A duck dilemma: How many is too many?

[h2ofwlr]

Article by: DOUG SMITH , Star Tribune
Updated: September 24, 2014 - 12:56 AM

Members of the Concerned Duck Hunters group fear for the health of the wood duck population, pictured above with a pudelpointer, because of the increase of the daily bag limit from two to three and an earlier start to the season.

Some conversation groups fear current policies are reducing population.

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.

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.

Since then, the group became inactive, several key members died — including wildlife management legends Art Hawkins, Harvey Nelson and Roger Holmes — and waterfowl hunting regulations have become even more liberal.

Prompted by those changes, a proposed early teal season and fears that duck populations aren’t at record highs as federal surveys show, surviving group members are calling for renewed discussion among hunters and policymakers about the future of ducks and duck hunting.

“The regs are more and more liberal, yet more and more folks are seeing empty skies,’’ said Dave Zentner, 78, of Duluth, a longtime duck hunter who heads the group. “I have great doubts we have as many ducks as we’re being told we have.’’

He and other members fear that duck populations will be hurt in the long run by the liberal approach. In 2011, the DNR made some of the biggest duck regulation changes in a generation — including starting the season earlier, liberalizing bag limits for hen mallards and wood ducks, and adding new zones and split seasons.

And last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service boosted the waterfowl possession limit, long double the daily bag limit, to triple the daily bag limit.

Members of the Concerned Duck Hunters group are especially worried about wood ducks since the daily bag limit was increased from two to three and the duck season was opened earlier, targeting more effectively Minnesota’s breeding population of those birds.

“They are more vulnerable with the type of seasons we have now,’’ said Lloyd Knudson, 69, of Hugo, a member of the Concerned Duck Hunters and retired DNR wildlife biologist. “You can only shoot two hen mallards, but you can shoot three hen wood ducks.’’

An early teal season, offered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and accepted by other states this year but not Minnesota, would result in many wood ducks mistakenly being shot, Knudson said.

“It’s a bad idea,’’ he said. “In early September, every duck in Minnesota is brown [and difficult to identify].’’

The DNR plans to survey Minnesota duck hunters after the season to gauge support to an early teal season before deciding whether to offer one next fall.

Many of the liberalized state regulations came under the watch of DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr, and he defends those moves to provide a dwindling number of duck hunters more opportunities.

“The immense amount of data collected about waterfowl strongly indicates there’s not a problem,’’ he said. “But we should always be conscientious. There’s concern we’re overharvesting local wood ducks, and we’ve accelerated our banding program on wood ducks [to help determine impacts].’’

And he, too, said he has concerns about an early teal season.

“We tried it [in 1965] and found out half the ducks shot were non-target birds. I don’t know that duck hunters today are any better at identifying ducks then they were in the 1960s. I just don’t think it works for Minnesota.’’

Said Roger Strand, 78, of New London, a hunter, longtime wood duck advocate and member of the Concerned Duck Hunters panel: “It’s not really an early teal season, it’s an early duck season,’’ because of the likelihood other species will be shot. “When they talk about a ‘mistake duck’ it’s an embarrassment.’’

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.

Landwehr said the fact Minnesota now has about 76,000 duck hunters, down from 140,000 in the 1960s, means the liberal bag limits and regulations will have less impact than in years past. Zentner doesn’t buy it.

“From the loss of habitat that has occurred to hunters’ experiences, none of this adds up,’’ he said. “It’s a ridiculous argument. Most hunters want to see something in the sky, and the vast majority are seeing empty skies.’’

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, sportsman like season and bag limit?’’

That’s a question Zentner, Strand, Knudson and other Concerned Duck Hunters would like answered, too


Photos and more: http://www.startribune.com/sports/outdo ... 64831.html


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Please do not shoot the messenger. I'm just posting this so people can learn about opposing points of views on our waterfowl regs.

[Hansen]

Unreal.

If you as a waterfowl hunter can not identify the difference between a blue wing teal and any other duck you should give up the sport forever. I actually agree a little about woodies and hunting pressure but they seem to be doing just fine from what I can tell.

