Mississippi
Mississippi’s duck, dove seasons will see changes – Mississippi's Best Community Newspaper
Mississippi’s duck, dove seasons will see changes
Published 10:05 am Saturday, April 27, 2024
- Duck decoys on Gillard Lake at St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge in the Sibley Unit. (Hunter Cloud | The Natchez Democrat)
JACKSON — Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks commissioners voted to accept the waterfowl program proposals for new season dates. The most significant changes are duck season will have two splits this year instead of three and the dove season will change.
Splits is the term used to describe the breaking up of the migratory bird seasons. Mississippi used three segments for the duck season last year to take advantage of weekends, holidays and to stay within federal season frameworks.
Houston Havens, waterfowl program coordinator, said they used the same criteria this year and due to Thanksgiving falling on Nov. 28, the 2024-25 duck season will have two splits. The first split is Nov. 28 through Dec. 1 and the second split is Dec. 7 through Jan. 31.
“January 31 is the latest allowed by federal frameworks. Our season goes the full 60 days,” Havens said. “Most hunters have requested the season to go the latest it can go and Thanksgiving weekend is the typical opener. The way Thanksgiving fell changed things a little bit.”
Youth, Veteran and Active Military will have a special duck hunting season on February 8 and 9.
Dove season change
Havens requested the commission change the dove season opener for the North Mississippi zone. The north Mississippi dove zone is defined as areas north of US84 plus areas south of US84 but west of MS 35. The south Mississippi dove zone is defined as areas south of US84 and east of MS35.
Hunting clubs have requested a few times for some changes to be made to the dove season. It is not a significant change and really only changes the second and third splits of the dove season.
Commissioners approved the north zone dates to be changed to Sept. 1 through Sept 29, Oct. 12 through Nov. 10 and Dec. 27 through Jan. 26. Opening day of dove season will be on a Sunday.
“This uses the 90 days maximum allowed under federal frameworks. We tried to split them and maximize the weekend opportunities,” Havens said. “Last time the opening day of Dove season fell on a Sunday the commission still used Sept. 1 as the opener. We realize this is the same season used in the south zone. We could list this as a statewide season in the regulations.”
Havens reminded commissioners the zones would still be separate if they ever wanted to go back to different dates for the specific zones.
Other hunting seasons
The September Canada Goose season will open Sept. 1 and run until Sept. 30 as normal. Early Teal season will run from Sept. 14 to Sept. 29.
Rails and Gallinules will open Sept. 1 to Sept. 30 and Nov. 22 to December 31. Snipe season will be open Nov. 14 to February 28. Woodcock season is from Dec. 18 to Jan. 31.
Regular goose seasons will be Nov. 11 to Nov. 24, Nov. 28 to Dec. 1 and Dec. 7 to Jan. 31. Havens said the goose season has more days allowed under the federal law than duck season and the department tries to overlap the goose dates first with duck season dates. The MDWFP then tacks on the rest of the goose season dates to the front of the season.
Crow season, which is set by state statute, will run from Nov. 2 to February 28. Light goose conservation order sets dates from October to March which do not fall on waterfowl seasons. Light geese can be hunted from Oct. 1 to Nov. 10, Nov. 25 to Nov. 27, Dec. 2 to Dec. 6, Feb. 1 to Feb. 7 and Feb. 10 to March 31.
Havens said all of the season dates were selected based on survey data collected in may. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service looks at breeding numbers and breeding habitat and produces a report each summer from the prairie pothole region. A majority of Mississippi’s ducks come from the prairie pothole region in central Canada, North Dakota and South Dakota.
“We have seen overall decline, mallards in particular, but we are hopeful the decline will not continue,” Havens said. “Benchmarks are within the system should we have a continued decline to where we would have to shorten the season and reduce bag limits. We are not there yet and hopefully won’t be. We will pay attention to those surveys as they are implemented and data is released.”
Here’s the nominees for Clarion Ledger girls Athlete of the Week for May 4-9
Here’s the five nominees for the Clarion Ledger girls Mississippi high school Athlete of the Week for May 4-9.
There were several top performers across the state in girls high school sports, but only one can be voted as the Clarion Ledger athlete of the week for May 4-9.
Fans may vote in the poll BELOW one time per hour per device. The poll closes at noon on Friday.
To nominate a future athlete of the week, email mchavez@gannett.com or message him on X, formerly Twitter, @MikeSChavez.
