With only three months left before the early seasons open, waterfowlers far and wide are waiting with their fingers crossed for the first reports out of the breeding grounds.
Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.
Speculation, rumors and debate are everywhere concerning the possible outcome of this year’s season framework. Thus far it is still too early to make a guess. Pond count numbers are still a few weeks out and re-nesting efforts are underway in many areas of the duck factory. The only thing we can say for sure is that between now and the end of summer the debates will continue.
The latest issue of Waterfowler.com Journal began arriving in mailboxes across the country this week. The good folks at the U.S. Postal Service tell us it can take a few weeks for everyone to receive a copy, so hang tight and let us know if yours doesn’t show up by the end of the month.
The Waterfowler.com On and Off the Road crew is working on their fall travel schedule. If you have an interest in hosting this pair of roving waterfowlers, send an email to webeditor@waterfowler.com. Be sure to put On and Off the Road in the subject line and tell us a little bit about what makes your area special. Also include the time frame that would be best for you. Don’t worry, we won’t give away the secret location of your honey hole, we just want to capture on film and in words the magic of Waterfowler.com Members in their natural environment.
VFEs are asked to take a moment to review new items posted in the VFE section of the site. With the season approaching and reports due from the USFWS and other agencies soon, it is time to brush up your reporting skills and get back in the swing of things.
If you are interested in becoming a VFE for your home state you can fill out an application online. Field Editor applications are available from the Member Areas menu of the WFC Home Page.
And now, on to the Breeding Grounds Report.
Conditions improved across the southern Canadian prairie with recent rainfall. Although this improvement comes a bit late for mallards and other early nesting ducks, it should help with re-nesting efforts and late nesting species such as blue wing teal.
The overall picture is still unclear for this year’s breeding season. Widely varied water levels and the impact of expanding row crop planting in Canada and the US will no doubt have an impact on nest success, but until the numbers from the pond counts and breeding bird surveys are in, it is difficult to forecast the success or failure of the 2004 breeding season.
With the continuing restrictions on the importation of Canadian beef, more and more ground in areas critical to pintail nesting are being converted to row crops—bad news for an already troubled species.
However, several new conservation programs, similar to CRP here in the US, are in early stages of development and implementation in Canada and have the potential to help ease this loss of habitat.
On the US side of the breeding grounds, high soybean prices and demand fueled in part by the popularity of high protein diets mean more and more grazing land and native prairie are falling to the plow. Recent revisions in CRP enrollment criteria are also contributing to the turnover. Without a strong push by concerned waterfowlers, funding for CRP is in serious threat of collapse in 2007. Efforts must also be made to refocus CRP monies in critical waterfowl production areas.
As spring turns to summer and the fuzzy young of this year’s hatch grow and take flight it is incumbent upon us to do our part to ensure that North American Waterfowl and the habitat they depend upon are given every chance not only to survive, but flourish.
