Don't Forget to Get H.I.P!

North Dakota's Early Canada Goose Season Opens Sept.

 

North Dakota's early September Canada goose season is set for Sept. 1-15, and hunters are reminded to register with the Harvest Information Program prior to hunting, according to Mike Szymanski, waterfowl biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.



Hunters will have a daily bag limit of five Canada geese and a possession limit of 10. Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset daily. Limits and shooting hours are different from the regular season, Szymanski said, as the proposed regular season bag is three daily and six in possession.



All migratory bird hunters must register with HIP prior to hunting. Hunters who purchase a license through the department's web site (discovernd.com/gnf) or instant licensing telephone number (800-406-6409) can easily get HIP certified.



Otherwise, hunters must call 888-634-4798 and record the HIP number on their fishing, hunting and furbearer certificate. Those who registered to hunt the spring light goose season do not have to register with HIP again, as it is required only once per year.



Normal licensing requirements for the regular season, including a federal duck stamp, apply to the September Canada goose season. Nonresidents who hunt in Sargent and Richland counties during the early season may do so without counting against their 14-day regular season license.



Waterfowl rest areas, closed to hunting during the regular season, will be open during the early September season. Most land in these rest areas is private, Szymanski noted, so hunters may need permission to hunt within rest areas.



The purpose of the early season is to increase harvest of resident Canada geese - those birds that nest and raise their young in North Dakota - whose statewide population has grown substantially in recent years. The early to mid-September season promotes the harvest of resident birds, as migrants do not usually begin filtering into the state until later in September.



Visit this LINK for regulations and H.I.P. register information.