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Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation Reports Record Attendance at National Team Championships

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Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) sets Record Attendance.

Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) sets Record Attendance.

Maumee, OH – The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) reported today that it had record breaking attendance at its National Team Championships. Over 2000 shooter athletes, which is an increase of over 30% from last year’s event, descended on the World Shooting & Recreational Complex (WSRC) in Sparta, IL the week of July 15-20 for the SCTP/SPP 2013 National Team Championships!

Shotgun shooters competed in either Skeet (600 participants), Sporting Clays (500 participants) or Trap (1600 participants) over the course of six days, many athletes competed in more than one discipline. Over 160 Teams from 26 different states were represented, setting a new attendance record for the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP). Continue reading

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House Appropriations bill zeros out conservation programs.

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A NAWCA grant for Louisiana’s Liner’s Canal will benefit hundreds of acres of fresh and intermediate marsh. Louisiana has the highest rate of coastal wetland or marsh loss in North America.

A NAWCA grant for Louisiana’s Liner’s Canal will benefit hundreds of acres of fresh and intermediate marsh.

No funding for NAWCA or LWCF.

WASHINGTON – July 23, 2013 – The House Appropriations Committee’s 2014 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill, released earlier today, doesn’t include funding for vital conservation programs, such as the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA).

“In the current fiscal climate, we understand that conservation programs must also receive scrutiny in the budget cutting process,” DU CEO Dale Hall said. “However, it is short sighted and unacceptable to completely zero out funding for conservation programs that are also economic drivers. NAWCA in particular is unique because it more than triples any investment by the federal government with non-federal funding through private partners.” Continue reading

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Final Approach Introduces Combo Decoy Packs for Flyways

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Final Approach Introduces Flyway Decoy Packs

Final Approach Introduces Flyway Decoy Packs

Overland Park, Kan. –Final Approach, a reputable leader in the waterfowl industry since 1993, has introduced two new Puddle Pack Combo sets designed for the Central-Pacific and Mississippi-Atlantic flyways. Each pack includes six flyway-specific floating duck decoys, with three duck species per pack and a hen and drake decoy from each species.

Final Approach decoys are custom-designed to provide outstanding definition and realism in the field. Custom-quality, highly visible paint schemes and highly realistic texture and feather detail set Final Approach decoys apart from other products on the market.

Designed for the Central-Pacific flyway, this combo pack contains Pintail, Widgeon and Teal decoys, with one drake and one hen from each species. The second pack, designed for the Mississippi-Atlantic flyway, contains Gadwall, Wood Duck and Teal, with one drake and one hen from each species.

With an anatomically correct one-piece construction that incorporates the head and weighted keel, the floating duck decoys are simple, durable and designed to perform season after season.

Both Puddle Pack Combo six-pack sets have an MSRP of $96.95, with the Mississippi-Atlantic pack available in August and the Central-Pacific pack available in September.

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Member Rendezvous – Manitoba & Alberta

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member_renzezvous-2013

2013 WFC Member Rendezvous Tour

Waterfowler.com invites our members to experience duck and goose hunting in Canada for the start of our exclusive, 2013 Member Rendezvous Tour. Participating guides in the Member Rendezvous Tour provide a quality hunting adventure at a discounted rate to WFC Members. Don’t miss your chance to hunt with fellow WFC members at top waterfowl hunting destinations.

The tour begins this year with Kelly Udell of Udell’s Hunting in Alberta and Brian Mackie of Assiniboine Guiding & Outfitting in Manitoba.

From the Alberta farmlands to the Prairie Pothole Region of south and central Manitoba, you simply need to choose your destination for the hunting adventure of a lifetime.  Of course, the number of these discounted, reserved seats for Waterfowler.com readers is limited so book your trip today.  To contact Kelly Udell and book your trip to Alberta, call 780-722-0243. To book your Manitoba trip, call Brian Mackie at 204-726-9510.  To obtain your discount, simply tell them you are calling for the Waterfowler.com Member Rendezvous.

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Duck populations are still strong, and pond numbers are up.

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Wood Duck, © 2013 USFWS

Wood Duck, © 2013 USFWS

Duck populations are strong, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2013 Report on Trends in Duck Breeding Populations. The preliminary estimate of total duck populations from the traditional survey area (north-central United States, south-central and northern Canada, and Alaska) is 45.6 million birds. This estimate represents a 6 percent decrease from last year’s estimate of 48.6 million birds but is still 33 percent above the long-term average. The total duck estimate excludes scoters, eiders, long-tailed ducks, mergansers and wood ducks.  Continue reading

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Breeding population second highest ever recorded.

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Mallard Ducklings; photo courtesy of Delta Waterfowl Foundation.

Mallard Ducklings; photo courtesy of Delta Waterfowl Foundation.

BISMARCK, N.D. — North America’s spring duck population is down slightly from record levels, but pond counts are up 24 percent over last year, according to the 2013 Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey released today.

The survey, which has been conducted annually since 1955 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Canadian Wildlife service, puts the breeding duck population at 45.6 million, the second-highest level ever recorded. Continue reading

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Featured Video ~ D2H Crew

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This featured video come to us from the D2H (Down2Hunt) crew.  The short film captures their first season of waterfowl hunting and, according to their own admission, the birth of their waterfowl hunting addiction.  The upcoming generation of waterfowl hunters are unlike any of those who have passed when it comes to technology and access of information.  Learning the basics of decoying and online scouting tools enable young hunters to overcome many barriers that older hunters faced when entering the sport of duck hunting.  As the youth of today head to the field packing compact digital video cameras, they capture countless hours of footage from their adventures.  Using editing software that is package as a basic tool on most computer platforms, they share their experiences with the world.  While it is unlikely that Cecil B DeMille could have even imagined the art of moving pictures would ascend to where it is today, we are thankful it has and salute the efforts of today’s young hunters and the D2H crew.

Duck Hunting -Organically Fowl from Jared Mackey on Vimeo.

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Split House farm bill passes with no clear path forward on conference with Senate bill.

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“Ducks Unlimited is disappointed that the House has failed to listen to the strong coalition of agricultural and conservation groups that asked for a comprehensive farm bill,” said DU CEO Dale Hall.

“Ducks Unlimited is disappointed that the House has failed to listen to the strong coalition of agricultural and conservation groups that asked for a comprehensive farm bill.”

 

WASHINGTON – July 11, 2013 – In rapid succession, U.S. House leadership announced earlier this week a split of the farm bill into separate agriculture and nutrition pieces, and voted today on the agriculture portion. It passed with a final tally of 216-208.

“Ducks Unlimited is disappointed that the House has failed to listen to the strong coalition of agricultural and conservation groups that asked for a comprehensive farm bill,” said DU CEO Dale Hall.

Amendments that were accepted on the House floor during the farm bill debate in June were included in the newly separated agriculture bill, which included the commodities, conservation, crop insurance, energy, forestry and research titles. Among those amendments was one prohibiting the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from requiring wetland mitigation that is equivalent to the function and value of a lost wetland. The amendment restricts the USDA explicitly to an acre for acre standard. Continue reading