{"data":{"id":"us/50-cfr-20.107","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"50 CFR 20.107","heading":"Definitions.","body":"For the purpose of this subpart, the following terms will be construed, respectively, to mean and to include:\nArea means a federally established geographic boundary within which migratory game bird hunting may occur.\nAuthorization conditions means the selected Federal regulatory alternatives from our decision frameworks within which States and Tribes may establish regulations for the seasonal hunting of migratory game birds in accordance with Federal regulations.\n(1) The selected regulatory alternatives may change periodically based on the status of populations and environmental conditions and will include the regulatory parameters most directly related to maintaining harvests at levels compatible with a game bird population's ability to be self-sustaining.\n(2) Authorization conditions specify the bracket dates, season lengths, shooting hours, bag and possession limits, areas where hunting may occur, and other restrictions, conditions, and requirements associated with the seasonal hunting of migratory game birds.\nBracket dates means the earliest and latest dates for migratory game bird hunting open seasons.\nDecision framework means a structured set of procedures, rules, models, and information criteria for selecting the appropriate authorization conditions from a fixed set of regulatory alternatives, each with a different expected harvest level, based on the harvest management objectives and status, demographics, and environmental conditions of the applicable migratory game bird population. Decision frameworks used by the Service are based on the U.S. Code and Code of Federal Regulations or published in the Federal Register as a final rule.\nFlyway means a geographically bounded administrative region.\n(1) Atlantic Flyway is Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.\n(2) Mississippi Flyway is Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.\n(3) Central Flyway is Colorado (east of the Continental Divide), Kansas, Montana (Counties of Blaine, Carbon, Fergus, Judith Basin, Stillwater, Sweetgrass, Wheatland, and all counties east thereof), Nebraska, New Mexico (east of the Continental Divide except the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation), North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming (east of the Continental Divide).\n(4) Pacific Flyway is Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and those portions of Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and Wyoming not included in the Central Flyway.\nFlyway Council means the representatives from each State within that Flyway. Additionally, representatives from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are included in the Atlantic Flyway Council, and representatives from Alaska are included in the Pacific Flyway Council.\n(1) The Council recommends actions necessary for science-based and sustainable harvest management of migratory birds to the Service.\n(2) The Flyway Councils are advised by the Flyway technical committees, which evaluate population and habitat information and make recommendations to the Councils on matters of migratory bird conservation.\nHunting permit means a federally authorized, State-issued license authorizing specific limited take for hunting migratory game birds, valid only for the individual whose name and address appears on the authorization.\nMigratory Game Bird Hunting Memorandum means the policy memorandum that sets forth and communicates the authorization conditions within which States and Tribes may establish regulations for the seasonal hunting of migratory game birds in accordance with Federal regulations.\nSeason length means the maximum number of days hunting may occur within the bracket dates for migratory game bird hunting seasons.\nSeason segment means a consecutive-day period within the total season length for migratory game bird hunting seasons.\nService Migratory Bird Regulations Committee means the Service Migratory Bird Regulations Committee (Service Regulations Committee or SRC), which is responsible for considering recommendations from the Service and Flyway Councils and recommending authorization conditions and modifications to decision frameworks and migratory game bird hunting regulations to the Director of the Service.\nZone means a geographic contiguous boundary for which an independent hunting season for a species or group of species may be established to distribute hunting opportunities and harvests according to temporal, geographic, and demographic variability in game bird populations. Zones are established by States and approved by the Service.\nZone and split-season configurations means an alternative combination of zones and season segments that a State may use for duck and dove hunting in a 5-year period, as provided in § 20.115.","path":["Title 50—Wildlife and Fisheries","CHAPTER I—UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR","SUBCHAPTER B—TAKING, POSSESSION, TRANSPORTATION, SALE, PURCHASE, BARTER, EXPORTATION, AND IMPORTATION OF WILDLIFE AND PLANTS","PART 20—MIGRATORY BIRD HUNTING","Subpart K—Process for Issuing Authorization Conditions for Migratory Game Bird Hunting"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-50.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:26:39Z","sha256":"dd7c654d24d9eda5f3cc6f692acff0be4fed7924ec5e9e4b7d045333cca32114","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/50-cfr-20.100","next":"us/50-cfr-20.108"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}