2011 Federal Duck Stamp Contest Winner Announced
For the fourth time, artwork by Joseph Hautman of Plymouth, Minnesota was selected as the winner of the Federal Duck Stamp contest. Hautman previously won the contest in 1991, 2001 and 2007, with his acrylic rendering of a wood duck taking the latest prize on October 30, 2011 during the contest proceedings at the National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia. The 2012-2013 Federal Duck Stamp, featuring the winning art, will go on sale July 1, 2012. Runners-up were Adam Grimm of Burbank, South Dakota (2nd place) and Richard Clifton of Milford, Delaware (3rd place) with, respectively, an oil painting of a single gadwall and an acrylic painting of a mallard pair. Proceeds from the sales of Duck Stamps is used to purchase key waterfowl habitat areas in the National Wildlife Refuge System.
State Agency Hunting Season Info and Regulations at Your Fingertips
Waterfowl hunting season is already well under way across North America, but you might be wondering when the last date to hunt is for your location. Or you might need to know the daily bag limits for a certain species. Each year, state wildlife agencies determine season dates and bag limits based on the data that is gathered by pilot biologists conducting aerial and ground surveys of waterfowl production and habitat in Canada and the northern United States in the spring. For your convenience, links to the most up-to-date regulatory information maintained by each state have been compiled on this site so that you can quickly and easily find the information you need.
Look up 2011-2012 season dates and bag limits for your state
New Duck Stamp Design to be Chosen at National Conservation Training Center October 28-29
The National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia will host the 2011 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest October 28-29. The event is free and open to the public, and is a great opportunity to view the nearly 200 artistic renderings of mallards, blue-winged teal, cinnamon teal, wood ducks, and gadwall. You'll also be among the first to see the new design chosen for the 2012 Duck Stamp, the cornerstone of one of the world's most successful conservation programs, when it is selected by the judges. The scenic NCTC campus is nestled amongst eastern hardwood forests and Potomac River meadows, and offers a limited number of overnight accommodations (call 304-876-7900) for those who would like to attend this event. Or, you can view the proceedings online via a live video stream.
Watch the live video stream. (October 28-29)
Search Waterfowl Banding Records
Using the Bands Across America search tools found on this site, you can query and map waterfowl banding data as recent as this past spring all the way back to 1914.
Your search of more than 3.3 million banding records can be narrowed or expanded using multiple criteria to easily see banding and recovery locations. The dynamic search interface allows you to:
- Search for banding or recovery locations within a specific state, province, or flyway
- See results for all years that data have been collected or select a single year
- Select the species you’re interested in from a categorized listing
All results are plotted on a scalable map, offering critical information for waterfowl biologists monitoring populations across the continent.
Your Input Welcome On Waterfowl Management Plan
The revised North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) is now available for review and comment at www.nawmprevision.org. Comments will be accepted at this website through September 26, 2011. This NAWMP Revision will benefit and help guide the entire waterfowl management community well into the future. Your review of, and comments on, the draft NAWMP Revision would be most welcome as the waterfowl management community seeks to finalize the Plan and its vision for the future of waterfowl management and conservation.
Frameworks Proposed for Late Season Waterfowl Hunting
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed hunting regulations for the upcoming 2011-2012 late waterfowl seasons. Hunting season lengths of 60 days were proposed for the Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways, with 74 days for the Central Flyway (with an additional 23 days in the High Plains areas) and 107 days for the Pacific Flyway.
A full season on pintails would be offered nation-wide with a two bird daily bag limit, and a full season on canvasbacks with a one bird daily bag limit offered nation-wide.
2011 Status of Waterfowl Report Released
Final results from the 2011 Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey are now available. Preliminary reports are confirmed -- a total duck population estimate of 45.6 million birds in the traditional survey area, which is an 11% increase over last year's tally and 35 percent above the long term average.
2011 Adaptive Harvest Management Report
This hard copy report provides waterfowl managers and the public with information about the use of Adaptive Harvest Management for setting waterfowl regulations in the United States.
2011 Pond Numbers and Habitat Survey Available
Preliminary results for the 2011 Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey are now available. The estimate of 45.6 million birds was 11% higher than last year’s estimate of 40.9 million, and was 35% above the long-term average. The total pond estimate was 8.1 million, which was 22% above last year’s estimate and 62% above the long-term average. Habitat conditions were characterized by average to above-average moisture and a normal winter and spring across the entire traditional and eastern survey areas. The exception was a portion of the west-central traditional survey area that had received below-average moisture. Note: Estimates sometimes change between the preliminary numbers and final results.
Pilot Biologist Thom Lewis Killed in Tragic Accident
Pilot biologist Thom Lewis was lost on June 23, 2011 in a fatal aircraft accident. Thom worked as a pilot biologist for the Migratory Bird Program, and had been involved for the past nine years in the May Breeding Population and Habitat Surveys that are documented via the pilot biologist reports found on this website. Thom and his instructor were conducting early morning instructional flights on Eglin Air Force Base near Fort Walton Beach in Okaloosa County, Florida.
Thom grew up and attended high school in Maryland where he became an avid outdoorsman. Thom attended Anne Arundel Community College, University of Maryland, and most recently Texas A & M University where he was a M.S. Candidate working with Whooping Cranes. Since 1992, Thom was the Refuge Biologist at St. Vincent NWR in the Florida panhandle until he joined the Division of Migratory Bird Management as a pilot biologist in 2007. He had a great passion for his work, detailed in his final flight log from just a few weeks ago.
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