The latest Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States claims a net gain in wetlands, but the truth may not be that simple. On March 30, 2006, former Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton, announced that the US had turned the corner on wetland loss and had, in fact, seen a gain in wetland acres over the time period of the latest report. But as is too often the case, the devil is in the details. The wetlands inventory report does not differentiate between storm water, retention ponds and shallow marshes — lumping everything from fish ponds to cypress swamps into one, big, wet lie. While we may be gaining areas that are wet, we are not gaining quality wetlands. Continue reading

With warm weather on tap, the light goose migration is heading into Canada at a break neck pace. But, with three more weeks, and enough birds still on “this side”, the hunting isn’t over just yet. Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com. Spring appears to be holding its ground. All across the country reports are coming in of nest initiations and a few early hatchlings have even been spotted in some of the mid and southern tier states. As the cycle of renewal ramps up, all eyes are on the breeding grounds. North America’s waterfowlers are keeping their fingers crossed that timely spring rains will lead to a bumper crop of ducks and geese for next fall. So far, conditions on the breeding grounds are looking good, maybe not excellent, but good. With wide variation in conditions across the Prairie Pothole Region, cautious optimism is the gut feeling… Continue reading

Spring rains across the upper Midwest and northern Plaines have made for some very tough hunting conditions over the past week. The good news is, the light goose migration is in full force from the southern Dakotas into the southern provinces of Canada, and the gunning has been stellar for those who have toughed it out. Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com. The new Waterfowler.com LogoWear t-shirts are still available for pre-order, but the window of opportunity is narrowing. These two designs will be offered in a limited production and must be pre-ordered. Stop by Huntersproshop.com today to order your new shirts. As spring gets into full swing, the first glimpses of the nesting season are starting to take shape. Overall, the picture for North American Waterfowl, where nesting habitat is concerned, looks promising. Current precipitation models indicate that as of April 1st we are entering the breeding… Continue reading

A significant warm-up for the Upper Midwest has light geese making major headway toward their arctic destination. As more spring-like weather dominates the forecast over the next five to seven days, the bulk of the migration is sure to make a major jump northwards toward the Canadian border. Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com. Waterfowler.com unveiled two new WFC LogoWear designs this week. The new Locked and Loaded and Hunt Snows/Blues T-shirts and hoodies are now available for pre-order through our online store, huntersproshop.com. The limited run designs are available in 100% cotton t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts. The distinctive designs are available for a limited time only, and only through huntersproshop.com. Order yours today. Continue reading

This week marked the official start of spring, but in many areas of the country you may have not noticed. Snow storms and below average temperatures, along many parts of the Mississippi and Central Flyways, caused havoc in the light goose return migration, for both geese and hunters. With a snow cover line in the central US that looks more like early January then late March, snow goose hunting will be tougher than usual this weekend. Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com. The weather might not be the best news for snow goose hunters, but the precipitation on the breeding grounds is happening at a very opportune time. Late winter and early spring snowfall events are often crucial to obtaining sufficient water for nesting. As March winds down, the focus on nesting conditions, ramps up for waterfowl and waterfowlers in the US and Canada. Continue reading

More winter weather across the upper mid-west is making planning difficult for white goose hunters who are trying to intercept the return migration of light geese. As the snow line fluctuates and winter makes another stand, hunters have to widen their range to stay on top of the main body of the migration. Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com. Ducks and geese moving back into the breeding grounds of the northern plains will find improved conditions, over last year, in many areas. The heart of the duck factory, the Missouri Coteau, is ahead of the curve, precipitation wise so far this year. Long range, 30 – 90 day, precipitation models currently predict above average precipitation for key breeding areas in both the US and Canada. Continue reading

Spring rains are falling across much of the country’s mid-section pushing the snow line and the snow geese, north. But a strong cold front driving inland from the west coast is on track to bring colder weather back to the heartland and could halt the migration again. Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com. As the tug-of-war between winter and spring continues, waterfowlers across the country are waiting for the early reports on the harvest of the 2005-2006 regular waterfowl season. Speculation is that harvest will be up overall but not everyone is reporting a better than average season. Drought and wildly fluctuating weather patterns turned this year’s migration sort of inside-out. Early winter weather moved a lot of birds southward but by mid to late December, a dramatic warm up had most of the nation’s duck and goose hunters talking about reverse migrations. Continue reading

The spring snow goose season is getting fast and furious. A major warm-up in portions of the southern flyway has light geese making a major jump north this week. As the warm up continues, goose hunters are watching the snow cover line closely and fine tuning their plans to intercept the migration as it heads toward the breeding grounds. Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com. Federal Premium Ammunition kicked off its Federal Ultra-Shok royalty program last week with a $30,000 check to Ducks Unlimited. The Ultra-Shok royalty program will help fund one of DU’s great conservation initiatives, Grassland for Tomorrow. In partnership with DU and through sales of Ultra-Shok, additional funds will be raised to help secure critical grassland habitat across the North American “Duck Factory.” To learn more about this partnership and the Grassland for Tomorrow program visit www.ducks.org. Continue reading