You know what would be a really good way to show a kid wetland ecology on Sept 12th? Taking them on a teal hunt. Oh wait, that is YWD so they're allowed to cripple more non-teal in one day than what would probably happen in an entire teal season even though only 5,000 take part statewide.
Since the DNR was so concerned with potential mistake ducks taken and shot at during a non-existing teal season they used that propaganda as justification to be against it in 2014, with the results from the other states proving their fake concerns completely invalid, why don't they alleviate any concern for too many ducks being crippled and not harvested during YWD since it is something that is actually occurring in our state?
The DNR uses figures of 10K-15K for harvest during YWD but they've never looked at the real impact and concerns YWD raises. Why haven't they used "spy blinds" to record how many ducks are crippled and never recovered? Why haven't they quantified the "harassment level" to our local duck population by documenting how many flocks are shot at?
These are things they've negatively speculated about and used as the justification against a teal season yet for some reason they've never cared to bring up let alone research for YWD, which they've been holding for almost two decades. This seems extremely hypocritical to me.
They haven't even gauged the intended impact of YWD, which is to create more hunters.
The only way to know what impact Youth Waterfowl Day has had on Minnesota hunter numbers is to survey duck hunters and find out how many are hunting today solely because of the event, said DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr, who also supports the youth hunt. “That would be expensive,’’ he said.
August 2013
Oh Darn! It's just too bad Tom can't find any money in the department's purse strings to survey duck hunters, Golly Gee Whiz! Why would he want to actually gauge the impact of something the DNR has been pushing for two decades? There's no way he'd use expense as an excuse out of fear that the results might be awful and diminish a special interest group's 'baby' that he has close ties with that also sponsors a youth waterfowl camp as their biggest accomplishment.
from the same article as the Landwehr quote
Brad Nylin, executive director of the Minnesota Waterfowl Association, acknowledges the lack of evidence that Youth Waterfowl Day is helping recruit young hunters, but said he continues to support the one-day event.
“It’s the one time where kids can go out and hunt ducks and they are the only ones shooting without competing with adults. I think there’s a real need for it to go forward. I don’t see a negative.’’
Yeah Brad, why would you see a negative---especially through those rose-colored 'bias brand' glasses you have on? The MWA and DNR with the help of the press has made sure any possible downside of YWD won't be exposed so no one sees any negative. It's for the kids. Nevermind the fact that it actually takes a day out of the season for all other hunters and no one has any phucking clue if it has done anything at all towards accomplishing the goal for why it exists and was implemented two decades ago.... But Oh well,,,,I'm just glad the Commish and his BFF Brad are unbiased in their unassuming ways of being unable to see negatives. It'd be different if for example, they somehow saw and made up a bunch of negatives for a bonus hunting season on a particular species of duck. Then I'd probably question if they're a couple of azzhole hypocrites.
It's funny the DNR couldn't find the money for a survey to see what the impact of YWD is throughout all those years yet somehow the money was miraculously right there out of the blue in order to send out a survey with weighted questions so they could get negative results in order to justify their opposition to a teal season because they had no scientific management reason not to hold one. Seems sort of convenient.
You know what is the best survey of duck hunters to see if they'll partake in a season? Actual participation numbers from actual hunts. Based off of the embarrassing 5K of the 75-80K that waterfowl hunt in this state participating in YWD why is it still around? The DNR just used a survey of duck hunters as reason for being against a teal season with questions they intentionally wrote to get poor results....and they still came back showing several times more hunters would participate in a teal season than YWD!!!!
"We need to end YWD because I just don't see it providing additional opportunities to warrant continuing." ---Fictional DNR Staffer Spouting Landwehr Rhetoric