The frameworks prescribe season lengths, bag limits, shooting hours, and outside dates for the hunting of ducks, geese, swans, and coots from which the State wildlife agencies select and establish their waterfowl hunting regulations. State regulations may be more restrictive, but not less restrictive, than the Federal frameworks.
The final frameworks for the regular waterfowl season remained much the same as originally proposed in the August 21, 1992, Federal Register except for two changes.
In previous years, there has been a 3-bird limit in the High Plains Mallard Management Unit within the Central Flyway and only two of those birds could be drake mallards. This year that within-bag restriction has been suspended and the total bag can consist of drake mallards.
Also, a temporary exception to the duck-zoning criteria in the Southern San Joaquin Valley will be continued through the 1992-93 season. This temporary zone was established in response to the California drought conditions.
Otherwise, the regulations remain much the same as last years but with framework dates of October 1 through January 20 in all flyways for ducks. For geese, the daily bag limit was cut from 3 to 2 in the Mississippi Flyway and additional restrictions were put in place to reduce the harvest of Atlantic Population Canada geese.
The complete text of the final frameworks was published in the September 22, 1992, Federal Register. Waterfowl hunters are urged to contact the wildlife agency for the States in which they plan to hunt for the specific regulations governing their seasons.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov
