Delta Waterfowl Town Meeting Was Great!

Hey Guys,

Delta's Town Meeting was great! Rob Olson, Delta Waterfowl President, delivered an excellent presentation on the challenges faced by every nesting hen, and about DW's plans to help them.

I was surprised to hear that predation by skunks, foxes and raccoons (coons aren't native to Canada!) are decimating the growth of the waterfowl hatch in Canada, and have been doing so for years.

Rob also delivered a dire report about developments in Canadian agriculture. Canadian farmers, due to reversals in the cattle market and newly-lucrative possibilities in the grain market are going to further reduce breeding habitat in the near future by pursuing additional draining of wetlands and converting cattle-grazing land to crops. Both of these will have a serious impact on the impact on hens' ability to have successful nests in Canada.

I was shocked when Rob told us that the duck boom that we enjoyed in the 90s (as well as the recent spoon explosion!) is not derived from Canadian breeding grounds, but was actually the product of nearly 5 million acres of prairie grassland created in North and South Dakota by the US CRP legislation! One study estimates the yearly population of ducks we see in AR was increased by up to 2 million per year! The grim news... Our new farm bill makes it likely that those 5 million acres are going to return to corn production soon.

Not all of his discussion was grim! Rob talked a lot about how Delta Waterfowl is pursuing a number of strategies in parallel, from predator management efforts to ag policy to initiating a grassroots-CRP effect in Canada.

Guys, if you don't already, please support Delta Waterfowl! As Rob gave me fact after fact about North American waterfowl populations that I was hearing for the very first time, I realized what a powerful influence Delta Waterfowl has had on my hunting for years, even though I didn't know it. (Thanks DW!) DW is making a difference to duck hunters everywhere. They have real plans for mitigating each of the dire threats faced by our duck population, and they are executing them as fast as money will allow.

Moo

PS: If you missed this event, be sure to come to the next one! Also bring your dog and kids! There were lots of well-behaved dogs and kids there, and it was a great family-friendly time. The prize drawings were plentiful, too! If you make the next DW event, maybe it'll by you or your son who wins the Remington SPR310!

PPS: Yet another reason to love spoons! Rob told me that, loosely speaking, the spoon population can be used as a measuring stick for the health of the prairie breeding grounds in the Dakotas!