[Gander DeBander]

They spend so much time arguing about split zones, season dates, bag limits ect..... Fact of the matter is, and most of us already realize it, the habitat in MN just does not have the quality to support the numbers of waterfowl that the Dakotas have. I also believe that the number of people living in this state and continued development of lake shore goes hand in hand with that. MN will never be what it once was when it comes to waterfowling. The state has lost a ton of revenue to lost license sales the past few years so opening things up on the regulations will draw some of that back.....at least that's what they hope.

[shnelson]

^ agreed.

There's no sense in bitching about liberal limits and season dates when the vast majority of the state's duck hunters total bag count doesn't even equate to a daily limit. I'd love to see the most recent HIP survey data, but I can't find it published anywhere.

We see fewer ducks because they don't have much of a reason to be here.

[lanyard]

I agree though.... the 3 hen wood ducks vs. 2 hen mallards doesn't make sense.

With a continental population of 35+ million birds the mallard limit should be 6 with 3 hen mallards.

[Hansen]

This says it all for me: “The regs are more and more liberal, yet more and more folks are seeing empty skies,’’ said Dave Zentner, 78, of Duluth, a longtime duck hunter who heads the group.

Stop comparing the 60's to today. There are few ducks because we have 2% of the wetlands and the habitat sucks. I agree with farmer practices, drainage, shoreline developement, etc we will never get back to the "glory days." There are still plenty of ducks to kill, you just have to get off that point that was good 25 years ago.

[Waterfowlist]

The traditional habitat is not coming back. Time for the DNR to breakout a planter and other farm equipment and start flooding some impoundments. Or start getting MN residents discounts on ND licenses if you wanna see flocks of mallards regularly.

[Swartzy]

Any one else notice all the people interviewed that are part of this organization are old timers. The main reason seasons are more liberal now in MN is because we have about half as many duck hunters.

I agree with most other comments on this post as well. Habitat is a major problem. But there are still plenty of ducks in Mn. Just the species and locations have changed over the years.

We had an awesome blue bill spot, which is now pretty poor 90 percent of the time. My dad still goes out and sits there most weekends.

My uncle used to complain about how there were no ducks in MN and how it wasn't worth his time anymore. Until I started showing him pictures of our hunts and started inviting him along. He still seems to think there are no ducks, expect for the couple ponds I have taken him too.

Sure you can't walk out to any old wet land any day of the week and kill limits like they used to, but limits can still be had on a pretty regular basis.

And another thing is when do you think is the last time that 78 year old guy was out hunting?


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[Nershi]

This says it all for me: “The regs are more and more liberal, yet more and more folks are seeing empty skies,’’ said Dave Zentner, 78, of Duluth, a longtime duck hunter who heads the group.

Stop comparing the 60's to today. There are few ducks because we have 2% of the wetlands and the habitat sucks. I agree with farmer practices, drainage, shoreline developement, etc we will never get back to the "glory days." There are still plenty of ducks to kill, you just have to get off that point that was good 25 years ago.

Exactly! And reducing hen mallards to 1 bird or reducing woodies to 2 certainly won't fill the skies. Maybe someone should remind these guys that you used to almost never see a wood duck in MN.

I have never understood the whole idea around protecting our breeding population. If we protect our "breeding ducks" do these guys think that those ducks will some how miraculously avoid being killed by the southern states/countries over the next 4-5 months?

Doug must be hanging around doom and gloom Dennis Anderson to write an article like this.

[lumbertick]

Blaming liberal bag limits for the lack of ducks is taking the easy way out in my opinion. We all know that habitat is the key (I think we all know that at least). There is no way that I believe that here in Minnesota we are harvesting enough ducks to make a spit of difference. Many of the hunters that I know and have talked to throughout the seasons only come to close or achieve their limit within the first few weeks of the season...and I would lay money on a bet that would say 50% of all hunters probably can't even scratch half of limit during this time. In fact...with amount of duck hunters left in the state...and the limited amount of good spots to hunt...Minnesota wouldn't have an impact on the population if they doubled the limit in my estimation.

The HIP survey does not accurately give the information needed to determine how many ducks are really taken here. Talking to Mr. Green Jeans and asking them what they see for harvest/hunter numbers would make a lot more sense to me.

lt