Reminder for the week: Review Delaware’s wildlife area maps and regulations.

Citations issued by category, with the number of charges in parentheses, included:

Fisheries Conservation: Recreational: Unlicensed fishing (5), no fisheries identification number FIN (2), recreational gill net restriction (1), recreational gill net size limit (1), possession of undersized white perch (2), possession of undersized striped bass (1), possession of undersized largemouth bass (1), possession of undersized blue crabs (5), over the limit of recreational crab pots (1), and tampering with a recreational crab pot of another (1).

Boating and Boating Safety: Operating a vessel with insufficient number of life jackets (5), no life jacket on a child age 12 or younger as required by law (6), failure to observe slow no wake zone (3), assault by vessel (1), operating an unregistered vessel (1), no boating safety certificate (3), allow the use of a non-compliant vessel (1), and equipment violation- navigation lights (2).

Public Safety: Reckless endangering (1), possession of drug paraphernalia (1), driving without a valid license (1)*, failure to have insurance identification in possession (1)*, and shellfish in closed polluted area- recreational clamming (1).

Other: Trespassing after hours on a state wildlife area (5)*, unlawful to build fire on a state wildlife area (1), and criminal impersonation (1).

http://de.gov/ogt.

Are you AWARE?

State wildlife areas, fishing piers and boat launching facilities are closed to the public from sunset to sunrise unless a person is actively and lawfully engaged in fishing, hunting or boating in accordance with state regulations and individual wildlife area rules. Individuals not meeting these requirements and found at these sites between sunset and sunrise face fines up to $100 for trespassing after hours.

Wildlife area visitors also are reminded that it is illegal to operate motor vehicles – including motorcycles, cars, trucks and SUVs – off established roadways in state wildlife areas. Violators found to cause damage also will be cited for destruction of state property. In addition, operating a motor vehicle that is not licensed for use on established public roadways – including ATVs – is prohibited both on and off-road on state wildlife areas.

The following rules also apply to all state wildlife areas, fishing piers, public boat launching facilities and multi-use areas:

• Camping, swimming, target shooting (including paintball), dumping and littering, and fires are prohibited.
• Dog training is permitted only within established dog training areas or during open hunting seasons for the game animals that the dog is being trained to hunt.
• Hunting is permitted only in specified areas and only during designated hunting seasons.
• All of these sites have a carry-in, carry-out trash policy.

Delaware Wildlife Area Maps.

www.facebook.com/pages/Delaware-Fish-Wildlife-Natural-Resources-Police.

https://twitter.com/DE_FW_NRPolice.

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Hunting opportunities offered at many state wildlife areas

DOVER – Delaware hunters will start their 2017/18 hunting season Friday, Sept. 1 with the opening of archery and crossbow deer season, and mourning dove and resident Canada goose seasons on private lands and state wildlife areas.

DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife offers many early-season hunting opportunities on state wildlife areas, with details and rules for hunting on them available online at Delaware’s September hunting seasons. Hunters can start adding teal to their bag on Friday, Sept. 8 when the special September teal season opens. Gray squirrel season opens Friday, Sept. 15.

Seasons opening in September, with dates and hunting hours listed, are:

• Doves: Sept. 1-30 (½ hour before sunrise to sunset)*
• Resident Canada geese: Sept. 1-25 (½ hour before sunrise to sunset)
• Teal: Sept. 8-26 (½ hour before sunrise to sunset).
• Archery and Crossbow Deer: Sept. 1-Jan. 31, 2018
• Gray squirrel: Sept. 15-Feb. 3, 2018

* Reminder: Non-toxic shot must be used for dove hunting on state wildlife areas during the month of September.

To hunt migratory game birds in Delaware, a Delaware hunting license or License Exempt Number (LEN) is required, with waterfowl hunters age 16 through 64 also required to purchase a state waterfowl (duck) stamp. Teal, dove and goose hunters also will need a Federal Harvest Information Program (HIP) number. To register for a HIP number or LEN number, hunters can call toll free 1-855-335-4868 or go to Delaware Hunter and Trapper Registration.

