U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Approves Hunter’s Choice Bag Limit Trial

Hunter's Choice States

Non-hunter's Choice States

In 2006 the Central Flyway started a three-year trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a new daily limit for ducks designed to maintain maximum hunting opportunities in the future. These new regulations are being called the Hunter’s Choice Bag Limit. For the duration of the trial, half of the 10 states in the Central Flyway will maintain similar seasons as previous years, while the other five states will use the Hunter’s Choice Bag Limit (see graphic).

South Dakota was selected as one of the states to try the new Hunter’s Choice Regulations.

The Problem: A long-term decline in pintail populations and a small population of canvasbacks have led biologists to try and come up with ways to limit the harvest of these ducks while allowing harvest of more abundant species. In recent years, there have been “seasons within seasons” where the take of pintails and canvasbacks was only allowed for 39 days of the overall 74-day duck season. The Hunter’s Choice Bag Limit has the potential to limit harvest on pintails and canvasbacks, like “seasons within seasons”, and may be more acceptable to hunters than having partially closed seasons on several ducks.

Hunter’s Choice uses an aggregate or combined bag limit category to restrict the harvest of duck species needing special harvest management consideration, while maintaining full hunting opportunity on abundant species or stocks of ducks such as drake mallards. The Hunter’s Choice aggregate bag limit category includes the hen mallard, pintail, canvasback, and in Texas, a mottled duck, where only one of the duck species in the aggregate category can be taken in the daily limit. For those species in the aggregate bag category, the harvest of one will buffer the harvest of the others, thus reducing the harvest of all. At the end of the trial the two different types of regulations will be evaluated for their effectiveness in limiting pintail and canvasback harvest and hunters will be surveyed to see what set of regulations they prefer.

Duck Regulations for the 2006-2008 Hunting Seasons

Non-hunter's Choice States

Hunter's Choice States

(Same as Recent Past)

Six bird daily limit with select duck species allowed in combination.

Seasons within seasons where pintail and canvasback harvest are not allowed during periods of the overall duck season.

New Hunter’s Choice Regulations in Effect

Five bird daily limit with select duck species allowed in combination.

Pintail and canvasback harvest is allowed during the entire duck season (one pintail or canvasback or one hen mallard allowed per day).

Objectives of the Hunter’s Choice Trial are to:

1.) Compare canvasback and pintail harvest using Hunter’s Choice regulations to canvasback and pintail harvest using seasons-within-seasons regulations.

2.) Determine hunter preferences and opinions. Hunter surveys will be conducted pre- and post-Hunter’s Choice trial to determine if duck hunters have a preference for either the Hunter’s Choice or the seasons-within-seasons regulations.

3.) Determine the harvest of hen mallards under Hunter’s Choice regulations.

Central Flyway waterfowl managers are committed to the objective of providing duck hunters with the most hunting opportunity while ensuring the long-term welfare of all populations of Central Flyway duck species.