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ADVISORY COUNCIL ON WILDLIFE & FRESHWATER FISH
MINUTES
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2006
Richardson and Robbins Building Auditorium
89 Kings Highway, Dover, Delaware, 19901
Phone 302-739-9912, FAX 302-739-6157

ADVISORY COUNCIL DIVISION OF FISH & WILDLIFE
PUBLIC
David J. Healey, Chair (Absent) Greg Moore
10 Visitors
Edward A. Montague, Vice Chair (Absent) Pat Emory
J. Richard Berry
Joe Rogerson
Garrett H. Arai Rob Hossler
Terry Higgins Bobby
Hutchins
Ted Palmer Shelley
Tovell
Al Townsend Ken Reynolds
Raymond F. Burris Karen Kennedy
Wayne G. Steele

Taped micro-cassettes of this meeting are available for listening at the
Richardson & Robbins Building in Dover. For further information contact
the Wildlife Section.

The meeting was called to order by Mr. Ted Palmer at 7:30 PM.

Agenda Item 1. Approval of Minutes (Ted Palmer).

A motion was made and voted unanimously to approve the
August 8, 2006 minutes as written.

Agenda Item 2. Report on Resident Goose EIS (Greg Moore).

Greg Moore provided an update on the new Federal resident Canada goose regulations. Mr. Moore began his presentation by reviewing the status of resident Canada geese (RCG). RCG populations have undergone dramatic increases in the past ten years and with it an associated increase in goose related personal, public health and property damage. Currently in the Atlantic Flyway, there are 1,324,261 resident Canada geese and, in Delaware, the population is estimated to be over 10,000 birds. The Atlantic Flyway Council has determined that the population goal for RCG is 630,000 birds. Under current management guidelines this represents a very difficult management objective to achieve. Although RCG do not migrate they
are still considered a migratory species and are thus protected under the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act which governs how they are managed. Due to nationwide problems with the management of RCG, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (U.S.F.W.S.) promulgated new regulations to give the states more flexibility in managing nuisance geese.

The U.S.F.W.S. originally drafted an environmental impact statement for RCG in 2002 identifying seven (7) management alternatives. After receiving comments, a final EIS was published in 2005. In August 2006, the record of decision and final rule was published identifying new regulations and guidance to the states for RCG management.

New regulations consist of three components.

· The first component involves general control and
depredation orders to destroy nests and shake/addle eggs,
depredation orders for airports and agricultural producers,
and a general depredation order as determined by the state’s
public health agency. The nests, eggs and airport orders will
still be administered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
The agricultural and public health orders will be administered
by the individual state wildlife agencies.
· The second component involves expanded hunting
opportunities. This translates to legalizing the use of
unplugged guns, electronic calls, and expanded hunting hours
during the regular resident Canada goose season (Sept. 1-15).
· The third component of the new regulation is a
managed/take option. This, if selected, would occur August 1
– 31 aimed specifically at agricultural producers providing an
additional time period to take resident Canada goose. The
management/take option is not defined solely to hunting.

Mr. Moore concluded this presentation by explaining that the
Division will continue to evaluate the options listed in the final rule and
determine if any current wildlife regulations need to be amended to
implement proposed changes.

Agenda Item 3. Small Game Management (Greg Moore).

Greg Moore reviewed a request made before the Council early
last spring regarding small game hunting options. The proposal which was originally presented by Mr. Lem Hudson focused on the decrease of available hunting days for small game as a result of extended deer seasons. Mr. Hudson was particularly interested in options for augmenting gray squirrel and raccoon hunting. In his proposal to the Council, Mr. Hudson requested that we extend the gray squirrel season, allow the use of a 22 rim fire rifle for the entire season and eliminate the 7:00-12:00 PM restriction for raccoon hunting during the December & January deer seasons. Following his proposal, the Division agreed to evaluate Mr. Hudson’s request and provide our response at a future Advisory Council meeting. This presentation is the Division’s response to Mr. Hudson’s request.

