I read the paragraph you had quoted which spurred the thought. Never went back and counted the 74 days. Also didn't know there was a mandated early/late date, so that answers the question right there!
They kind of steer away comments that would be different than what is proposed with wording like that. Makes me wonder if it is on purpose. Take the proposed Canada Geese. It says the season and bag limit is the max allowed and zone boundaries can't be altered. That is not true.
There is no reason why the early Goose season should be shortened to 9 days if Teal season is shortened. In fact the Feds allow us up to 30 days in September. And the bag limit is not the max allowed. Texas has a 3 bird limit for early season dark geese. The Feds allow us up to 5 in the early season. The early Canada season is in an Eastern zone in Texas. The Feds proposal is for the entire state so there is no reason to even have a boundary in the Early season.
The max allowed statement is not true for regular Goose season as well. Our light goose limit is 20. The Feds allow us up to 50. Our Eastern Dark Goose Zone has a limit of 3 Canadas. The Feds allow up to 8. At least Texas did raise the Western zone limit to the max 5. But for East Texas at 3 when 8 is allowed almost makes me wonder if the bird watcher groups and places like Gambill's Goose Preserve have some kind of pull on the TPWD commission. I noticed Texas does do at least one over on the Feds at least. The Texas max age limit for our Youth waterfowl season is 16 years old. The Federal framework actually only allows for up to 15 years of age.
Proposed Early Canada Goose Season
The department proposes a 16-day early Canada goose season in the Eastern Goose Zone to run from September 13-28, 2014 (with the proviso that if a nine-day teal season is selected, the early Canada goose season would run concurrently). The bag and possession are the maximum currently allowed under the federal frameworks and are not proposed for change. The zone boundaries cannot be altered at this time.
Proposed Goose Seasons*
(A) Western Zone.
(i) Light geese: November 1, 2014 — February 1, 2015.
(ii) Dark geese: November 1, 2014 — February 1, 2015.
(B) Eastern Zone.
(i) Light geese: November 1, 2014 — January 25, 2015.
(ii) Dark geese:
(I) White-fronted geese: November 1, 2014 — January 11, 2015.
(II) Canada geese: November 1, 2014 — January 25, 2015.
*The department proposes to retain the season structure and bag limits from last year and adjust the season dates to account for calendar shift. The bag and possession limits are the maximum currently allowed under the federal frameworks and are not proposed for change. The number of zones and zone boundaries cannot be altered at this time.
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General Seasons
In Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas, Canada goose seasons
of up to 30 days during September 1-30 may be selected. In Colorado, New
Mexico, North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming, Canada goose seasons of up to 15
days during September 1-15 may be selected. The daily bag limit may not
exceed 5 Canada geese, except in Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, where the
daily bag limit may not exceed 8 Canada geese and in North Dakota and South
Dakota, where the daily bag limit may not exceed 15 Canada geese. Areas open
to the hunting of Canada geese must be described, delineated, and designated
as such in each State's hunting regulations.
Shooting Hours: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset, except that during
September 1-15 shooting hours may extend to one-half hour after sunset if
all other waterfowl and crane seasons are closed in the specific applicable
area.
b.. ? Geese: States may select seasons between Sept. 27, 2014 and Feb. 15,
2015, for dark geese and between Sept. 27, 2014, and March 10, 2015, for
light geese. East-tier states are able to select a 107-day season for Canada
geese with a daily bag limit of 8. For white-fronted geese, east-tier states
will be able to select either a 74-day season with a daily bag limit of 2
birds or an 88 day season with a daily bag limit of 1 bird. In the west-
1.. tier, states may select a 107-day dark goose season with a daily bag
limit of 5 birds. In the Western Goose Zone of Texas, the state could select
a 95-day season with a daily bag limit of 5 dark geese (including no more
than 1 white-fronted goose). For light geese, all states would be able to
select a 107-day season with a daily bag limit of 50.