absolutelybeautifulenvironment.IpersonallyenjoyhuntingandI’msurefuture DU... · 2008. 9. 24. ·...

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11 FALL 2008 absolutely beautiful environment. I personally enjoy hunting and I’m sure future generations will as well. Because of conservation, people can continue to enjoy hunting for many lifetimes. Plus, have you ever just wanted to go take a nice walk in the woods? Well, without conservation there wouldn’t be any woods to walk in. I want all of my children and grandchildren to enjoy natures as much as I do. That’s why I participate in wildlife conservation and believe everyone else should too. Karl Scheppelman 12 years old Conservation is important because if there was no conservation there wouldn’t be good hunting. Conservation groups like Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation provide better hunting. Better hunting mean better habitats. One example is wood duck boxes. They provide M A R Y L A N D D U C K S U N L I M I T E D md.ducks.org Hartford County Chairman Jason Schlosser is all smiles. FJ Stetson teaching a new shooter at the trap house. DU Greenwing Essay Contest Winners. great homes for wood ducks, which mean better wood duck hunting. This doesn’t make wood ducks scarce or lower the pop- ulation. That is why, and how it can make a big impact on wildlife. After all the activities and writing everyone enjoyed lunch together. Afterwards the activities were exhausted to the close of the day. A special thanks to all the Volunteers who put this event together. This team was Lead by Chairperson Allyson Hash and too many to name members from the Central Maryland and Harford County DU chapters. Next years Greenwing event will be held the first week in June at Baltimore County Game and Fish Association. Jason Schlosser Chairman Harford County Ducks Unlimited

Transcript of absolutelybeautifulenvironment.IpersonallyenjoyhuntingandI’msurefuture DU... · 2008. 9. 24. ·...

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11FALL 2008

absolutely beautiful environment. I personally enjoy hunting and I’m sure futuregenerations will as well. Because of conservation, people can continue to enjoyhunting for many lifetimes. Plus, have you ever just wanted to go take a nicewalk in the woods? Well, without conservation there wouldn’t be any woods towalk in. I want all of my children and grandchildren to enjoy natures as much asI do. That’s why I participate in wildlife conservation and believe everyone elseshould too.

Karl Scheppelman 12 years oldConservation is important because if there was no conservation there

wouldn’t be good hunting. Conservation groups like Ducks Unlimited, PheasantsForever, and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation provide better hunting. Betterhunting mean better habitats. One example is wood duck boxes. They provide

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Hartford County Chairman Jason Schlosser is all smiles.

FJ Stetson teaching a new shooter at the trap house.

DU Greenwing Essay Contest Winners.

great homes for wood ducks, which mean better wood duckhunting. This doesn’t make wood ducks scarce or lower the pop-ulation. That is why, and how it can make a big impact onwildlife.

After all the activities and writing everyone enjoyed lunchtogether. Afterwards the activities were exhausted to the close of

the day. A special thanks to all the Volunteers who put this event together. Thisteam was Lead by Chairperson Allyson Hash and too many to name members fromthe Central Maryland and Harford County DU chapters.

Next years Greenwing event will be held the first week in June at BaltimoreCounty Game and Fish Association.

Jason SchlosserChairmanHarford County Ducks Unlimited

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FALL 200812

results and sometimes he would look back withpraise many times with disgust. Wherever I wentMax followed, he often came to work, he was wel-come in my haunts in Federal Hill and if theywould not allow Max there was a good chance thatI would not go in there either. He slept in my bedand to him it did not matter whether this was theking size bed at home or a cot in the hunting lodge.

The 2008-2009 hunting season will be a toughone for me because my hunting partner will not bearound to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells ofthe marsh and field.

We lost Max to cancer this year; he would havebeen 9 in August. He was a constant companionand a better friend never stood by my side.Whether you cussed him or gave praise he was aforce to be reckoned with and my experience in thefield will never be the same.

Keep your eyes out for the Under Armourwaterfowl print advertising you might just catch aglimpse of Max in his prime. He will be theChesapeake with his eyes to the sky and a morefitting tribute I could not imagine. Thanks to myfamily and friends who helped make him such agreat dog!

Save a spot in the blind for me bud I think theflight will be good today!

F.J. StetsonJuly 14, 2008

because he did not always follow my rules. As weaged, I learned that rules are really guidelinesand that often he had seen or smelled somethingthat I had missed and I learned to respect andtrust his ability to perform his job.

