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At their June meeting,
the Board of the Department of
Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF)
approved a five dollar increase in
fees for hunting, fishing and
trapping licenses that will go
into effect July 1, 2006. Special
youth licenses, however, will not
see an increase. In addition,
special one-day fee fishing
permits will not increase until
January 1, 2007, and will
only go from $3.50 to $5.50.
In
addition, effective July 1, 2006,
the fee paid to license agents for
the sale of each license will
increase from fifty cents to one
dollar.
The
last license fee increase was in
1988.
Besides
the differences previously
mentioned concerning altered
regulations in some Southwest
Virginia deer seasons, the fall
turkey season will also see a
change. For several years the
season opened the last Monday in
October, beginning this fall it
will start on Saturday prior to
the last Monday. This will make
only one hunting day different in
opening of season, however it will
give a lot of people an
opportunity to hunt the first day
who would not have before.
Conversely,
with fewer turkeys in the woods,
will allowing so many hunters
afield on the first day of fall
season be wise when turkey
populations need increasing? I'm
not an expert on turkeys, but a
biologist once told me that the
reason to open season on Mondays
instead of Saturdays would lessen
the shock on wildlife populations
right at the beginning of season.
It shall now be legal to hunt squirrels in certain
wildlife management areas from
June 2 - June 27 beginning in
2007.
For more of the
story, see the print edition of the Mountaineer, on sale at
newsstands now. For more information on how to subscribe to the Mountaineer,
call 276-935-2123 today.
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