This might be of interest...at this rate U of O will be back in
the Rose Bowl next year...

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July 12, 1996 Hugh Vickery 202-208-5634

GOOD NEWS FROM THE PRAIRIE: BREEDING DUCK POPULATIONS
RISE FOR THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR

Boosted by two consecutive years of good habitat conditions, duck
breeding populations climbed 5 percent this spring to the highest
level since 1979, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Acting Director
John Rogers announced today.

The annual breeding duck survey recorded an estimated 37.5 million
ducks, up from 35.9 million in 1995. The survey samples 1.3
million square miles across the north-central United States,
western and northern Canada, and Alaska and estimates the
approximate numbers of ducks in important breeding areas.

Populations of four species--gadwall, blue-winged teal, northern
shoveler, and canvasback--reached record highs. In particular,
blue-winged teal, up 25 percent to 6.4 million, and northern
shoveler, up 15 percent to 3.4 million, showed substantial gains.

"There are two primary reasons for this good news," Rogers said.
"First, we continue to be blessed by abundant precipitation and
good habitat conditions on the breeding grounds. Second, hunters
and other conservationists have spent the last decade restoring
and conserving vital wetlands in key duck production areas.

"Although duck populations naturally fluctuate over time as
habitat and water conditions change, we wouldn't have seen this
kind of recovery from the drought in the mid-1980s and early 1990s
if not for these habitat conservation efforts."

The overall number of ponds in the survey area rose 18 percent to
7.5 million, the second highest level ever recorded. The pond
count in Canada rose 29 percent, with the biggest gains in
southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. The U.S. pond count was
similar to last year but still 84 percent above the long-term
average.

The Fish and Wildlife Service administers or participates in a
number of programs to conserve and restore waterfowl habitat. For
example, since 1986, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan,
an international partnership effort, has protected, restored, or
enhanced more than 2.5 million acres of wetland habitat.

In addition, other government programs such as the Conservation
Reserve Program and the Wetland Reserve Program have conserved
significant tracts of wildlife habitat in recent years. And
sportsmen and conservation organizations have conserved and
restored millions of acres of prime habitat. In addition, laws
such as the Swampbuster provisions of the Farm Bill and the
wetland protection provisions of the Clean Water Act also have
helped conserve waterfowl habitat.

The breeding duck survey estimated mallard populations at 7.9
million this year compared to 8.3 million in 1995. Statistically,
this change was not significant. The 8.3 million estimate in 1995
was an increase of 18 percent over the previous year and the
highest in more than two decades.

American wigeon populations experienced a significant decline to
2.3 million from 2.6 million in 1995. Populations of pintail,
green-winged teal, scaup, canvasback, redhead, and gadwall were at
levels similar to 1995.

The overall increase in breeding duck populations occurred despite
relatively liberal hunting regulations that, along with a large
fall flight, resulted in a 46-percent increase in duck harvest
nationwide in 1995.

The number of hunters and days in the field was similar to
previous years suggesting the increase in harvest from 8.6 million
ducks in the 1994-95 season to 12.6 million last season was due to
better hunter success in the field.

The survey information is used by the Service and the four flyway
councils in the cooperative process of setting fall duck hunting
seasons. This will be the second year of a new system for setting
these regulations called Adaptive Harvest Management.

Adaptive Harvest Management is a tool to increase objectivity and
efficiency in the process of regulating waterfowl hunting. It
improves upon the traditional approach by using clearly defined
harvest management objectives, a limited number of regulatory
options, and new data-assessment procedures.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency
responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and
wildlife and their habitats. The Service manages 508 national
wildlife refuges encompassing 92 million acres, as well as 72
national fish hatcheries.

The agency also enforces Federal wildlife laws, manages migratory
bird populations, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as
wetlands, administers the Endangered Species Act, and oversees the
Federal Aid program that funnels Federal excise taxes on angling
and hunting equipment to state wildlife agencies.

-FWS-


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