ducks

Duck Limits — Adaptive Is Another Word For Whatever

Posted on by Jay Strangis

When waterfowl survey numbers come out, biologists and waterfowl manager start to chatter about the status of ducks, how we count them, how we manage them and how we set limits—important and interesting conversations. Opinions vary.

Although these studied and respected participants are involved in the management of waterfowl and their habitats, they do not set limits, but they may advise Flyway Councils in their process. The number of ducks we are allowed to take is guided by a a principal called Adaptive Harvest Management.

I practice adaptive harvest myself.  If I have six cookies on a plate, I say to myself, “Selt, you, can have two cookies a day for three days. Great!” But if I have only three cookies on the plate, I’ll probably go to one per day. I’m adaptive.

Canvasback counts were down this year. A couple of years ago they were up, and the limit went from one to two per day. Now canvasbacks are down again but the limit from Maryland to North Dakota and parts south remains two canvasbacks. Think about this. There are only half as many canvasbacks as there are duck hunters.

My adaptive nature says something is missing here.

When people my age were younger, we were hit with some crazy low limits, and some abbreviated seasons—try 30 days.  We groaned. But we went about our hunting, following the new rules. The most important thing was being out there

There’s a hard, stealthy truth today that’s not being talked about, nor with enough honesty. Hunter numbers are falling. License sales are falling. Government agencies and institutions that depend on hunter dollars are fearful. I’m going to guess that this fear is fueling Adaptive measures that have less to do with Harvest and the well-being of birds than the well-being of agencies that fear for their funding and survival. What would hard-charging conservationists like Teddy Roosevelt say?

I think we should live up to our conservation ethic when it comes to management of individual species.

Pintails come to mind. Who doesn’t love seeing these graceful birds? Pintails once battled with mallards as our most abundant duck, but time and farming practices have not been kind to pintails.

Once counted at about 10 million birds, pintails have dropped below 2 million in the latest survey, down 11 percent from the previous year. Just a couple of years back pintails hovered perilously close to the 1.75 million mark which mandates a closed season. Now, with the daily limit at 1 pintail nationwide for several years, a contingent from California has lobbied for a three-bird daily limit.

And now, suddenly, Adaptive Harvest Management tactics have undergone a halleluiah moment, “improved science” and a new federal strategy when it comes to pintails. Conveniently, that improved strategy would allow shooting up to three pintails per day. Also, conveniently, it would move the season closure threshold from 1.75 million pintails to a paltry 1.2 million pintails.

I’m trying to adapt to the people who hide behind Adaptive Management. Teddy Roosevelt would probably show them the big stick.

April/May 2023
Issue Contents

Posted on by Jay Strangis

FEATURES

Boat’s Guide 23
Take The Plunge
In A New Rig!
By David Rearick

Spring Snows
The Mud, The Miles
And The Gear
By Jack Hirt

More Than A Trophy
Who Knew A Three Cent Piece Of Stamped
Aluminum Could Have So Much Value
By David Rearick

Red Legs
Seeking Opportunity Before
Winter’s Curtain Slams Shut
By James Davis

One Last Shot
Golden Hour
By Joey Melvin

 

DEPARTMENTS

Hunt Book
Flyway Watch—A Rebound Season
Smart Money—Iowa’s Riverton Wildlife Area
The Master—Beyond Remarkable By Betty Sodders
In The News—The Privatization Of Hunting
Lefty’s Blind Bag—Six New Hunt Products
Marsh Notes—The “Bottoms” Remain Dry
Inclusion For Waterfowl Hunters
Teal Hunters On A Learning Curve

From The Editor
Remembering Bud
By Jay Strangis

Duck Dogs
The Elephant In The Room
By Robert Milner

Shotshells
Fiocchi’s Quest For Perfection
By Tom Keer

Shotguns
Blind-Ready Browning Shotguns
By Larry Case

Decoying
Move ‘Em Out
By Scott Haugen

Market Hunter
Find An Outfitter, Call, Boat, Retriever, Waterfowling Accessory

PotShots
Flying
By Patrick Meitin

When Birds Social Distance

Posted on by Jay Strangis

If you would have told me nine months ago that the world as we know it would take a 90-degree turn, I would likely have thought you to be kidding, a conspiracy theorist, or completely mad (as in crazy). But here we are. If you had told me that the U.S./Canadian border, something that has been a part of my life since a young child, would be closed for perhaps a year, I would have laughed—not possible. But here we are.

Over the past eight months, the world has been redefined and we’ve adapted to new realities not by choice but by necessity. And we’ve done a good job of it, in many cases. Even our terminology has changed. Terms like “essential workers” and “front-line workers” now define diverse groups of people in the important roles they play for a working society. Online learning is no longer an outlier method of getting a degree; it has become standard fare. Social distancing? Who ever heard of that? We’ve adapted in the workplace, with more telecommuting, more online meetings. We’ve adapted in business, with empty spaces becoming outdoor cafés, and box stores and restaurants combining online business with curbside pickup.

Personally, I’m impressed with how much a society can change in so short a period, but do I like it? No. In so many ways it’s inconvenient as heck—especially when it comes to hunting!

I had plans for a couple of trips across our northern border—both cancelled. Minnesota’s Game Fair, a fun August event—cancelled. Shot Show, a January industry even—cancelled. NWTF, a February event in Nashville, cancelled. As I write this, I’m still trying to figure out what our trips to the prairies are going to look like when motels and restaurants and travel in general are factored.

It’s all a pain in the behind. Yeah, I get that some alteration in routine is required in these unusual times, and yes, I want to keep my family safe and intend to follow guidelines to do that. But let me be clear—I can’t wait to turn the page.

On the other hand, I think the ducks and geese might be liking this, at least those north of the Canadian border. I hear this from my contacts up there who have found hunting to be tough this year. According to reports, the birds in Canada are having a party—one to which you and I weren’t invited.

To start with, weather early was unusually warm—never great for hunting. Add to that a landscape with an endless buffet table and too few hunters to keep the birds honest. And finally, for goose hunters, too many adult geese are in the flocks, which means fewer mistakes by the birds and tougher decoying for the hunters.

One source reported watching scouted birds feed in four different fields in the same afternoon, with the hunters completely vexed by where the birds might go next. I don’t know about the hunters, but it sounds like the birds are doing a great job of social distancing! www.waterfowler.com/subscribe

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