Experimental Bluewing limit

If you don't like any of these season options you need to let your states know for they all lobbied hard for these options.


Brad: I've looked hard, and the only announcements about Framework rulemaking I can find from USFWS are annual press releases from 2012 and 2013 around the first of August each year announcing that the Framework rules for the late season have been finalized. I can't find anything at all about the early season Framework, either for this year, or for the last two.

It appears that some states are pro-active and do a good job of reaching out to seek public input fairly early. My state isn't one of them. (We have a Waterfowl Advisory Council, but so far as I can tell there is minimal outreach to the rest of the hunting community until our proposed regulations hearing in late summer.) It will be interesting to see if Maine has any proposal related to teal this year. Whatever it is, I'm guessing any change will be controversial, and the time table for finalizing rules for a season that starts in September won't allow for much incorporation of public input.

The reality of the data-driven process that's been established is that decisions will always depend on data that isn't available until mid summer, and that will limit the potential for public input on any regulation proposals.
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I can understand all concerns but one aspect of hunting a lot of people fail to remember is one of the 10 commandments of Fire Arms Safety: Know your target and what is beyond it. All of us on this site have a role we must play in introducing new hunters to the sport or other hunters that we hunt around that are ethical and conservative to future generations. I clearly fail to see the concept of one shooting birds early light by any hunter who does not know their target. Have I done this in the past, YES, do I do this now, NO. Worst case I have ever experience is during early teal season it is sometimes hard to decipher a teal and shoveler in large groups on quick pass shooting conditions or in low light. The case being is, if you do not know do not shoot. And I also have a mixed feeling on the worry about the GW vs BW condition. You are in complete control of your firearm at all times, if not you need to seriously think of the safety of yourself and others around you about you unsafe acts. If you are hunting with me I will clearly be untactful and tell you were you are being unsafe or unethical. Clearly unless you are really not having a good day on seeing birds and you feel you have to shoot at what ever bird lands in the decoys, it is very hard to tell the difference between the hens of both species but the drakes are easily determined in mature plumage. Same case being, if you do not know do not shoot. Anytime I have taken a new hunter in the field in Texas I pre-condition the hunter to look online at different ducks in flight that visit the prairie region. When in the field I make it a point to not even pull the trigger until mid-morning so I can call shots for new hunters on telling them which bird to shoot. Thus allowing a new hunter to observe the birds, clearly watch flight patterns, and successfully take the species within the respected limits.

I would love if Texas decided to give a bonus 3 extra bluewing teal, I would savior the moment. I think the biggest question that each of us should ask ourselves is: "Is another bird other than a BW going to got shot because of this change?" Your answer should be "NO", I know my target before shouldering my gun to pull the trigger. I believe we dismiss the true confronting issue of this discussion which evolves around the person in control of the firearm. No other duck will get shot if you decide to make the conscious effort not to shoot when you do not know.


Regards,
Kristan
 
Kristan, I don't disagree about the ethics of the situation, but in the northern states where this change might be proposed, the teal are pretty much only around in the early part of the season. At that time, not only are bluewing and greenwing hens hard to tell apart, but most of the drakes of both species are still in eclipse plumage. And because we are talking about teal production states, a large fraction of the birds in the population are young of year.

I know who is likely to be hunting that early season on my marsh, and I do not expect all of them to keep their finger off the trigger until they see a BW drake--not when they have an 8 bird limit to fill.
 
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