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2002 Duck Season Set-About Same As Last Year
By Bill Wehrle, Constitution-Tribune Editor
8/02
Ending months of speculation from area waterfowlers fearing a shortening of their beloved duck season and/or a reduction in the daily limit of ducks, Missouri's 2002 waterfowl season regulations have now been released. With minor exceptions, the 2002-03 waterfowl seasons will be about the same as last year's.
The speculation was largely fueled by reports of a substantial duck population decline resulting from poor nesting conditions in U.S. and Canadian prairie pothole regions with drought-like weather. The final surveys do reflect a significant lessening in the number of ducks expected in this year's fall migration flight, but mallards, the duck most pursued and most harvested by waterfowlers, did not experience as large a decline as was anticipated. This allowed the season regulations to basically remain unchanged throughout the Mississippi Flyway, which includes Missouri.
Two exceptions to last year's duck harvest regulations are the closing of the season on canvas backs for 2002, and the reduction in season length to just 30 days on pintails, to run concurrently with the first 30 days of duck season. Missouri retained their three-zone, three-season framework and a Youth Waterfowl Weekend. The federal framework for the Mississippi Flyway permitted a 60-day season to begin no earlier than Sept. 21 and close no later than Jan. 26.
Within this framework, Missouri set their three-zone duck seasons to run from Oct. 26-Dec. 24 (Oct. 26-Nov. 24 for pintails) in the North Zone (our area), Nov. 2-Dec. 31 in the Middle Zone and Nov. 23-Jan. 21 in the South Zone. A licensed Missouri hunter can change hunting locations within the state and duck hunt this year from Oct. 26-Jan. 21 somewhere in Missouri.
Youth Hunting Days will be Oct. 19-20 in the North Zone, Oct. 26-27 in the Middle Zone and Nov. 16-17 in the South Zone. Participants in Youth Hunting Days must be less than 16 years of age and must be accompanied by a licensed adult at least 18 years old. The adult need not be licensed if the youth possesses a hunter education certification card. Bag limits, including one pintail per day, will be the same on ducks and geese as during the regular season.
Shooting hours remain at 1/2 hour before sunrise to sunset. The daily bag limit on ducks will be six, with the following species restrictions: mallards, four (no more than two hens); scaup, three; wood ducks, two; redheads, two; pintail, one; black duck, one; and hooded merganser, one. Possession limit is twice the daily limit for all species. Coot season is concurrent with duck season and a hunter can take 15 coots per day.
By Bill Wehrle, Constitution-Tribune Editor
8/02
Ending months of speculation from area waterfowlers fearing a shortening of their beloved duck season and/or a reduction in the daily limit of ducks, Missouri's 2002 waterfowl season regulations have now been released. With minor exceptions, the 2002-03 waterfowl seasons will be about the same as last year's.
The speculation was largely fueled by reports of a substantial duck population decline resulting from poor nesting conditions in U.S. and Canadian prairie pothole regions with drought-like weather. The final surveys do reflect a significant lessening in the number of ducks expected in this year's fall migration flight, but mallards, the duck most pursued and most harvested by waterfowlers, did not experience as large a decline as was anticipated. This allowed the season regulations to basically remain unchanged throughout the Mississippi Flyway, which includes Missouri.
Two exceptions to last year's duck harvest regulations are the closing of the season on canvas backs for 2002, and the reduction in season length to just 30 days on pintails, to run concurrently with the first 30 days of duck season. Missouri retained their three-zone, three-season framework and a Youth Waterfowl Weekend. The federal framework for the Mississippi Flyway permitted a 60-day season to begin no earlier than Sept. 21 and close no later than Jan. 26.
Within this framework, Missouri set their three-zone duck seasons to run from Oct. 26-Dec. 24 (Oct. 26-Nov. 24 for pintails) in the North Zone (our area), Nov. 2-Dec. 31 in the Middle Zone and Nov. 23-Jan. 21 in the South Zone. A licensed Missouri hunter can change hunting locations within the state and duck hunt this year from Oct. 26-Jan. 21 somewhere in Missouri.
Youth Hunting Days will be Oct. 19-20 in the North Zone, Oct. 26-27 in the Middle Zone and Nov. 16-17 in the South Zone. Participants in Youth Hunting Days must be less than 16 years of age and must be accompanied by a licensed adult at least 18 years old. The adult need not be licensed if the youth possesses a hunter education certification card. Bag limits, including one pintail per day, will be the same on ducks and geese as during the regular season.
Shooting hours remain at 1/2 hour before sunrise to sunset. The daily bag limit on ducks will be six, with the following species restrictions: mallards, four (no more than two hens); scaup, three; wood ducks, two; redheads, two; pintail, one; black duck, one; and hooded merganser, one. Possession limit is twice the daily limit for all species. Coot season is concurrent with duck season and a hunter can take 15 coots per day.
