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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Waterfowl seasons set; record duck hatch reported

A flying flock of teal – bluewing or cinnamon – photographed by Steve Jamsa of Bonners Ferry is the grand prize runner-up in the 2014 Ducks Unlimited photo contest.
A flying flock of teal – bluewing or cinnamon – photographed by Steve Jamsa of Bonners Ferry is the grand prize runner-up in the 2014 Ducks Unlimited photo contest.

UPDATED to correct Idaho waterfowl season dates.

HUNTING -- With a record number of ducks counted on the northern breeding grounds, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission approved migratory waterfowl hunting seasons last weekend.

Under the waterfowl hunting package, most hunting opportunities approved by the commission will be similar to last year. That includes a split statewide duck season that will be open for 107 days, starting Oct. 17-21 and continuing Oct. 24-Jan. 31.

The special youth hunting weekend is set for Sept. 19-20.

  • Idaho’s duck season in the Panhandle will run Oct. 17-Jan. 29 with exceptions for scaup.  Goose hunting will open in North Idaho Oct. 17-Jan. 29 with some exceptions for light geese.  
  • Idaho’s youth waterfowl season is Oct. 3-4.

Idaho's season will open a week later than the 2014-15 season in response to hunters who want to hunt as late into winter as possible to take advantage of flights coming out of the north.

Federal surveys estimate that 49.5 million ducks were on the northern breeding grounds this spring in Canada and the United States. That’s slightly more than last year’s record of 49.2 million ducks on the breeding grounds.

In Washington, limits for mallard, pintail, scaup, redhead, goldeneye, harlequin, scoter and long-tailed duck will remain the same as last season. But the commission raised the daily bag limit for canvasback from one to two per day because of increasing numbers throughout North America.

Goose hunting seasons will vary among management areas across the Washington, but most open mid-October and run through late January.

In southwest Washington, however, the commission approved several changes to the goose hunting season. Those changes include:

  • Closing the season for dusky Canada geese to ensure protection of the birds in areas where the small population of this subspecies winters.
  • Expanding the length of the general hunting season into March for other geese.
  • Adding all of Clark County to Goose Management Area 2A, and Grays Harbor County to Goose Management Area 2B
  • Eliminating check stations for geese, and instead increasing checks in the field to monitor harvest.

Goose identification testing requirements to hunt in Goose Management Areas 2A and 2B will remain effect for this season.  

A new option to the Skagit County brant hunting season was added for the season set for early January. In previous years, WDFW has opened the Skagit brant hunt for eight days when at least 6,000 brant were counted during an aerial survey of the region. The new rule authorizes the department to open a three-day hunt when counts exceed 3,000 brant but fall below the 6,000-bird threshold.

The goose and duck hunting seasons approved by the commission are based on state and federal waterfowl population estimates and guidelines.

Details on the waterfowl hunting seasons will be available later this week on WDFW’s website.



Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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