NNoorrtthh DDaakkoottaa 22000077

F.J.: “Jason get ready I can see a rooster (cockpheasant) up ahead in the hedgerow.”

I am going to try and push him out your way;there he goes! Boom, Boom. Did you get him?

Jason:” I pulled feathers but he kept going”Max here, Max kept going…I tried to whistle

him back but he was off. This would be Max’s 7thseason in the field. Jason and I started the longwalk back to the truck, I figured we would drive tothe other side of the CRP and find Max working arunner that may have taken off in front of him.After about 5 minutes of walking back toward thetruck here comes Max and because he was therewe now had the bird in hand! Without him wewould have lost that rooster and again I remem-ber that sometimes I am the student.

This was not a rare example but it becameexpected if a bird was knocked down or crippledthat it would end up in the bag because Max didnot want to loose or disappoint. I have seen himbreak through ice, both ways, dive under waterand make some of the most insane blind retrieveson signal. Max had his habits for better or worseas well.

Max would often stand with his paws on thefront of the blind after the shot to watch the

HHaarrvveeyy,, NNoorrtthh DDaakkoottaa 55::0000 AAmm

Frank: “F.J., are you up?”F.J.: “Yeah what’s going on?”I had the strangest dream that I woke up last

night and that Max was chewing on my leg!F.J.: “Was He?”Frank: “No, no everything is all right.”It must have been all of the stories about the

gear-shift, sunglasses and house trim all of thedemolition from when he was a pup.

F.J.: “How much is that prosthetic leg again?”(Frank sports a high tech prosthetic leg)

Well maybe just to be on the safe side weshould keep the leg out of reach for the rest of theweek?

In unison: “Agreed!”That was Frank’s first exposure to Max on a

week long Pheasant and Duck hunting trip inNorth Dakota. Over the week we managed to keepthe prosthesis from going the way of my F150gearshift, Ron’s prescription sunglasses and all ofthe lower window mullions in my sunroom. Hisfirst year as a pup we were not completely con-vinced he was not part termite!

Max, a 120lb Chesapeake Bay Retriever start-ed off with a snacking reputation but luckily hiscredentials continued to improve with age. Helearned his job quickly and I also learned a tiredpup is a well behaved one. With our new foundknowledge we worked our plan, and it did not hurtthat before Max had 1000 field retrieves before hissecond birthday.

Max’s name was derived from his grandfather“Sprucegrove’s Chief Justice”. He came to livewith my wife Roberta and I just 10 days after wehad moved into our first home. Roberta alwaysknew a dog was coming, but she never believed itwould be that fast! Although she protested, he hadworn her down in minutes and he was officiallyallowed in the house. Formally he was “Stetson’sHighbrass Maxim” (Maxim: Latin for an unshake-able truth or law) but to everyone he was just Maxand occasionally MAX!!!!

We studied together adopting the RichardWolters method for waterfowl training. (There arestill a few chew marks on the corners.) There weretriumphs and setbacks along the way; he nailedthe basic obedience commands and moved ontocasting, blind retrieves and multiples were nevera problem. What did not develop naturally weworked on and in a true compromise fashion hepretended not to look too harshly on my shortcom-ings and I learned to overlook his. His drive toexcel was always there whether it was bumpers orthe real thing. He knew his job and truly loved it!Over the years I have to say the NFW momentsfar exceeded the Oh S*** ones.

Through Max’s tutelage I became a betterhunter, not because we shot more, but because hehelped me to add a dimension to the sport I hadnot previously developed. Over the years I learnedmore about the sport, dogs and most importantlymyself. In the early years I yelled too much

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Farewell to a FriendFarewell to a Friend

Max locked in on birds and ready to go.

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13FALL 2008

Steve Goss Tollers Gun Club 410 253 8891www.tollersgunclub.com

When hunting out of a pit with a lot of decoyswe always use a flag. We make our own out ofwood dowels and black cloth with the actual flagportion formed into a square. Sometimes a fewquick bursts were enough to coax them your way.

Last season we used in excess of 700 decoys inour spread and to change things up we used oneand sometimes two mojo (spinning wing) goosedecoys. With a spread that large we were able toput these mojos up wind and far enough away thatthe geese would concentrate on the spinning wingdecoy(s). Once they came close, they would ulti-mately see the hole you made, for them to landand stall out giving you the best possible shots. Iknow a lot of you don't believe in these decoys. Ibelieve when used sparingly and in the right situ-ation, motion decoys mean bagging more geese.

Scott Christopher 800-345-4539www.seanmann.com

Yes I use motion in my spread. It can be thedeciding factor to getting birds within shootingrange. Knowing how and when to use motion ongeese is what makes the difference for me.

I use a square black flag because has beenproved to me from a good friend, co-worker

and veteran guide, that it looks more like agoose wing at a distance than any other flag on themarket. Because it's square, when waving it, it'smore visible at a distance than other flags cur-rently manufactured. It almost disappears when Idrop it to grab my gun instead of lying on

the ground. Some believe the 'T' flags, look likea bird of prey covering it's catch. I can't say if theydo or not. 'T' flags do work and have been a usefulsource for motion for me at times. But, the SquareBlack Flag, always works for me. I never go hunt-ing without mine. I usually keep two in the truckat all times.

Do you use motion in your goose decoyspread? If yes why, and what do you use?

Bill Crim M&A Outfitters (410) 239-4514www.magoosehunt.com

Motion is as important as calling if not moreimportant to me. If you ever watch geese feedingin a field there is always one or more who are flap-ping there wings. With this being said I use a flagfor long distance attention. As the geese get clos-er I will them use my Drop Zone flutter wing tokeep their attention but farther away from myblind so as not to bring attention to the blinds. Iput the flutter wing that is string operated exact-ly where I want to finish the birds for a goodshot. This works for me on a regular basis.

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Ask the Hunting Guides

Following a series of strategic meetingsaddressing the use of Mid-Atlantic wetlands bymigratory ducks, DU has made a change in ourPotomac Focus Area. DU Focus Areas help DUmake decisions about prioritizing wetland projectswithin a given region. In the case of the Potomacwatershed, current data shows that only limitedbenefits to waterfowl are gained by restoring wet-lands in the upper reaches of the river and its trib-utaries. However, those same projects, when put inplace in the lower Potomac and southern Patuxent,have high benefits to migrating and winteringBlack Ducks, Mallards, Green-Winged Teal, and ofcourse wintering AP Canada Geese. As a result,DU will be actively pursuing projects in southernMaryland to help meet this waterfowl need.

Southern Maryland is steeped in waterfowlhistory. The Piscataway, Yaocomaco (Wicomico)and other Algonquin tribes practiced waterfowltrapping for thousands of years before the Englisharrived in southern Maryland in 1608. “Modern”

waterfowl hunting took root soon after the settle-ment of St. Mary’s City in 1634. Some folks arguethat there is even a specific “Potomac Style” ofdecoy carving.

The lower Potomac River is known for its abil-ity to provide open water when tributaries freezeduring cold winters. Extensive bay grasses andshellfish beds associated with the grasses providea season’s worth of food for wintering waterfowl.While the composition of the grass beds haschanged from thick natives, to very sparsenatives, to the current thick beds of mixed nativeand invasive bay grasses, waterfowl flock to thelower Potomac in cold winters. During mild win-ters, waterfowl utilize freshwater creeks andsmall wetlands for forage and cover. However,these habitats are threatened by draining anddevelopment pressure.

Likewise, the southern reaches of thePatuxent River produce more wild rice than anyother river on the east coast. The extensive rice

colonies on the river led to a strong and sustain-able waterfowling tradition – one currentlythreatened by Phragmites, water pollution, andwidespread waterfront development.

Throughout the next three years, DU will beworking with the US Fish and Wildlife Service,Maryland DNR, Maryland Department of theEnvironment, and private and public landownersto restore wetlands, and ensure that Calvert,Charles, and St. Mary’s Counties enjoy a sustain-able future for waterfowl and waterfowl hunting.If you own a flooded field, or a piece of marshchoked out with Phragmites, that you believecould be restored to high quality waterfowl habi-tat, don’t hesitate to give me a call at the DUAnnapolis Office.

Likewise, if you are passionate about south-ern Maryland’s waterfowling traditions, and havean interest in making a major gift to DU to sup-port this, or our other Maryland waterfowl conser-vation programs, please contact Chip Heaps.

Ducks Unlimited: Conservation Focus in Southern Maryland

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Slattery’s Senna and my yellow and black part-ners-in-crime at several great doves hunts. Thosethree dogs were always a good match-up for somechaos and canine-chicanery when they got togeth-er. Likewise, I will never erase the etchings borneof some great upland and migratory bird huntswith my pups and Rob Jepson’s Kestrel (Kes) andher successor Abbey. I’m quite certain my son’sfirst goose hunt just a few years ago would havebeen less-than-perfect were it not for Abbey girland her tenacious pursuit of the morning donutsand equally aggressive delivery of Nicholas’ first-ever Canada Goose.

What I also recalled was the sad recognitionthat all dog-owners deal with at some point intheir lives —— the loss of a great canine friend. Iwill always cherish the great days I spent with myformer partners and those mentioned above whohave already left this world. I will also never for-get the days when Badger and Max left me and myfamily. I recall giving thanks for the awesome liveswe lead together; in the field and in the home andI’ll no-doubt grieve again when their successor“Puck” finds her way to the great hunting grounds.All we can ever ask is that our pup pals are givena long and healthy life to join us doing what welove and they seemingly love even more.

Perhaps the most difficult of experiences iswhen a great dog leaves us too soon. I’d like to ded-icate the remainder of this message to LarryHindman’s pal “Beamer”. LJ, and the hunting fra-ternity that followed his progress with his partnerBeamer, lost a great pup earlier this summerwhen Beamer was taken from us far too soon.

LJ penned a note to his friends and family justa few days after Beamer’s passing.

Here are some of the words from that note andsome photos of his friend…

Sometimes it seems that life is not fair. Thepain that I feel now will pass with time, but for theshort-term it is tough. If it truly possible for a per-son to love a dog, I loved Beamer. He was my Pal.

In my eyes, Beamer was a great young dog, aclose companion, and good hunting retriever withlots of seasons ahead of him. I felt very fortunate tohave such a handsome pup with great retrievingdesire.

In the days and years ahead I will be able tocelebrate his short life with us. Here are some ofthe memories I recall:

His first water retrieves when only 11-weeksold in the shoal waters of the Choptank River nearPink’s Pond; Wow! Hit hit the water hard!

His first dove hunt with Harv, his lab Hunter,Hutch, and Bob; Upon delivery his first dove tome, Beamer must of thought I issued the commandCHOMP instead of the command DROP (the bird)when three of his teeth pierced my skin when Itried to remove the bird from his mouth! The bloodwas flowing!

His first “Road Trip” to the sloughs and grainfields of North Dakota where he made his firstretrieves on redheads, wigeon, GW teal, and sharp-tails with the Mayor, Hutch, Matt, and our femalelab, Teal. I’ll never forget the image of him chasinghis first sharptail grouse huntin’ with the Mayor.

The Saturday morning Beam made 45retrieves of captive-reared mallards at WoolfordCreek Farm, some of which were shot by “JREwing” of Dallas fame (AKA Larry Hagman). Boydid Beamer show off; as my son-in-law Justin saidafter observing the hunt, “Beamer was on fire.”

The annual Father-Son hunt (Thanksgiving2007) on Woolford Creek, with my son Ryan andson-in-law Justin. Beamer retrieved 10 Green-winged Teal, 4 mallards, and a lonely Canada

Beamers Goodby(Continued from page 9)

goose that made the unfortunate mistake of flyingwithin range of all guns. Hunting with the boysand dogs, it doesn’t get any better!

Beamer’s and my first AKC hunt test hosted bythe Del-Bay Retriever Club near Dover. Beamerwas so jacked-up with excitement, but he pre-formed masterfully with a stylish water retrievethat drew kudus from the judges. Me, I couldhardly breathe when we were called to the line forthe first land marked retrieves!

The Junior Hunt Test hosted by the TidewaterRC in Virginia where I was so proud after Beamerearned gallery applause with his marking on theland marks when many dogs had difficulties withthe test.

Aside from the memories of our days togetherafield, my wife Joy and I will miss the sound andsecurity of Beamer’s bark from the kennel outsidewhere he diligently protected our home and prop-erty from strangers. Teal, on the other hand, prob-ably cursed him for keeping her awake at all hoursof the night.

I will remember him sitting intently at thekennel door for me when I got home from workwith the anticipation of a training session or a funrun with Teal in the country.

Occasionally Beam would sleep in the house,especially on winter nights. He would rest his chinon the side of the mattress for a touch of my handand would stand there for as long as you wantedto rub him.

Our family was blessed with two great yearswith this young dog. Beamer enriched our lives.He will be is missed but his spirit will live on inour hearts and minds for the rest of our day

Great Oak HomesHomes Built to Last Generations

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Ph: 410-823-8458Cell: 410-807-6666

[email protected]

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15FALL 2008

decoys now produced by Mike and Susan (Susan isnot only Mike’s wife and business partner but anexcellent carver) are made for people to hunt over.Mike says he most enjoys carving hunting decoysbecause of the nostalgia associated with them andthe positive feed back he gets from customers.Many of them comment that even on those dayswhen the birds aren’t flying, they enjoy looking atthe decoys in the spread.

One of the biggest differences Mike has seenduring his three generations of carving is peoplegoing back to hunt over the homemade decoys. Iinitially thought that the majority of Mike andSusan’s customers were aging baby boomers try-ing to recapture a part of their youth. According toMike, it is younger hunters, the generation thatgrew up with plastic decoys, that has decided to goold school and hunt like Nash Buckingham andGordon Macquarrie

Mikes involvement with DU as he puts it wasforced upon him by his dad, and he is happier forit. As Mike states the closest people in my lifebesides my immediate family have been peoplethat I have met through DU, and they havebecome a second family to me. Mike and Susanplan on carving for maybe another five years andthen packing it up and calling it quits. Seems thatMike will always be looking for that full time job.

The works of Mike and Susan Veasey can befound at www.northernwings.com or you can con-tact them at [email protected].

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the majority of the work produced by Mike weredecorative decoys or collectors pieces. Mike spentmany weekends on the road attending shows, auc-tions, and competitions plying his wares.

After a decade of producing decorative decoys,Mike began to carve “working” cork decoys that hecould hunt ducks over. Several of Mike’s huntingbuddies began asking Mike to make them huntingdecoys and in 1992 Mike began creating high den-sity cork hunting decoys. 1995 saw Mike andSusan open Northern Wings Decoys. A majority of

For anyone involved with Ducks UnlimitedMaryland, the name Mike Veasey is synonymouswith all things ducks. Whether carving decoys forchapters, working an event as an auctioneer, ororganizing a shoot; Mike along with his wifeSusan and their company Northern Wings, hasbeen involved with Ducks Unlimited going onthree decades.

Coming from a family of decoy carvers, (Mikeis a third generation carver) one would think Mikewas destined to be a decoy carver. To hear Miketell it, he really wasn’t looking to become a carver.Mike’s initial foray into carving at the age of 17was less then successful. During his first project,Mike cut his finger requiring 27 stitches, and thusending his first attempt at decoy carving.

It wasn’t until several years later that Mikebecame involved with decoy carving again. InMike’s own words, “My wife was pregnant withour second child and I was in between jobs. I need-ed some part time work and I asked my dad if Icould work for him for a few months while I lookedfor a full time job. Thirty years later Mike is stilllooking for that job.”

Mike began to learn his craft working at hisfathers shop. At the time, Mike’s father was on theroad for several weeks doing seminars and showsthrough out the country. The elder Veasey askedhis son to complete work on all the orders while hewas on the road for 6 weeks. Mike filled all theirorders in two weeks, and then restocked theirinventory during the remaining time while his dadwas away. It seemed that Mike’s second attempt atcarving was a bit more successful this time.

1982 saw Mike and his dad get their first DUnational contract to produce decoys, a life sizepreening green wing teal hen Mike recalls. It wasduring this time that Mike realized he trulyenjoyed carving decoys for people and realized hecould make a living doing it. During the 1980’s Susan Veasey painting some red heads.

Mike Veasey cutting some blocks in the shop.

Carvers CornerProfiles of Maryland Decoy Carvers

A finished pair of blue wing teal.

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Testifying before a Congressional committee, DucksUnlimited Chief Biologist, Dale Humburg identified sever-al key factors in declining bird populations across NorthAmerica: Loss of grassland nesting habitat, deteriorationof coastal wetlands and loss of protected wetlands in allparts of the country.

“Changes in bird numbers and their distribution canbe taken as strong signals that key environmental func-tions are ‘broken,’” said Humburg. “Birds serve as theproverbial “canary in the coal mine,” but on a continentalscale.”

