Authorization Conditions and State Seasons for Seasonal Migratory Game Bird Hunting

DATES:

Comments: You may comment on the MGBH Memorandum, specifically selection of the alternative conditions in our decision frameworks based on application of current data, until September 30, 2026.

State proposed annual regulations: Each State's proposed annual regulations for migratory game bird hunting is due to the Service by May 31 each year. With respect to the 2026-27 season, each State's proposed regulations have already been received by the Service.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Migratory game birds are those bird species so designated in conventions between the United States and several foreign nations for the protection and management of these birds. Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA; 16 U.S.C. 703-712), the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to determine when "hunting, taking, capture, killing, possession, sale, purchase, shipment, transportation, carriage, or export of any such bird, or any part, nest, or egg" of migratory game birds can take place, and to adopt regulations for this purpose (16 U.S.C. 704(a)). These regulations give due regard to "the zones of temperature and to the distribution, abundance, economic value, breeding habits, and times and lines of migratory flight of such birds" (16 U.S.C. 704(a)). This responsibility has been delegated to the Service as the lead Federal agency for managing and conserving migratory birds in the United States. However, migratory bird management is a cooperative effort of Federal, State, and Tribal governments.

The Service adopted general regulations for migratory game bird hunting, which are set forth in title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR part 20. These regulations provide that the Service will establish the conditions (limits) from which States and Tribes may establish their seasonal migratory game bird hunting regulations. The limits include season dates, season lengths, shooting hours, bag and possession limits, areas where migratory game bird hunting may occur, and other restrictions, and are communicated via the MGBH Memorandum and notification in the Federal Register . These limits are necessary to allow harvest at levels compatible with migratory game bird population status and habitat conditions. After the conditions are established, States and Tribes may establish their migratory game bird hunting regulations within the conditions and in accordance with our general regulations at 50 CFR 20. We provided a detailed overview of the process for establishing the conditions for seasonal migratory game bird hunting in the June 26, 2026, Federal Register (91 FR 38543).

We provided the meeting dates and locations for the Service Migratory Bird Regulations Committee (SRC; https://www.fws.gov/event/us-fish-and-wildlife-service-migratory-bird-regulations-committee-meeting ) and Flyway Council ( https://www.fws.gov/partner/migratory-bird-program-administrative-flyways ) meetings on our website. The SRC conducts open meetings with the Flyway Council Consultants to review information on the current status of migratory game birds and their habitats. Using this information, the SRC develops recommendations for the conditions for seasonal migratory game bird hunting. The most recent SRC meetings were held on December 16, 2025, and May 5, 2026. We have considered all pertinent comments received, which includes comments submitted in response to our previous Federal limits published in the August 18, 2025, Federal Register (90 FR 40178) and comments from the SRC meetings.

This notice makes available the 2026 MGBH Memorandum that contains the conditions for migratory game bird hunting. The Service will continue to make annual decisions on appropriate harvest levels and will update this notice and the MGBH Memorandum if changes are prescribed by applying biological data to our decision frameworks annually. Please see ADDRESSES , above, for information on how to view the MGBH Memorandum. If we receive substantive public comments indicating revisions to the MGBH Memorandum are necessary, particularly for errors in applying current data to the decision frameworks to select the appropriate limits among alternatives, we will update the MGBH Memorandum and publish a notice making available the revised MGBH Memorandum. Any administrative corrections to the conditions would be made immediately through the MGBH Memorandum available on the Service's Migratory Bird Program website or by contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT . Each State's proposed annual regulations for migratory game bird hunting are due on the date specified above in DATES .

Our long-term objectives continue to include providing opportunities to harvest portions of certain migratory game bird populations and to limit harvests to levels compatible with each population's ability to maintain healthy, viable numbers. Having taken into account the zones of temperature and the distribution, abundance, economic value, breeding habits, and times and lines of flight of migratory game birds, we conclude that the hunting seasons provided for in the MGBH memorandum are compatible with the current status of migratory game bird populations and long-term population goals. Additionally, we are obligated to, and do, give serious consideration to all information received during the public comment period.

