An article in todays paper. Go to www.timespicayune.com I believe the first one up will read The Times Picayune, next click on The Times Picayune on line, next click on sports, then Today's stories, scroll down to Duck Season facing several hurdles. Jack
Shoot them sprigs on their first pass!
Duck Season Facing Several Hurdles
Duck Season Facing Several Hurdles
Thanks Jack:
I cut and pasted the article below:
Duck season facing several hurdles
Longer season, fewer days may become rule as drought is factored in
05/19/02
By Bob Marshall Outdoors editor
Every year, waterfowl managers can face any number of controversies -- debates over season frameworks, arguments over bag limits, the impact of hunting, the quality of habitat.
But as John Andrew left the office of the nation's top duck manager last week, what he saw coming this summer was something much bigger, more interesting -- even ominous.
"What we have is the perfect storm, really," said Andrew, outgoing chief of the Migratory Bird Office at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "We've got several very important and controversial elements coming together, all of which impact the other."
Those elements include:
-- A growing drought on breeding grounds that could have an impact on duck populations and result in restrictive hunting regulations for the first time in six years.
-- Possible revision of the formula that dictates season lengths and bag limits.
-- The final decision in a bitter, two-year debate among states over season frameworks -- a decision that could have unintended consequences due to the changing habitat conditions.
Veteran waterfowl managers say their profession has never been so challenging.
"I've been involved in waterfowl management for 30 years, and I can never remember a season like this," said Lloyd Jones, refuge coordinator for the North Dakota Wetlands Habitat Office at the USFWS. "We're seeing so many changes to the status quo."
Drought moves in
The changes begin on the prairies. The wet, lush conditions that began in 1993, producing record fall flights and liberal hunting seasons, are gone, and drought is moving across the region. Federal waterfowl managers and private conservation groups report the Dakotas have only average to below-average conditions, while the important Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta are in the grip of a serious drought.
"We seem to be OK, getting by, in the Dakotas, because of all the water we're still carrying over from the wet cycle," said Andrew, who is leaving his post to become head of wildlife refuges in the Southeast. "But things in Canada have been getting pretty serious for a couple of years now, and this year will be worse. There basically was very little snow to replace any of the moisture lost last year. It looks bleak.
"And now it seems like the migration (back to breeding grounds) is late. When you have late migration and dry conditions, that doesn't help, either."
Typically waterfowl production drops during dry cycles, and falling duck populations usually result in more restrictive hunting seasons.
Hunting regulations are based on a management tool known as adaptive harvest management. AHM recommends one of four regulation schemes -- liberal, moderate, restrictive, very restrictive -- based largely on two key May surveys on the prairies: the number of breeding ponds and the number of breeding mallards.
In the Mississippi Flyway, which includes Louisiana, those options include liberal, 60-days, six-ducks daily limit; moderate, 45 and six; restrictive, 30 and three; and very restrictive, 20 and three. Since AHM began in 1996, the nation has been riding along in the liberal option. But the number of ponds is clearly headed downward, and some biologists say the number of mallards counted will not be enough to avoid moving to the moderate option -- cutting 15 days off the season in the Mississippi Flyway but keeping the bag limit at six.
"We've known for a long time the most effective way to reduce the harvest is to cut days," conceded Andrew. "That's because, in most areas, few people actually ever shoot the limit.
"Now it's too early to get into that guessing game. But you could certainly say that conditions don't look good at this point. And that's not even considering the other issues."
A longer season
Chief among those other issues is the heated debate over the season framework -- the calendar dates inside which managers must fit the total number of hunting days.
For generations, Mississippi Flyway states could not start their seasons earlier than Nov. 1 and could hunt no later than Jan. 20. But three years ago, Mississippi officials began a push to extend the framework through the end of the January, arguing the heaviest migration of birds into that state didn't begin until mid-January. By closing Jan. 20, they argued, Mississippi hunters were losing an opportunity.