New this year, registered motor vehicles used to access designated public lands 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 vehicle pass with the purchase of any Delaware hunting license. To obtain a free CAP, or to purchase an additional pass, hunters will need to have the registration card for the vehicle to which the pass will be assigned.

Delaware hunting licenses, state waterfowl stamps, 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 dealers statewide. For hunters age 16 and older, a federal migratory bird hunting stamp also is required to hunt teal and geese; federal stamps are available at U.S. Post Offices and online at Federal duck stamps.

For more information on hunting, click 2017-2018 2017-2018 Delaware Hunting & Trapping Guide and Wildlife Area Hunting Maps. Hard copies of 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 also is available by calling the Wildlife Section office at 302-739-9912.

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

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

Vol. 47, No. 193

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Reminder for the week: Purchase your 2017/2018 Delaware hunting license, waterfowl stamps now

DOVER  – To achieve public compliance through education and enforcement actions that help conserve Delaware’s fish and wildlife resources and ensure safe boating and public safety, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers between Aug. 14-20 made 3,012 contacts with anglers, boaters and the general public, including 457 vessel boardings for boating safety and fishing regulation compliance checks, issuing 52 citations. Officers responded to 83 complaints regarding possible violations of laws and regulations or requests to assist the public. An increased Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police presence continued at the C&D Canal Conservation Area and Michael N. Castle Trail.

Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police in the Community

• On Aug. 19, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers discussed boating safety, search and rescue, and hunting and fishing enforcement during Middletown’s annual Peach Festival. Officers displayed the Operation Game Theft Trailer, which was very popular.

Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police Actions

Incidents of note:

• On Aug. 18, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers responded to a medical emergency on board a recreational fishing vessel in the Atlantic Ocean eight miles east of the Indian River Inlet. The victim was suffering from heat stroke and was transferred to the Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police patrol vessel for transportation to the US Coast Guard Station where they were evaluated by the Rehoboth Beach Fire Company.

• On Aug. 20, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers responded to an overturned PWC in the Indian River Inlet. The operator was able to self-rescue by swimming to shore after he lost control in rough water causing his PWC to overturn and stall. The operator refused treatment and only minor damage was caused to the PWC.

Citations issued by category, with the number of charges in parentheses, included:

Fisheries Conservation: Recreational: Unlicensed fishing (2)*, possession of undersized summer flounder (10), possession of summer flounder parts (3), possession of undersized hard clams (1), possession of over the limit hard clams (1), possession of undersized blue crabs (2), tend the recreational crab pot of another (1), and fishing in a closed area of a state wildlife area (2)*. Commercial: Possession of undersized blue crabs (2).

Boating and Boating Safety: Operating a vessel with insufficient number of life jackets (2), no life jacket on a child age 12 or younger as required by law (6), failure to observe slow no wake zone (2), equipment violation- no navigation lights (1), equipment violation-no sound producing device (1), operating an unregistered vessel (2), no tidal boat ramp certificate (1), and no boating safety certificate (6).

Other: Trespassing after hours on a state wildlife area (7)*.

*Includes citation(s) issued at the C&D Canal Conservation Area.

DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife recognizes and thanks the majority of anglers, hunters and boaters who comply with and support Delaware’s fishing, hunting and boating laws and regulations. Citizens are encouraged to report fish, wildlife and boating violations to the Delaware Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police by calling 302-739-4580. Wildlife violations may also be reported anonymously to Operation Game Theft by calling 800-292-3030 or online at http://de.gov/ogt.

Are you AWARE?

Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police remind hunters to purchase their 2017/2018 Delaware hunting licenses and waterfowl stamps. A resident annual hunting license costs $39.50 for ages 16 through 64. A resident junior hunting license costs $5 for ages 13 through 15.

Residents younger than 13 or those 65 and older who have resided in Delaware for one year or longer are not required to purchase a Delaware hunting license; residents younger than 16 or those 65 and older are not required to purchase a Delaware waterfowl stamp. Higher license prices apply to non-resident hunters, and no exemptions are made for non-residents age 65 and older on purchasing a hunting license or waterfowl stamp.