To submit high school scores, statistics, records, leaders and other items at any time, email mchavez@gannett.com.
Nominations
Kara Applewhite, Sumrall: Applewhite had four hits with a home run and five RBIs in Sumrall’s 10-0 win against East Central.
Caydance Brumfield, West Marion: Brumfield produced four hits and five RBIs in West Marion’s two wins against Pisgah.
Addison Collum, West Union: Collum pitched eight innings and recorded seven strikeouts and only two earned runs in West Union’s wins against Smithville.
Addison Cornish, West Lauderdale: Cornish recorded five hits and a home run in West Lauderdale’s wins against Choctaw Central.
Addison Davis, George County: Davis pitched nine innings with 20 strikeouts and recorded two home runs and four RBIs in George County’s wins against Pearl River Central.
Michael Chavez covers high school sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.
‘We’re doing this to decrease the pressure we get early in the season. We’re trying to move that pressure on into later in the season.’
Bobcat stalks and strikes at Wisconsin turkey hunter
Turkey hunter Carson Bender of Wisconsin Rapids recorded a video of a bobcat that stalked and lunged at him as he hunted April 18, 2026 near Nekoosa, Wis.
Carson Bender
If a proposal made in the April meeting of the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is finalized, nonresident turkey hunters will see big changes in the 2027 spring turkey season.
“We’re doing this in a way to impact how hunting pressure occurs and how the harvest happens in the early season,” said Caleb Hinton, Wild Turkey Program coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. “We’re doing this to decrease the pressure we get early in the season. We’re trying to move that pressure on into later in the season.”
Turkey hunters enjoy a three-bird bag limit and a little more than six weeks of hunting in spring, which is similar to some other states. What is at issue is when it opens. March 15 is the typical opening date for the regular season, making it one of the earliest in the nation.
That early opening date combined with a growing trend among turkey hunters is where the problem lies.
Mississippi is a destination for early season, nonresident hunters
Possibly more than any other group of hunters, turkey hunters like to travel. For some, it may be a matter of seeing a different landscape and hunting birds under condions they don’t encounter in their home state. For others it may be a quest to harvest each of the subspecies in North America.
For yet another group, it’s the challenge of harvesting a gobbler in each of the 49 states that have turkeys.
“It seems to be getting more and more popular every year,” Hinton said.
Regardless of why a turkey hunter chooses to travel, it puts a target on Mississippi’s back because for the first few weeks of the season, it’s almost the only game in town, so hunters flock to the state.
In an effort to curb the amount of hunting pressure in those first weeks of turkey season, MDWFP proposed limiting nonresident hunters to two legal gobblers per season and only one of those can be harvested before April 1.
“Hopefully, it will help curb the massive influx of pressure we get the first week or two of the season,” Hinton said.
When will turkey season changes for nonresidents be voted on?
The proposed changes aren’t the first that have been geared toward alleviating pressure on turkeys in the early part of the season by nonresidents. In 2022, the commission passed a rule requiring nonresident hunters to enter a drawing for a hunt on public land during the first two weeks of turkey season. Currently, the number of hunters drawn is limited to 800.
Like that change, the current proposal will pass or fail by a vote of the wildlife commission. In the April commission meeting, the proposal passed an initial vote. It is now in a 30-day public comment period and a final vote will be taken in the May meeting.
Public comments may be submitted at https://www.mdwfp.com/proposed-rules-regulations.
A lifelong outdoorsman and wildlife enthusiast, Brian Broom has been writing about hunting, fishing and Mississippi’s outdoors for the Clarion Ledger for more than 14 years. He can be reached at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.
Mississippi
Mississippi high school addresses social media post, says it won’t tolerate racism or harassment
LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Miss. (WLBT) – A Mississippi high school has made a statement after a social media post involving a student surfaced.
Northeast Lauderdale High School officials say they’re reviewing a social media post involving a student.
In a statement, the school said administrators are aware of the post and are “reviewing the situation.”
The school said it is committed to maintaining a safe, orderly and respectful environment for students and staff.
“Neither our district nor our school accept or condone racism, discrimination, harassment, or behavior that is inconsistent with the expectations of our school community,” the statement said.
Officials said they are working with the appropriate parties and will address the matter in accordance with district policies and procedures.
The school added that it cannot share additional details because of student privacy laws.
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