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62 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, August 3, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 29, 2004 Waterfowl hunters get another liberal duck-hunting season By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Oregon waterfowl hunters are poised to get yet another rendition of the good ol’ days this year, with the eighth straight year of the most liberal duck-hunting season on the horizon. Despite a drop in mallards nationwide, waterfowl counts remain strong enough for federal biologists to recommend another year with a 107-day duck hunting season — the longest allowed under migratory bird treaties. Nationwide counts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show the population of mallards — the bird that drives season frameworks — are at 7.4 million, down 7 percent from last year but still 1 percent above the average over the past 50 years of duck counts. And total duck counts came in at 32.2 million — down 11 percent from last year and down 3 percent from the long-term average. Despite the declines, the numbers were strong enough to push federal computer models to show the 107-day season appears justified, says Dave Budreau, a biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Advertisement The model was close to recommending an 87-day season, the "moderate" option, Budreau says. "It was right on the verge of 87 days or 107 days," Budreau says. The Pacific Flyway Council is meeting this week in Washington, D.C., and the 107-day season — as well as a 60-day pintail season — is expected to be adopted Friday, Budreau says. "At this point, there’s not any reason to suspect that it won’t be," he says. If the so-called "federal framework" is adopted as expected Friday, then the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission can set the seasons. The expected seasons include a two-day, youth-only hunt Sept. 25-26. The continued stretch of 107-day seasons is not generating increased harvest of waterfowl in Oregon, where factors like weather tend to drive duck-hunting success more than the number of days allowed afield, according to Brad Bales, the ODFW’s waterfowl program leader. Last year in Oregon, hunter numbers dipped about 9 percent from 2002, and duck harvest dropped about 21 percent. Overall harvest in all Western states last year went up about 6 percent from 2002, Bales says. Waterfowl surveys in Oregon show a similar yo-yo-ing as federal counts do. Oregon biologists this year counted 301,071 breeding ducks, up 1 percent from 2003 but down 14 percent from the average since 1994 — the year Oregon began its long-term average counts, according to Budreau. Oregon’s mallard numbers also are down 7 percent from last year and down 20 percent from the 10-year average, Budreau says. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times