Additional opportunities for hunters to harvest deer in Delaware

DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife is promoting the January opening of additional Delaware deer hunting seasons, which extend opportunities for hunters to harvest deer during the 2018/19 hunting season.

The following deer hunting seasons open in January:

• Handgun Deer*: Jan. 5 – 12, except for Sunday, Jan. 6
• Shotgun Deer*: Jan. 19 – 27, including Sundays, Jan. 20 and 27
• Muzzleloader Deer: Jan. 28 – Feb. 3, including Sunday, Feb. 3

*Straight-walled, pistol-caliber rifles are allowed in January only during the handgun and shotgun deer seasons.

Archery and crossbow deer seasons will remain open through Jan. 31, 2019, including Sundays, but hunters can still hunt with archery equipment and crossbows from Feb. 1 through 3 during the January muzzleloader season.

A Delaware hunting license or License Exempt Number (LEN) is required to hunt. More information on hunting license requirements is available at Delaware Licenses. To register for an LEN number, hunters can go to Delaware Hunter and Trapper Registration or call toll free 1-855-335-4868.

To purchase a hunting license, hunters born on or after Jan. 1, 1967, must have a basic hunter education safety course card/number. Hunters who took a Delaware hunter safety course starting in 2008 can print their hunter safety card by going to http://de.gov/huntersafety. Hunters who took their Delaware hunter safety course before 2008 should call the Hunter Education Office at 302-735-3600, ext. 1 to obtain a hunter safety card.

Registered motor vehicles used to access designated wildlife areas owned or managed by the Division of Fish & Wildlife are required to display a Conservation Access Pass (CAP). Hunters can opt to receive one free annual CAP with the purchase of any Delaware hunting license. To obtain a free CAP, or to purchase an additional pass, hunters will need the registration card for the vehicle to which the pass will be assigned.

Delaware hunting licenses and Conservation Access Passes can be purchased online at Delaware Licenses, at the license desk in DNREC’s Dover office at 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, or from hunting license agents statewide.

For more information on hunting and trapping, click 2018-2019 Delaware Hunting & Trapping Guide and Wildlife Area Hunting Maps. Hard copies of the guide and newly-updated hunting maps are also available at the license desk in DNREC’s Dover office. More information on hunting licenses, season details, and Conservation Access Passes is also available by calling the Wildlife Section office at 302-739-9912.

Follow the Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.

Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Vol. 48, No. 339

DOVER – With Delaware’s November shotgun deer hunting season opening Friday, DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Hunter Education Program reminds hunters born on or after Jan. 1, 1967 that they need to have a Hunter Safety Card as proof of having taken a Basic Hunter Education Safety Course in order to purchase a Delaware hunting license, and also must carry the card while hunting.

Hunters who took their Delaware hunter safety course after 2008 and need a new copy of their Hunter Safety Card may go online to get it. Hunters should click on Hunter Education Access. The system will ask for their last name, date of birth and the last four digits of their Social Security Number. After entering their information, hunters will be able to print a new card.

Those who took their hunter safety course prior to 2008 should call the Hunter Education Office at 302-735-3600 ext. 1 to update their records so they can go online to print a new card.

In years past, hunters were required to provide their Hunter Safety Number when they purchased their first Delaware license. That number was then stored in licensing records and automatically pulled up when hunters purchased their next annual license. Due to a change in licensing software, hunter safety numbers are no longer automatically applied to future license purchases.

Delaware hunting licenses are sold online, at the licensing desk in DNREC’s Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, and by license agents statewide. To find a participating agent, or to purchase a license online, visit Delaware Licenses. For additional information on Delaware hunting licenses, call 302-739-9918.

For more information on hunting in Delaware, click on 2017-2018 Delaware Hunting and Trapping Guide. The guide also is available in printed form at DNREC’s Dover licensing desk, and from license agents throughout the state.

Follow the Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook, www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.

Media Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Vol. 47, No. 238

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DOVER – With Delaware’s spring wild turkey hunting season fast approaching, DNREC’s Hunter Education Program reminds both resident and non-resident hunters that they must pass a Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife-approved course on turkey hunting before they can legally hunt turkeys in the First State.

For hunters who choose to take the one-day Wild Turkey Hunter Education Course offered by the Division of Fish & Wildlife to fulfill their mandatory course requirement, registration is now open for course dates in Kent and New Castle counties. Sussex County course dates in March will be announced in the near future. Kent and New Castle courses will be offered from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the following dates at the following locations:

• Kent County – Saturday, Jan. 28, Sunday, Jan. 29 and Saturday, March 11 at the Little Creek Hunter Education Training Center, 3018 Bayside Drive, Dover, DE 19901
• New Castle County – Saturday, Feb. 11 and Sunday, Feb. 12 at Ommelanden Hunter/Trapper Education Training Center and Range, 1205 River Road, New Castle, DE 19720

“Delaware’s turkey hunter education course teaches students age 10 and older important turkey hunting safety information as well as current laws and regulations pertaining to wild turkey hunting in the state,” said Delaware Hunter Education Coordinator Mark Ostroski. “Students also learn the biology and behavior of the wild turkey, the wild turkey’s history in Delaware and turkey calling.”

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to print their Delaware Turkey Hunter Safety Card or have the turkey course certification added to their Delaware Hunter Education Card, which must be carried while hunting, Ostroski said.

All students planning on attending one of the courses must register in advance. To register for the one-day course, click Hunter Education Online Access and after logging in, click “Sign me up” and select “Mandatory Turkey Ed.” Students may also contact the Hunter Education Office at 302-735-3600, ext. 1.

Delaware’s 2017 spring wild turkey season will run from Saturday, April 8 through Saturday, May 6, with a youth/non-ambulatory disabled turkey hunt on Saturday, April 1. For more information on wild turkey hunting in Delaware, click on 2016-2017 Delaware Hunting and Trapping Guide. The guide also is available in printed form at DNREC’s Dover licensing desk in the Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, and from license agents throughout the state.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Vol. 47, No. 17

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