Humburg testified before the House Natural ResourcesSubcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife in a hearing aboutdeclining bird populations across the continent, and identi-fied several key waterfowl species that are in decline, aswell as the diverse causes for those declines. Due to vari-ous reasons for the population losses, Humburg stated thateffective conservation was less about managing individualspecies, and more about “protecting or restoring habitatsand ecological processes at a landscape scale.”

The solution, according to Humburg, lies in fully utiliz-ing existing programs to the maximum benefit of peopleand waterfowl. Several conservation programs carried outby the Department of Agriculture support small farmersand ranchers, provide grazing land for cattle, andsequester atmospheric carbon while at the same time pro-viding waterfowl habitat. The Conservation ReserveProgram alone has been responsible for more than 2.2 mil-lion additional ducks in the fall migration each year, whilealso providing needed grassland reserves for times ofdrought.

Humburg also identified the Clean Water Act as one ofthe critical tools to both promoting healthy waterfowl pop-ulations and healthy areas for humans as well. Improvedwater quality, flood protection, and recreational opportuni-ties are all benefits of wetland protection. Currently, a billto restore the Clean Water Act is pending in both theHouse and Senate. It could revise recent regulations thateliminated certain protections for wetlands. DucksUnlimited supports this legislation.

Mitigating the effects of climate change, both in theNorthern Great Plains and in Canada’s Western BorealForests, will also offset impacts to bird populations. Manybirds, including species in decline like Greater and LesserScaup, use boreal forests for nesting.

With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimitedis the world’s largest and most effective wetland and water-fowl conservation organization with more than 12 millionacres conserved. The United States alone has lost more thanhalf of its original wetlands − nature’s most productiveecosystem − and continues to lose more than 80,000 wetlandacres important to waterfowl each year.

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Ducks Unlimited advisesCongress on bird populationsChief Biologist recommends water protectionto benefit people and ducks

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60,000 hunters are selected annually for thewaterfowl hunting diary survey. Participation isvoluntary, and the response rate is 55-60%. Somehunters are unable to identify the species all ofthe birds they harvest. Thus the survey describedabove does not ask participants to report theirharvest by species. To obtain species specific har-vest estimates, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serviceselects another sample of waterfowl huntersannually, and asks those hunters to participate inthe Waterfowl Parts Collection Survey. Hunterswho agree to participate are given special postage-paid “wing envelopes”, and are asked to send backa wing from every duck they shoot and the tailfeathers of every goose they shoot throughout thehunting season.Biologists identify the species, ageand sex of each duck wing sample and the speciesand age of each goose tail sample. Thus, the surveyyields estimates of the species composition of theduck and goose harvest. Results of this survey arecombined with the results of the hunting diarysurvey to provide species specific harvest esti-mates, as well as estimates of age and sex. Annualsample size for the Waterfowl Parts CollectionSurvey is about 90,000 duck wings and 20,000goose tails.

On those bluebird mornings in the blind, whennot a bird is in the sky, did you ever wonder howthey figure out how many ducks are killed byhunters?

In the United States, sport hunters arerequired to purchase hunting licenses annually.Those hunting licenses are issued by the individ-ual state governments, not by the federal govern-ment. The cooperative state-federal MigratoryBird Harvest Information Program uses thestates’ licensing systems to provide the sampleframe for the federal migratory bird harvest sur-vey system. Under this program, state wildlifeagencies collect the name and address of eachmigratory bird hunter who purchases a huntinglicense. They also ask each of those migratory birdhunters a series of general questions about thespecies they hunted and their hunting success theprevious year. The state wildlife agencies thensend those names and addresses to the U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service. Participation in this programis mandatory for migratory bird hunters; thus, thesample frame includes all licensed sport hunterswho are legally authorized to hunt migratorygame birds. This totals about 3,500,000 sporthunters each year. The U.S. Fish and WildlifeService selects samples of hunters from thename and address data that the state wildlifeagencies provide. Hunters are stratified bystate and by hunting activity and success inthe previous year, and stratum-specific sam-pling rates are selected to increase precisionand maximize sampling efficiency. For exam-ple, the small group of duck hunters whowere very successful in the previous year issampled at a high rate, the larger group ofmoderately successful duck hunters is sam-pled at a lower rate, and the very large groupof hunters who rarely if ever hunt ducks issampled at a very low rate.At the beginningof the hunting season, each sampled hunter ismailed a hunting diary form and asked torecord the date, location and number of ducksand geese taken for each day of waterfowlhunting. After the end of the hunting season,the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sends thesample hunters a postcard reminder askingthem to complete and mail back their hunt-ing diaries. This mailing is followed by twoadditional reminders to all sample hunterswho still have not responded. Both of thosereminder mailings include replacement diaryforms.Hunters’ responses are used to esti-mate the mean number of ducks and geeseharvested per hunter for each stratum, andthe total harvests of ducks and geese are esti-mated by expanding the means by the num-ber of active hunters in each stratum. About

