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Drumroll, please
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The official response to the millet question from the United States Fish & Wildlife Service:
Dear Brian,
Thank you for your inquiry regarding Federal baiting regulations and waterfowl hunting . Our mission is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.
Your question is concerning wildlife food plots and whether or not a person may legally hunt waterfowl over first year planted millet. Nothing in the regulations prohibits you from hunting waterfowl in wildlife food plots, including those planted with millet, unless the seed has been freshly distributed, scattered, or exposed. Therefore, food plots with standing millet may be legally hunted, even in the first year of growth. Because wildlife food plots do not meet the definition of a normal agriculture planting, harvest, post-harvest manipulation, or a normal soil stabilization practice, any millet planted in these areas could not be manipulated for purposes of waterfowl hunting at any time. You also asked for clarification of when millet is considered a natural vegetation. Natural vegetation does not include planted millet because of its use as both an agricultural crop and a species of natural vegetation for moist soil management. However, planted millet that grows on its own in subsequent years is considered natural vegetation.
You can find more information about migratory bird hunting and baiting regulations on our web site at: http://www.fws.gov/le/HuntFish
You can find the waterfowl baiting regulations in 50 CFR Part 20 at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov.
Thank you for your cooperation in complying with our regulations that help protect fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats. Please feel free to respond to this message with any further inquiries that you may have regarding this matter.
The email address to respond to if anyone has further questions is R9LE_WWW@fws.gov.
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TexasEd
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(Pro Tracker)
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07/01/08 01:05 PM
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Re: Drumroll, please
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thanks
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TexasHeat
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(Veteran Tracker)
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07/01/08 01:48 PM
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Re: Drumroll, please
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Na na na, told ya so!
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Gdogg
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(Tracker)
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07/01/08 02:10 PM
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Re: Drumroll, please
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So, is it OK to hunt over planted millet the first year.
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Txduckman
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(THF Trophy Hunter)
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07/01/08 03:12 PM
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Re: Drumroll, please
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So does my dog knocking a seed in the water to retrieve a bird considered manipulating? 
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Gdogg
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(Tracker)
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07/01/08 03:25 PM
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Re: Drumroll, please
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Quote:
So does my dog knocking a seed in the water to retrieve a bird considered manipulating?
Nope, just well trained.
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Re: Drumroll, please
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cajundave
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(Veteran Tracker)
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07/01/08 11:29 PM
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Re: Drumroll, please
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Good work!
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Re: Drumroll, please
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Please read it very careful and note the words, SEEDS and Exposed
"Nothing in the regulations prohibits you from hunting waterfowl in wildlife food plots, including those planted with millet, unless the seed has been freshly distributed, scattered, or exposed. "
This is where it becomes a Judgement Call on the part of the Warden. If you can't see seeds, your most likely safe, but them again it's the Warden or SA call. Good Luck.
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Txduckman
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(THF Trophy Hunter)
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07/02/08 05:33 AM
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Re: Drumroll, please
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It is talking about the planted seed that you would not have planted during duck season unless you were baiting. You don't plant food plots in the late fall/winter.
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Re: Drumroll, please
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Txduckman, I'm saying the rule of thumb is seeds, if you can see seeds on the ground and/or in the water, then it's a judgement call for the Warden....... Again it's JMO.
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Re: Drumroll, please
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Beat down millet plants scattered seeds- Good
No millet plant and scattered seeds TICKET
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REM788
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(Woodsman)
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07/22/08 07:41 PM
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Re: Drumroll, please
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We planted ours last year and it didn't help one bit. As a matter of fact I saw less birds last season than the previous five. This summer we shredded, burned, and disked the dried lake bed. Maybe it will grow back and this year will be better. We figure part of the problem was that the millet was so thick that there was not alot of open water for them to land. We recieved the same answer as well from TPWD. We were also informed by our local GW that manipulation on a first year plant was to his discretion.
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