Arkansas hunters look inward to solve scarcity of ducks
Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2005 6:07 pm
Arkansas hunters look inward to solve scarcity of ducks
Bob Marshall The Times-Picayune
For the last few years, waterfowlers across the South, frustrated at empty skies, have been looking for someone to blame for a string of increasingly poor duck seasons. Their angry search resulted in conspiracy theories that covered all the usual suspects (those lying federal and state agencies, selfish Yankee short-stoppers, inept biologists) and some unusual ones (Ducks Unlimited!).
The red-hot center of that anger and angst was Arkansas, where over the last decade duck hunting became even more serious than a religion or lifestyle -- it became big business. So it was no surprise when the Arkansas Wildlife Federation formed a Duck Committee with a special charge: Find out who, and/or what, is responsible.
And after six months of serious investigation, those Arkansas duck hunters -- among the most rabid in the nation -- told their brethren across the nation how to find the party most responsible for the demise of their sport: Just look in the mirror.
After examining all the theories, after interviewing experts in every field from waterfowl biology to finger-pointing, it all came back to this: too much hunting pressure.
Their report, "Improving the Quality of Duck Hunting in Arkansas, " is so thorough and balanced, it has won national awards from conservation groups.
"There are a lot of things affecting the migration, but the main thrust, the biggest factor by far -- and the thing that affects almost everything else -- has been too much hunting pressure," said Terry Horton, executive director of the AWF. "We're just hitting these birds too hard for too long, and that has profoundly affected the way they behave on the flyway."
The committee found what some of the more rational voices in the duck-hunting community have been saying all along: We've got more hunters than ever, hunting more days than ever, with seasons starting earlier and ending later than ever, with the higher bag limits than ever.
Ducks may have bird brains, but they aren't stupid. If they're shot at consistently in one place, they leave for good. That can be a pond, an area or a region. Hunting pressure moves birds.
Certainly, there are other important factors, including warmer winters, falling production on the prairies, changing farm practices and the millions of acres in waterfowl refuges on the flyway. But hunting pressure exaggerates the impact of each of these.
Birds lingering longer on snow-less fields up north can do so because of waste grain left by no-till farming. But they return to those areas -- actually flying north again -- during the fall or winter because of hunting pressure.
Falling production means fewer birds coming south. But hunting pressure in early September up north means many young birds are killed, and the older, wiser birds that head south are more wary than ever.
Wildlife refuges that once served as a reserve of birds for surrounding private or public hunting lands, now act as daytime homes for most birds in many regions due to hunting pressure outside the refuge. The birds only leave those refuges at night, when the guns fall silent on outside lands.
Sobered by what they discovered, those Arkansas duck hunters reacted in a way that honors the true spirit of the waterfowling tradition. They made a series of recommendations to their wildlife commission that puts the emphasis on returning quality to hunting by reducing pressure.
"The name of our report is 'Improving the Quality of Duck Hunting in Arkansas -- not 'Improving the Number of Ducks We Kill in Arkansas,"' said Horton. "Our people want a return to enjoying their experience.
"There's plenty we can't control -- weather, some farming practices, drought. But we can control the biggest single factor ruining our sport. That's hunting pressure. That's the main thrust of our recommendations."
Those recommendations are a remarkable example of hunters accepting responsibility. They include:
-- Reducing the season by one week and including two one-week splits for birds to rest.
-- Reducing the limit to five, including just three mallards, only one of which can be a hen.
-- Banning spinning-wing decoys.
-- More sanctuaries for ducks on public lands, not fewer.
-- Limiting the number of hunters (especially non-residents).
-- Morning hunting on only public lands and nearby private lands.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission enacted many of those recommendations last season, and others will go into effect this season.
The best thing that could happen to duck hunting is for that spirit of personal responsibility and self-control to become a wave that spreads to waterfowlers everywhere.
As Horton said, we can't control weather or farming, but at least we can control ourselves.
Bob Marshall The Times-Picayune
For the last few years, waterfowlers across the South, frustrated at empty skies, have been looking for someone to blame for a string of increasingly poor duck seasons. Their angry search resulted in conspiracy theories that covered all the usual suspects (those lying federal and state agencies, selfish Yankee short-stoppers, inept biologists) and some unusual ones (Ducks Unlimited!).
The red-hot center of that anger and angst was Arkansas, where over the last decade duck hunting became even more serious than a religion or lifestyle -- it became big business. So it was no surprise when the Arkansas Wildlife Federation formed a Duck Committee with a special charge: Find out who, and/or what, is responsible.
And after six months of serious investigation, those Arkansas duck hunters -- among the most rabid in the nation -- told their brethren across the nation how to find the party most responsible for the demise of their sport: Just look in the mirror.
After examining all the theories, after interviewing experts in every field from waterfowl biology to finger-pointing, it all came back to this: too much hunting pressure.
Their report, "Improving the Quality of Duck Hunting in Arkansas, " is so thorough and balanced, it has won national awards from conservation groups.
"There are a lot of things affecting the migration, but the main thrust, the biggest factor by far -- and the thing that affects almost everything else -- has been too much hunting pressure," said Terry Horton, executive director of the AWF. "We're just hitting these birds too hard for too long, and that has profoundly affected the way they behave on the flyway."
The committee found what some of the more rational voices in the duck-hunting community have been saying all along: We've got more hunters than ever, hunting more days than ever, with seasons starting earlier and ending later than ever, with the higher bag limits than ever.
Ducks may have bird brains, but they aren't stupid. If they're shot at consistently in one place, they leave for good. That can be a pond, an area or a region. Hunting pressure moves birds.
Certainly, there are other important factors, including warmer winters, falling production on the prairies, changing farm practices and the millions of acres in waterfowl refuges on the flyway. But hunting pressure exaggerates the impact of each of these.
Birds lingering longer on snow-less fields up north can do so because of waste grain left by no-till farming. But they return to those areas -- actually flying north again -- during the fall or winter because of hunting pressure.
Falling production means fewer birds coming south. But hunting pressure in early September up north means many young birds are killed, and the older, wiser birds that head south are more wary than ever.
Wildlife refuges that once served as a reserve of birds for surrounding private or public hunting lands, now act as daytime homes for most birds in many regions due to hunting pressure outside the refuge. The birds only leave those refuges at night, when the guns fall silent on outside lands.
Sobered by what they discovered, those Arkansas duck hunters reacted in a way that honors the true spirit of the waterfowling tradition. They made a series of recommendations to their wildlife commission that puts the emphasis on returning quality to hunting by reducing pressure.
"The name of our report is 'Improving the Quality of Duck Hunting in Arkansas -- not 'Improving the Number of Ducks We Kill in Arkansas,"' said Horton. "Our people want a return to enjoying their experience.
"There's plenty we can't control -- weather, some farming practices, drought. But we can control the biggest single factor ruining our sport. That's hunting pressure. That's the main thrust of our recommendations."
Those recommendations are a remarkable example of hunters accepting responsibility. They include:
-- Reducing the season by one week and including two one-week splits for birds to rest.
-- Reducing the limit to five, including just three mallards, only one of which can be a hen.
-- Banning spinning-wing decoys.
-- More sanctuaries for ducks on public lands, not fewer.
-- Limiting the number of hunters (especially non-residents).
-- Morning hunting on only public lands and nearby private lands.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission enacted many of those recommendations last season, and others will go into effect this season.
The best thing that could happen to duck hunting is for that spirit of personal responsibility and self-control to become a wave that spreads to waterfowlers everywhere.
As Horton said, we can't control weather or farming, but at least we can control ourselves.
