Fall Alligator Hunting Season Set; Permit Opportunities Increase to 850

For each of the past eight years, the number of applicants wishing to participate in an alligator quota hunt continues to grow. In 2009, almost 6,000 hunters submitted applications.  Beginning this year, 850 applicants will be selected to participate – an increase of 150 permits – in the 2010 alligator hunting season which runs Sept. 4-Oct. 3.

“The alligator is a renewable natural resource that scientific data indicates can sustain a regulated harvest on an annual basis,” says WRD Assistant Chief of Game Management John Bowers. “This population stability creates additional flexibility in the areas that can be hunted and the number of animals available for harvest. This has allowed our agency to periodically increase the number of permits available while continuing to ensure the long-term conservation of the alligator population.”

Interested hunters must complete and submit a quota hunt application online at www.gohuntgeorgia.com before midnight July 31 (the application period opens June 1, 2010). Hunters receive their selection status by e-mail and those selected get a temporary harvest tag and information packet by mail in early August.

All hunters have the opportunity to attend a voluntary training session. During these sessions, wildlife experts provide information on safety, capture and handling techniques, processing and more.

Alligators General

In Georgia, alligators typically live south of the fall line (which roughly traverses the cities of Columbus, Macon and Augusta), occupying a variety of natural wetland habitats including marshes, swamps, rivers, farm ponds and lakes. Male alligators can reach 16 feet in length, while female alligators rarely surpass 10 feet. Large alligators could weigh more than 800 pounds. Opportunistic carnivores, they eat small mammals, aquatic insects, crayfish, frogs, fish, turtles, water birds and more.

For more information on the 2010 alligator hunting season, visit www.gohuntgeorgia.com , contact a WRD Game Management Office or call (770) 760-3045.

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Act Now to Reduce Nuisance Canada Geese Problems This Summer

The Canada goose is an adaptable bird and can live in a variety of locations, including open farmland and rural reservoirs to suburban neighborhood ponds, office complexes, parks and other developed areas. According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, as the goose population increases and they become more common in urban areas so does the increase in nuisance complaints.

 

“Geese that have adapted to people, either because they are being fed or because they are so close to humans on a daily basis, can become an aggressive pest,” says WRD State Waterfowl Biologist Greg Balkcom. “Additionally, when you have a resident goose population that continues to grow unchecked – you exponentially increase the amounts of feces and feathers found in the area.”

 

Landowners who don’t want geese on their property can first try a variety of “harassment” techniques, including chemical repellents, mylar balloons, wire/string barriers and noise makers. These methods are proven to help reduce goose problems. However, they do require consistency from the property owner and are not always 100 percent effective.

 

In response to these concerns, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued regulations that allow for additional control measures, apart from harassment techniques and traditional hunting, to help address nuisance goose problems. One of those regulations is a permit for reducing goose reproduction through nest and egg destruction OR egg addling or oiling which prevent the eggs from hatching. 

 

“These permits are easy to attain, and can be useful in certain situations – such as a homeowner that may have geese nesting close to home” says Balkcom. “Additionally, it is a way to keep a minimum number of adult geese on the property without the population growing too large through years of unchecked reproduction.”

 

The permits are available at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s website at www.fws.gov/permits. The website also contains useful information on the methods for addling or oiling the eggs or destroying the nests and when each method may be appropriate.

 

The nesting season for geese is underway now, and landowners and land managers who have problems with geese (homeowners, golf course managers, city/county managers, etc.) - especially during the summer molting season - may be able to act now and reduce their nuisance problems later this year. 

 

It is important to remember that Canada geese are a protected species under state and federal law. It is illegal to hunt, kill, sell, purchase or possess Canada geese except according to Georgia's migratory bird regulations.

 

For more information, visit the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service website at www.fws.gov/permits. For a brochure on a variety of methods of dealing with nuisance geese, visit www.georgiawildlife.com (Select “Hunting”, “Game Management” and “Nuisance Canada Geese”).