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The Colorado Wildlife Commission will consider dropping the state’s West Central Colorado Special Goose season during its monthly meeting in July. If approved, the change extends Canada goose hunting in Southwestern Colorado.
The recommendation is part of the Division of Wildlife’s proposed 2000 waterfowl hunting regulations being presented to the Commission on July 13 in Montrose. Other regulations, such as bag and possession limits would remain similar to the 1999 season.
The Commission is set to meet July 13-14 at the Holiday Inn Express, 1391 S. Townsend. The meeting begins at 10 a.m. The proposal to drop the special goose-hunting season is scheduled for discussion at 1:30 p.m., July 13.
No other major changes in migratory waterfowl hunting are on the agenda, although Division waterfowl experts are keeping close tabs on duck populations in Canada.
There have been rumors that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may limit duck hunting later this year due to dry conditions in Canada, said Jim Gammonly, a Division waterfowl biologist.
A dry habitat could reduce duck populations or reduce the birds’ health.
“We base the length of our duck-hunting season on the condition reports from Canada,” Gammonly said. However, “we don’t anticipate any major changes.”
By dropping the special season for the west-central flyway zone, the Canada goose season would be longer in Dolores, Montezuma, La Plata and parts of Mineral and Hinsdale counties.
“It provides more hunting opportunity in a population that can handle it,” Gammonly said. “Now, our biological information on the birds out there is that they’re doing well.”
Before the special season was created in 1971, hunting for Canada geese wasn’t allowed in Colorado’s west-central flyway zone, said Mike Szymczak, a Division migratory bird researcher.
“We had virtually no nesting birds in that area when we started (the season) in 1971,” Szymczak said, adding that the special season started out with a limited number of permits. Permit limitations continued, along with the shorter season, until 1989.
To establish the current population, Division officials trapped geese from Colorado’s eastern plains and moved them into the southwestern region, said Scott Wait, a Division wildlife biologist in Durango.
The transplanted geese drew migrating geese to the area, and eventually the Canada geese in the west-central flyway zone grew into a well-established population.
Colorado has five other special waterfowl-hunting seasons, none of which are proposed to change.
The proposal to drop the West Central Special Season means goose hunters planning to hunt in the west-central flyway zone could hunt the standard Pacific Flyway season, which runs from Oct. 2-10 and Oct. 26-Jan. 23.
The west-central goose-hunting season didn’t include the Oct. 2-10 hunting period and only allowed hunting during the Oct. 26-Jan. 23.
The commission is set to take a final vote on the special season and other waterfowl regulations during the August workshop. The change must also go up for approval by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
Uploaded: 7/10/2000
Uploaded: 7/10/2000