DEM ANNOUNCES 2006 SMALL GAME HUNTING SEASON BEGINS OCTOBER 21

PROVIDENCE: The Department of Environmental Management's Division of Fish and Wildlife has set the seasons and bag limits for the Rhode Island small game hunting season that begins this year on Saturday, October 21. Seasons and bag limits for small game were set following a public hearing that was held in June. All of the various laws and regulations affecting wildlife, including season dates and bag limits for game species, are set forth in the 2006-2007 Hunting and Trapping Season Abstract. The Abstract is available from all license vendors, at DEM's Division of Fish and Wildlife offices in Wakefield and West Kingston and at DEM's Licensing Office in Providence, and online on DEM's website, www.dem.ri.gov, by clicking on "Regulations".

Small Game Hunting

The legal shooting hours for all small game, which includes ruffed grouse, pheasant, bobwhite, rabbit, hare, squirrel, and fox, are from sunrise to sunset except on October 21, when legal shooting hours are from 7:00 a.m. until sunset. The season for raccoon opened October 1, with legal shooting hours from 6:00 p.m. to midnight. Hunting hours for coyotes, which have no closed season, are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.

The season for ruffed grouse, ringneck pheasant, and bobwhite quail opens on October 21 and runs until December 1. The pheasant season re-opens on state lands after shotgun deer season on December 11 and runs until January 14, 2007. The season for rabbit, hare, squirrel, and fox opens on October 21 and closes on February 28, 2007. State lands are closed to small game hunting during the shotgun deer season - December 2 to10 - and re-open for small game hunting on December 11. Private lands are closed to small game hunting during various portions of the private land deer season, from October 28 to November 3, December 2 to December 17, and from December 22 to 31.

The daily bag limits for small game are consistent with previous years, as follows: pheasant (2), bobwhite (3), ruffed grouse (1), rabbit (3), hare (2), and gray squirrel (5). There is no bag limit for fox or raccoon.

Pheasant Permits and Stocking

Pheasant hunting requires the purchase of a pheasant permit. A permit consists of six pheasant tags that allow hunters to harvest six pheasant, with the requirement that each bird be tagged immediately upon taking. Hunters will be allowed to take an additional six pheasant with the purchase of a second pheasant hunting permit. The season limit per hunter is 12 ringneck pheasant. The cost of a pheasant permit is $15.50, with the funds from the program used to acquire pheasant and assist in habitat management projects across the state.

According to Brian Tefft, principal wildlife biologist in the Division of Fish and Wildlife, the Division plans a pheasant-stocking program that will result in the release of 5,000 ringneck pheasants in state wildlife management areas. This season, 80 percent of these pheasant will be stocked between opening day and November 28, with the remainder of the pheasant stocked during the late season that begins on December 11 and runs through January 14, 2007. An expanded pheasant-stocking program has improved pheasant hunting opportunities and bird habitats in the state's management areas. Sportsmen can enjoy excellent hunting opportunities for ringneck pheasant and other upland species again this year.

Pheasant stocking will occur at several locations on major state wildlife management areas, including Arcadia, Great Swamp, Carolina, Durfee Hill, Black Hut, Buck Hill, Sapowet, Nicholas Farm, Big River, and Eight-Rod Farm. Pheasant stocking will occur periodically from opening day through the end of the season. Hunter check stations have detailed maps of the best hunting areas available in the management areas. In Tiverton, Sapowet and Eight Rod Farm wildlife management areas are closed to Sunday hunting.

Upland Migratory Bird Season

Seasons and bag limits for R.I. migratory game birds are established following guidelines set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Hunting for mourning dove in the first segment began September 23 and runs until October 8, with shooting hours from noon to sunset. The season for doves reopens on October 21 and runs until November 19, and again from December 27 to January 11, 2007. Shooting hours during the last segment are from sunrise to sunset, except that on October 21, shooting hours are from 7:00 a.m. to sunset. The daily bag limit for dove is 12 birds.

Woodcock hunting opens on November 2 and closes on December 1, with a daily bag limit of three birds. The season for rails and common snipe runs from September 2 to November 10. Hunters are reminded that federal law requires that migratory bird hunters must use a shotgun that is capable of holding no more than three (3) shells.

State wildlife management areas are in excellent condition for the start of the hunting season, as a result of planting food and cover plots and other habitat management activities designed to improve wildlife habitat. Significant habitat management projects involving plantings, brush mowing, and forest management activities that improve early successional habitats have been undertaken, according to Tefft, and have added significant wildlife habitat diversity in the management areas.

Check Stations Open

Small game check stations will be open for hunters using the Arcadia, Great Swamp, Carolina, and Durfee Hill management areas on the weekends of October 21 to 22, October 28 to 29, November 4 to 5, and November 11 to12. All hunters must check in and out of the check station prior to hunting small game in these areas. All game harvested is recorded by the check station operators. The data assists the Division in obtaining information on hunter effort and game harvested. Knowledgeable staff from the Division of Fish and Wildlife maintain the check stations and are available to provide hunting information, a map of the state management areas, and answer questions from the public. A valid 2006 hunting or combination license is required to hunt small game. Special permits are required to hunt waterfowl at the Great Swamp management area, and to hunt in the Burlingame Park North Camp area.

Hunting licenses are available from various license vendors throughout the state and at DEM's Licensing Office, located at 235 Promenade Street in Providence. A resident hunting license costs $18.00, with all money collected going into a special restricted account used specifically to fund the state's wildlife restoration program. Hunters are advised to check with local authorities before hunting in unfamiliar areas, as municipalities may impose additional restrictions on hunting within their boundaries.

All users of state management areas, and all hunters statewide, are reminded that they must wear at least 200 square inches of solid, daylight fluorescent orange material from September 15 to February 28, 2007, and from April 27 to May 31, while in state management areas. The fluorescent orange must be worn above the waist and must be visible in all directions. Throughout the shotgun deer season, all users of state management areas must at least 500 square inches of solid, daylight fluorescent orange material. This requirement is a vital part of the state's hunter safety effort and has been proven to reduce the incidence of hunting accidents.

For further information, hunters may contact the main office of the Division of Fish and Wildlife at 789-3094, or the Great Swamp Field Office in West Kingston at 789-0281.