Where are the Ducks? Windy Hill Outfitters, South Dakota
September 13, 2009
Where Do Our Ducks Come From?
The Answer May Shock Many Hunters
BISMARCK, N.D.—Lost in the euphoria over the 2009 breeding-population survey was the sobering confirmation that prairie Canada is no longer the continent’s leading producer of ducks.
This spring, for the first time ever, more total ducks, more puddle ducks, twice as many pintails and even more redheads settled on the U.S. side of the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) than the Canadian side.
“Prairie Canada is no longer King of Continental Duck Production,” wrote President Rob Olson in the fall issue of Delta Waterfowl magazine, adding, “From a Canadian duck guy’s perspective, that stings me more than a little.”
While most of the continent’s duck hunters probably don’t care where their ducks come from—so long as they come—Canada’s sagging productivity bodes ill for the long-term future of ducks and duck hunting because it contains two-thirds of the PPR’s nesting habitat.
Wrote Olson: “In spite of the stunning losses of wetlands and shockingly low hatch rates due to unnaturally high levels of predation, Canada still possesses most of the breeding grounds for ducks and most of the remaining wetlands.”
This year’s dramatic shift in breeding-duck numbers seems to confirm what some scientists have long suspected: The U.S. is exporting surplus ducks to Canada, propping up Canada’s breeding population.
“Recent studies suggest there is a large-scale movement of birds from areas of high production, like northeastern North Dakota, to areas where duck production is reduced, like prairie Canada,” said Dr. Frank Rohwer of Louisiana State University in a related magazine article.
Mallards tend to return to areas where they were raised, and when Rohwer, Delta’s scientific director, noticed few juvenile ducks showing up in the U.S. population, he launched a research project to find out why. Young mallards were fitted with radio transmitters in late summer and tracked the following spring. “Most of the marked females returned to the U.S., where they had been raised,” Rohwer says, “but they quickly dispersed great distances.”
Wetland availability determines how many ducks settle in a given area, and this year, says Rohwer, an abundance of wetlands allowed birds that were hatched in the U.S. to nest there rather than being forced to disperse.
“There’s no question we (the U.S.) are a net exporter of ducks,” says Ron Reynolds, who heads up the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Habitat and Population Evaluation Team (HAPET) in Bismarck. “We’re producing surplus ducks that are redistributing to nest in other areas.”
Researchers have long known that productivity was higher on the U.S. side of the PPR than in Canada. Reynolds says the eastern Dakotas make up just 7 percent of the total survey area but produce more than 20 percent of the total ducks. “In the 1990s and early 2000s, the eastern Dakotas were as high as 27 percent,” Reynolds says.
An even more telling number is the percentage of puddle ducks that settle in the eastern Dakotas. This year 40 percent of the mallards, pintails, gadwalls, blue-winged teal and shovelers from the entire survey area, which includes everything from Alaska to the prairies, set up housekeeping in the eastern Dakotas. If the rest of the U.S. PPR is included, 46 percent of puddle ducks settled in the U.S.
Reynolds says the unprecedented buildup of ducks on the U.S. side of the breeding grounds was the result of a late-breaking winter and near-record wetland numbers in the Dakotas. “Ducks had a strong, pent-up demand to settle—the clock was ticking—and they settled in the Dakotas,” he says.
But the U.S. share of nesting puddle ducks has been climbing for two decades. Since 1986, through wet years and dry, the U.S. side of the region has attracted 4.06 ducks for every pond counted in the survey, 46 percent more than Canada’s 2.74 ducks-per-pond.
The year 1986 is significant because that’s the first year the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) began converting cropland to grass cover in the U.S.
CRP, Swampbuster and the federal duck stamp, which secured more than 90 percent of the permanently protected breeding habitat in the U.S., are three important reasons productivity in the U.S. has surpassed Canada.
Canada doesn’t have a CRP-like program, and scientists there confirm a 6.7 percent drop in productivity since the 1970s, most of it attributable to wetland losses ranging from 4.9 to 7.6 percent since 1971.
Reynolds says wetland losses in the U.S., which were once extremely high, slowed after CRP and Swampbuster, which denies crop subsidies to farmers who drain wetlands, were approved.
In addition to the 5 million acres of high-quality nesting cover provided by CRP, the program also protected almost 800,000 acres of wetlands. A Farm Service Agency (FSA) evaluation confirmed some 200,000 acres of “cropped wetlands” are embedded in CRP lands and another 592,000 acres of non-cropped wetlands exist in or adjacent to CRP fields.
Reynolds says the improved function of these CRP wetlands allow them to carry 20 percent more breeding ducks than other wetlands, and the productivity of surrounding landscapes increases as well.
CRP makes up 6 percent of the land area but attracts 30 percent of the nesting ducks. “That’s pretty amazing,” says Reynolds, who conducted research showing that CRP was responsible for an average of average of around 2 million incremental ducks between 1992 and 2004. “On the wet years, it was probably twice as many,” he says. “And that’s to say nothing of the future generations of ducks that accrue like interest earned on a savings account.”