To hunt waterfowl in Delaware, residents age 16 through 64 who have lived in the state for one year or longer are required to purchase a Delaware waterfowl stamp and a federal migratory bird hunting stamp. Federal duck stamps may be purchased at U.S. Post Offices, Bombay Hook and Prime Hook national wildlife refuges and online at www.fws.gov/duckstamps. For more information, call 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724).

Hunters who are exempt from purchasing a license must obtain an annual, free License Exempt Number (LEN). Both exempt and non-exempt hunters of migratory gamebirds, including waterfowl, dove, woodcock and rail, also must obtain a free Federal Harvest Information Program (HIP) number. Both are available online or by calling 855-335-4868 toll-free.

If hunting waterfowl or deer on a state wildlife area from a blind or deer stand that was selected through a lottery, all hunters in the blind or stand are required to carry their $20 annual lottery permit. This permit is waived for hunters participating in Division of Fish & Wildlife-designated youth hunting days.

Effective July 1, 2017, a Conservation Access Pass is required for any registered motor vehicle used to access designated Delaware State Wildlife Areas for any allowable activity, including hunting, birdwatching, hiking and photography. For more information, click Conservation Access Pass.

Delaware hunting licenses, lottery permits and waterfowl stamps are sold online, at the licensing office in DNREC’s Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, and by license agents statewide. To find a participating hunting license agent, to purchase a license or lottery permit or to obtain a HIP or LEN number online, click Delaware Licenses and Permits. For additional information on Delaware hunting licenses, call 302-739-9918.

For more information on hunting in Delaware, click 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.

For more information on individual wildlife areas, including the rules and regulations specific to each area, visitors are encouraged to give close attention to Delaware wildlife area maps published by the Division of Fish & Wildlife. The maps are available in hard copy at DNREC’s Dover licensing desk, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, and also can be found online at Wildlife Area Maps and Regulations.

Media Contact: Lt. John McDerby, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, 302-739-9913 or 302-354-1386

DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife is launching Delaware’s new Conservation Access Pass July 1. Starting on that date, a Conservation Access Pass will be required for any registered motor vehicle used to access Division of Fish & Wildlife state wildlife areas for recreational activities such as birdwatching, wildlife photography, hiking and horseback riding, as well as hunting.

The annual pass for Delaware-registered vehicles is valid from July 1 thru June 30 and will cost $32.50 when it goes on sale July 1. A three-day pass valid for three consecutive days costs $10. For vehicles with out-of-state registration, an annual pass costs $65 and a three-day pass costs $20. The Conservation Access Pass is assigned to a single registered vehicle, but may be transferred to a different vehicle under the same ownership for an additional $10.

Starting July 1, the pass may be purchased online at Delaware Licenses, at authorized license agents throughout the state, or from DNREC’s licensing desk in the Richardson & Robbins Building at 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901. Also starting July 1, Delaware hunters – residents and non-residents alike – will receive one free annual vehicle pass with the purchase of a hunting license. To purchase a Conservation Access Pass, wildlife area users will need to show the registration card for the vehicle in which they will use the dashboard pass.

Some locations managed by the Division of Fish & Wildlife are exempt from the Conservation Access Pass requirement, including the Michael N. Castle Trail on the C&D Conservation Area near Delaware City, and designated boating and fishing access sites listed in the 2017 Delaware Fishing Guide. Educational and shooting range facilities operated by the Division also are exempt, including the Little Creek Hunter Education Center, Aquatic Resources Education Center at Woodland Beach Wildlife Area, DuPont Nature Center at Milford Neck Conservation Area, and Ommelanden Hunter Education Training Center and Public Shooting Range in New Castle.

For more information about Delaware’s Conservation Access Pass, including a complete list of state wildlife areas that require the pass and locations exempt from the pass requirement, visit www.de.gov/fw or call the Division’s Wildlife Section at 302-739-9912. You may also want to check out frequently-asked questions about the Conservation Access Pass. For questions about purchasing the pass, please call the Division’s Recreational Licensing Office at 302-739-9918.

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

Vol. 47, No. 130

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DOVER – The paintings won top honors in the DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife’s annual stamp art competition, held April 8 at the Delaware Ducks Unlimited Greenwing Event at Owens Station Shooting Sports & Hunter Education Center near Greenwood. The competition drew 22 entries for the 2018/19 Waterfowl Stamp and 11 entries for the 2018 Trout Stamp. The 38th annual Waterfowl Stamp contest specified that submitted artwork must include a pintail duck and a Golden Retriever.

As the 2018/19 Waterfowl Stamp winner, Daniel Allard receives a $2,500 prize and 150 artist’s proofs of the limited edition print series of his first-place entry. A graduate of the Columbus College of Art & Design and an avid outdoorsman, Allard uses his artwork to help promote wildlife conservation and to help contribute to wildlife habitat and research. After leaving the commercial art world in 2006 to become a stay-at-home father, he began combining his love of art and wildlife in his paintings. Active in several conservation organizations, he is a four-time Ducks Unlimited Sponsor Artist in various states, and recently won the 2018/19 Ohio Wetland Habitat Stamp Contest.

As the 2018 Trout Stamp winner, Eric Jablonowski receives $250 and retains the rights to reproduce and sell prints of the stamp. Having sold his first wildlife drawing at age 7, Jablonowski discovered his love of the outdoors and his artistic talent at an early age. He grew up in the western Pennsylvania countryside and credits a childhood spent exploring fields and forests for his ability painting fine details. He started with pencil drawings and quickly moved on to oil pastels and other mediums. Today, he works primarily in oil paints. His creative process involves spending time outdoors observing wildlife anatomy, habitats and the properties of lighting. The first time Jablonowski, an avid fly fisherman, entered the Delaware Trout Stamp contest in 2010, he won second place; this year is his second entry.

Other winners included:

• 2018/19 Waterfowl Stamp: Second place – Garrett Jacobs, Orlando, Fla; Third place – Paul Makuchal, Pocomoke, Md.; Honorable mentions – Diane Ford, Bethesda, Md.; Ron Kleiber, Erin, N.Y.; and Caleb Metrich, Lake Tomahawk, Wis.
• 2018 Trout Stamp: Second place – George Bradford, Georgetown, Del., brown trout; Third place – Donnie Hughes, Lexington, S.C., brook trout; Honorable mentions – George Bradford, Georgetown, Del., rainbow trout; Broderick Crawford, Clayton, Ga., brown trout; and Jonathan Milo, Monroe, Conn., rainbow trout.

The winning 2018/19 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp will be available July 1, 2018, and the winning 2018 Delaware Trout Stamp will be available Jan. 1, 2018.

Waterfowl and Trout Stamp entries are on display through Monday, April 24 at the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, 2591 Whitehall Neck Road, Smyrna, DE 19977. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. For more information, please call 302-653-9345.

The 2018/19 Waterfowl Stamp judges were: Lou Caputo, Delaware Ducks Unlimited representative; Charles Sheppard, art collector; Dale Scuse, member of the Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish; Anthony Gonzon, wildlife biologist; and Justyn Foth, wildlife biologist.

The 2018 Trout Stamp judges were: Leon Spence, artist; Ed O’Donnell, Trout Unlimited member; Sam Palermo, avid angler; Edna Stetzar, fisheries biologist; and Garrett Grier Jr., member of the Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish.

DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited, started the Delaware Waterfowl Stamp (formerly known as the Delaware Duck Stamp) and print program in 1980 to raise funds for waterfowl conservation, including acquiring and improving wetland habitats vital to the survival of migratory waterfowl. To date, more than $2.8 million has been raised.

The Division of Fish & Wildlife began requiring trout stamps in the 1950s, and a trout stamp and a general fishing license are required to fish in designated trout waters during certain seasons. Trout stamp art was first used in 1977. The fees paid for Trout Stamps are used to purchase rainbow and brown trout from commercial hatcheries, with the purchased trout stocked in two downstate ponds and selected streams in northern New Castle County for Delaware’s trout seasons.

Delaware hunting and fishing licenses, as well as Waterfowl Stamps and Trout Stamps, 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 licenses or stamps online, visit Delaware Licenses. For additional information on Delaware hunting and fishing licenses, call 302-739-9918.

For more information on Delaware’s waterfowl and trout stamp art competitions, please call DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife at 302-739-9911.

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

Vol. 47, No. 81

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