You're right about Cordts, I agree with you there now. Definitely had nothing to do with it.
As far as the MWA I still disagree. Concerned Duck hunters, wood duck society, all have a presence at the symposium and under MWA's umbrella. It's the people at the symposium influencing the mentality that limiting opportunities is conservation.
Sept 2014 Doug Smith article, this nicely sums up the mentality going into and at the 2015 symposium.
Ten years ago, a small group of mostly Minnesota duck hunters formed to voice concern over what they called an erosion of duck hunting’s conservation ethic caused by an increasingly liberal approach to regulations.I couldn't disagree more with this sentiment. Supporting liberal regulations (or not being opposed to them) when populations are high enough to justify them doesn't mean you're anti-conservation. Just like wanting continental duck populations managed conservatively in your state because of what you think is happening in your backyard doesn't make you a conservationist.
The Concerned Duck Hunters Panel — which included some of the state’s top wildlife biologists — said duck hunting shouldn’t be allowed before sunrise, opposed starting the season in September and urged more restrictive bag limits. They also wanted spinning-winged decoys outlawed.
[Later in the same article]
Landwehr said he welcomes discussing the issues raised by the Concerned Duck Hunters and has suggested the topics be brought to the annual Waterfowl Symposium, sponsored by the Minnesota Waterfowl Association, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and DNR. The event, open to the public, is Feb. 7 in Bloomington.
Brad Nylin, executive director of the Waterfowl Association, said that while the agenda hasn’t been set, he expects the liberalized hunting regulations will be a symposium topic. His group is not in favor of an early teal season, for the same reasons voiced by the Concerned Duck Hunters.
[Later in the same article]
Landwehr said the liberalized regulations have given hunters more opportunities.
“You can hunt ducks 71 days in Minnesota, and can harvest six birds [in the daily bag],’’ he said. “It’s an extraordinary season.
“The question I’d like to throw out there is how much is enough? What is an ethical, moral, sportsmanlike season and bag limit?’’
That’s a question Zentner, Strand, Knudson and other Concerned Duck Hunters would like answered, too.
Hmmm, I wonder how they answered Landwehr's question? Wait, we already know. It's pretty obvious they influenced him on the teal season.
Feb 2014 Doug Smith article recapping the 2014 symposium.
An early September teal season could be coming next fall for Minnesota duck hunters, but some hunters aren’t thrilled at the prospect of hunting ducks Labor Day weekend.
“I wish they wouldn’t do it,’’ said Roger Strand, 77, of New London, a well-known conservationist, waterfowler and longtime member of the Minnesota Waterfowl Association and Wood Duck Society.
Strand and others fear that hunters won’t be able to identify teal among the other ducks flying in September.
“There will be a lot of wood ducks shot in an early teal season, so I’m concerned,’’ Strand said.
Teal and a potential teal season were among topics Saturday at the Minnesota Waterfowl Association’s 17th annual Waterfowl Symposium in Bloomington, attended by about 100 people, including Strand.
[Later in the same article]
Jim Cox, 60, of Cologne, a longtime waterfowler and activist with the Minnesota Waterfowl Association, isn’t excited about an early teal season for that reason.
“I think it’s the stupidest idea,’’ he said. “We have a six-duck bag limit and 60-day season, and that’s not enough? And if you have a ‘mistake duck,’ now you can shoot at anything that comes over.’’