“The shift in breeding numbers points to a need to protect CRP and the other programs responsible for ducks produced in the U.S., and find innovative ways to restore Canada’s declining duck production,” says Delta Senior Vice President John Devney.
Foremost among those programs, he says, are CRP, Swampbuster, the federal duck stamp and the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA) and legislation discouraging the breaking of native prairie.
Just as important, he says, is making Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) a national program in Canada. “If we lose some of the critical programs in the U.S. without shoring up production in Canada, duck numbers are going to decrease. That’s why it’s imperative that duck hunters get behind these programs.”
Windy Hill Outfitters Pheasant forecast
September 12, 2009
South Dakota
No question South Dakota will retain the title of "Pheasant Capital" this autumn, but the good news is mixed equally with the bad. First, the good: Last season, 176,000 hunters spent $219.6 million and took home more than 1.9 million birds, and this year's brood survey indicated the fourth highest statewide count in the past 45 years. But the 2009 survey reveals a 26 percent decrease from 2008, mainly attributed to the loss of 24 percent of the CRP land in South Dakota over the past three years. Northeastern South Dakota saw the greatest effect on CRP, losing 18 percent of its CRP acres, or 220,000 acres since 2007. Positive habitat news is that South Dakota leads the nation in CRP SAFE enrollment -nearly 50,000 acres – which includes the South Dakota Pheasants SAFE practice. Excellent pheasant hunting opportunities still abound in SoDak. Top spots will again be around the Chamberlin, Winner, Pierre, Mobridge, Aberdeen, Huron and Mitchell areas. Of note, West River showed a 96 percent increase in the number of birds per mile, from 1.96 in 2008 to 3.84 this year.
- Season Dates: Statewide youth season is October 3 thru October 7; Resident-only season on public land is October 10 thru October 12; Regular season is October 17 thru January 3, 2010
- Daily Bag / Possession Limits: 3 / 15
Windy Hill Outfitters Pheasant forecast
August 29, 2009
joanne posted on August 29, 2009 06:11
PIERRE, S.D. – GFP counted an average of 6.32 pheasants per mile in 2009, the fourth highest statewide count in the past 45 years. Although this year’s statewide index has decreased from last year, the 2009 statewide pheasant per mile count is 13 percent higher than the 10-year average.
In 2007 GFP reported the highest brood route survey count in over 40 years. The count went even higher in 2008 with a nine percent increase. Even though pheasant numbers remain strong, the 2009 survey reveals a 26 percent decrease from 2008.
“The pheasant brood route survey is the standard for gauging how the pheasant population is doing,” GFP Secretary Jeff Vonk said. “Our data represents a very good reflection of pheasant numbers in the areas we survey. While our pheasant population is down from 2008 record, the good news is there are still a lot of pheasants out there heading into the hunting season.”
“In the past 45 years only 2005, 2007 and 2008 have a higher pheasant per mile count then we found this year,” Vonk said
GFP surveys 110 routes of 30 miles each over a three week period from late July to mid August. Survey data is used to calculate a pheasants per mile index for these routes. GFP can then compare the number of pheasants within each local area on a year-to-year basis, and also against a 10-year average.
“Considering the tremendous pheasant populations we’ve had the past couple of years, I believe even with this decline South Dakota will continue to offer the premier pheasant hunting opportunity in the nation,” Vonk said. “For a historical perspective, we had a pheasant per mile count of 2.69 birds in 2002, yet hunters still harvested over 1.2 million roosters that year.”
According to Vonk, one key element that has sustained good pheasant populations over the past several years has been the quality habitat resulting from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Federal cutbacks in the program have resulted in a loss of 24 percent of the CRP land in South Dakota over the past three years.
South Dakota’s regular pheasant season opens on Saturday, Oct. 17 and runs through January 3. The statewide youth season is Oct. 3 through Oct. 7, and the resident-only season on public land runs Oct. 10 through Oct. 12.
The detailed 2009 Pheasant Brood Survey Report, complete with a look at pheasant counts in the different local areas around the state, can be found on the GFP Web site at: www.sdgfp.info/Wildlife/Hunting/Pheasant/Outlook.htm.
Windy Hill South Dakota goose report
August 28, 2009
ABERDEEN — More reports of coyotes are coming from northeast South Dakota this year, which is also among the worst years for crop damage by Canada geese in lake-studded Day County and other East River counties.
That’s according to the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks — and farmers.
“Geese are eating our soybeans and wipe out the whole area where they feed,” Ethan Gaikowski, 16, of rural Waubay, said Wednesday. He is the son of farmer Bernard Gaikowski.
Geese plunder their farm every year, and this year it’s bad, Ethan said.
Kelly Cape of the federal Farm Service Agency for Day County said higher water levels this year probably explain why more geese are in the area. He, too, is hearing reports of more crop damage by geese. The federal farm program does not reimburse farmers for these losses, Cape said.
