View Rule

We propose to establish annual hunting regulations for certain migratory game birds for the 2020-2021 hunting season. We annually prescribe outside limits (frameworks), within which States may select hunting seasons. This proposed rule provides the regulatory schedule, describes the proposed regulatory alternatives for the 2020-2021 duck hunting seasons, and requests proposals from Indian tribes that wish to establish special migratory game bird hunting regulations on Federal Indian reservations and ceded lands. Migratory game bird hunting seasons provide opportunities for recreation and sustenance; aid Federal, State, and Tribal governments in the management of migratory game birds; and permit harvests at levels compatible with migratory game bird population status and habitat conditions. We rely on a regulatory impact analysis developed in 2013 to quantify the costs and benefits of different regulatory alternatives in these annual hunting regulations. We will incorporate the most recent available data in this analysis to inform the final rule and subsequent rulemakings.