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Estimating the Sport Harvest ofWaterfowl in the United States

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FALL 200818 MARYLAND

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The St. Mary's County DU Chapter hosted aGreenwing Outdoor Day on June 28, 2008 at SannersLake, Lexington Park, Maryland. The chapter had out-door activities such as trapshooting, archery, rifleshooting and fishing. For hands on arts and crafts thechapter had duck carving, duck head painting, andface painting. For fun and knowledge we had police K-9 demonstrations, talks from Maryland DNR andeveryone’s favorite, the retriever demonstrations.Attendance for the event was double from the previousyear, and we were able to sign up 70 Greenwings. Agreat day was had by all.

St. Mary’s County Greenwing Event

A happy Greenwing with his face paint on. Nicehaircut.

Duck head works of art.

Pond fishing on a beautiful spring day.

A future carver gets hands on instruction.

Several Greenwings take aim at the archery course.

There’s more toDU than justFall events!

Local chapters are beginning to planevents for spring, summer and fall. There islots to do and all help is appreciated. Manychapters are organizing spring and summerdinner events, golf outings, shoots, even fish-ing tournaments. If you are interested incatching up with the happenings in your area,and can give just a few hours a month, joininga committee might be for you.

Committees are responsible for raisingthe money that then goes to work “on theground” to develop habitat in our area (and onthe breeding grounds). Some committees par-ticipate in habitat improvement, like woodduck box building and maintenance, in addi-tion to the “fun”draising. It’s also a good placeto get to know others who also like to hunt, shoot clays, fish and otherwise enjoy the out-doors. To find out more, just drop Scott Jasion [email protected], or Chip [email protected] a note via email, and wewill make sure that a local committee con-tacts you.

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19FALL 2008 MARYLAND

DUCKS UNLIMITED

md.ducks.org

Date County Event Location Contact PhoneSEPTEMBER 2008

9/1/08 Harford County Sponsor Dove Hunt/BBQ Wye Landing Farm Norb Wagner Wye Mills, MD 443-956-23049/6/08 Bay Hundred Sponsor Dove Hunt/Dinner John & Diana Mautz Farm Ed Henry St. Michaels, MD 410-745-54579/13/08 Central Maryland Sponsor Shoot TBD Scott Overend TBD 410-592-27349/13/08 Caroline County Poker Run TBD Tony Worm TBD 410-754-84429/21/08 Meade Sporting Clay Shoot P.G. Shooting Center Karl Kleve Glen Dale, MD 410-381-77419/26/08 Central Maryland Dinner Rosedale Fire Hall Joe McCann Rosedale, MD 410-821-77009/28/08 Upper Shore Waterfowl Hunters Party Bob Bis Farm Frank Eisler Earleville, MD 410-456-6683

OCTOBER 2008

10/4/08 Worcester County Bull Roast Bishopville Fire Hall Steve Mears Bishopville, MD 410-208-150510/5/08 Queen Anne’s Co. Sponsor Cocktail Piney Point Farm Joel Bell Centerville, MD 410-827-057110/11/08 Bay Hundred Dinner Miles River Yacht Club Ed Henry St. Michaels, MD 410-745-545710/12/08 Harford County Dinner Richlin Ballroom Jason Schlosser Edgewood, MD 410-440-533010/16/08 Annapolis Sponsor Chesapeake Bay Foundation Bunny Chew Annapolis, MD 410-268-303610/18/08 St. Mary’s County Dinner Hollywood Fire Hall Tommy Bowes Hollywood, MD 301-994-060610/18/08 Wicomico County Dinner Hebron Fire Hall Wayne Atkinson Hebron, MD 410-548-587010/24/08 Sassafras River Dinner Kitty Knight House Frank Eisler Galena, MD 410-456-668310/25/08 Dorchester County Dinner Minette Dick Hall Terry Robbins Cambridge, MD 410-228-837210/25/08 Herring Bay Dinner Deale Elks George Chipouras Deale, MD 410-268-9039