The state tries to keep geese numbers down but can’t always do what it would like, said Art Smith, head of wildlife damage management at Game, Fish and Parks. Budget restraints are one factor.
Also, the department often requests additional days of goose hunting and higher limits for the number of geese that hunters can take. That’s a federal process, Smith said, and these requests are not always met — including one for this year.
Actual killing of the geese or any other wildlife species that eats crops or livestock is a last resort for the state, and not something it likes to do, Smith said. In Day County, his staff has destroyed nests, removed adult geese and installed fences around fields where damage was most severe in Day County, he said.
His office must be sensitive to the needs of hunters and landowners, he said. “It’s tough to find a middle ground sometimes.”
The East River goose population is about twice the 60,000 that Game, Fish and Parks would like to maintain. The early goose hunting season starts Sept. 5.
For the state as a whole, the favorable news for livestock farmers is that more fox are around. That’s a reliable indicator that coyote numbers are down, Smith said. The two species do not like to share the same habitat.
Coyotes prey on farm animals, particularly lambs and newborn calves, he said, while fox are less likely to go after domesticated animals, he said.
“Many more fox are being seen in the state,” Smith said.
Even so, “Coyote numbers are coming back up in the northeast part of the state, and we do still have livestock producers affected by coyotes, East River and West River.”
It’s difficult to take a census of coyotes or fox, he said.
In the Aberdeen area, Campbell County historically has had more coyote problems than other counties. This year, however, Campbell County Extension educator David Vander Vleet said he is hearing about the same number of complaints as usual.
Pheasants, blackbirds and deer also can cause problems for South Dakota farmers, Smith said. Pheasants eat corn seeds before they emerge from the ground. Blackbirds eat sunflower seeds before they are harvested, and deer eat crops.
Controlling wildlife numbers is a touchy political issue nationwide. Some environmental groups call for an end to the use of taxpayer dollars to kill wild animals. Livestock associations counter by pointing to the millions of dollars their members lose annually as a result of predation.
Gunning coyotes from airplanes is a federal effort, Smith said.
The state works from the ground through trapping, shooting and snaring. His department has 23 such grounds people, who respond to complaints from livestock and crop producers, as do conservation officers.
The state’s wildlife management measures related to livestock deaths are financed by a combination of federal and state dollars.
Crop depredation relief measures in the state are funded by a surcharge on most big-game hunting licenses, Smith said.
All's Good in South Dakota Pheasant Country
August 09, 2009
By Ron Schara 
Host of ESPN2's "Backroads with Ron & Raven"
Archive On a recent Monday, all the world suddenly felt right.
The lawn work was done. The bank didn't call about another overdraft. The truck was packed with a Lab and a shotgun — and I was heading west.
Indeed, little is better than a Monday when you're South Dakota bound to go pheasant hunting.
It's the stuff that makes October a memorable month. There's a ringneck-rich pheasant forecast in the wind. The cornstalks are dried and rattling. And the prairie grasses wave with a hint of autumn gold.
After five hours of riding, Raven, the Lab, whines in her car kennel. It's no potty call. She knows. She's in pheasant country.
It was October 1966 when I first experienced pheasant hunting, South Dakota style. My Lab's name was Pej. He was a big and tall male dog who'd run to North Dakota if there was a bird to retrieve. As I recall, I think Pej did, in fact, spend most of his hunting time at the opposite end of any field I walked.
At the noontime start of hunting (a South Dakota tradition), I joined a party of fellas from Missouri who themselves had a long tradition of South Dakota pheasant hunting.
By 3 p.m. someone counted the dead birds and announced we were done; we had limited out. Ten hunters, 30 birds. The Missouri boys were disappointed. The year before it only took 90 minutes to get their limits.
Me? I'd never seen so many pheasants in the air. The 1966 pheasant forecast was pretty bleak, state officials had warned. At that moment I learned a bleak pheasant forecast in South Dakota is apt to be utopian by any other standards.
That is still true today, although more of South Dakota's famed pheasant hunting no longer relies on a natural hatch of birds. Today, tens of thousands of hatchery-raised ringnecks are released every fall by the roughly 235 pheasant-hunting operations scattered around the state. Three decades ago, commercial pheasant-hunting business numbered only a few.
While I prefer to pursue wild birds, I must admit Raven doesn't make the same distinction. It's probably also true that most visiting hunters don't know or even care who hatched the rooster now cackling over the cornstalks.
Also recently, I walked a corn and milo strip with Scott Barton, a 17-year-old pheasant hunter from New York and a guest of Scattergun Lodge in Pierre, S.D.
Scott was toting his youth-model 20 gauge and anxiously awaiting the next flurry of pheasant wings. Wild wings or released wings, it didn't matter.
Four years ago, Scott was fighting a serious case of cancer that was attacking his young body. A youth organization, Hunt of a Lifetime, offered Scott a chance to fulfill a life's dream: South Dakota pheasant hunting.
Last week, Scott and his father, Jon, returned for one more memorable October where Octobers are best.
