Waterfowl Youth Hunt Opens

The annual youth waterfowl hunt opens Saturday and Sunday, September 30 and October 1, for hunters aged 15 and under.

Older hunters will have to until October 7 to hunt in northern and eastern Idaho and October 14 to hunt in southwestern Idaho and the Magic Valley.

The 107-day season dates for duck, geese, coots and snipe are:

"        October 7 to January 19, 2007 - Area 1, northern and eastern Idaho.
"        October 14 to January 26, 2007 - Area 2, southwestern Idaho and Magic Valley.
"        September 30 and October 1 - two-day youth hunt for hunters aged 15 and under.

Youth hunters must be accompanied by a licensed hunter 18 years or older. All hunters must have a valid hunting license and a federal migratory game bird harvest information program validation, and hunters 16 years old or older must have a federal migratory bird stamp. Nontoxic shot is required to hunt waterfowl.

Daily limits are:

"        Ducks: 7 of any kind, including not more than:
o        1 canvasback, pintail.
o        2 redheads, female mallards.
o        3 scaup, total lesser and greater.
"        Geese: 4 of any kind, Canada, white-fronted, Ross' or snow goose, except in Fremont and Teton counties, which are closed to Ross' and snow geese.
"        Coots: 25.
"        Common snipe: 8.

Possession after first day of season:

"        Ducks: 14 of any kind, including not more than:
o        2 canvasbacks, pintails.
o        4 redheads, female mallards.
o        6 scaup, total lesser and greater.
"        Geese: 8 of any kind, except in Fremont and Teton counties, which are closed to Ross' and snow geese.
"        Coots: 25.
"        Common snipe: 16.

Please consult Idaho waterfowl hunting regulation for 2006-2007 for details. The regulation brochures are available at Idaho Department of Fish and Game offices and hunting license vendors across the state. And they are available at the Fish and Game Website: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/hunt/rules/wf/.