The May Breeding survey is near completion and with the exception of Central Alberta, conditions were good to excellent in most areas. Survey teams encountered a number of weather delays this year and the Northern Alberta Team conducted various surveys over smoke filled skies from forest fires – proving again this year, there is never a dull moment along the survey transects.
Hello folks, and, as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.
If you have been following the pilot reports on Flyways.us this year (as we recommended) the good news from waterfowl breeding areas is cause for celebration. Late-winter expectations from the waterfowl community have been confirmed and prime breeding conditions exist across most of the waterfowl survey areas. In a few words, the stage is set for a fantastic year of waterfowl production.
Over the next month, the survey data will be compiled and released in the 2011 Waterfowl Breeding and Habit Survey sometime in early July. These survey results will provide the data that is used to determine season length and bag limits to meet the goal and regulations within the Adaptive Harvest Management (AHM) program.
The waterfowl community at large is always cautious to not to release early predictions because the backlash of hope vs. reality can be horrific. While hunters continue to contribute tax dollars, private donations, stamp and license fees to waterfowl habitat for production, at the end of the weather will always be the biggest uncontrollable variable. Thankfully, Mother Nature has been cooperative this year.
It is important to understand that contributions towards waterfowl habit are most apparent during lean years of production. Each and every dollar invested in habitat goes towards raising the bottom bar of production. The health of the resource is not determined by how much it can produce when conditions are fabulous, (as they are now), it is determined by the worst years of production. More often than not, hunter contributions to conservation efforts drop during banner years, as many deem the resource to be doing just fine without providing assistance. Of course, by the time weather cycles change and result in a poor year of production, hunter contributions arrive too late to make an immediate impact.
As we take another step towards what is shaping up to be the best duck season in over a decade, Waterfowler.com would like to remind our readers to continue to reinvest in the resource by renewing or activating a membership with your favorite conservation organization this year. The future of waterfowl hunting depends on it.
