Conservation Corner: September 2, 2002

Good News, Bad News For Duck Hunters
by James L. Cummins

For over 30 years Mississippi has been very interested in providing late hunting for ducks. What Mississippi recommended was the same as the National Flyway Council, which consists primarily of waterfowl biologists. While some states' Congressmen and Senators don't care about waterfowl habitat and hunting, I'm proud that people like Congressmen Chip Pickering and Bennie Thompson and Senators Thad Cochran and Trent Lott do. Thanks to these gentlemen, Mississippi has one of the strongest conservation records. We have one of the lowest wetland loss rates, leading the country in the amount of acres restored through the Wetland Reserve Program and the amount of acres for wintering waterfowl through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Wildlife Program. This makes Mississippi one of the largest contributors to the conservation of habitat.

Some people have stated that the reason why Mississippi didn't get a late season last year was because the "Northern states over-trumped us." That is true. What Congressman Pickering and others supported was a position that did not enable 6 states (out of 50) to veto the request of the majority.

The nation's mallard population is about 7.5 million. That's similar to last year and almost identical to the long-term average. Mallard breeding pairs, spring pond counts and the previous year's harvest are used to determine the waterfowl season. The bad news is that spring pond counts are certainly down. Mississippi's mallard harvest last year was 58% less than the previous year. Add no change (mallard population), plus one (lower harvest from last year) and minus one (less breeding habitat) up and what do you get? No change.

But the Service made a smart decision and restricted the hunting opportunity (and with canvasbacks, for example, eliminated harvest) on the species that were the lowest in population and kept the season the same as last year for species that had not significantly below the long-term average.

Finally, the Service Director, Steve Williams, recently said, "I want to thank Congressman Pickering for his valuable contributions to the annual process used to establish waterfowl hunting regulations. He represented his constituents well while respecting the science-based process used to set the seasons. This allowed us to work with our partners to provide maximum opportunities for waterfowl hunters that is consistent with the best available science on waterfowl populations."

We owe our delegation and Director Williams a big thanks for their commitment to supporting sportsmen and sustaining a waterfowl population for future enjoyment.

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi. For more information, go to www.wildlifemiss.org.


James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi