1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:06,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Backwood's University, a place where we focus on wildlife, 2 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:09,800 Speaker 1: wild places and the people who dedicate their lives to 3 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:12,799 Speaker 1: conserving both. Big shout out to aex hunt for their 4 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: support of this podcast. 5 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 2: I'm your host, Lake Pickle. On this episode, we're gonna. 6 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:20,639 Speaker 1: Address one of the most burning questions being asked in 7 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:22,119 Speaker 1: the hunting community today. 8 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:24,439 Speaker 2: Where have all the mallards gone? 9 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 1: Or specifically, where have all the mallards gone in the 10 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,520 Speaker 1: Mississippi Flyway. This question has been getting asked for a 11 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:34,400 Speaker 1: while and its persistence has led to more questions and theories, 12 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,840 Speaker 1: such as is the flyway shifting or changing or ducks 13 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: simply not migrating as south due to human manipulations. 14 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:42,160 Speaker 2: Or other factors. 15 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: There's a lot of ideas and impassioned opinions on this subject, 16 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 1: so all the more reason for us here at Backwoods 17 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: University to lean right into it and see if we 18 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: can't shine some light on this issue. So get your 19 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: waiters on and make sure you've got non toxic shot 20 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 1: and duck stamps, because we're going duck hunting. It's duck 21 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:22,039 Speaker 1: season in Mississippi and I'm standing in muddy knee deep 22 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:24,959 Speaker 1: water in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. For any 23 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 1: that don't know, the Mississippi Delta is part of an 24 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: alluvial floodplain that has the Mississippi River to think for 25 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:36,440 Speaker 1: its unique geographical characteristics and significance. It's flat, it's vast, 26 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: and it's known for its fertile souls and high diversity 27 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,120 Speaker 1: and amount of wildlife. And this time of year, the 28 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 1: late winter months, it's at its absolute best. The cold, 29 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: crisp mornings, the white tailed deer out and stirring, the 30 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: distant sound of speckle belly and snow geese flying overhead, 31 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: and yes, of course ducks. Some of the old age 32 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: duck hunters that I got to spend some time around 33 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 1: in duck camps would always say things like, you know, 34 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:03,240 Speaker 1: the Delta likes to show off this time of year, 35 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:06,640 Speaker 1: which reminds me I should probably pay attention because we've 36 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 1: got some mallards working. What you're hearing is arguably the 37 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:21,800 Speaker 1: most sought out scenario for every duck hunter that has 38 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:24,680 Speaker 1: ever lived. Where minutes into legal shooting light and a 39 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:27,200 Speaker 1: pair of green heads are now working our whole and 40 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: flirting with being in range as I try to stealthily 41 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:33,240 Speaker 1: peek at my fragmented view of the dim sky, broken 42 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 1: up by branches and limbs of the tree. I'm leaned against, 43 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:38,560 Speaker 1: my eyes lock on to the two of them. I've 44 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: always been enamored by duck flight, the way they seem 45 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:43,959 Speaker 1: to fly so in sync with one another, the way 46 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: they cup or set their wings as they prepare to land. 47 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:50,080 Speaker 1: I dare say it's downright poetic to watch. And I 48 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: promise I'm being truthful when I say that. I feel 49 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: lucky every single time I get to see it. It 50 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: never gets old. 51 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 2: Huh yeah, huh ad birth. What I'll say is my 52 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 2: right art stud is one of the fruit. 53 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:21,839 Speaker 3: Though. 54 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:24,640 Speaker 2: All I know is that's a good way you started mooring. 55 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:29,360 Speaker 1: Yeah, an here I be rid. 56 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 3: Yeah. 57 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: One thousand, five hundred and thirty three miles. That is 58 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,120 Speaker 1: the distance between where I duck hunted in North Dakota 59 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:41,040 Speaker 1: earlier this year and the area in Mississippi that you 60 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 1: just heard me duck hunting in in that video clip. 61 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: One thousand, five hundred and thirty three miles. I know 62 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: humans that hesitate at the thought of traveling that distance. However, 63 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: these Mallard ducks do that and more every single year 64 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: or at least they used to, well some of them 65 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: still do we think or we know, or at least 66 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,040 Speaker 1: we think we know. What I'm trying to say is 67 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,400 Speaker 1: that's exactly what we're here to talk about the migration 68 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,800 Speaker 1: of mallards in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley. As I 69 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 1: stated earlier, the video clip of the hunt you heard 70 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:16,920 Speaker 1: painting an ideal scenario that duck hunters seek out. However, 71 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 1: in recent years, those very incidents of mallard ducks cascading 72 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:24,280 Speaker 1: down into your decoys has become a more rare occurrence. 73 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:28,400 Speaker 1: But why that's the million duck question there, my foul 74 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:31,360 Speaker 1: minded friends, and you know on this show we aren't 75 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: afraid to ask questions. To kick this off, I want 76 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 1: to read you an excerpt from an article that is 77 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:46,440 Speaker 1: aptly titled where have the Mallards Gone? A clear look 78 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 1: at the decline of mallards in the Lower Mississippi Valley 79 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:55,480 Speaker 1: Over the past several winners, waterfowl hunters across the Lower 80 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:59,919 Speaker 1: Mississippi Alluvial Valley from Mississippi to eastern Arkansas to north 81 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:02,800 Speaker 1: east Louisiana ask the same question. 82 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:04,600 Speaker 2: Where are all the mallards? 83 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:07,600 Speaker 1: It's not a new question. More than twenty years ago, 84 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 1: doctor Rick Kaminski and others published a popular article that 85 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:14,680 Speaker 1: echoed the same concern, Borrowing from the nineteen sixties folk 86 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 1: song where Have all the Flowers Gone? They titled the 87 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: article where Have all the Mallards Gone? The article described 88 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: how mallard numbers had dropped sharply in the Mississippi Alluvial 89 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:28,600 Speaker 1: Valley since the nineteen eighties, even though breeding populations were 90 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: greater in the two thousands during the drought bitten eighties. 91 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:35,599 Speaker 1: They pointed to multiple contributing factors, including mild winter weather 92 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:40,839 Speaker 1: and changing food availability. Importantly, they emphasized a growing mismatch 93 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 1: between habitat and duck needs. There was still water on 94 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:47,520 Speaker 1: the landscape in Mississippi, but the groceries were getting scarce 95 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: in some areas, likely due to increased crop harvest efficiency 96 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:55,760 Speaker 1: in changing agricultural practices. Fast forward to today, in the 97 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 1: mystery of the missing mallard continues. However, our tools and 98 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:03,320 Speaker 1: data sets have improved, and our understanding of flyway scale 99 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:07,200 Speaker 1: changes has deepened. First, the long term decline of the 100 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: wintering mallarge and the Mississippi Alluvial Valley is not completely 101 00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:14,040 Speaker 1: driven by what is happening during duck season. The dominant 102 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:17,279 Speaker 1: forces behind the decline are rooted farther north on the 103 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 1: breeding grounds. Second, there is a perceived reduction in winter 104 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 1: water across portions of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley and changes 105 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:28,560 Speaker 1: in land use and management practices since the original article, 106 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:32,520 Speaker 1: further changes in fall and winter weather that affect duck 107 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 1: migration are now well documented. Okay, I know I gave 108 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:47,360 Speaker 1: you a whole lot there, but don't worry. We're going 109 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:49,920 Speaker 1: to break down every bit of that further with the 110 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:51,640 Speaker 1: author of this very article. 111 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:55,200 Speaker 3: So I'm James Calicatt. I'm the waterfowl and upland game 112 00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:59,560 Speaker 3: bird Extension specialists at Mississippi State University. It's kind of 113 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:02,920 Speaker 3: like idio other professor you know that does research and teaching, 114 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:07,480 Speaker 3: but a good proportion of my appointment is extension. And 115 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:10,640 Speaker 3: so what that is is our arm in the university 116 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 3: that takes the research and puts it into the hands 117 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 3: of the stakeholder, so the landowners, the habitat managers, the hunters, 118 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 3: and so we try to communicate the science we produce 119 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 3: at the university to those audiences. So, you know, I 120 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:28,239 Speaker 3: do workshops, field days, write popular articles. We have Gamebird 121 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:31,160 Speaker 3: University podcast where we talk a lot about the projects 122 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:33,440 Speaker 3: and topics that come from the phone calls that I 123 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:36,400 Speaker 3: get here at the office. So I felt like I 124 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 3: got a pretty sweet gig here for sure. 125 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: James has been neck deep in waterfowl research in the 126 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 1: Mississippi Alluvial Valley for a long time now, and he 127 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: also wrote this article alongside two other authors, Mike Schumer 128 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:52,720 Speaker 1: and Mark McConnell. Some of you may remember McConnell from 129 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:56,040 Speaker 1: the first Bob White Quill episode. Anyway, I want to 130 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: start this discussion by asking James about the fact that 131 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 1: this is not a new question, but rather a question 132 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:05,320 Speaker 1: that has been getting asked and left unanswered for quite 133 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:06,080 Speaker 1: some time now. 134 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:09,720 Speaker 3: So I went to work for Wildye Fisheries and Parks 135 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:14,840 Speaker 3: in the waterfowl program in twenty eleven, I think, and 136 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 3: from the day one putting on the patches, man, that 137 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:20,480 Speaker 3: was all phone call I'm gonna get, you know, And 138 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:23,840 Speaker 3: I've had it since then, and prior to that, when 139 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:27,080 Speaker 3: I was in grad school, and you know, that question 140 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:28,360 Speaker 3: been going on for a while. 141 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:29,400 Speaker 4: Even back then. 142 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:33,160 Speaker 3: At that time frame when they wrote that article, Aaron 143 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:37,560 Speaker 3: Pearce was doing his dissertation that was creating what we 144 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 3: know now of the aerial waterfowl survey in Mississippi. So 145 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 3: his PhD word was was the first of those surveys, 146 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:47,720 Speaker 3: and then the state adopted it and has had it 147 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 3: for twenty years since. But another researcher in the Delta 148 00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:54,280 Speaker 3: this did a lot of waterfowl work, Ken Ronicky, had 149 00:08:54,559 --> 00:08:56,839 Speaker 3: had done some aerial surveys in the Delta in the 150 00:08:56,920 --> 00:09:00,320 Speaker 3: late eighties early nineties and they had seen to client 151 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:04,960 Speaker 3: and mallards from when Ken did those surveys to when 152 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:07,640 Speaker 3: Aaron did his, and so it was like we're missing 153 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 3: like two hundred or four hundred thousand mallards or something 154 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:14,080 Speaker 3: like where did they go? You know? And that's Arkansas 155 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:16,679 Speaker 3: and Mississippi there. So that question has been going on 156 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:19,160 Speaker 3: for a very very long time, with a lot of 157 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:20,680 Speaker 3: theories behind why that is. 158 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:24,280 Speaker 1: And not to go straight doom and gloom here, but 159 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 1: correct me if I'm wrong. From reading that article, it 160 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:31,000 Speaker 1: seemed like that question's been going on for a long time. 161 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:35,439 Speaker 1: But while that question's been going on, we we haven't 162 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:38,680 Speaker 1: seen mallards and going up seems like it's still just 163 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:40,520 Speaker 1: kind of downward. 164 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, So the long term trend of mallards in the 165 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 3: in the MAV both from Arkansas and Mississippi is trending negative. 166 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 3: It's a little bit seems to be more stronger in Arkansas. 167 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:56,440 Speaker 3: You know, it's not getting any better from that front. 168 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:59,720 Speaker 3: And there's a lot of reasons behind that potentially. You know, 169 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 3: when you look at some of these better years of 170 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:06,200 Speaker 3: mallard harvest and that sort of thing, you know, a 171 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:08,920 Speaker 3: lot of those are driven so much by weather, and 172 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:10,760 Speaker 3: I feel like that's where a lot of our issues 173 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:14,480 Speaker 3: are and that's a tough place to be. Man, that's 174 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:18,000 Speaker 3: something we ain't got. We can't do nothing about. Yeah, 175 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:20,160 Speaker 3: and so you know, good years kind of come with 176 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 3: the weather, uh and and the rest of the time 177 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:27,240 Speaker 3: it's you know, it fluctuates, but it's trending downwards in 178 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:28,800 Speaker 3: the end of those trends. You know, you kind of 179 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:30,720 Speaker 3: think about it. You look at something over twenty years 180 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 3: and you have some ups and downs and so you 181 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:36,199 Speaker 3: you you're confident centerables wide and then that sort of thing. 182 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:38,840 Speaker 3: But you know, if the overall trend line is negative, 183 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:42,360 Speaker 3: like you have that negative line still going, but if 184 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:44,960 Speaker 3: you looked at the points of where those peak numbers are. Yeah, 185 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:47,600 Speaker 3: occasionally there's one that's way up here, and there's some 186 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:51,080 Speaker 3: there ways down here, you know, So when the weather happens, 187 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:56,960 Speaker 3: we get birds. But yeah, the overall trend it's not good. 188 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:00,760 Speaker 1: Okay, So we're starting to get a bright, odd idea 189 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:04,200 Speaker 1: of what's going on here, and frankly, it's not great news. 190 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 2: There's not really a way to sugarcoat it. 191 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:09,120 Speaker 1: This has been causing biologists and duck hunters to scratch 192 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:12,080 Speaker 1: their heads for twenty years now, and I know, trust me, 193 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:15,600 Speaker 1: I know we want answers. The way that I'm approaching 194 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:18,520 Speaker 1: this discussion is to start with the broader, more outside 195 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:21,640 Speaker 1: factors and work inward to the more specific factors. 196 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:22,439 Speaker 2: And if you caught it. 197 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:25,080 Speaker 1: There in that last bit, James already gave us big 198 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:27,080 Speaker 1: contributing in broad factor number one. 199 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:31,839 Speaker 2: Weather. This is my least favorite factor. Man. I really 200 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:32,880 Speaker 2: do hate this factor. 201 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:35,040 Speaker 1: And you want to know why, because you can't really 202 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:36,079 Speaker 1: do anything about it. 203 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:37,800 Speaker 2: The weather's gonna be what it's gonna be. 204 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 1: Seriously, if you figure out how to manufacture a cold front, 205 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:44,080 Speaker 1: let me know. However, it's undoubtedly one of the key 206 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:47,320 Speaker 1: ingredients to the smaller decline problem that we're having and 207 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:49,559 Speaker 1: we're gonna learn more about that. But go ahead and 208 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:53,480 Speaker 1: keep track as we start this list now onto the next. 209 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:57,600 Speaker 1: Like I said, broad factors first, and then we work inward. 210 00:11:58,000 --> 00:11:59,680 Speaker 1: Waterfowl are migratory. 211 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:00,520 Speaker 2: We know this. 212 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:03,400 Speaker 1: However, it's easy for us as hunters to develop a 213 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:06,160 Speaker 1: myopic view when it comes to ducks. What I mean 214 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:08,440 Speaker 1: by this is when we see mallard declines that are 215 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:12,920 Speaker 1: impossible to ignore, we sometimes only think about our local landscape. 216 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:15,920 Speaker 1: And hang on, I'm not saying we shouldn't think about 217 00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:17,160 Speaker 1: our local landscape. 218 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:19,559 Speaker 2: I'm saying we shouldn't only. 219 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:22,640 Speaker 1: Think about our local landscape. For instance, a vital player 220 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:25,720 Speaker 1: in this equation is the breeding range the Prairie Pothole 221 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:28,200 Speaker 1: region made up of the Dakotas in the southern portion 222 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:32,200 Speaker 1: of Saskatchewan and Alberta. This is the mallard factory more 223 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:36,000 Speaker 1: or less. And if this area isn't doing well, then frankly, 224 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:37,920 Speaker 1: it doesn't matter how good of a job we do 225 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:40,640 Speaker 1: here in the lower Mississippi alluvial Valley, there won't be 226 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:42,240 Speaker 1: any mallards to travel down here. 227 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:50,440 Speaker 3: There's tons of you know, reasons and threats to breeding 228 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:54,800 Speaker 3: habitat for waterfowl. You know, ducks in the prairies and 229 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:59,080 Speaker 3: parklands and elsewhere, what they need is grassland nesting cover 230 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:03,400 Speaker 3: to feed on and to raise breeds on and to 231 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:06,120 Speaker 3: molt on as well. And so there's you know, the 232 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:09,320 Speaker 3: to do list. That's for one reason that when we 233 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:14,360 Speaker 3: talk about like you know, mortality and ducks and skewede 234 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 3: sexu ratios and everything. You know, the breeding time periods, 235 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 3: that time if you die there, that that matters a 236 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:23,480 Speaker 3: lot more, you know. So and a hen has a 237 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:26,800 Speaker 3: whole lot of to dos that a drake doesn't, you know. 238 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:30,840 Speaker 3: So hens are a little bit more predisposed to that 239 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:34,800 Speaker 3: natural mortality up there. But you know, we need a 240 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:38,720 Speaker 3: lot of that cover to produce ducks, especially in dry years, 241 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:41,079 Speaker 3: and we've been kind of dry on the drier end 242 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:44,840 Speaker 3: for quite a while now. I've seen that, you know, 243 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 3: depending on the age of the person who has watched 244 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:51,439 Speaker 3: prairie conditions over time, you know, you know, there were 245 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:54,239 Speaker 3: times where it was really dried and we were really struggling, 246 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 3: and then water came back to the prairies and we 247 00:13:56,880 --> 00:13:59,080 Speaker 3: just went through the roof. So, I mean, they can 248 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:03,200 Speaker 3: bounce back, but it's harder to bounce back the less 249 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:07,200 Speaker 3: you have of that habitat, because just like anything else, 250 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:10,160 Speaker 3: whether you're talking about beer or turkey or anything, you 251 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:13,800 Speaker 3: have x amount of habitat and there's only so many 252 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:17,079 Speaker 3: animals that can support And that's one reason we talk 253 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:19,360 Speaker 3: about this. You can't stop pyle ducks, Like, well, if 254 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:21,800 Speaker 3: you just send a whole bunch of birds back to 255 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:25,760 Speaker 3: the north, you didn't shoot. There's only so many that 256 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:28,360 Speaker 3: can do their thing up there and what's left up there, 257 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:32,520 Speaker 3: and so you just have higher natural mortality because hunting 258 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:34,320 Speaker 3: in general is based on the fact that we are 259 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:39,320 Speaker 3: compensating for that natural mortality. So if ducks that we 260 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:43,760 Speaker 3: shoot likely could die from natural causes. Right, that's an 261 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:49,440 Speaker 3: oversimplification of things. But we need that cover, and that 262 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:52,760 Speaker 3: cover is disappearing for a multitude of reasons. One way 263 00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:55,400 Speaker 3: that we have been very successful in putting habitat on 264 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:59,680 Speaker 3: the prairies is through programs like the Conservation reserve program, 265 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:03,040 Speaker 3: So taking marginal crop land and putting it back into 266 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:05,400 Speaker 3: some type of cover. You know, down here in the 267 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:08,520 Speaker 3: delta we make plant bottomlane hardwoods with that, but up 268 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:11,600 Speaker 3: in the prairies they're planting grass in those and so 269 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:18,480 Speaker 3: we've lost since twenty seventeen total CRP acres like twelve 270 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:22,320 Speaker 3: million somidd acres. But I tried my best to go 271 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:27,840 Speaker 3: through and calculate on a perk county basis in the 272 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:31,080 Speaker 3: prairies of the States, because we don't have CRP in Canada. 273 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:32,680 Speaker 3: You know, they don't have a program. 274 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:33,000 Speaker 4: Quite like that. 275 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:36,080 Speaker 3: But here we lost about somewhere in the neighborhood of 276 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:40,600 Speaker 3: four point eight million acres of CRP that went back 277 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:41,280 Speaker 3: into production. 278 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 4: And you know, the things drive that. 279 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 3: You know, that's a farming landscape, it's a working landscape, 280 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:48,760 Speaker 3: and those are going to drive those decisions on what 281 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:51,640 Speaker 3: to do with that land. And you know, but that's 282 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:54,120 Speaker 3: four point eight million less acres. They could be per 283 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 3: decent ducks right now. 284 00:15:55,840 --> 00:15:58,360 Speaker 1: I'm going to interject here, and this may sound obvious, 285 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 1: but if we want ducks to persist, and even more 286 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:03,560 Speaker 1: down the line, if we want mallards to end up 287 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:06,560 Speaker 1: in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, then we have to 288 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:10,280 Speaker 1: have breeding grounds. And losing four point eight million acres 289 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:12,440 Speaker 1: of CRP is not good. 290 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:16,680 Speaker 3: Since twenty fifteen, they've been declining so last ten years. 291 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:19,800 Speaker 3: So ten years ago, though we counted more ducks than 292 00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:23,360 Speaker 3: we we ever have, you know, is the highest breeding 293 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:26,680 Speaker 3: population on record. Forgive me, I'm gonna say deepop a lot, 294 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:30,680 Speaker 3: but that's waterfowl breeding populations. So we have the highest 295 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:33,720 Speaker 3: one of that survey on record. And from that point, 296 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:37,800 Speaker 3: it's pretty well precipitous decline down to where we are now. 297 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:40,880 Speaker 3: And hopefully we're kind of leveling off at this point, 298 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:43,480 Speaker 3: or else we're gonna we are going to see reduced 299 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:46,520 Speaker 3: seasons and bag limits, you know, when we go too 300 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:49,720 Speaker 3: much further below where we are now, we're not producing 301 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:53,240 Speaker 3: as many mallards. So there just are less mallards to 302 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:56,280 Speaker 3: even be able to come here if we get the weather. 303 00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:59,520 Speaker 3: So we have way less than we would have ten 304 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 3: years So ten plus million mallards ten years ago were 305 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:06,199 Speaker 3: like six you know, and when we get to that 306 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:09,200 Speaker 3: half point about five million, depending on what the pond 307 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:13,720 Speaker 3: counts are in that matrix of how harvest packages are selected. 308 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:18,040 Speaker 3: At five million mallards with you know, a certain level 309 00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:21,840 Speaker 3: of pond count that's a forty five day six stug back, 310 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:23,560 Speaker 3: So we're not that far from it. 311 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:26,800 Speaker 1: For me, man I so, and this is an anecdote, 312 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:29,320 Speaker 1: but I'd been to South Dakota a lot. This past 313 00:17:29,359 --> 00:17:31,800 Speaker 1: trip was my first time ever going to North Dakota. 314 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:35,480 Speaker 1: And you hear about North Dakota as like this waterfowl 315 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:38,840 Speaker 1: mecha right, like growing up down here, That's all you 316 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:41,200 Speaker 1: hear about is man North Dakota, North Dakota. The shooting 317 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:43,879 Speaker 1: mallards in North Dakota, pre dry field hunts, all this 318 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:48,720 Speaker 1: mallards everywhere by the thousands, and prairies upon prairies. Man, 319 00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:52,919 Speaker 1: I saw ducks, I did. I mean, like, there were 320 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:56,399 Speaker 1: ducks up there. We had one good hunt while I 321 00:17:56,480 --> 00:17:59,800 Speaker 1: was up there, but it was not what I thought 322 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:02,119 Speaker 1: it was gonna be. I don't want to go to 323 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:04,800 Speaker 1: North Dakota and say, man, I was kind of disappointed. 324 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:06,400 Speaker 4: You know what I mean, you don't want to But. 325 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:09,960 Speaker 1: Just what I was seeing, I was like, bro, where 326 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:10,600 Speaker 1: did they go? 327 00:18:11,119 --> 00:18:11,880 Speaker 2: You know? 328 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:12,360 Speaker 1: You know what I mean? 329 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:14,040 Speaker 2: And it's uh uh. 330 00:18:14,119 --> 00:18:18,200 Speaker 1: And that's a whole other conversation because people on land, 331 00:18:18,359 --> 00:18:21,040 Speaker 1: people farm people got to make I mean like, it's complex, 332 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:23,879 Speaker 1: it's nuanced. I understand that, but it's it's it points 333 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:27,120 Speaker 1: to a larger problem that hey, if this is gonna 334 00:18:27,119 --> 00:18:29,399 Speaker 1: be something that we're going to prioritize, somebody has to 335 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:30,040 Speaker 1: figure this out. 336 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:35,200 Speaker 3: Yeah, and and and conservation is always you know, nuanced 337 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:37,520 Speaker 3: in the way that that we have to go about it, because, 338 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:40,280 Speaker 3: like I said, it's the reality the fact that you know, 339 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:42,840 Speaker 3: producers have to make a living, you know, and we 340 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:46,359 Speaker 3: have to provide that those crops to people and and 341 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:48,280 Speaker 3: and for all the various needs we have for those 342 00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:51,280 Speaker 3: and you know, ad markets fluctuate all the time, and 343 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:54,320 Speaker 3: so there's times when conservations profitable and there's times where 344 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:56,560 Speaker 3: it's not. And we have to come up with some 345 00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:58,600 Speaker 3: kind of creative ways to make that a little bit 346 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:02,120 Speaker 3: more effect if I think moving forward, and I don't 347 00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:04,800 Speaker 3: know right now what that would be, but the game 348 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:06,720 Speaker 3: is changing a little bit, and we got to be 349 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:09,600 Speaker 3: adaptable and we got to we got to do it. 350 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:11,679 Speaker 3: And I have I got a lot of confidence in 351 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:14,159 Speaker 3: the conservation community because we've gone through our ups and 352 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:18,960 Speaker 3: downs and we've had challenges. It's just it's scary to 353 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:21,119 Speaker 3: be in those points where it's like, man, this is 354 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:26,080 Speaker 3: this is not good. It's very scary time frame, and 355 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:30,199 Speaker 3: I it's hard to stay upbeat about it. And you know, 356 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:34,280 Speaker 3: we have to look at everything, but you know, we 357 00:19:34,359 --> 00:19:36,040 Speaker 3: do what the science tells us to do, and right 358 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:40,440 Speaker 3: now the science is telling us that we're not producing ducks. 359 00:19:42,119 --> 00:19:45,600 Speaker 1: Big contributing and broad factor number two trouble in the 360 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:51,720 Speaker 1: breeding grounds. In this present time, we simply are not 361 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:55,120 Speaker 1: producing as many mallards as we were a decade ago. 362 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:58,400 Speaker 1: From ten million mallards to six million mallards is alarming, 363 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:01,840 Speaker 1: much like losing four point z millions of CRP is alarming. 364 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:05,919 Speaker 1: This is a large problem, But now I want to 365 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:09,240 Speaker 1: change topics. Weather in breeding grounds big parts of the problem. 366 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:12,280 Speaker 1: We got that down, So let's transition into talking more 367 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:15,679 Speaker 1: of the prominent theories you hear in camp conversations or 368 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:18,359 Speaker 1: table chatter at your local du banquet. One of the 369 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:22,080 Speaker 1: most popular ones is that the flyway is shifting. We 370 00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:24,160 Speaker 1: hear that all the time, or at least I do, 371 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:26,560 Speaker 1: but I want to know if there's any truth to it. 372 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:31,720 Speaker 3: There was a big paper came out a year or 373 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:36,359 Speaker 3: so ago that looked at changes in distributions of band 374 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:41,399 Speaker 3: recovery from nineteen sixty five I believe to like twenty 375 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:47,240 Speaker 3: twenty and see a pretty good shift north and a 376 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:50,639 Speaker 3: little bit to the west. But it's mostly just a 377 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:55,560 Speaker 3: northward shift, and there's nothing that really really spells out 378 00:20:55,680 --> 00:21:01,560 Speaker 3: wholesale shift in ducks westward. It's more of ducks are 379 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:03,600 Speaker 3: just staying a little further north. And there's a lot 380 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:07,159 Speaker 3: of reasons potentially for that, weather principal among those. But 381 00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:10,639 Speaker 3: I got curious because to me, I find it's super 382 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:14,560 Speaker 3: interesting to think about how things have changed since I 383 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:17,639 Speaker 3: was a young duck hunter in the nineties and early 384 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:21,600 Speaker 3: two thousands, when I was a kid and Ducks Unlimited 385 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:24,040 Speaker 3: was keeping the ducks from coming down south and everything, 386 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:26,040 Speaker 3: I was whole hauled into it, you know, because that's 387 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,199 Speaker 3: what everybody older than me was telling me. 388 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 1: You know, yeah, yeah, so. 389 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:33,359 Speaker 3: And I think with social media, obviously things can spread faster. 390 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:36,840 Speaker 3: But when you're shooting a ton of mallards in Arkansas, 391 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:40,280 Speaker 3: and you know, it doesn't seem like the old days, 392 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:43,800 Speaker 3: but it's still good. Unless you went over there to 393 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:46,440 Speaker 3: Oklahoma or Kansas, I don't really know that you would 394 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:49,720 Speaker 3: know anything about it, true, And unless you're in desperate 395 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:54,479 Speaker 3: measures to shoot ducks, you know. So these pictures and 396 00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:58,080 Speaker 3: things on social media just pushed that narrative like, oh 397 00:21:58,119 --> 00:21:59,960 Speaker 3: my god, look how many ducks. I've never heard of 398 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:03,359 Speaker 3: people shooting ducks in Oklahoma now there's these people shooting 399 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:07,199 Speaker 3: them like crazy in Oklahoma and Kansas, and so total 400 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:10,720 Speaker 3: mark Mallard harvest just kind of for Kansas from when 401 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:13,800 Speaker 3: hip data was a thing, it looks like, you know, 402 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:16,240 Speaker 3: in two thousand, they were shooting about the same number 403 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:19,639 Speaker 3: of Mallards per hunter as they did in twenty twenty, 404 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:22,919 Speaker 3: and now they're shooting less now than they had. The 405 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:27,560 Speaker 3: hunter numbers have increased over that time period. And that's 406 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:31,280 Speaker 3: why reason raw harvest data doesn't mean as much until 407 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:33,520 Speaker 3: you put that effort in there, you know, right, you 408 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:36,040 Speaker 3: have to have the like how many hunters were out there. 409 00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:39,880 Speaker 3: And so in Oklahoma again, same trend in hunter numbers. 410 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:45,040 Speaker 3: Waterfowl hunters in Oklahoma has increased over the last twenty 411 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 3: five years, and their harvest shows no discernible trend as 412 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:54,520 Speaker 3: far as total ducks over that twenty year period. And 413 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:58,520 Speaker 3: actually Mallard's specific harvest seems to have declined over time. 414 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:00,600 Speaker 3: And so I may be completely on, but at least 415 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:04,040 Speaker 3: from the harvest data and looking at it from as 416 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:06,840 Speaker 3: far as an average duck for hunter number per year 417 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:10,520 Speaker 3: over time, nothing out of this data tells me they're 418 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:13,399 Speaker 3: shooting more now than they were twenty years ago, and 419 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:16,719 Speaker 3: Mallard's it says they're shooting less, at least in Oklahoma. 420 00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:21,399 Speaker 2: So is the flyway shifting west? Who's to say? I 421 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:21,800 Speaker 2: can say? 422 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:24,280 Speaker 1: According to James, there's not any data to support that 423 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:27,520 Speaker 1: it's happening. And more interestingly is the fact that states 424 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:30,199 Speaker 1: like Kansas and Oklahoma that often get brought up in 425 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:33,840 Speaker 1: this conversation show that Mallard harvest has showed no change 426 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:36,560 Speaker 1: or even slight declines in the past twenty five years. 427 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:39,840 Speaker 1: The only thing that has increased is hunter numbers. See 428 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:42,320 Speaker 1: y'all draw whatever conclusions you want to from that, But 429 00:23:42,359 --> 00:23:45,080 Speaker 1: me personally, that leads me to believe that the problem 430 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:49,440 Speaker 1: lies elsewhere. So let's move on to another heavily discussed 431 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:52,480 Speaker 1: theory on this topic about changes in the flyway. Some 432 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:55,720 Speaker 1: suggest that Mallards simply aren't migrating as far south as 433 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:58,399 Speaker 1: they used to, and this one comes with all kinds 434 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:01,239 Speaker 1: of colorful ideas. Been hearing this for as long as 435 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:04,000 Speaker 1: I can remember. The Duck's unlimited has heated ponds in 436 00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:07,520 Speaker 1: the north that completely halts the Mallard migration, or that 437 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:10,080 Speaker 1: the number of flooded cornfields in the north has become 438 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:12,640 Speaker 1: so vast that it is the sole reason that mallards 439 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:15,280 Speaker 1: don't come down this far south anymore. Is there any 440 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:18,280 Speaker 1: truth to all this? Hearsay, James, you got to help 441 00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:19,160 Speaker 1: us out with all this. 442 00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:24,560 Speaker 3: I've been hearing the heated ponds things since the nineties. 443 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:28,560 Speaker 3: I've been hearing that and heard it when I became 444 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:30,800 Speaker 3: a state Duck biologist used to get that, you know, 445 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:32,000 Speaker 3: the younger me was all. 446 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:32,359 Speaker 4: Full in it. 447 00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:34,680 Speaker 3: Like I said before, I was like, I can't believe 448 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:37,600 Speaker 3: they heat those ponds up there. That's just it's just ridiculous. 449 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:44,200 Speaker 3: And now DU's headquarters is in Memphis. Their largest office 450 00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:48,720 Speaker 3: is near Jackson, Mississippi, in Ridgeland, and they have field 451 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:53,040 Speaker 3: offices stretched across the southeast, and they consistently are some 452 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:55,159 Speaker 3: of the most productive office as far as when you 453 00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:58,760 Speaker 3: talk about deliverables like acres you know, conserved in that 454 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:02,320 Speaker 3: region and all that. So it doesn't line up with 455 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:05,720 Speaker 3: why would you heap ponds up north when you're putting 456 00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:07,960 Speaker 3: all these acres of habitat on the ground on public 457 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:12,560 Speaker 3: refuges and public WMA's doesn't make a lot of sense. 458 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:15,439 Speaker 3: And when you raise probably most of your money in 459 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:17,760 Speaker 3: the southeast too, I don't know that that's still at 460 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:19,199 Speaker 3: the thing, but at one time I know it was 461 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:22,760 Speaker 3: like kind of more their dollars, you know, reported are 462 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,720 Speaker 3: kind of coming out of those so and they invest 463 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:29,199 Speaker 3: heavily in the breeding grounds obviously just as much, you know, 464 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:32,159 Speaker 3: and the southern states you know, have grant programs, do 465 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:35,400 Speaker 3: you Canada? And du Canada does a tremendous work in Saskatchewan, 466 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:39,479 Speaker 3: which is super important, Mississippi mallards and so yeah, all 467 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:43,800 Speaker 3: those things together just kind of don't support the notion 468 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:48,440 Speaker 3: that du itself is trying to ruin your duck on it. 469 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:52,119 Speaker 1: A lot of evidence to show that Ducks un Limited 470 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:53,920 Speaker 1: is not keeping ducks up north. 471 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:57,320 Speaker 4: So the follow up question of that is what actually 472 00:25:57,359 --> 00:26:00,399 Speaker 4: is keeping them up north? I think the biggest driver 473 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:03,200 Speaker 4: is the weather. Some of the farmers I grew up with, 474 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:06,560 Speaker 4: and folks that I think would have never told you 475 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:10,439 Speaker 4: that the climate's changing, are telling you the climate's changing. 476 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:13,520 Speaker 1: See, that was going to be my follow up question, 477 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:16,520 Speaker 1: and you have to ask it these days when someone 478 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,800 Speaker 1: talks about long term weather effects, the questions are we 479 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:24,159 Speaker 1: talking climate change type weather scripts or we're talking like 480 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:25,560 Speaker 1: year to year fluctuation. 481 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:29,359 Speaker 3: Now it's the trend seems to be we're trending warmer, 482 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:32,600 Speaker 3: and we do get so, you know, I think everybody 483 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:34,320 Speaker 3: needs to step back and think about, Okay, in the 484 00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:37,399 Speaker 3: nineties and early two thousands, how many times were you 485 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:41,040 Speaker 3: breaking ice through the season? And then now how many 486 00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:43,920 Speaker 3: times do you do it? And so we're trending milder. 487 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:47,080 Speaker 3: And when we do get a weather event, it's super severe. 488 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:50,520 Speaker 3: The last several years are good examples of that, super 489 00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:54,120 Speaker 3: severe cold events. And there are occurring at times where 490 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:56,480 Speaker 3: you're like, okay, I got about eight to ten days 491 00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:58,040 Speaker 3: left in this duck season to hunt. 492 00:26:58,040 --> 00:26:59,120 Speaker 4: What this gave us? 493 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:01,919 Speaker 3: Yeah, And so unless you're out there in the field 494 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:04,160 Speaker 3: on that thing, we may hit peak abundance of ducks 495 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:08,119 Speaker 3: typical to an average year. But did we see it 496 00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:12,360 Speaker 3: in the blind No, probably not unless you're out there 497 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:15,160 Speaker 3: taking advantage of it that whole time after that occurred, 498 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:19,760 Speaker 3: and the question is, too, how long do those to 499 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:23,560 Speaker 3: northern latitudes that would be holding birds waiting for that? 500 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:26,360 Speaker 3: How long are those freezes? You've got to have consecutive 501 00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:28,960 Speaker 3: days of freeze. That's a pretty quick event, and that 502 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:32,800 Speaker 3: falls quick. Sometimes those birds can ride it out, and 503 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:35,160 Speaker 3: so there's a lot of things that play there. But yeah, 504 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:37,920 Speaker 3: that's what I always go back to, and I think 505 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:39,480 Speaker 3: about now, like every Halloween. 506 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:40,119 Speaker 4: I think about it. 507 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:43,359 Speaker 3: Every kid's coming up to our doorstep, you know, in 508 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:45,200 Speaker 3: their costumes and everything. And I think back to the 509 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:48,160 Speaker 3: nineties when I used to get irritated because my mom 510 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:50,720 Speaker 3: would make me wear a jacket over my Halloween costume. 511 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:53,840 Speaker 3: He's like, man, nobody can seem like Halloween costume, you know. 512 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:58,280 Speaker 3: And they know kids wearing jackets at Halloween these days. 513 00:27:58,560 --> 00:27:58,840 Speaker 3: You know. 514 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:02,320 Speaker 1: I told y'all earlier how much I hate when weather 515 00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:04,600 Speaker 1: is a contributing factor. Do you want to know what 516 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:06,880 Speaker 1: I hate even more when you have to bring up 517 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:09,760 Speaker 1: climate change on a podcast, or even worse, when you 518 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:12,760 Speaker 1: have to label it as a contributing factor to Mallard declines. 519 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:15,640 Speaker 1: So I humbly ask you to let go of any 520 00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:18,119 Speaker 1: of your predetermined thoughts that you might have when you 521 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:20,959 Speaker 1: hear that term, or forget that I said it all 522 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:21,600 Speaker 1: together if. 523 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:22,040 Speaker 2: You need to. 524 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:25,240 Speaker 1: But just think about some of the questions and examples 525 00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:28,240 Speaker 1: that James brought up. How much do you bust ice 526 00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:31,359 Speaker 1: during duck season compared to ten years ago? How often 527 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:34,080 Speaker 1: do you see kids wearing jackets on Halloween these days, 528 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:38,240 Speaker 1: you gotta admit the man has a point. Duck hunting 529 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:42,520 Speaker 1: seems to be this is anecdotal, seems to be growing 530 00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:46,400 Speaker 1: popularity among the younger group of hunters. Right, the younger 531 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:49,560 Speaker 1: group of hunters doesn't have quite the hindsight that someone 532 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:51,280 Speaker 1: with a little bit more years on them. And not 533 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:54,600 Speaker 1: that I'm an old sage, but I'm thirty three years old. 534 00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:57,520 Speaker 1: And when I was in high school and we were 535 00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:01,360 Speaker 1: hunting all public land in Ssissippi, we didn't have access 536 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:03,640 Speaker 1: to any private ground type stuff, so we hudted all 537 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:04,280 Speaker 1: private ground. 538 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:06,280 Speaker 2: It was definitely. 539 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:10,760 Speaker 1: Colder, We dealt with sub freezing degrees much more often, 540 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,920 Speaker 1: and they would stay for longer amounts of time. Yep, 541 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:20,000 Speaker 1: we killed more ducks. And this is when I was 542 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:22,920 Speaker 1: sixteen years old. We didn't kill more ducks because I 543 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:25,239 Speaker 1: knew what I was doing, you know what I mean? 544 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:27,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean. It had nothing 545 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,080 Speaker 2: to do with my skill level there. They just seemed 546 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:31,840 Speaker 2: to be more available. 547 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:32,400 Speaker 4: Yeah. 548 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:32,680 Speaker 2: Right. 549 00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:36,800 Speaker 1: When you talk about climate change for a while now 550 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:38,960 Speaker 1: in different topics where it would come up in the 551 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:42,880 Speaker 1: wildlife space, I'm almost scared to say it. Sometimes because 552 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:46,560 Speaker 1: you know, it's gotten so like charged as such, like 553 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:49,720 Speaker 1: a loaded term. Yeah, but it's you gotta at some 554 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:51,600 Speaker 1: point you have to address it when these things are 555 00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:52,959 Speaker 1: becoming more and more evident. 556 00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:54,680 Speaker 2: I have no idea what to do about it. I 557 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:55,800 Speaker 2: just know that it's happening. 558 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,920 Speaker 3: And so the way I think about it is we've 559 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:01,000 Speaker 3: swapped on a lot of things because it is a 560 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:04,040 Speaker 3: contentious topic, and it still is. I think most people 561 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:07,200 Speaker 3: are going to say, yes, the climate's changing. It's the 562 00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:11,920 Speaker 3: why that's still contentious. So regardless of what the cause is, 563 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:14,520 Speaker 3: or anybody's belief on the calls, or how much evidence 564 00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:17,600 Speaker 3: there is to anything for the cause, the fact that 565 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:21,320 Speaker 3: it's happening, I think is pretty well established, you know. 566 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:24,240 Speaker 3: And so that's why, you know, I had somebody asked 567 00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:27,280 Speaker 3: me about that on LinkedIn that had read the article, 568 00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:29,880 Speaker 3: and they said that feel nervous to say that most 569 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:31,320 Speaker 3: farmers would agree with it, And I was like, I 570 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:33,880 Speaker 3: feel like most farmers would agree with that the climate's changing. 571 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:36,840 Speaker 3: I think it's just that why that's contentious now. So 572 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:39,520 Speaker 3: I don't think we have to dance around it as 573 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:43,600 Speaker 3: much as before. You know, the why is not as 574 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:47,040 Speaker 3: important to me at this very moment, other than just 575 00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:49,440 Speaker 3: saying yes, it is, and we've got to figure out 576 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:51,600 Speaker 3: how to adapt somewhat to it. 577 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:54,560 Speaker 1: I remember when I was a kid, not even in 578 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:57,640 Speaker 1: the hunting space, but in grade school, learning that ducks 579 00:30:57,760 --> 00:31:00,720 Speaker 1: fly south for the winter. Some of you out there 580 00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:04,360 Speaker 1: probably got that same lesson. However, ducks don't just fly 581 00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:07,520 Speaker 1: south because our calendar says it's winter. We actually have 582 00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:09,480 Speaker 1: to have a winter to drive them to do. 583 00:31:09,400 --> 00:31:14,800 Speaker 3: It, particularly a good proportion of the mallards. You know, 584 00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:17,959 Speaker 3: It's not just freezing temperatures. Snow has to occur up 585 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:21,000 Speaker 3: north that covers food so they can't get to it. 586 00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:24,520 Speaker 3: So when their latitudes where they field feed, they know 587 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:26,520 Speaker 3: snow on the ground. They can hang out on open 588 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:31,040 Speaker 3: deep water and then go feed and they ain't got 589 00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:34,560 Speaker 3: to move, you know. So it's more than just freezing temps. 590 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:38,040 Speaker 3: It's freezing temps plus snow cover to a certain latitude, 591 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:40,440 Speaker 3: and then as you get more mid latitude, it's freezing, 592 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:44,280 Speaker 3: but it's for duration long enough to push them. And 593 00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:47,520 Speaker 3: it's always been that just happened more frequently, you know, 594 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:50,000 Speaker 3: And there's been some research with some of the GPS 595 00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:53,640 Speaker 3: transmitted ducks they've marked up there, like if a mallard 596 00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:57,320 Speaker 3: hasn't left North Dakota by winter solstice, they're probably not leaving. 597 00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:01,200 Speaker 1: Okay, let's do a quick view before we turn to 598 00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:07,280 Speaker 1: a different topic, big and broad contributing factors to this 599 00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:12,640 Speaker 1: lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley mallard decline One weather and or 600 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:15,720 Speaker 1: climate change if you're find with using that terminology, and 601 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:18,880 Speaker 1: two problems in the breeding grounds that lead to their 602 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:23,240 Speaker 1: being simply less mallards overall. As I stated, start broad 603 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:26,200 Speaker 1: and work our way inward. We've covered what's going on 604 00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:28,840 Speaker 1: on the outside, and now it's time that we focus 605 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:32,440 Speaker 1: on what's going on in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley itself. 606 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:41,400 Speaker 3: One thing that we don't know as much about right 607 00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:49,320 Speaker 3: now is the landscape changes here. Anecdotally, I would say 608 00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:52,480 Speaker 3: it's obvious to me spending as much time in the 609 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:55,440 Speaker 3: delta as I spend and my time flying aerial waterfowl 610 00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:58,440 Speaker 3: surveys in the delta, and you know, my father's family 611 00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:01,800 Speaker 3: farmers and tala Hashi County, and so I had made 612 00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:03,760 Speaker 3: a lot of trips driving through the delta, even from 613 00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:06,640 Speaker 3: a very very young kid and coming over to duck 614 00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:09,080 Speaker 3: hunt and I duck hunted public lands all over the 615 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:13,240 Speaker 3: Delta for most of my young childhood through college and 616 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:17,040 Speaker 3: grad school, and get research in the Delta in grad 617 00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:19,880 Speaker 3: school and all that and worked. So I've spent a 618 00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:22,360 Speaker 3: lot of time over there. And it's fairly evident to 619 00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:24,960 Speaker 3: me that two things. One we don't have near the 620 00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:27,680 Speaker 3: winter water we used to have. There were times I 621 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:34,000 Speaker 3: could drive from Batesville to Tutwiler and as you were 622 00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:37,960 Speaker 3: getting closer to Marx on six, you would see flooded fields, 623 00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:40,840 Speaker 3: and then all down highway through you would see flooded fields. 624 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:42,880 Speaker 3: I can make that same trip now in January, and 625 00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:45,480 Speaker 3: I can count on both hands how many flooded fields 626 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:46,840 Speaker 3: I see. Probably on one hand. 627 00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:49,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, if you can make it the hand number two, 628 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:50,840 Speaker 1: you're doing better than I do. 629 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:51,640 Speaker 2: Yeah. 630 00:33:51,880 --> 00:33:53,840 Speaker 4: And I haven't been up in the airplane. 631 00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:55,640 Speaker 3: I think it would almost make me sick if I had, 632 00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:58,280 Speaker 3: because the last time I flew in area waterfowl survey 633 00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:02,440 Speaker 3: in the Delta was probably the fourteen fifteen winter. Even then, 634 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:04,520 Speaker 3: I mean, you know, you'd fly over Boliver County and 635 00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:06,400 Speaker 3: be like, there's more rice in bar Ever County than 636 00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:08,480 Speaker 3: there is anywhere else. Sitting it's like finding there more 637 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:11,279 Speaker 3: winter water here. Same thing kind of Washington County and 638 00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:14,360 Speaker 3: some others, but all across the delta it's just a 639 00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:19,560 Speaker 3: dry landscape. And historically that wasn't the case. There was 640 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:21,560 Speaker 3: a lot more winter water, you know, And there's lots 641 00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:24,000 Speaker 3: of reasons behind that. You know, you probably think, you know, 642 00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:27,439 Speaker 3: farm families, you know, kids move off, they're not coming back, 643 00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:30,799 Speaker 3: and duck hunting, you know, farmers aging and that sort 644 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:32,719 Speaker 3: of thing. And then you've got other people that are 645 00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:35,160 Speaker 3: you know, maybe that's just not what they do, that 646 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:38,080 Speaker 3: are farming some of that ground now or whatever. But 647 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:41,920 Speaker 3: you don't see people winter flood. Also, we plant crops 648 00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:46,160 Speaker 3: super early, you know, and probably in the nineties when 649 00:34:46,200 --> 00:34:48,600 Speaker 3: I was duck hunting, and remember my uncles still talking 650 00:34:48,640 --> 00:34:50,920 Speaker 3: about are they going to get their beans out by November? 651 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:55,279 Speaker 3: And that's not a thing anymore. And every bit of 652 00:34:55,320 --> 00:35:00,520 Speaker 3: corn that's left is germinated well before you know, you 653 00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:03,400 Speaker 3: would flood it, and so there's a lot less food 654 00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:05,840 Speaker 3: out there if you do flood it. And too, we 655 00:35:05,960 --> 00:35:08,640 Speaker 3: do fall tillage now, you know, getting the fields ready 656 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:10,560 Speaker 3: so you don't have to worry about the risks of 657 00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:13,719 Speaker 3: spring rains. And so there's a lot of things going 658 00:35:13,760 --> 00:35:17,279 Speaker 3: against the ducks of the delta, and a lot more 659 00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:20,360 Speaker 3: winter water would help, even if you're just flooding, you know, 660 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:22,759 Speaker 3: a bean field that doesn't have much food left in it. 661 00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:25,399 Speaker 3: I think that would certainly help. And if you could 662 00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:27,360 Speaker 3: reduce some fall tillage in some areas, that would be 663 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:29,000 Speaker 3: helpful too. But you know, you got to make that 664 00:35:29,040 --> 00:35:31,560 Speaker 3: work with producers because we don't. We can't do things 665 00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:35,239 Speaker 3: that are counter productive for them. But we have a 666 00:35:35,239 --> 00:35:37,640 Speaker 3: bad problem sometimes with looking into our own WMA, the 667 00:35:37,719 --> 00:35:40,360 Speaker 3: WMA that we hunt or whatever it is, and say, 668 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:44,440 Speaker 3: nothing's changed. Well, nothing may have changed on your property. 669 00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:48,240 Speaker 3: You look in within a duck's you know, movement patterns 670 00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:52,240 Speaker 3: surrounding your property lots change, and so is the delta 671 00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:55,520 Speaker 3: as sticky for ducks, you know, as it used to be. 672 00:35:56,719 --> 00:35:57,520 Speaker 4: I don't know if it is. 673 00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:02,760 Speaker 1: There's a lot there, some hard scientific data, some anecdotal evidence, 674 00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:06,400 Speaker 1: but what's clear is the landscape has changed. And honestly, 675 00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:09,319 Speaker 1: this is something that we kind of already know. We 676 00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:12,000 Speaker 1: already referenced doctor Mark McConnell as one of the authors 677 00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:14,560 Speaker 1: of this main article that we've been referencing, and we 678 00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:17,360 Speaker 1: referred back to his Bob whack Quill episode, which was 679 00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:21,120 Speaker 1: the second episode ever of Backwoods University, and if you remember, 680 00:36:21,160 --> 00:36:24,800 Speaker 1: in that episode, we learned how much large scale agriculture 681 00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:30,160 Speaker 1: and agricultural practices made changes to the landscape. The Mississippi Delta, 682 00:36:30,239 --> 00:36:33,359 Speaker 1: in the whole Mississippi Alluvial Valley simply does not have 683 00:36:33,560 --> 00:36:37,719 Speaker 1: as much or as high of quality waterfowl habitat as 684 00:36:37,719 --> 00:36:41,360 Speaker 1: it once did. It's a sad fact, but it is 685 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:44,359 Speaker 1: a fact and one that folks like James Callicut are 686 00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:47,160 Speaker 1: working to be able to quantify. I want to round 687 00:36:47,160 --> 00:36:50,600 Speaker 1: this conversation with James off by simply asking him where 688 00:36:50,600 --> 00:36:52,480 Speaker 1: do we go from here? What do we do with 689 00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:55,600 Speaker 1: this information? Is there any silver lining or hope that 690 00:36:55,640 --> 00:36:59,359 Speaker 1: we Mallard enthusiast can hold on to To summarize all 691 00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:02,600 Speaker 1: of it best I can, it's much. It's much like 692 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:06,400 Speaker 1: anything else in terms of wildlife, especially when there's a 693 00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:08,960 Speaker 1: problem with it, people tend to want to find like 694 00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:10,560 Speaker 1: one large smoking gun. 695 00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:11,000 Speaker 3: Yeah. 696 00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:12,880 Speaker 2: Yeah. 697 00:37:12,960 --> 00:37:14,719 Speaker 1: While there may be one, you know, a couple of 698 00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:18,960 Speaker 1: predominant factors, there's several that's making the state of the 699 00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:21,839 Speaker 1: Mallard sound here in the Mississippi alluvial Valley the way 700 00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:22,359 Speaker 1: that it is. 701 00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:25,360 Speaker 3: Yeah, and it's that you want an easy answer to 702 00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:28,759 Speaker 3: a complex question. And I totally get that when you're passionate, 703 00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:33,160 Speaker 3: because every one of these individuals that is whole sale 704 00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:37,359 Speaker 3: on flyway shifts or standing corn. How should I put it. 705 00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:42,560 Speaker 3: It's like anger or it's love disguised as anger. Yeah, 706 00:37:42,600 --> 00:37:45,399 Speaker 3: because I get it. Waterfowling is a part of. 707 00:37:45,360 --> 00:37:45,960 Speaker 4: Who we are. 708 00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:52,560 Speaker 3: And when something that is to that level of passion 709 00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:57,200 Speaker 3: for you and you seem to be losing it, you know, 710 00:37:57,320 --> 00:38:00,000 Speaker 3: it's scary and you're you get upset. 711 00:38:00,160 --> 00:38:00,520 Speaker 2: Matt. 712 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:03,920 Speaker 3: You know we've all long talked about, like in wildlife, 713 00:38:03,920 --> 00:38:07,319 Speaker 3: what's the fascination with silver bullets? I didn't take any 714 00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:10,600 Speaker 3: psychology in college, so I'm probably off base here, but 715 00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:14,520 Speaker 3: I've got to think that there's in human nature that 716 00:38:15,200 --> 00:38:18,000 Speaker 3: the solution to your problem about something that you care 717 00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:23,239 Speaker 3: immensely about needs to be something I can change. You 718 00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:27,439 Speaker 3: want it to be something that's quick, instant kind of gratification, 719 00:38:27,719 --> 00:38:31,799 Speaker 3: a regulation change or a law outlawing something that if 720 00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:34,880 Speaker 3: we can make that happen, that does it. But things 721 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:37,400 Speaker 3: like we need to make our landscape back, what it 722 00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:40,160 Speaker 3: used to be a long time ago, and we need 723 00:38:40,200 --> 00:38:42,920 Speaker 3: to make the prairies look like they looked like, you know, 724 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:47,759 Speaker 3: ten years ago. Takes That takes time, and that's not 725 00:38:47,800 --> 00:38:50,880 Speaker 3: a quick fix either. And you know, all these folks, 726 00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:53,279 Speaker 3: I totally get where they're coming from, and I don't 727 00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:55,200 Speaker 3: want to discount them at all. That's why we're looking 728 00:38:55,239 --> 00:38:57,360 Speaker 3: into the corn things. Try to quantify that so we 729 00:38:57,400 --> 00:39:00,520 Speaker 3: can say, Okay, if it's impacting something, let's do something. 730 00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:02,720 Speaker 3: But if it's not, then we really need to focus 731 00:39:02,719 --> 00:39:05,640 Speaker 3: on these other things. You know, I don't think because 732 00:39:05,680 --> 00:39:09,560 Speaker 3: of the weather factor. I don't think unless that changes somehow, 733 00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:12,160 Speaker 3: I don't think we're ever going to be back to 734 00:39:13,440 --> 00:39:18,120 Speaker 3: us having mallards to the numbers we did twenty thirty 735 00:39:18,200 --> 00:39:21,560 Speaker 3: years ago, but we certainly could have. 736 00:39:21,560 --> 00:39:22,560 Speaker 2: More than we have now. 737 00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:27,239 Speaker 3: I think if we work on the issues and at 738 00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:29,920 Speaker 3: the prairies, and we look into these other things and 739 00:39:29,920 --> 00:39:31,480 Speaker 3: figure out one way or the other do we need 740 00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:33,680 Speaker 3: to be focused on that, and we work on our 741 00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:37,960 Speaker 3: own landscape, I think we certainly could be in better shape. 742 00:39:38,200 --> 00:39:40,879 Speaker 3: Like it's not lost, All hope is not lost. It's 743 00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:43,560 Speaker 3: just that when we say adapt to new normals in 744 00:39:43,560 --> 00:39:45,840 Speaker 3: that article. I think what we mean is that even 745 00:39:45,920 --> 00:39:48,120 Speaker 3: if we figure out all the answers that, you know, 746 00:39:48,760 --> 00:39:50,680 Speaker 3: the weather's the one thing we can't change, and there's 747 00:39:50,680 --> 00:39:52,400 Speaker 3: going to be some level of new normal, you know, 748 00:39:53,200 --> 00:39:58,400 Speaker 3: and we don't kill a million mallards and in one state. 749 00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:01,319 Speaker 3: You know, maybe it's just we're going to have to 750 00:40:01,360 --> 00:40:03,920 Speaker 3: settle with what the weather will push to us after 751 00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:06,560 Speaker 3: we've solved the habitat issue, because that's always what it 752 00:40:06,640 --> 00:40:10,200 Speaker 3: is most often the time when somebody complains about something 753 00:40:10,239 --> 00:40:14,279 Speaker 3: with the wildlife issue, the answers habitat and for right now, 754 00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:17,320 Speaker 3: I'd say that that's habitat here, but most certainly habitat 755 00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:20,440 Speaker 3: to the north. I think right now we've got the 756 00:40:20,440 --> 00:40:24,200 Speaker 3: evidence on the flyway shifting portion. At least it produce 757 00:40:24,280 --> 00:40:26,759 Speaker 3: that uncertainty enough to feel like that's not one of 758 00:40:26,760 --> 00:40:29,520 Speaker 3: the things driving this. But we're looking into the other. 759 00:40:30,239 --> 00:40:33,440 Speaker 3: We're not just dismissing folks arguments. We're going to look 760 00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:35,319 Speaker 3: at it and we're going to figure out what it 761 00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:39,000 Speaker 3: means to us, and we're going to make actionable items 762 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:41,120 Speaker 3: out of that, like we do with any other conservation 763 00:40:41,239 --> 00:40:41,920 Speaker 3: issue that we have. 764 00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:44,880 Speaker 1: If there's one part of this I want you to 765 00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:47,719 Speaker 1: hang on to It's that all hope is not lost. 766 00:40:47,920 --> 00:40:51,240 Speaker 2: We'll likely have to adjust, but there is hope. My friends. 767 00:40:51,640 --> 00:40:53,560 Speaker 2: Hold on to it because it's there. 768 00:40:53,920 --> 00:40:56,200 Speaker 1: And if there's any action items that you can walk 769 00:40:56,239 --> 00:41:01,279 Speaker 1: away with, it's waterfowl conservation organizations or a high importance. 770 00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:04,600 Speaker 1: For instance, if you're wondering how someone who hunts down 771 00:41:04,680 --> 00:41:07,480 Speaker 1: south can help the breeding grounds up north, then join 772 00:41:07,560 --> 00:41:12,040 Speaker 1: a conservation organization like Ducks Unlimited or Delta Waterfowl or both, 773 00:41:12,239 --> 00:41:13,760 Speaker 1: and donate and get involved. 774 00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:22,239 Speaker 2: I want to thank all of. 775 00:41:22,160 --> 00:41:24,799 Speaker 1: You for listening to Backwoods University as well as Bear 776 00:41:24,840 --> 00:41:27,239 Speaker 1: Grease in this country life. I can't tell you how 777 00:41:27,320 --> 00:41:30,520 Speaker 1: much I appreciate it. If you liked this episode, share 778 00:41:30,520 --> 00:41:33,120 Speaker 1: it with someone this week, a friend, a family member, 779 00:41:33,280 --> 00:41:35,200 Speaker 1: a buddy who's no good at blowing a duck call, 780 00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:38,560 Speaker 1: take your pick and stick around, because if this podcast 781 00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:40,480 Speaker 1: was a duck hunt, we've scratched out a few, but 782 00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:42,400 Speaker 1: there's a group of mallards working up top, and I 783 00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:44,280 Speaker 1: think they're going to do it on this next pass. 784 00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:46,480 Speaker 2: There's a whole lot more on the way.