Holding to the status quo, the Colorado Wildlife Commission voted Thursday to continue with a traditional three-part duck season for the Central Flyway, that part of the state east of the Continental Divide.
The policy board adopted a Division of Wildlife staff recommendation to perpetuate the three-way split, rejecting a private initiative for a two-part season weighted more heavily toward season’s end, a proposal that generally favored those who hunt along the South Platte River northeast of Denver.
The eastern Colorado season officially will be Oct. 1-23, Nov. 5-Dec. 4 and Dec. 11-Jan. 22.
If the commission had adopted the two-part proposal, the switch would have shaved dates from the early part of the hunt, a move detrimental to those who pursue ducks in the high mountain valleys, notably the San Luis Valley, as well as small-pond enthusiasts on the eastern plains.
The commission earlier approved a Central Flyway bag limit that generally approximates that of a year ago, except that the number of scaup allowed in the bag is reduced from three to two.
Goose seasons for both the Central and Pacific flyways mimic those of last season, with bag limits of three dark geese on both sides of the divide.
