Officials warn of baiting regulations|Outdoors

Published 12:00 am Friday, October 23, 2009

It’s been a wet October for the Vicksburg area, and with more than double the average monthly rainfall to date, an abundance of unharvested crops are left standing in saturated fields as farmers have been unable to use heavy harvesting machinery. 

The stranding crops draw in migrating birds, which in turn draws in flocks of waterfowl hunters. It is not illegal to pursue waterfowl over unharvested standing crops, flooded standing crops or land where seeds or grain have been scattered from normal agricultural practices.

However, as the various waterfowl seasons get underway, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks is warning hunters to keep baiting regulations in mind as they take to fields with standing crops.

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“The bottom line is you cannot manipulate unharvested crops,” MDWFP Chief of Law Enforcement Steve Adcock said. “Hunting waterfowl over crops that have been Bush-Hogged or plowed under is considered baiting and will be treated as such.”

The shredding and plowing of damaged croplands is not considered harvesting, and restricts that land from waterfowl hunting. If seeds or grain are present in a field, but not from normal harvesting practices, that land is considered baited until the seed or grain has been removed for ten days.

For complete waterfowl hunting regulations and season information visit www.mdwfp.com, or contact Bob Oliveri with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at 601-965-4469.

Vicksburg has received 8.3 inches of rain to date this month, compared to the 3.8 inch average for October. There is no significant chance of rain forecast for the weekend. 

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Contact Everett Bexley at ebexley@vicksburgpost.com