Shallow Lakes Program

[Bailey]

Just got the new Minnesota DU newsletter touting the lake restorations in Freeborn County. As usually they have some picture of emerged vegetation and a picture of a flock of ducks which I assume is taken out of season as they usually are. It seems they always talk up a shallow lake restoration and take a picture of ducks using it in the spring. Then you never hear about it again or here any mention of how the hunting is in the fall? So I guess my question is are these restorations really doing anything to attract ducks in the fall or just feel good back slapping stories for DU and the DNR. I would think it there were actually working out so great you would here about them a few years down the road but we never hear a thing.

[lanyard]

If I know where ducks are working I'm not talking about it

I'd guess a couple factors:

If motorized the ass clowns pound it fit a couple weeks, then complain is too busy and they didn't shoot any ducks.

If not motorized it gets 1/3 the pressure and the guts that hunt it keep tight lips.

There's no ducks in Minnesota.

[h2ofwlr]

^^^ Spot on!

[maplelakeduckslayer]

I really don't think it matters how many lakes they "restore" unless it's some ridiculous number like 50% of MN lakes and prairie potholes. A lake here and there is not going to shift the main migration back east. It's possible these lakes attract "more" ducks...but these ducks were already flying through the area, just congregating on the restored lake.

[lanyard]

The goal needs to be more than loafing/feeding. They need staging/roosting taking place and the shallow lakes should be able to affect that.

It should also be noted if these lakes help on the return flights in spring.

Stayed at the State Park by Albert Lea last summer and the wood ducks were thick. Not certain what the rest of the area looks like: if it's all top soil it won't hold birds; if the restoring is done with a watershed mindset and a clean water sentiment (corridors concept) it will make a difference.

One thing to consider: some years on opener average birds per hunter might be 1.4. A 100% increase would be 2.8. I don't think most hunters see shooting about 1 duck more a success. Additionally, increases in harvest are incremental year over year with a combination of gains/losses depending on several production factors.

Point being, as people become familiar with the new "normal" a recency bias develops, so you only compare experience to recent experience, not what happened 5 or 10 years ago, except old people contemplating their life in sum, then whatever happened back when they were in their prime was the best ever no matter how bad it sucked.

[Quack]

I really don't think it matters how many lakes they "restore" unless it's some ridiculous number like 50% of MN lakes and prairie potholes. A lake here and there is not going to shift the main migration back east. It's possible these lakes attract "more" ducks...but these ducks were already flying through the area, just congregating on the restored lake.

I disagree. It wasn't that long ago that LQP, and the refuges north and south of it to a lesser extent, was THE place to hunt geese in MN. Now every town with a lake holds geese from sept 1 til they can't field feed. The goose flyway spread out due to locally produced geese refuging up and attracting migrators. Birds attract birds whether it's ducks or geese.

If you read the article it talked about a cluster of habitat from WMAs to WPAs to lakes.

If you have a cluster of habitat that produces waterfowl and doesn't get burned out it will hold and attract more waterfowl. It's like compound interest, it just takes a while

[Bullet21XD]

Ducks find and use the best habitat that suits their needs. Doesn't matter if it's one small pond in a 10 sq. mile area, or 1000 sq. mile area. It's not uncommon for them to fly hundreds of miles overnight in search of better habitat.

[Bailey]

I think a lot of these probably hold a decent amount of ducks in the spring since they are not bothered. The problem is I believe in the fall they are probably blasted off within a day of arriving and don’t stay long. Unless they but in refuge type areas or no motor restrictions I would assume the ducks are driven out in a hurry. Of course is not popular for the DNR to oppose the mud motor crowd so tend to shy away from motor restrictions.

I remember scouting some pretty good looking wetlands years back in the spring in Western Minnesota . They were full of ducks of all kinds and had great food. They still had great food when I came back in the fall but no ducks. Go figure!

[duck_dude]

I'm a major proponent of the shallow lakes initiative and all the work DU and the State of MN have done in recent years. In the small town I grew up in, all the lakes within 10 miles have a restoration plan that involves a water control structure. This will help immensely with the quality of wetlands in the area as some are running their cycle and are open water basins. Now I fully understand one of the major goals of these investments is to get more people hunting, generating revenue for the State through license sales. But it would be nice is some of these areas that were restored to higher quality habitat were established as designated no hunting resting areas with the hope that eventually they would develop into roosts during the season fostering field hunting opportunities in the area. This idea takes time, and people generally want instant gratification, but I feel overall patience would reap dividends for areas in the middle of farm country where people want to generate numbers of birds. Just my opinion.

[lanyard]

duck_dude.... where you grow up?