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RAPID CITY, S.D.-The Game, Fish and Parks Commission approved proposals for the duck and goose hunting seasons at its July meeting in Rapid City. The seasons will be finalized at the commission's August meeting at Fort Sisseton.

As proposed, Canada goose hunting along the Missouri River would get a little bit later start. The season in Unit 2, largely those counties along the river and portions of Custer and Fall River counties, would start on Nov. 1 and go through Feb. 13, 2009.

"The best goose hunting seems to be later and later every year," said George Vandel, assistant director of the Wildlife Division. Because of that trend, hunters in Perkins County have asked that it be included in the later-starting Unit 2.

The proposed goose hunting season dates include:

• Light geese and white-fronted geese, statewide, Sept. 27 through Dec. 21.
• Canada geese, Unit 1, Sept. 27 through Dec. 21.
• Canada geese, Unit 2, Nov. 1 through Feb. 13, 2009.
• Canada geese, Unit 3, Jan. 10-18, 2009.

Vandel noted that the waterfowl season proposals were tentative because the federal framework for the central flyway had yet to be approved.

Daily limits are three Canada geese, 20 light geese and one white-fronted goose. Possession limits are twice the daily limit for all geese except for the unlimited possession limit for light geese.

South Dakota is entering the last year of the three-year experiment with Hunter's Choice hunting regulations. Those regulations allow a five-duck daily limit which can include no more than two scaup, two wood ducks, two redheads one hen mallard OR one pintail OR one canvasback. GFP's proposal seeks to raise the wood duck limit from two to three, pending approval at the federal level.

The season also offers daily limits of 15 coots and five mergansers, no more than two of which may be hooded mergansers. The possession limit for all ducks is twice the daily bag limit.

Season dates for the duck hunting season include:

• High Plains Zone, Oct. 4 through Jan. 8, 2009.
• Low Plains North and Low Plains Middle zones, Sept. 27 through
• Dec. 9.
• Low Plains South Zone, Oct. 11 through Dec. 23.

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