone:

Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Harford, Howard, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, St. Mary’s, Talbot, Wicomico, and Worcester Counties; that portion of Carroll County east of Route 31 to the intersection of Route 97, and east of Route 97 to the Pennsylvania line; that portion of Prince George’s County east of Route 3 and Route 301; and that portion of Charles County east of Route 301 to the Virginia line.

* The daily bag limit may include Canada geese, cackling geese, and white-fronted geese singly or in aggregate.

Resident Population Canada Geese (Regular Season)

RP Harvest Zone:

Allegany, Frederick, Garrett, Montgomery, and Washington Counties; that portion of Carroll County west of Route 31 to the intersection of Route 97, and west of Route 97 to the Pennsylvania line; that portion of Prince George’s County west of Route 3 and Route 301; and that portion of Charles County west of Route 301 to the Virginia line.

* The daily bag limit may include Canada geese, cackling geese, and white-fronted geese singly or in aggregate.

Map of Regular Canada Goose Hunting Zones in Maryland

Atlantic Brant

Light Geese
(Greater and Lesser Snow Geese, Ross’ Geese)

2012 Light Goose Conservation Order Season

Light Goose Conservation Season Harvest Zone (not open in special sea duck zone):

Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Harford, Howard, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, St. Mary’s, Talbot, Wicomico, and Worcester Counties; that portion of Carroll County east of Route 31 to the intersection of Route 97, and east of Route 97 to the Pennsylvania line; that portion of Prince Georges County east of Routes 3 and 301; and that portion of Charles County east of Route 301 to the Virginia line.

Special Regulations during Light Goose Conservation Order Season:

1. Hunters may use unplugged shotguns and electronic calls.
2. Extended shooting hours to one-half hour after sunset; and
3. Hunters must possess a Snow Goose Conservation Order Hunting Season Permit while hunting light geese. 
   Permits available from DNR sport license agents, online at https://www2.md.wildlifelicense.com/  or by phone (1-800-918-2870) for a $5 fee.

No Open Season for Swans (tundra, trumpeter, and mute swans)