This isn’t just another quack call. After learning the cheery results from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife report of mid-continent breeding ducks, Colorado officials can put a lock on the provisional season framework it formulated earlier this month.
Every duck species but one achieved a significant gain, making another liberal hunt framework a virtual certainty. This means that the Colorado dates reported on this page two weeks ago should remain intact when the formality of federal approval is completed next month.
As for our web-footed friends, the traditional survey of 10 species revealed an overall 14 percent increase to 41.2 million. Further, habitat conditions are at least equal to or slightly improved over 2006.
The conservation organization Ducks Unlimited reported significant precipitation in key duck-producing regions of Canada’s prairie provinces, perhaps best in the agricultural zone of Alberta, from whence cometh most of Colorado’s migratory mallards.
Mallards form the bedrock of USFWS’s decisions regarding hunting seasons. When this most popular and abundant species hold steady or show a gain, expect a continuation of the liberal allotment of dates and bag limits.
For Colorado enthusiasts, this means more of the same: seasons comparable to last year and perhaps identical to those published here earlier.
Continuing a recent upward trend, numbers of breeding mallard jumped 10 percent to 8.032 million, leading a general advance among virtually all species. Among the more frequently hunted species in Colorado, wigeon soared by 29 percent, gadwall increased 19 percent, blue-winged teal gained 14 percent and green-winged teal showed a 13 percent boost.
Pintail proved the lone loser in the lineup, declining 2 percent to a long-term low of just 3.335 million.
Here’s the preliminary breeding report, in millions: (See the chart to the right).
The Colorado Wildlife Commission on July 2 approved the following provisional waterfowl season dates. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service preliminary finding of greatly increased duck numbers makes it likely that this framework will remain unchanged.
DUCKS: Central Flyway Eastern Plains Zone, first season Oct. 6-22, second season Nov. 10-Jan. 27. Central Flyway Mountain/Foothills Zone, first season Sept. 29-Nov. 25, second Dec. 21-Jan. 27. Pacific Flyway, first season Sept. 29-Oct. 14, second season Oct. 31-Jan. 27.
GEESE: North Park, South Park and northern Front Range, Sept. 29-Oct. 7. Balance of Central Flyway, Nov. 24-Feb. 17. Pacific Flyway, first season Sept. 29-Oct. 5, second season Oct. 31-Jan. 27. Light geese, Nov. 3-Feb. 17.
