Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 15, 1994 TAG: 9408160026
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The fall flight index for ducks is 71 million, a major increase from the 59 million last year. The 1983 index was 72 million.
For mallards, a key indicator species, the predicted flight from the traditional survey area of Minnesota and Wisconsin is 12 million, up 36 percent from last year's 8.8 million and similar to the late 1970s.
The index is not a total count, but it is a key part of the data used by planners to determine hunting seasons and bag limits.
It has ranged between 55 million and 88 million since 1970.
The index fell to a record low of 55 million in 1985 and hovered around the 60 million mark during most of the decade.
This year, snow and rain came.
``It is a banner year for ducks. It looks good,'' said Mollie Beattie, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
She said that potholes are full of water, which is the critical need for ducks to raise broods.
But, she cautioned, ``we must remember that this is just one year's result and we still have a long way to go before we can comfortably say duck populations are healthy and stable again.''
With the in mind, hunting regulations are expected to remain on the conservative side. The state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is scheduled to set 1994-95 waterfowl regulations during a hearing in Richmond on Aug. 25.
``We're seeing tremendous improvement in almost all species of ducks this year,'' said Jeff Nelson, chief biologist for Ducks Unlimited.
``Our biologists have seen near-perfect water and cover conditions in much of the primary duck-producing region of the U.S. and improved conditions on the Canadian prairies,'' Nelson said.
Even with the increase, the 71 million flight forecast is well below the long-term goal of 100 million in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, a 15-year pact among the United States, Canada and Mexico that has overseen the protection, restoration or enhancement of more than 2 million acres of wetland habitat since 1986.
Geese, which generally nest farther north than ducks and weren't hit hard by the drought, again did well, although not quite as well as in 1993.
by CNB