After reviewing Mr. Hudson’s proposal the Division agrees to
amend Wildlife Regulation No. 4, Section 7 to extend the gray squirrel
hunting season to end on the first Saturday in February. The gray squirrel
season would now end on the same date of bobwhite quail and rabbit. The Division also proposed to amend this regulation to change the daily bag limit for squirrel from 4 to 6. This bag limit is consistent with adjacent
states.

The Division also proposes to change Wildlife Regulation No.
2, Section 5 method of take to allow the use of 22 rim fire rifles for gray
squirrel for the entire season south of the C&D Canal.

In regards to the last two requests from Mr. Hudson, the
Division concurrently has the authority to establish dog training areas on
private land based upon an application from any landowner who owns 100
acres and has a membership of 20 individuals. Any modification to this law
would require legislative action to amend Title 7. Regarding Mr. Hudson
request to eliminate a 7 – 12PM restriction on raccoon hunting during the
December-January season the Division will continue to evaluate this
proposal and take it under further advisement.

Agenda Item 4. Prime Hook Management (Bill Jones).

Mr. Bill Jones, Visitor Services Manager of Prime Hook
National Wildlife Refuge staff gave a presentation to continue to inform
the hunting public about ongoing administrative changes to the hunting program at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge (Prime Hook NWR). Administrative changes were made to the 2006-2007 hunting program in collaboration with the Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife to ease the administrative burden of the existing hunting program on staff resources and in anticipation of current downsizing efforts in the Region.

Mr. Jones stated that hunting, which is identified by the
National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 as one of the six wildlife-dependent recreational uses on refuges, will continue to be an integral component of the public use program at Prime Hook. The hunting program at Prime Hook NWR in its current form, however, is inefficient and requires a significant amount of staff resources. Administrative burdens of the existing hunting program include excessive compensatory time accumulations, staff burnout, is out of balance with other priority refuge needs and services, and the amount of station resources going into the program seem to far exceed what is necessary to provide for a quality hunting program.
Although we maintained the same level of hunting opportunity for the
2006-07 hunting season, we opted to institute first-come, self-service
procedures for about 50% of the refuge deer and waterfowl hunting days. This alleviates staff from conducting the standby lottery drawings on the mornings of those hunts. We also chose to eliminate the noon standby lottery drawings on all deer hunting days.

Mr. Jones reported that criticism by the hunting public has
been substantial. The major complaint pertained to the anticipated
conflict at the check station on the morning of the hunt where first-come, self-serve procedures were to apply. To ease these concerns and with minimal change involved, refuge staff consulted with our State partners and decided to allow standby hunters to facilitate a drawing in the absence of staff on the days scheduled to be first-come, self-serve. Subsequent conservations with hunters by refuge staff indicated favorable remarks.

Refuge staff plans to schedule subsequent meetings with the
State Division of Fish & Wildlife in the coming months to outline
additional administrative measures for the 2007-2008 hunting season to maximize the most efficient use of refuge resources and provide a higher quality hunting experience.

Agenda Item 4. Severe Deer Damage Assistance Program (Joe Rogerson).

Joe Rogerson, Game Mammal Biologist with the Division of
Fish and Wildlife, gave a brief update on the Severe Deer Damage Assistance Program (SDDAP). Recently, there has been some confusion regarding who is eligible to enroll in the new program, so Mr. Rogerson summarized the eligibility requirements. He also stated what an individual needs to do if he/she wants to enroll in the program. In summary, the program is only open to those individuals who are currently enrolled in the Deer Damage Assistance Program for at least one (1) year. If they meet this requirement, they must complete an application and return it to the Division before they enrolled in the SDDAP. Thus far, 74 individuals have signed-up for the program and two (2) others are pending on proper paperwork verification. During the month of August, 19 deer were harvested and registered under this new program.

AGENDA FOR THE 10/31/06 ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING

1. Urban Tract- Wayne Lehman.
2. LIP Program Review – Shelly Tovell.
3. Update of Phragmites Control – Bill Jones.
4. Update of Avian Influenza Monitoring – Rob Hossler.

There being no further business, a motion was made, seconded and carried that the meeting be adjourned at 8:21 PM.

Sincerely,
(Embedded image moved to file: pic26500.jpg)
Karen Kennedy
Recording Secretary