Opponents countered that late hunting could have an impact on the next year's production by increasing overall mortality, as well as disrupting pair-bonding, which usually is under way by mid-January.
The debate followed regional lines. Southern states generally supported Mississippi's request; northern states opposed the plan. Later dates would not help those states since, in a typical year, freeze occurs by December, bringing a de-facto close to their hunting. Also, northern states worried any increased harvest in Mississippi could force the entire flyway into more restrictive regulations.
The opposition became more vehement when Sen. Trent Lott (R- Miss), threatened congressional action to help his state get its way, politicizing the debate. Eventually Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee were granted the extension in exchange for giving up nine days of hunting to offset the increased harvest.
But last year, other states made the same request. Earlier this year, at the urging of the states, the Service proposed a framework that would open the Saturday closest to Sept. 24 and run until the last Sunday in January. This year, those dates would be Sept. 21 through Jan. 26. The comment period on that proposal was to end May 31, but Andrew said it might be extended until June 21.
Big consequences
While Andrew said a majority of states apparently favored the expanded frameworks when first discussed last year, he's not sure many in the waterfowling community -- hunters and managers -- are aware of the possible consequences that could arise due to deteriorating habitat conditions and the penalty the change would carry in AHM.
One of those consequences, he said, could be forcing the nation into more restrictive regulations, costing Mississippi Flyway waterfowlers 15 days of hunting.
"We're not including an offset (cutting days) in the proposal because we can't honestly say the offset is accomplishing what it was intended to," he said. "Rather than monkeying around with eight days or 12 days, we'll just incorporate the impacts of changed harvest into the matrix in adaptive harvest management.
"Now if we were doing this when habitat conditions were greatly improved, we probably wouldn't notice the impact for two or three years. But we'll be doing this at a time when habitat conditions don't look so good and are getting worse.
"So what people may not be aware of is that this could result in more restrictive seasons sooner than later."
That possibility could create quickly shifting sides in the debate over expanded frameworks, managers said.
Northern states in the Mississippi Flyway that have opposed the change would now be in a position to gain, since they could load their shortened season into an earlier opening -- basically getting all of their hunting in before the freeze.
On the other hand, hunters in the middle and southern parts of the flyway may be less excited about hunting late if they would be forced to give up 15 days of sport.
"Traditionally most states in those regions, when forced to choose, always go with the days, because they want the opportunity to hunt," said Andrew. "I'm not sure how hunters in Arkansas or Louisiana will react if they discover that going with the expanded framework pushed them from liberal into the moderate framework."
A new formula
And all of that speculation is placed against one more factor: Federal managers said the formulas used to construct the AHM may be fine-tuned this year -- something that could affect what regulation recommendations the system makes.
"After doing this for 30 years, after all the sophisticated modeling, what waterfowl management comes down to is births and deaths," said Jones. "We need to know how many are being produced and how many are being harvested.
"We're constantly trying to improve what we do, and how we interpret the information we get. So we'll be looking at those models again this year and, yes, there could be changes in the information (going into) AHM, and the way it works.
"So now you've got changing habitat conditions, you've got the issue with frameworks -- and (possibly) making some changes in the system we use to set regulations.
"I honestly think this will be the most interesting and challenging year ever in waterfowl management."
As Andrew left the top job in the system, he agreed: "Like I said, this is the perfect storm."
I cut and pasted the article below:
Duck season facing several hurdles
Longer season, fewer days may become rule as drought is factored in
05/19/02
By Bob Marshall Outdoors editor
Every year, waterfowl managers can face any number of controversies -- debates over season frameworks, arguments over bag limits, the impact of hunting, the quality of habitat.
But as John Andrew left the office of the nation's top duck manager last week, what he saw coming this summer was something much bigger, more interesting -- even ominous.
"What we have is the perfect storm, really," said Andrew, outgoing chief of the Migratory Bird Office at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "We've got several very important and controversial elements coming together, all of which impact the other."
