Outdoors notebook: Duck season begins

Duck season is open statewide. The waterfowl season opened Saturday in zone two, which encompasses eastern Oklahoma. The first half of the season will remain open through Nov. 29. It will reopen Dec. 12.

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is resuming its bi-monthly stocking of trout in the Lower Mountain Fork River.

State wildlife officials didn’t add more trout to the river on the previous scheduled date and were planning to miss at least one more scheduled trout release because of Broken Bow Lake being lowered.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had planned to work on turbines at the dam. As a result, large volumes of water were being released into the trout stream.

But the work has been delayed until spring, so the spillway gates are closed and the normal trout schedule will resume, said Barry Bolton, chief of fisheries for the Wildlife Department.

Oklahomans can help choose the artwork that will be depicted on next year’s state waterfowl stamp by voting on the entries, which can be viewed at the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks.

This year, entries feature the ringneck duck. Known for its ability to plunge deeply into water, the ringneck duck is a powerful swimmer and can forage to depths of 40 feet in search of underwater food.

Along with public input, entries will be judged on anatomical accuracy, artistic composition and suitability for printing. The winner will receive a $1,200 purchase award.

A public meeting is scheduled Tuesday on alternative "no-burn” methods for removing Eastern Red Cedars. The meeting will be at 10 a.m. in Room 108 at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City. Another meeting will be Nov. 18 at 8:30 a.m. in Room 432A at the state Capitol.

For more information, call Jacklyn Brink-Rosen in state Rep. Richard Morrissette’s office at 557-7404.

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