Population Status and Harvest

We periodically publish reports that provide detailed information on the status and harvest of certain migratory game bird species. These reports contain descriptions of species population segments referenced in status assessments. These reports are available by contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT or from our website at https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/population-status, https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/migratory-bird-hunting-activity-and-harvest-reports, and https://www.fws.gov/project/adaptive-harvest-management.

We used the most recently published reports in the development of the MGBH Memorandum:

• Adaptive Harvest Management;
• American Woodcock Population Status;
• Band-tailed Pigeon Population Status;
• Migratory Bird Hunting Activity and Harvest;
• Mourning Dove Population Status;
• Status and Harvests of Sandhill Cranes, Mid-continent, Rocky Mountain, Lower Colorado River Valley and Eastern Populations; and
• Waterfowl Population Status.

Regulatory Impact Analysis

The nationwide economic effects generated by migratory game bird hunting are substantial, estimated at about $2.7 billion in associated economic activity based on data from the 2011 and the 2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, the most recent years for which data are available. Small, incremental adjustments made to Federal migratory bird hunting conditions are not expected to materially alter those underlying economic inputs nor impose additional Federal costs. Annual adjustments to season lengths and bag limits have historically produced minimal and highly variable economic effects, and available evidence shows hunter participation remains unchanged by these adjustments. A regulatory impact analysis associated with the relative changes in Federal conditions was prepared for the 2026-27 migratory game bird hunting season. Copies of the regulatory impact analysis are available from https://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-HQ-MB-2026-3335 or upon request from the person listed above under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT .

The conditions established by this notice and MGBH Memorandum allow States and Tribes to establish their regulations authorizing seasonal migratory game bird hunting. A wide range of businesses and individuals benefit economically from the establishment of State and Tribal migratory game bird hunting seasons. Migratory game bird seasons could be considered economically significant at the State level depending on the baseline.

National Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act

The programmatic document, "Second Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement: Issuance of Annual Regulations Permitting the Sport Hunting of Migratory Birds (EIS 20130139)," filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on May 24, 2013, addresses criteria of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ) compliance by the Service for issuance of the annual framework regulations for hunting of migratory game bird species. We published a notice of availability in the Federal Register on May 31, 2013 (78 FR 32686), and our Record of Decision on July 26, 2013 (78 FR 45376). This EIS and Record of Decision are part of the record for this notice and available for public inspection as provided in ADDRESSES , Document availability.

Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. ), provides that the Secretary shall insure that any action authorized, funded, or carried out is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered species or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat. We conducted a formal consultation to ensure that actions resulting from these regulations will not likely jeopardize the continued existence of endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of their critical habitat. Findings from this consultation are included in a biological opinion, which concludes that the authorization conditions are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat. The biological opinion resulting from this section 7 consultation is part of the record for this notice and available for public inspection as provided in ADDRESSES , Document availability.

Public Comments

The Department of the Interior's policy is, whenever practicable, to afford the public an opportunity for public comment. Accordingly, we invite interested persons to submit written comments regarding the MGBH memorandum made available through this notice. Comments should be specific to selection of the alternative conditions in our decision frameworks based on application of current data.

We will consider all pertinent comments we receive. Such comments, and any additional information we receive, may lead to changes, particularly editorial corrections, to the MGBH Memorandum. We would make purely administrative or nonsubstantive corrections to the MGBH memorandum immediately, without public comment, and would identify such changes in the revised MGBH Memorandum. In addition, for substantive changes, we would publish a notice in the Federal Register making available the revised MGBH Memorandum. The revised MGBH Memorandum would include a response to public comments that addresses the substantive revisions.

You must submit your comments and materials concerning the MGBH Memorandum by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES . We will not accept comments sent by email or fax or to an address not listed in ADDRESSES . Finally, we will not consider mailed comments that are not postmarked by the date specified in DATES . We will post all comments in their entirety-including your personal identifying information-on https://www.regulations.gov. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment-including your personal identifying information-may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting documentation we used in preparing the MGBH memorandum and this document, will be available for public inspection on https://www.regulations.gov.

Authority: The authority for this action is the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-712).