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Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment
early if the dusky Canada goose harvest exceeds the refuge’s harvest quota. Duck and coot hunting
will continue to the end of the regular State season, regardless of the status of the goose season.
� Hunting Reservations. Hunters may elect to participate in a random drawing for reservations
to hunt the refuge. The season is split into three hunt periods, with a different application due
date for each hunt period. Each hunter may select up to 10 hunt days per hunt period for
entry into the reservation lottery. Each date picked for the lottery costs the hunter one dollar.
After the due date a computer generated lottery is run for each hunt date in the hunt period.
The computer selects 19 reserved names for each hunt date in the hunt period and a
reservation number between 1 and 19. The reservation number corresponds to the order in
which the hunter will select a blind on the day of the hunt, with the lowest number selecting
first. A post card is generated for each hunter identifying their reservation date(s) and
reservation number. During the 1997/1998 hunt season, the refuge received between 350 and
400 applications per hunt period.
� Program Operations. The gates to the hunt area open two hours before legal shoot time on
refuge hunt days. Reservations are valid until 1 hour and 45 minutes before legal shooting
hours on the reservation date. All hunters present must record their name and address by 1
hour and 45 minutes before shooting time on a register. After a brief orientation, blind
selection commences with the reservation hunter holding the lowest reservation number for
that day selecting a blind first. The reservation holder may invite hunting partners up to the
blind’s capacity of 3 persons. This process continues until all reservation holders have
selected blinds. Typically, about half of the reservation holders attend for a particular hunt
day leaving blinds available for other hunters.
� Standby Hunters. Hunters present at 1 hour and 45 minutes before legal shooting time with
their information recorded on the register may vie for unoccupied blinds during the morning
hunt. Each hunt party is assigned a number that corresponds to a numbered ping pong ball.
The balls are blindly drawn from a bucket establishing the order in which standby hunters
will select blinds. In the event that a standby hunter does not like their blind options or all
blinds are occupied. The standby hunter may secure a picking order on the 10 a.m. waiting
list.
� 10 a.m. Lottery. Once blinds have been assigned in the early morning additional entry is
allowed until 10 a.m. This allows hunters arriving early a quality hunting experience without
additional hunters moving past their blind or throughout the hunt unit. At 10 a.m. hunters on
the 10 a.m. waiting list may fill vacant blinds or pass on available blinds and reserve their
picking order on the waiting list. Any new arriving hunters are subjected to an additional
ping pong ball lottery that completes the waiting list for blinds. As blinds vacate throughout
the day, blinds are refilled according to the order established by the waiting list. Typically,
by midday all hunters from the waiting list and 10 a.m. lottery have selected blinds. Hunters
arriving after the waiting list is exhausted, may select blinds on a first-come first-served
basis.
� Refuge Specific Regulations. The refuge imposes regulations specific to its hunt program
with the intent of maintaining program quality, safety, and equality. These regulations are
posted at the check station, announced during hunter orientation, printed on hunting fact
sheets, and maintained on the refuge website.
5-20 Chapter 5. Refuge Facilities and Public Use Programs