CLOSE THE SEASON

[kgpcr4]

I think that they should close the season for a year and lest see if we can get some ducks back. I dont buy into the fathead minnow thing and all that garp, we had those when i started hunting in the early 70's. i think that there has been some overharvest and we need to balance that out a bit.I love to duck hunt but the last few seasons have been dismal at best. lets do what it takes to get them back. also if you are reading this you need to also be in DU.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

i think thats a little extreme; i could see justification for a 3 duck daily limit but closing the season entirely? i hope it never gets so bad that i have a season of smelling swamp gas and missing teal taken away from me! Being a DU member is definetely a step in the right direction; but even better- befriend a farmer and help teach conservation of wetlands!!!!!!

[jblabsnduck]

Do you realize what would happen if they closed the season even for one year? how much money would be Lost from sales of duck stamps and hunting gear(shells, decoys, camo and etc.)not to mention the money that is brought in by out of state hunters.(ND,SD,LA,AK)Those states make huge dollars and would never let it happen.

They will lower bag limits and hunting days LONG before they ever close the season.

If you belong to DU why do you not belong to MWA? all money stays right here in MN and now the MWA is going to surive the chapters get to keep all profit for projects to help out the ducks right here in MN.

Close the season, that's just silly talk.

[Riverratpete]

Just for a moment suppose they close out the season....what about down south? they going to close? I have alot of friends down south and them good old boys do like their duck hunting ALOT so I don't see that happening. Also of course the loss in revenue..you think your local politician wants to back the "lets get less money this year theory"? like the poster before me..thats just silly talk. just my 2 cents

[ewirz]

I'm with kgp on this one. To me, money and economic growth isn't half as important as how the waterfowl ecosystem is managed. I could care less if the industry took a hit if a year or two of closed season helped to improve or sustain the duck population. Honestly, I think it would be better for the industry in the long run. I’d bet sales are down over the last few years, If closing a season or two helped improve duck numbers, chances are businesses would make up for lost ground in the years to come. Realistically though, lowering limits would be the most feasible.

[jblabsnduck]

I don't know the exact dollar amount raised by selling State duck stamps but it is alot and some of that money goes to help out the ducks in this state.

So by not selling duck stamps for a year or two could you amagine the money being lost for something you want brought back?

[outdoor ran]

closing down the season won't do much to help the ducks. If theres no ducks there anyway. Only hurt it in the money area. I would rather see a 60 day 2 to 3 duck limit then a 30 day 4 to 6 duck limit. To me its the amount of time I get to put in, not a limit every day.

[brittman]

Is the original poster just trolling ..............

[jlm]

This comes up almost every year when the duck population does not look too hot. Closing the season is not the answer. We could have an increase in the duck population 600% and that would not matter for us here in MN. We would maybe see a few more ducks but they certainly will not stay long, we do not have the habitat in this state to compete with the Dakotas and Canada. This is a shame considering how many lakes we have and how many pot holes we had in the good old days. We actaully probably could sustain more ducks than both the Dakotas combined if we had our original habitat from way back when. I personally think that our goal here in MN is not to close seasons but to increase sustainable habitat for breeding ducks (IMO). Build it and they will come. Lots of programs out there, I hope all land owners are looking and taking advantage of them. Just my 2 cents! Good luck all!

[bigbucks]

It would seem like it, because the posts on this topic have pretty much mirrored the posts that have been made on this topic any other time it's come up. It seems to me that 95% plus of the people who are on this site don't agree the season should close, self included. Any DNR research I've ever heard doesn't support that either.

[FOOT]

It is a problem with habitat and not lack of ducks. Over the years Minnesota has drained the small potholes, turned the potholes into small lakes or mowed right up to the shore line.

As everyone knows lakes are NOT good producers of waterfowl, especially when there is no cover for the hen to build her nest and hatch her young.

The reason ND & SD has more ducks is simple. The rains came and created numerous potholes where there were none before. If you've ever hunted the Dakotas during their dry period you would see what has happened.

I know one "lake" that has a combine on the bottom because the farmer never thought the massive rains they've had would last. Also where I was once hunting pheasants I now find the area under 16' of water.

The grasslands and cattails provide wonderful buffer zones and places for hens to hatch their young.

Closing the season would do absolutely NO good due to the fact you would need every state in the Mississippi Flyway to agree to close their seasons as well. That just ain'ta gonna happen folks.

We need to create habitat and preserve the habitat we have right now to get the ducks back in Minnesota. The numbers are there they just moved to a new location (ie: a different state with better habitat and food).

[kelly-p]

FOOT brings up some very good points about the rains coming to the Dakotas and creating the potholes for nesting but another part of that is that with the wet cycle that the Dakotas and NW MN have had the past years is that there have been a lot of flooded grain fields in the fall. Has the migration shifted to better food sources? Could the drop in duck numbers in MN be due to the weather cycle that started 15 years ago where the Dakotas have been wetter then MN?

There are many other vaiables to ponder.