Those elements include:
-- A growing drought on breeding grounds that could have an impact on duck populations and result in restrictive hunting regulations for the first time in six years.
-- Possible revision of the formula that dictates season lengths and bag limits.
-- The final decision in a bitter, two-year debate among states over season frameworks -- a decision that could have unintended consequences due to the changing habitat conditions.
Veteran waterfowl managers say their profession has never been so challenging.
"I've been involved in waterfowl management for 30 years, and I can never remember a season like this," said Lloyd Jones, refuge coordinator for the North Dakota Wetlands Habitat Office at the USFWS. "We're seeing so many changes to the status quo."
Drought moves in
The changes begin on the prairies. The wet, lush conditions that began in 1993, producing record fall flights and liberal hunting seasons, are gone, and drought is moving across the region. Federal waterfowl managers and private conservation groups report the Dakotas have only average to below-average conditions, while the important Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta are in the grip of a serious drought.
"We seem to be OK, getting by, in the Dakotas, because of all the water we're still carrying over from the wet cycle," said Andrew, who is leaving his post to become head of wildlife refuges in the Southeast. "But things in Canada have been getting pretty serious for a couple of years now, and this year will be worse. There basically was very little snow to replace any of the moisture lost last year. It looks bleak.
"And now it seems like the migration (back to breeding grounds) is late. When you have late migration and dry conditions, that doesn't help, either."
Typically waterfowl production drops during dry cycles, and falling duck populations usually result in more restrictive hunting seasons.
Hunting regulations are based on a management tool known as adaptive harvest management. AHM recommends one of four regulation schemes -- liberal, moderate, restrictive, very restrictive -- based largely on two key May surveys on the prairies: the number of breeding ponds and the number of breeding mallards.
In the Mississippi Flyway, which includes Louisiana, those options include liberal, 60-days, six-ducks daily limit; moderate, 45 and six; restrictive, 30 and three; and very restrictive, 20 and three. Since AHM began in 1996, the nation has been riding along in the liberal option. But the number of ponds is clearly headed downward, and some biologists say the number of mallards counted will not be enough to avoid moving to the moderate option -- cutting 15 days off the season in the Mississippi Flyway but keeping the bag limit at six.
"We've known for a long time the most effective way to reduce the harvest is to cut days," conceded Andrew. "That's because, in most areas, few people actually ever shoot the limit.
"Now it's too early to get into that guessing game. But you could certainly say that conditions don't look good at this point. And that's not even considering the other issues."
A longer season
Chief among those other issues is the heated debate over the season framework -- the calendar dates inside which managers must fit the total number of hunting days.
For generations, Mississippi Flyway states could not start their seasons earlier than Nov. 1 and could hunt no later than Jan. 20. But three years ago, Mississippi officials began a push to extend the framework through the end of the January, arguing the heaviest migration of birds into that state didn't begin until mid-January. By closing Jan. 20, they argued, Mississippi hunters were losing an opportunity.
Opponents countered that late hunting could have an impact on the next year's production by increasing overall mortality, as well as disrupting pair-bonding, which usually is under way by mid-January.
The debate followed regional lines. Southern states generally supported Mississippi's request; northern states opposed the plan. Later dates would not help those states since, in a typical year, freeze occurs by December, bringing a de-facto close to their hunting. Also, northern states worried any increased harvest in Mississippi could force the entire flyway into more restrictive regulations.
The opposition became more vehement when Sen. Trent Lott (R- Miss), threatened congressional action to help his state get its way, politicizing the debate. Eventually Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee were granted the extension in exchange for giving up nine days of hunting to offset the increased harvest.
But last year, other states made the same request. Earlier this year, at the urging of the states, the Service proposed a framework that would open the Saturday closest to Sept. 24 and run until the last Sunday in January. This year, those dates would be Sept. 21 through Jan. 26. The comment period on that proposal was to end May 31, but Andrew said it might be extended until June 21.
