Karen Kovacs, Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist, said the DFG is proposing that the five-year-old north coast Canada goose hunt be replaced with a similar hunt that would take place during the north coast's black brant hunting season.

The state Fish and Game Commission took the first step in the changeover on August 2, when it agreed to eliminate the special September hunt. If approved by the commission on August 30, the new north coast Canada goose hunt would run November 23-27.

Fish and Game launched the special September hunt in 1997 to provide hunters with opportunity to pursue western Canada geese before the listed Aleutian goose population made its annual migration through the north coast to Central Valley winter habitat.

Aleutian geese were listed as endangered in 1973, down-listed to threatened status in 1990 and removed from listing in March 2001. Efforts by the U.S. Fish and Wildife Service to reduce predation on the Aleutians where they nest brought back the population, the DFG said.

If approved, the new north coast Canada goose hunt would offer five days of hunting under a one-bird-per-day limit and no limit on the number of hunters. The DFG said it is in the process of notifying hunters who have already sent postcard applications to the Eureka office in anticipation of another September goose hunt.