Fish and Wildlife Service
For release March 23, 1995 Hugh Vickery 202-208-5634
SERVICE PROPOSES NEW PROCEDURES
FOR SETTING OF DUCK HARVEST REGULATIONSThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in cooperation with the four waterfowl flyway councils, is proposing to improve the way duck harvest regulations are set to provide more consistency, objectivity, and predictability to the process.
"In the past, hunters often have become confused by the complexity of the regulatory process, a lack of clearly stated harvest-management objectives, and an overly large number of regulatory options," said Service Director Mollie Beattie. "The new procedures will clarify the process and make it far more objective and predictable."
Under the proposed procedures, which are open to public comment, the number of regulatory options would be reduced to three "packages" or levels for the 1995-96 season--restrictive, moderate, or liberal.
The liberal option would be similar to the regulations issued for the 1979-84 seasons, the moderate option would similar to the 1985-87 seasons, and the restrictive option would be similar to the 1988-93 seasons.
The option chosen for the 1995-96 season would be determined by a formula that weighs current resource status, including duck populations and habitat conditions as determined by the annual breeding duck survey, with desired harvest management objectives established by the Service in coordination with the flyway councils and the states.
The long-term recovery of waterfowl populations remains the Service's highest priority. Nevertheless, under anticipated conditions, the proposed procedures, as currently envisioned, would appear unlikely to lead to more restrictive regulations for the 1995-96 season. In fact, based on the results of a technical assessment of waterfowl harvests conducted by the Service, further easing of hunting restrictions, begun last season, may be possible without hindering long-term recovery.
"As a state agency administrator, I fully support the proposed changes in the approach to establishing migratory bird hunting regulations," said Kenneth M. Babcock, assistant director of the Missouri Department of Conservation. "The new procedures utilize the vast amount of information we've gathered about harvest in the past to help us in the difficult job of managing duck populations. But more importantly, they set the stage to learn even more in the future, thereby providing more certainty, consistency, and predictability in harvest management."
As in the past, the Service's objective will be to maximize hunting opportunities, consistent with the long-term recovery of duck populations. Under the new procedures, this objective will be balanced with the waterfowl population and habitat goals identified in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.
Hunting regulations would be least restrictive when duck populations meet or exceed the plan's objectives. However, depending on habitat conditions, the "liberal" option could still be chosen even if duck populations are below the plan's goals.
As a starting point for the discussion of the proposed procedures, the Service has suggested the objective of reaching a population of 8.1 million breeding mallards, as stipulated in the North American Plan.
This objective is simply a starting point for consideration. Flyway councils, states, hunters, conservation groups, and others will have ample opportunity to have their views heard on all aspects of the proposal during the public comment period and regulations-setting process.
One advantage of the proposed approach is that options for consideration would be established earlier in the regulatory process. This would give biologists more opportunity than they currently have to assess the impact of the various options on the waterfowl resource.
Experts disagree about the extent to which hunting has an impact on waterfowl populations. Over time, the new procedures will resolve this long-standing controversy by making more effective use of harvest and population data from current waterfowl monitoring programs.
"The proposal for the 1995-96 season represents a first step toward implementing the concept of adaptive harvest management, which, in the long term, will help us effectively manage this resource," said Paul Schmidt, chief of the Service's Migratory Bird Management Office.
In addition, the simpler approach, with just three options, should reduce the confusion some hunters have experienced in the past as they have tried to keep track of minor year-to-year changes to the regulations.
"It is important that everyone involved in the process of setting these regulations--the flyway councils, the states, and the Service--have a clear concept of what options are on the table and the impact each will have on duck populations," Beattie said.
"At the same time," she said. "Hunters have a right to a clear idea of what the regulations for each season are and why they were adopted."
The proposed regulations will be published in the March 24, 1995, Federal Register. Public comments are requested and should be sent to the Chief (MBMO), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 634 Arlington Square, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW., Washington, DC 20240.
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