Duck Commander, a world-leader in the manufacture of duck calls and waterfowl hunting equipment and the company featured in the A&E television program “Duck Dynasty,” recently added its name to a list of more than 800 businesses and organizations to sign a letter urging Congress to support the restoration of the Mississippi River Delta’s imperiled wetlands. The letter is part of the Vanishing Paradise campaign’s (www.vanishingparadise.org) efforts to encourage outdoorsmen and women and the organizations and businesses that support them to advocate for coastal restoration in Louisiana, where the Mississippi River meets the Gulf of Mexico. The Vanishing Paradise Campaign effort is headed by the National Wildlife Federation, the Louisiana Wildlife Federation and Ducks Unlimited. Continue reading

Another season of migration has resulted in another round of data for the  telemetry studies conducted by the Sea Duck Joint Venture.  These ongoing studies continue to track annual migration patterns for four species of sea ducks (surf scoter, black scoter, white-winged scoter, long-tailed duck) in the Atlantic flyway and Great Lakes. The study follows ducks to near-shore and off-shore habitats, maps the estimated length-of-stay during winter, then follows ducks back to the breeding and molting areas.  Study results will support a various goals in the North American Waterfowl Management plan and aid in policy development for wind turbine placement in areas such as Maine’s Penobscot Bay, Nantucket Sound, and coastal Rhode Island. Continue reading

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Not all birds mate for life, but for those species that do, wildlife biologists have found a clear benefit to the birds from such long-term relationships: greater longevity and breeding success, according to a study recently published in Behavioral Ecology The study’s authors found that when female black brant (a small arctic goose) lose their mate, their chances for survival are greatly diminished. The study is the first to characterize health effects of mate loss to female geese, and its conclusions have implications for wildlife population management.  Continue reading

DOVER (Jan. 23, 2013) – Since 2009, the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife has  implemented an annual Snow Goose Conservation Order as part of an Atlantic Flyway-wide effort to reduce the population of greater snow geese. Snow goose numbers have reached levels that are now causing extensive damage to their breeding grounds in the Canadian Arctic as well as the wetlands and agricultural areas where they overwinter in the Mid-Atlantic, including Delaware. The 2013 Conservation Order will open on Monday, Jan. 28 and run through Saturday, April 13. The Conservation Order is a separate season open only for snow geese which occurs after the regular waterfowl hunting seasons close. It was created with the intent of using hunting as a tool to reduce and stabilize the greater snow goose population. Last year, an estimated 6,400 snow geese were harvested by more than 500 hunters in Delaware that participated in the… Continue reading

Robert Steiner, an artist from San Francisco, Calif., is the winner of the 2012 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest.  The announcement was made today by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Deputy Director Rowan Gould at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, during the annual art contest – the only juried art competition sponsored by the federal government. This is Steiner’s second Federal Duck Stamp Contest win.  His art previously appeared on the 1998-1999 Federal Duck Stamp. Steiner’s acrylic painting of a common goldeneye will be made into the 2013-2014 Federal Duck Stamp, which will go on sale in late June 2013. The Service produces the Federal Duck Stamp, which sells for $15 and raises about $25 million each year to provide critical funds to conserve and protect wetland habitats in the National Wildlife Refuge system for the benefit of wildlife and the enjoyment of people.  Continue reading

Students who need to complete a hunter safety course to get their hunting license can now take the first step of that training on their smartphone, tablet or laptop at www.hunter-ed.com. “Students expect to tackle a variety of tasks on their smartphones and tablets so it makes sense for hunter-ed.com to be mobile ready,” said Edward Cossette, user experience manager for Kalkomey, parent company of hunter-ed.com. “The pages at hunter-ed.com automatically resize according to the device used, from a smartphone to Internet TV. There’s no app to download and each page is easy to view and read.” Another benefit of hunter-ed.com being available on any device is students can access the course on the Web even if the only way they have to connect to the Internet is via their smartphone. The training at hunter-ed.com is state-approved and covers the same material that’s taught in the classroom. The new mobile-ready site features realistic illustrations and interactive animations. An optional narration… Continue reading