Hunters have helped waterfowl species make a return
Thirty minutes ahead of sunrise this Saturday, the sounds of shotguns shall announce the opener of Wisconsin’s waterfowl season in the northern zone. 75,000 hunters hunt waterfowl in Wisconsin making us the fifth ranked state in terms of waterfowl hunters.
If you don’t live close to a marsh or river, the opening of waterfowl season probably goes unnoticed. Yet those who do live close to major marshes can attest to how big of a deal the opener is.
The relationship between waterfowl hunters and the waterfowl they love to hunt exemplifies the North American model of wildlife management. By the early 1900’s the extinction of wood ducks seemed certain. Waterfowl hunters pushed for bans on market hunting of waterfowl to feed growing cities. The leveling of mature river bottom hardwoods forest, to fuel the thirst for lumber in those same cities, eliminated the nesting cavities wood ducks needed.
Hunters working as conservationists, pushed for and passed the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1918, banning the hunting of wood ducks altogether. Hunters designed and built nesting cavities called wood duck boxes and placed them in trees along creeks, rivers, ponds, and marshes. National organizations educated more hunters about the needs of waterfowl. Hunters acting alone placed boxes not just on their property, but also on public lands. Local groups like the Taylor County Sportsmen’s Club and the Abbotsford Sportsmen’s Club placed and maintain wood duck boxes. Wood duck numbers slowly increased and by 1941 hunting for woods ducks resumed. A daily bag limit of three seems quite generous today since 30 years ago, the daily bag was only one wood duck. The honking of geese after a long winter, brings welcome news of a coming spring. In the fall their music fills the sky on their southern migration. Most of the Canada geese we see are from the subspecies called giant Canada geese. Due to overharvest for urban meat markets and collecting the eggs of nesting geese, their population plummeted. For many years scientist, conservationist, and hunters thought the giant Canada goose subspecies extinct. Then in 1962 some hunters noticed a group of Canada geese wintering around Rochester, Minn. They called a Minnesota DNR biologist to come and look. Long story short, they found a remnant flock of giant Canada geese.
Through a lot of effort on the parts of multiple state agencies, the USFWS, groups like DU and Delta Waterfowl, and of course waterfowl hunters, giant Canada geese currently thrive. Today, Wisconsin hunters enjoy a daily bag limit of three geese per day, five geese per day for the early season goose season that targets resident geese living in Wisconsin most of the year, and a five goose per day limit for the late season holiday hunt. Other states’ hunters enjoy generous bag limits too and geese numbers continue to grow.
Many of those same geese visit the ponds of city parks across their migration paths. Thousands of people enjoy watching the geese in Marshfield’s Wildwood Park each year. Without the efforts of the hunter conservationists that did the work necessary, there wouldn’t be any geese to watch. Without waterfowl hunters there would be no ducks.
That’s the point and the beauty and strength of the North American Model of Wildlife Management. People who hunt develop a vested relationship with the game they hunt and strive to maintain the population and health of that species. Take away that vested interest and who holds the interest of the species dear?
A Wisconsin resident hunting waterfowl must purchase a resident small game license ($18), a state waterfowl stamp ($12), and a federal waterfowl stamp ($25) for a total of $55 to hunt ducks or geese in Wisconsin. Then consider that most take three dozen decoys hunting at a cost of $110 a dozen. $260 for waders, $25 for duck calls, parkas costing $300, shotgun and a boat. Waterfowl hunters contribute to the economy. And I almost forgot, those cool little DU stickers on vehicle windows. You can get those by purchasing a membership for $35. Funds for ducks or, better put, for the places that ducks live.
No one thinks about that on Saturday morning 30 minutes before sunrise. They will be looking at their watches every 30 seconds. Eagerly pointing out to partners when they hear the wings of ducks whistling overheard before hunting starts. The excitement growing with each flock that whistles past. And then shooting hours finally arrive.
Good luck this weekend, and please remember, Safe Hunting is No Accident!
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CHUCK K OLAR LOCAL OUTDOORSMAN