It seems that the "cool" thing to do now in MN is to blame the farmers for the lack of habitat. But here in northern Beltami County the amount of wetlands/habitat we have for the ducks to nest in has not changed but our duck numbers in the fall have dropped every year for the past 10 or so years. Our nesting habitat is the same as it was years ago but the number of predators has skyrocketed. 35 years ago a raccoon was rare in this area. Now they are all over. The drop in fur prices resulted in less trappers which has resulted in more predators.

Our weather also seem to be more extreem. Now it seems it is 2 months of monsoon followed by 8 months of drought. It doesn't do any good to have a flooded pothole to hunt at in the fall if we didn't have a flooded pothole with STABLE water levels in the spring for the ducks to nest in. For example this spring the Tamarac River meadows came up about 20 inches after the rains. The entire meadows flooded so if a duck was nesting 1/2 mile away from the river in the grass its nest drowned out. I live right on the Tamarac and other then the broods that hatched out from the duck houses in my yard I did not a single brood of ducks. At the same time when driving around 3 sides of a 53 acre rice paddie where the water level was kept stable and the predators controlled I saw 28 broods. As the crop was high enough to cover any ducks out in the paddie all I could see were the ducks that were right in the ditch alongside the exterior dike. Who knows what was out in the paddie by the nesting islands??

Our society is more mobile now then it ever has been. Just as we burn out good fishing spots fast we burn out good hunting spots fast.

We are far more efficient at killing ducks now then we were 20 years ago. Better clothing, better calls, better decoys, etc., etc.. A dead duck in our game bag is not going to raise a brood the next spring.

Brad Dokken had an interesting article in the Grand Forks Herald July 17 about Delta Waterfowls Predator control studies.

[Riverratpete]

My personal belief is that we should go to a split season which I would support 110%. (early/late) skip the mid season lull when nothings going on and all your doing is chasing well seasoned locals. And yeah, this topic comes up every year, pretty much the same responses.

[Willy]

Don't close it, lower the limits.

You can talk about habitat all you want and we do need more, but the main reason in my eyes is there are just too many people, and too many hunters.

When I started hunting, yes there were plenty of duck hunters, but not like there are now. The number has exploded and there just aren't enough ducks to go around. Slowly depleting the habitat and ducks themselves takes a toll.

There isn't a decent lake around were the ducks can go to rest for more than a day. Also, land developement, you know every rich a-hole has to have lake property or a scenic view, which turns some of our good land into a pretty green lawn or something else.

I've almost had it with Duck hunting. You can't even go to ND and not run into all kinds of guys out there. Just takes the fun out of it for me when you have to fight for spots, or get up at 2 A.M. to get a good spot.

[WALLEYENUTZ]

Quote:

---

You can talk about habitat all you want and we do need more, but the main reason in my eyes is there are just too many people, and too many hunters.

---

And not enough HABITAT to support them. It's all about the HABITAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[carpshooterdeluxe]

does anybody know of an easy affordable program to create a new wetland on private property? i have 67 acres of crp on my family farm...mostly designed to buffer the confluence of two seasonal drainages....it seems from everything ive heard of it takes years and a mountain of paper work just to dig a depression, install a small dike, and maybe a pump to keep the water level even through the drier months. i would love to have some water to compliment all the grass we have and i really think that the ducks would have some great nesting success, as i do as much trapping whenever i can on the skunks and racoons and whatever else it its legal to take.

[Mark Christianson]

One call to make to find that out.

Call your US Fish and Wildlife Service district office.

They have a lot of programs, and one might suit your property.

If you have any chance of drain tiles or ditches that were man made on your property, I can assure you; today is your lucky day.

[kgpcr4]

Quote:

---

Is the original poster just trolling ..............

---

Not at all. I am just very concerned about the number of ducks in the state!! i can tell you this. i saw some great nesting sights this spring with no birds on them. also the reason i suggested closing the season this year is lower limits in my book wont make much difference. how many people limited out last year?? i am sure some did bit for many a two bird limit would have not made any difference. I too love the smell of swamp and seeing it get light out over my decoys. the smell of burt powder does not hurt either. I personaly think that the flyway has been over harvested and it must get support from not just MN but also the lower states as well. as for the economy in SD and ND i hope they choke on thier birds before i ever go there. I think they have been sticking it to us for years. Guys i am not trolling, i just want the duck numbers to come back a bit and if i miss a year well thats ok by me. It will hurt like hell but i will live with it

[Superduty]

Reducing bag limits doesn't have as big of an effect on the population as most people think it should. Think of it this way. If 75%(maybe more) of duck hunters don't shoot a limit, maybe killing 2-4 birds per day, changing the limit does not change the number of ducks those hunters killed. The best way to reduce harvest is to shorten the number of days hunters are in the field. Shorten the season if you want to kill fewer ducks.

Personally, I think our best duck hunting days are gone forever. Just look around the area you live or hunt and think about all the habitat that's been lost in the last 10-30 years. New homes, shopping malls, highways, drain tiled fields, all appear to be important to today's society than our ducks and wetlands. Sorry to be so negative, I just don't think we can raise enough money to buy enough land to make a difference. How many acres of habitat would we have to restore to see a statistically significant increase in duck numbers? The cost would be millions and millions...

