DU vs. Delta Waterfowl

[dukbum]

lotta LOVE on this board! i can feel it ...... iam gonna shoot some duks and drink my whiskey no matter wut ..... love and limits to everyone.. bands for me please!!! at least one..... come on !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JimWalker]

I dont remember his name and I wouldnt say it if I did. He had a job to do. He didn't say with enthusiasm, he said it with disgust.
I can tell you how they make money and how they make it look like they don't, but you have to know something about this type thing to believe it.
However I wont do that, because like I said she IS a beautiful lady.
I just wish she would step out from under that lamp post of hers and get a real job.

[Chuckle12]

The biggest BS story around is that the ducks have completely changed their migratory pattern to the EC flyway. How, pray tell, have the ducks changed their migration pattern in 5-7 yrs? 5-7 yrs of hunting pressure is not going to change that this quickly. Sure, they have had more snow accumulation this year than last year, and as a result we have had more ducks down than we did last year. Do we have as many as we had in the late 90's? NO. Have the winters been warmer than in the late 90's? YES. Will the birds migrate in big numbers if there is a freeze down to mid Arkansas? Just wait until mid-February and find out for yourself. The only "pattern" that has changed during the last 5-7 yrs is the weather pattern.
The numbers in OK are up, way up. So are the numbers in MO and IL.

[jroc]

I don't join groups for the simple reason that when a group forms that means it's become crowded. DU (I use DU because I'm not familiar with DW) promotes duckhunting which in turn gains more hunter which in turn means more membership which in turn means more money which in turn means more promotion and so on and so on. Just remember 1 thing (and be honest with yourself) who or whom does something for nothing? There is always $ being made or the whole thing goes away.

I hunt, I pay for license, I pay for stamps, I pay fed and state taxes. I'm not paying for others to have jobs to lobby and buy lawyers. I really don't think any group can change what mother nature does.

I guess if there was no DU there would be no ducks huh?

[crackhead]

jroc I'll give you a big 10/4 for that statement!!!!!!!!!!!

[Chuckle12]

Hey mottlet... That decal thing was a poor attempt at a joke. I was trying to poke fun at all these greenhorned hunters and kids runnin' around with a DU sticker on one side and DW on the other. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy havin' their money to help support duck habitat, but most of these guys I see don't even hunt . I actually don't even have a DU or DW decal on my truck at all!!

[JimWalker]

The biggest BS story around is that the ducks have completely changed their migratory pattern to the EC flyway. The numbers in OK are up, way up.

Excuse me but did I read this right or am I missing something?

[Chuckle12]

You must have missed the last sentence:

So are the numbers in MO and IL.

The meaning implied here is that the larger numbers in MO and IL are due to a shorter migration as a result of milder winters for these regions of the country. The cold weather simply has not been there to freeze those birds out. There is no doubt that the "numbers would be up" for us too if the weather were cold enough in the mid-latitude states to lock up the surface water and enough snow fell cover up food sources.

The reason the migration switch theory does not hold water is that there just hasn't been enough time for the drastic drop in the number of ducks we have experienced over the past years. Ducks can change migration patterns, but they are not going to do this in just one or two seasons. We experienced huge drops in duck numbers within a two year period. Ironically, these number drops corresponded with milder winters experienced during the months of Dec and Jan, along with increased duck numbers in MO and IL.

[timbertalker]

du is mostly just a name like any other company and when you ask them where all the money is going they cant tell you

[JimWalker]

Chuckle I sure hope that you are right about that. However I dont think that ducks in Il or Mo says one thing about where the migration may go from there. It seems you are implying that they will surely move south from there.

Where do you think those way up numbers in OK are coming from?

and please site a year to compare winter to that would do the trick in setting the whole thing in motion?

[coonman]

So Jim you are Saying that a Duck would leave Ill or Mo to go west to Ok. Are they killing alot of ducks in Tx? From the folks I have talked no, because OK hasn't gotten the snow fall that they usually get either. I think Chuckle is right. I don't think that the Flyways have shifted we just haven't got the weather or I should say ya'll haven't got the weather that is needed to push the ducks down. I can remember a few years ago when we were jammed up wth ducks in MS, but them boys in Mo & Ill were done because the ducks had already left them. That year we were breaking ice out of our holes to hunt instead of breaking shorts out of the closet to hunt.

[Drakeshead]

Can we stop kicking this dead horse around? Goto http://ducks.org and http://deltawaterfowl.org and educate yourself on both conservation groups. Then, if you so desire join one, both or non at all, but personnally I am tired of this discussion!

[Seymore]

There is an article in the most recent edition of the Delta Waterfowl Report that addresses this very topic.

I personally think DU started drifting away from their core support, hunters, and are now beginning to see they screwed up. Along comes a group like Delta Waterfowl that says, "hey, come join us. We'll take care of you" and there you go.

I am a member of both and support both. However, it wouldn't take much for me to drop DU.

[JimWalker]

Coonman I'm saying that they go wherever they need to. Ok is a three hour flight from arkansas. I think many birds do go straight to that area on the tails of others that started going there when our first water came on Dec. thrid and the next year on Dec 22nd in the beginning of the el nino dry years.

I dont think Du drifted away from the hunters, the hunters drifted away from DU when the point system went into effect and most of them quit their conservation contributions along with their hunting. Du was hurt by that and as a matter of survival diversified their revenue generation strategy. That is and was fine, but they have taken it too far.

[woodennick]

As I read all the rhetoric of accolades to du or dw, you all need to be reminded once again that this is all about the damn dollar. Everybody is guilty!!! DU did screw us. As a former 20 year member, I saw it happenning, especially when agriculture starting going down in the 80's and early 90's. The Delta States couldn't carry DU anymore. They had to go somewhere to generate funds. So they went urban( Northern big cities). Give us some money and we'll make you a duck hole. Yes our flyway has gotten wider. Ducks stay north of longer. Food and habitat boys, thats the ticket. Weather has changed very little if you look at the averages.

So, DW steps up and takes a position in the duck production market. Great, they have done more for us down here lately.

But what everybody on this board forgets is USF&W and what they have done with the refuge system. How many of you know of closed areas on refuges in MS holding huge numbers of ducks (mostly mallards). I can take you to 5 within 1 hour of my house. You know the drill. They sit there all day. They know where to go and not go.

For years DU has collaborated with USF&W on seasons and limits. Whether or not they have sold us out on duck sanctuaries on refuges all the way down the flyway, I don't know----------The hell I don't, sure they have. Let's protect them sure, but please let's don't over do it. This has been happenning for many years and it's just gotten worse. Take a look at a map of the US and look at all the refuges down our flyway. It kinda jumps out at you. Most have partial no hunting areas, but some are completely closed to duck hunting.

Guys the coffee is boiling over, you better get to smelling it.
This duck hunting industry is huge. We are all guilty of shelling out big bucks to enjoy something we love. Duck hunting costs a lot of money and there are those out there that have a hand out taking it.

Always heard if you're going to bitch, you better have a solution.
So, we have a voice and we have the ability to channel our dollars where they can help us most. Join and believe in who ever you give your dollars to, but keep one eye open. Next, call our write you congressmen and let them know we have had enough. Get involved!!!!!!!! If you don't, this problem will run alot of you out duck hunting. You better believe it!!

Wooden