As hunting seasons open, be aware of changes

Hunting season in Delaware kicked off Sept. 1 for archery deer hunters, resident Canada goose hunters and morning dove hunters. As part of the season opening, several new rules and regulations were implemented by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

It’s tough to know which changes are the most important because it depends on the game an individual hunts, said Michael Globetti, DNREC spokesperson. However, he said, the top three that DNREC hears most about are the legalization of game bird hunting on Sundays; expanding the method of take for harvesting antlerless deer during the special antlerless deer seasons in October and December to include handguns and straight-walled pistol-caliber rifles; allowing archery hunters participating in the December antlerless season to harvest antlered deer with archery equipment; and the addition of a second firearm deer season for youth under the age of 16 and non-ambulatory adult hunters to occur the last Saturday and Sunday in September.

Some regulation changes for the lesser participated-in hunting seasons include eliminating the annual bag limit on beavers; allowing green frogs to be hunted at the same time as bullfrogs; extending the gray squirrel, pheasant and pen-raised released quail seasons to the last day of February; opening the trapping season for red fox and coyotes Friday, Nov. 1, which is a month earlier than previously allowed; and extending by one month the falconry hunting season.

The need for each individual change varied, but the vast majority of the changes provided additional opportunities to hunters and trappers, and were done in consideration of the management and population goals for the many species affected by the revised regulations, said Globetti.

Another change is that state park hunting permits are no longer for sale at state park offices. Instead, hunters can purchase their state park hunting permit through Digital DNREC or authorized license agents when they purchase their hunting license.

Park office hours in the fall made it hard for some hunters to purchase their permits, said Shauna McVey, DNREC spokesperson. Also, now that permits are sold digitally, hunting permit information goes into a database that state park police can access, which enables them to see the names and information for anyone who has purchased a park's hunting permit on their in-vehicle computers, she said.

The Division of Parks and Recreation was hoping to have the permits available July 1 when hunting licenses went on sale, but that was not possible this year, said McVey. In subsequent years, permits will go on sale at the same time as licenses, she said.

Other huntings seasons that have opened, or are about to, include coyote hunting season Sept. 2; early teal season Saturday, Sept. 14; and gray squirrel season Monday, Sept. 16.

More information on hunting seasons and state wildlife areas can be found in the Delaware Hunting & Trapping Guide or by calling the Wildlife Section at 302-739-9912. Information on hunting licenses, the state waterfowl stamp and the Conservation Access Pass can be found at de.gov/huntinglicense or by calling the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife Recreational Licensing office at 302-739-9918.