[Mark Christianson]

I agree with SD in regards to the days gone by.

In my eyes, we have seen our best days for the most part. Some years might be good/great, but until we stop progress/development, we are just going to slowly but surely spiral down overall.

And we are not going to stop progress/development.

Sad but true.

We can only make the best of whats available. And whats available in 20 years will be far less than whats available today.

[icecold]

superduty I cant agree more with you,when you say our best duck hunting days are gone, I believe that most hunters over the age of 40 have seen some awesome hunting in minnesota years ago, but the youngguys they dont want to here that duck numbers are down, and slowly but shirly the habitat is going, and duck hunting is not what it used to be or never will be again.The name of the game in this world is MONEY and some developer isnt going to give a d----- if a few ducks are chased out of a area ,So he can put up a million dollar housing development. The D.N.R would have to come up with millions upon millions in order to change the habitat from being developed at the rate it is happing, Never going to happen ??

[magnumthunder]

you shorten the season and i'll be done.No more $ from me or my daughter. as it is now it closes to early. You have every state first of all! why should we not shoot ducks here so they can shoot more down south. Be that way about and lets do a 5 shell rule! I hit what i shoot at and dont sky bust. Lets make a 45 yard rule with 10 gauges. 40 for 12 ga. Every hunter must have a dog. Decoys no more than 2 dz. no farther than 25 yards out. 12 and 10 gauges only so the kids dont wound birds. Make kids buy stamps. Only hand carved decoys and calls. Season one duck from Sept 15 to Oct 15 and down south Nov 1 to Jan 1 5 ducks. Lets be real. I'm happy going out working birds and getting ony 3 ducks. Always see good flocks of birds 2 weeks after closing.

[kc0myy]

I myself don't know what to say about this. I read every post and I think it is that there is too many hunters. When I first got into hunting I thought duck hunting would be stupid. Well guess what my friend took me out duck hunting and I love duck hunting. I love to see ducks flying though the air. When I dive by a swamp. Ducks are my faverite animal. I was down in Rodchester this last weekend. I was dozen mallards most of then were hens a few drakes. but I was thinking. Wow this is the end of duck hunting unless we do something about it. I guess in the last 20 years we have been in a drought thats what I heard. Thats why we don't have any ducks because we don't have the pot holes and wetland that we use to. I am 17 years old. I love ducks to death. I would hate it see no more ducking hunting but I think it just might happen if me dont do something about it. It is very sad about the ducks. My friends dad told me about years and years ago of the duck hunting trips and all the birds he saw. The old timers have seen the best of duck hunting and I think it just going down hill. Just my 2 cents.

[mwktrapper]

The MN duck season will never close. There's just too much into it - economy, tradition, passions - it won't happen. Taking away duck season is like shooting my dog...you're taking something away from me that is so much a part of me. To even consider giving up something so divine...how do you sleep at night?

So what to do? As stated earlier, lowering the limits won't do much. The average hunter in MN shoots less than a limit of ducks in their entire season. That's a fact that the DNR put out. It won't work. So you wanna shorten the season? The majority of ducks shot are shot within the first two weekends of season. So if you take off the last 15 or 30 days of season (the part of season when the least amount of birds are shot), what good will that do?

So for those of you who are tired of empty skies, too many hunters and bringing too many shells back home, I think it's time for you to hang up your coat, put your gun in the closet and stay cozy next to the warm fire in your fireplace. Hey, it's one less hunter I need to worry about showing up at my slough

In all seriousness though, habitat is the main key to bringing birds back to MN. It's the most difficult way to make change, because it is so long term, but it will make the difference in years to come. And it won't happen over night. And it won't happen at all if we don't support some conservation groups that are willing to put birds back in our sloughs.

So give us a 60/6, cause I just simply want to kill ducks as much as I possibly can. And I think a split season would be heaven in MN. States half our size have seasons split as much as three ways. We hardly see the end of season up north due to early freeze up, while my boys down in southern MN are wishing they could hunt several weeks later because the birds are just moving through.

It won't be long...

[renny]

Iam not sure about this but CRP is only a limited time and then will go back to farmland. where as we have CREP and will be in the program for 99 yrs. they dug 9 or 10 different potholes in it, with one of them having the surrounding neighbors tile running to them. I have now seen ducks there when there were'nt before. there for habitat is the key. now here is a solution to more habitat- plug all the tile lines that drained everything straight to the gulf of mexico, then pay the farmer for the area thats gets flooded, you would end up with hundreds of thousands of acers, its that simple, more habitat. thats the way it use to be yrs ago before the goverment started paying them to farm more land and tile out. did every one forsee what would happen, some maybe, but making more money and supplying more product was the goal, not ducks. and then if all of sudden we need more food, just unplug all the lines. would'nt that be a perfect world if everybody went along with that???