AGFC decides on weekend for dove season opening

Looking at options of the earliest possible start for dove season versus a weekend opening, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission went with the weekend.

At their Thursday meeting in Little Rock, the commissioners set dove dates as Sept. 6-28, Oct. 4-19 and Dec. 13-Jan. 2.

Federal rules allow states to open dove hunting as early as Sept. 1, which will be on Monday this year. The AGFC has favored Saturday openings for most hunting seasons for many years now.

Other migratory bird seasons set Thursday were teal, Sept. 13-28; rail, Sept. 13-Nov. 21; woodcock, Nov. 8-Dec. 22; snipe, Nov. 1-Feb. 15; purple gallinule, Sept. 1-Nov. 9; and moorhen, Sept. 1-Nov. 9.

The commissioners also received staff recommendations for duck and goose seasons from Luke Naylor, AGFC migratory bird program coordinator. After these are studied, the commissioners will set the seasons at their Aug. 21 meeting in Little Rock.

Federal guidelines for waterfowl seasons won't be handed down until early August.

Naylor recommended Nov. 22-Dec. 1, Dec. 6-24 and Dec. 26-Jan. 25 for duck hunting. For white-fronted geese season, it was Nov. 15-Dec. 1, Dec. 6-24 and Dec. 26-Jan. 30. For snow geese, included blue and Ross' geese, recommended dates were Nov. 8-Dec. 24 and Dec. 26-Jan. 30. For Canada geese, Sept. 1-15 and Dec. 26-Jan. 30.

The early Canada goose season would be statewide, and this is a change from last year, when the early hunt was for the northwest part of Arkansas. Canada geese numbers are increasing in the state, especially with the resident giant subspecies of Canadas.

The commissioners will also look at the ban on spinning wing decoys for duck hunting. This was put into effect on an experimental basis a few years ago, but other states in the Mississippi Flyway have not followed Arkansas' lead on the issue. The daily limit of one female mallard will also be considered. Federal rules allow two female mallards a day. Arkansas also put in this rule a few years ago, and adjoining states in the Mississippi Flyway have not followed Arkansas. Some northern states have adopted the one female mallard rule.

Under federal rules, duck seasons are 60 days under a "liberal" format, 45 days under a "moderate" format and 30 days under a :"conservative" format. The liberal seasons have been in place for a number of years now, but duck habitat conditions have declined in the northern breeding grounds, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Naylor said he expected the 60-day framework to be sued for 2008-2009 but with a possible reduction in the daily limit for scaup, a species of duck that has declined in numbers.

Commission chairman Freddie Black of Lake Village commented, "We'll have 30 days to get more input (in what hunters want). Back in 1999-2000, the public wanted us to do something. Our strategy was to be a flyway leader (with the spinning wing decoy ban and the female mallard reduction). We failed. The other states did not follow our lead. We promised the public then that we would look at it if we didn't accomplish what we wanted to."

The commissioners head Mike Widner, AGFC turkey program coordinator, report a total of 9,724 turkeys checked by hunters in the spring 2008 season, a decline of 1,345 from the previous year.

Widner said the drop was due to poor reproduction by turkeys over several years and by inclement weather. The season opened with much of the state wracked by cold and storms, including extensive flooding. The season was also shorter than in 2007.

The first Campbell Awards were presented to AGFC employees for outstanding service. The award was created by Commissioner Craig Campbell of Little Rock in recognition of his grandfather, a former commissioner, and his father, an avid outdoorsman.

The awards went to Louise Robinson of Alexander, just retired from 30-plus years with the Enforcement Division; to Mike Cantrell of Mountain Home, a regional maintenance contractor supervisor; and to Chuck Long of Marmaduke, a regional education coordinator.