2016-17 USA Game Bird Hunting Seasons

In December, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced it is proposing continued liberal game bird season lengths and bag limits for the 2016-17 hunting seasons.

Each year, USFWS works in partnership with states from four Flyway Councils (Pacific, Central, Mississippi and Atlantic) to establish regulatory frameworks for hunting season lengths, dates and bag limits. States select their individual seasons from within the federal frameworks.

The announcement can be viewed at http://www.fws.gov/home/feature/2015/pdfs/Proposed-frameworks-2016.pdf.

USFWS publishes migratory game bird regulations each year in the Federal Register.

source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

2013 New Jersey Pheasant Stocking

The New Jersey DEP Division of Fish and Wildlife has announced that the extra pheasants are available because the Rockport Pheasant Farm in Warren County achieved better than anticipated production in the brooder houses and in the range pens this summer.

Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) scheduled for stocking on Tuesday, November 26, will each receive a portion of an additional 770 pheasants.

The additional birds are in addition to the 53,000 pheasants previously scheduled for the Small Game Season and the 1,090 already stocked for the Youth Pheasant Hunting Day on November 2.

Hunters can view the 2013 Division of Fish and Wildlife Pheasant Quail Stocking Schedule at:

www.njfishandwildlife.com/pdf/2013/pheas-quail_sched13.pdf.

source: NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife

USFWS Mourning Dove Population Report

The Mourning Dove is one of the most abundant bird species in urban and rural areas of North America.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recently released its Mourning Dove, Population Status, 2013.

The report summarizes information on abundance and harvest of mourning doves collected annually in the United States.

Information in the report is used to set annual hunting regulations for the mourning dove.

The report is available at:

http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/NewReportsPublications/PopulationStatus/MourningDove/Mourning%20Dove%20Population%20Status%202013.pdf

source: United States Fish and Wildlife Service