Canada Geese

EASTON -- It's almost time for the granddaddy of East Coast waterfowl art shows, and Susie Carpenter, Nancy Thomas and dozens of others are feverishly whipping out wreaths, floral centerpieces and decorative sprigs of all kinds.Starting today, as it has on the second weekend of November for nearly three decades, the town of Easton will give itself over to what locals refer to simply as "waterfowl."That would be everything from waterfowl carvers, waterfowl painters and waterfowl sculptors to waterfowl callers and waterfowl retrievers.

Don't pray for any more rain, lest your prayers be answered some five inches at a time by a mischievous god.Rising gasoline prices will do more to brake the economy than anything Greenspan could think up.Smart guns are good but won't reduce crime. Maryland has smart thugs.Seasonal tourists are welcome. Permanent residents, no. Canada geese go home!

Federal prosecutors have accused a Chesapeake Bay charter captain and Eastern Shore entrepreneur who already has three fishing-law violations on his record with bagging too many Canada geese. According to court papers filed Friday, Levin F. Harrison III, also known as Capt'n Buddy, of Tilghman Island, was charged with the unlawful taking of Canada geese Jan. 12 on or over a baited area, and in excess of the daily limit. The maximum penalty is six months in prison and a $15,000 fine. He and his business are set for an initial appearance on Jan. 5 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

ANNAPOLIS -- The Department of Natural Resources has liberalized its original hunting season proposals for both Canada geese and regular ducks.The DNR added four days to the Canada goose season, two of which will allow a bag limit of two birds. The dates are Nov. 14-23 and Dec. 3-Jan. 12 -- and beginning Dec. 10 hunters will be allowed two Canada geese a day.This revised proposal offers an extra weekend for Canada goose shooting. An extra weekend also is included in the revised regular duck season, which will be Oct. 19-20, Nov. 22-23 and Dec. 11-Jan.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted last week not to further restrict commercial and recreational catches of bluefish, which biologists say are being overfished along the Atlantic seaboard.The bluefish management board had passed a proposal to cut limits from 10 fish per day to three per day at an eight-inch minimum size for recreational fishermen and to reduce the commercial catch by 20 percent.The two halves of the proposal were intended to reduce the overall catch of bluefish by 40 percent.

Its thick green scales, glowing yellow eyes and menacing toothy grin were designed to intimidate the waterfowl. But, so far, this phony alligator head, bobbing on the calm waters of Westminster Community Pond, has not scared a single creature. The ploy doesn't even fool the children who play in the surrounding park and feed the ever-increasing number of fowl. "He is not scary, and he is fake," said Ryan Black, 4, visiting the park with his grandmother. "I don't see him swimming." In an effort to control the proliferating population of Canada geese and domestic ducks, Carroll County spent $150 for a pair of plastic alligators and dropped one in the 1-acre pond, a few hundred yards from the noise and traffic on Route 140. The other plastic gator is in reserve, waiting for a possible assignment.

The snow melt came one to three weeks late this year above the 54th parallel, in the vast expanse of tundra and taiga in northern Quebec and Labrador where Canada geese migrate each year to nest and raise their young.According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1992 Status of Waterfowl & Fall Flight Forecast, the late snow melt, which prevents geese from establishing nesting sites, will result in reduced production for most North American goose populations.The greatest impact, however, will be felt by the Atlantic population, those birds that nest in Newfoundland, Labrador and Quebec, with the greatest number seeming to come from Ungava Bay and the northeastern shore of Hudson Bay on the Ungava Peninsula.

Maryland's second experimental hunting season for resident Canada geese will run from Sept. 6-15 this year, with the addition of all or portions of six Eastern Shore counties.Another change for this year will be a requirement that all hunters have a migratory bird harvest information program permit, a free form that will be available where they buy their hunting licenses. State and federal stamps also must be purchased, and a free September Canada goose season permit also must be acquired and carried while hunting.

On Monday, the Department of Natural Resources released its proposed dates and bag limits for hunting seasons statewide this year and next, including expanded seasons for resident Canada geese and the possibility of expanded fall turkey seasons.The hunting season for migratory Canada geese, which was closed in Maryland and the entire Atlantic Flyway this past season, remains in jeopardy for next year.Seasons for resident, or non-migratory, Canada geese would be opened in all counties except Kent and Queen Anne's.

The Midwinter Waterfowl Survey in Maryland this year showed a decrease in total number of waterfowl observed by personnel from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Natural Resources, but also revealed an increase in the number of Canada geese wintering in the state.According to DNR, Canada geese increased from 259,200 last year to 295,000 this January. However, biologists said that count includes an undetermined number of non-migratory birds forced south from other states by deep snow and cold weather.