hunters shot over 200,000 in 2016.
Mallards continue to fill the skies in
some parts of duck country and even
redheads, once struggling, are now
thriving. They remain well above
long-term averages. Blue-wing teal
still provide fast shooting and quick
limits during the September seasons
and even green-wings are 42 percent
above long-term averages.
For Delta Waterfowl president Dr.
Frank Rohwer, the primary reason
some species are thriving is simple:
Water, lots of water.
“We’ve had an unprecedented run
of good water in the heart of the Prai-
rie Pothole Region,” says Rohwer.
“The ducks that are doing well tend
to be more opportunistic than spe-
cies that aren’t doing quite as well.
They don’t need specific ingredients
to nest and they often renest if their
first nest gets destroyed by a predator.
Simply put, if they have water, they
will nest.”
There may be a more specific rea-
son gray ducks are flourishing while
some other species are struggling—
changing farming practices and envi-
ronmental factors are resulting in
larger ponds on the nesting grounds.
“Gadwalls tend to favor larger bod-
ies of water for nesting,” says U.S.
Geological Survey research scientist
Dr. Mike Anteau. “We have seen an
increase in consolidation draining
where landowners drain smaller wet-
lands to create larger ones. So evenBrought to you by Yamaha’s Proven Off-Road ATV and Side-by-Side vehiclesYAMAHA Advocates for ACCESS
YamahaOAI.comPASS SHOTS | By David HartMORE REFUGES OPEN TO HUNTING
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt announced plans to open as many as 1.
million additional acres of national wildlife refuge land to hunting and fishing.
The new hunting opportunities will take place on 74 refuges that currently are
either closed or partially closed to hunting. Bernhardt also wants to stream-
line refuge hunting rules to be more in line with state regulations to reduce
confusion.CANADA MAKES HUNTING EASIER
Canadian hunters will no longer be required to tag individual ducks and
geese if new rules proposed by the Canadian Wildlife Service are adopted.
Instead, hunters can tag an entire batch of birds with one label. That rule is
meant to reduce the regulatory burden on resident and non-resident hunt-
ers. Hunters can also gift birds to food banks or other charity organizations. A
third rule changes the possession limit. Birds that are cleaned and frozen or
otherwise preserved no longer count towards the possession limit. However,
hunters bringing ducks and geese back to the U.S. still have to keep species
and sex identification attached.UTAH DWR RENEWS
K9 PROGRAM
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources added two
Labrador retrievers to their law enforcement branch.
The dogs are trained to detect not just people and
wildlife, but everything from ammo, guns and even
such things as cellphones and keys. One dog and its
handler will patrol northern Utah; the other will cover
the southern half. The DWR is expecting to add two
more dogs to its staff in the next two years.