Big consequences
While Andrew said a majority of states apparently favored the expanded frameworks when first discussed last year, he's not sure many in the waterfowling community -- hunters and managers -- are aware of the possible consequences that could arise due to deteriorating habitat conditions and the penalty the change would carry in AHM.
One of those consequences, he said, could be forcing the nation into more restrictive regulations, costing Mississippi Flyway waterfowlers 15 days of hunting.
"We're not including an offset (cutting days) in the proposal because we can't honestly say the offset is accomplishing what it was intended to," he said. "Rather than monkeying around with eight days or 12 days, we'll just incorporate the impacts of changed harvest into the matrix in adaptive harvest management.
"Now if we were doing this when habitat conditions were greatly improved, we probably wouldn't notice the impact for two or three years. But we'll be doing this at a time when habitat conditions don't look so good and are getting worse.
"So what people may not be aware of is that this could result in more restrictive seasons sooner than later."
That possibility could create quickly shifting sides in the debate over expanded frameworks, managers said.
Northern states in the Mississippi Flyway that have opposed the change would now be in a position to gain, since they could load their shortened season into an earlier opening -- basically getting all of their hunting in before the freeze.
On the other hand, hunters in the middle and southern parts of the flyway may be less excited about hunting late if they would be forced to give up 15 days of sport.
"Traditionally most states in those regions, when forced to choose, always go with the days, because they want the opportunity to hunt," said Andrew. "I'm not sure how hunters in Arkansas or Louisiana will react if they discover that going with the expanded framework pushed them from liberal into the moderate framework."
A new formula
And all of that speculation is placed against one more factor: Federal managers said the formulas used to construct the AHM may be fine-tuned this year -- something that could affect what regulation recommendations the system makes.
"After doing this for 30 years, after all the sophisticated modeling, what waterfowl management comes down to is births and deaths," said Jones. "We need to know how many are being produced and how many are being harvested.
"We're constantly trying to improve what we do, and how we interpret the information we get. So we'll be looking at those models again this year and, yes, there could be changes in the information (going into) AHM, and the way it works.
"So now you've got changing habitat conditions, you've got the issue with frameworks -- and (possibly) making some changes in the system we use to set regulations.
"I honestly think this will be the most interesting and challenging year ever in waterfowl management."
As Andrew left the top job in the system, he agreed: "Like I said, this is the perfect storm."
Duck Season Facing Several Hurdles
our future seasons are looking like they may get a over-haul from what i have read... and if they prove to me that we need to take heed, i will do my part, even if it includes skipping a season.. {will just have to take more groceries and charcoal to the blind... look out beavers}.. things look down at the time, but mother nature has always been able to do more for ducks than man ever has... if you do your home-work you will find that mans attempt to correct wildlife has junped up and bit us in the butt more than once... always remember,,,,,,, if you have ducks, deer or small game on your place, it was the native grasses and vegitation that brought them there in the first place, don't over-haul the whole farm for wildlife by the books, you may screw a good thing up...
judge jb
judge jb
Duck Season Facing Several Hurdles
I thnk that Mississippi should be proactive and show a good faith type propasal and put a moratorium on spinners. Notice how this guy doesn't even mention them. I have a fear that there will be a population drop, and that drop will be blamed on hunting until the 31 in Miss, Tenn, and Alabama, when in fact, I feel it will be more related to weather and spinners. So, to take a little bit of the bite out of the future naysayers who will try to take the opportunity to cut us back to the 20th of jan, ban the spinners to say, See, we did something to deflect any increase in mortality from the framework extension. YOu still have spinners, its your fault. Just my 2 bits. Oh, this weekend I was in New Orleans, and there is a resident group of Mallards that are living in a canal that I drive by. There has already been a hatch and little mallards duckies are running around. But there are other females as well, and I watched 4 greenheads fight over her. SO that tells me that a single female will get a date, and kinda debunks the disruption of pair bonding is the end of the universe theory partailly in my mind.
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