Duck season rules approved MINERAL POINT - The Natural Resources Board recently approved the structures of the fall 2000 migratory game bird hunting seasons for Wisconsin. The season guidelines establish dates and bag limits for duck and Canada goose hunting and expands a special youth waterfowl hunt to two days. Duck seasons The fall 2000 duck hunting season will begin statewide on Sept. 30 at noon and will last 60 consecutive days ending on Nov. 28. The daily bag limit for the 2000 Wisconsin duck season is six ducks to include not more than: 4 mallards (of which only one may be a hen), 3 scaup, 2 redheads, 2 wood ducks, 1 pintail, 1 canvasback, 1 black duck. The possession limit is double the daily bag limit. The board also authorized a daily bag of 10 coots with a possession limit of 20. "The one hen mallard rule recognizes that locally produced mallards are the mainstay of Wisconsin's duck hunting season," said Jon Bergquist, migratory game bird ecologist. "Over 70 percent of the mallards harvested in Wisconsin are produced in Wisconsin and limiting the hen harvest assures a strong breeding population remains. "Depending on fall weather and habitat conditions, duck hunters should expect to see a season similar to 1999." Canada Geese New for 2000 is an extra week of hunting added to periods one, two and three in the Horicon zone, bringing those periods to 42 days each. Horicon and Collins Zones daily bag limit: There will be a two Canada geese per day limit. Shooting hours for all geese will be one-half hour before sunrise to sunset for the entire season, except on Sept. 30 when shooting hours open at noon. "Hunters that applied by the deadline should receive their tags by about mid-September," said Bergquist. "The actual number of tags won't be set until all applications are processed but I wouldn't be surprised if hunters receive at least four or five tags this year." Horicon and Collins Zones Hunting periods Horicon Zone Period 1: Sept. 16-29 and Sept. 30 (noon)- Oct. 27 Period 2: Sept. 30 (noon)- Nov. 10 Period 3: Oct. 7- Nov. 17 Period 4: Oct. 30- Dec. 19 Collins Zone Period 1: Sept. 16-29 and Sept.30 (noon)- Oct. 1 Period 2: Oct. 2-15 Period 3: Oct. 16-29 Period 4: Oct. 30-Nov. 17 and Nov. 27- Dec. 1 Exterior Zone and Exterior Subzones: In general, the Exterior Zone Canada goose season will open on Sept. 23 and last up to 93 days. Wisconsin will monitor the Canada goose harvest and will close the season early if the harvest quota is reached. Last year, the season ran the full authorized length. In 1998, the season closed early. The Rock Prairie Subzone will run 84 days. The Mississippi River Subzone will open Sept. 30 and last 80 days. The bag limit in the Exterior and Subzones is one Canada goose per day through Oct. 27 and two Canada geese per day Oct. 28 through the end of the season. "The board approved the Sept. 23 opening to provide northern hunters better opportunity," said Bergquist. "The earlier opening will also place more harvest emphasis on our resident Canada goose population and hopefully alleviate some of the over-population problems we've had with the giant Canadas in some communities." Youth hunt The board also chose to expand a special youth waterfowl hunt to two days, Sept. 16 and 17, giving young hunters a chance to experience waterfowl hunting without the crowding found during the regular season. Bag limits will be the same as for regular duck and Canada goose seasons All youth must be registered in the Harvest Information Program (HIP-certified). Only youth 12- to 15-years old may hunt waterfowl these days. Youths must be accompanied by an adult, 18 years or older, and the youth must have passed a hunter safety course to participate. Adults accompanying the youths are not permitted to duck hunt on these days. All other license requirements are waived for this special youth waterfowl hunt day, except youth wishing to harvest a Canada goose must have a Canada goose harvest permit for that zone. Hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. Those youth taking a Canada goose in the Exterior Zone must comply with the permit validation and harvest reporting rules. Youth taking Canada geese in either the Horicon or Collins Zones must use their regular season tags. For the Horicon and Collins Zones a tag for any time period will be valid on Sept. 16 and 17 for youth hunters only.