NOVEMBER 2008

11/1/08 Frederick County Pig Roast & Fun Shoot Frederick County F & G Leif Olsen Point of Rocks, MD 301-898-000011/1/08 Calvert County Dinner Calvert County Fair Grounds Charlie Reese Prince Frederick, MD 301-855-116511/1/08 Caroline County Dinner Federalsburg Fire Hall Tony Worm Federalsburg, MD 410-754-844211/7/08 Meade Dinner/Bull Roast Fontaine Blue Bob Shaw Glen Burnie, MD 410-674-652311/18/08 National Capital Dinner Columbia Country Club Kirk Jeffery Chevy Chase, MD 301-571-147311/22/08 Kent County Dinner Camp Tockwogh Tyler Johnson Worton, MD 410-778-6965

DECEMBER 2008

12/4/08 Greater Baltimore Dinner The Maryland Club Dave Long Baltimore, MD 410-342-201012/5/08 Somerset County Dinner Elks Lodge Bill Riley Crisfield, MD 410-742-353412/12/08 Cecil County Christmas Dinner Singerly Fire Hall Jay Bailey Elkton, MD 302-521-2615

JANUARY 2009

1/25/09 Sassafras River Sponsor Brick House farm Steve Issacson Cecilton, MD 410-275-1283

FEBRUARY 2009

2/7/09 Queen Anne’s Co. Dinner American Legion Joel Bell Kent Island 410-827-05712/7/09 Charles County Dinner Jaycees Hall Dickie Naber Waldorf, MD 301-283-02282/19/09 Annapolis Dinner TBD Jack Wallace Annapolis, MD 410-280-04682/21/09 (Tent.) Central Maryland Basket Bingo American Legion Hall John Graf Perry Hall, MD 410-893-59132/22/09 Gunpowder Dinner Columbus Gardens Steve Upton Perry Hall, MD 410-335-43552/09 Talbot County Dinner TBD Coard Benson Easton, MD 410-763-8420

MARCH 2009

3/6/09 (Tent.) George Meade Sponsor Snyder’s Willow Grove Bob Shaw Baltimore, MD 410-674-65233/8/09 (Tent.) Washington County Dinner TBA Daryl Mummert Hagerstown, MD 301-991-55423/8/09 (Tent.) Calvert County Sponsor Solomons Island Yacht Club Charlie Reese Solomons Island, MD 410-535-64643/7/09 Pocomoke River Dinner Snow Hill Fire Department David Peterson Snow Hill, MD 410-430-14203/7/09 Potomac River Dinner Holiday Inn Stuart Sherman Gaithersburg, MD 301-770-86643/13/09 (Tent.) Carroll County Bull & Oyster Roast Pleasant Valley Fire Hall Tony Diehl Pleasant Valley, MD 410-876-66193/27/09 Chesapeake Chapter Dinner Martin’s Mansion Rich Muffolletto Cockeysville, MD 410-882-20873/28/09 Frederick County Dinner Musket Ridge Golf Club Leif Olsen Myersville, MD 301-898-00003/09 University of Maryland Dinner U of M Golf Course Joe Griffin College Park, MD 410-703-48263/097 Worcester County Sponsor TBA Steve Mears Ocean City, MD 410-208-1505

APRIL 2009

4/19/09 (Tent.) Western Shore Sporting Clays Shoot P. G. County Trap & Skeet Scott Jasion Glenn Dale, MD 410-229-13704/20/09 Washington College Pig Roast Washington College Rob Sentman Chestertown, MD 443-553-23024/17/09 (Tent.) R. Madison Mitchell Bull & Shrimp Feast The Bayou Merrill Dougherty Havre de Grace, MD 410-939-1720

MD DU EVENT SCHEDULE-FALL/WINTER 2008/09

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Ed Zimmer congratulates Bill Forester for High All Around Scorefor a DU member at the Central MD trap shoot at Carney Rodand Gun Club.

Washington College DU Chapter’s boat the Mighty Duck took home theCutty Sark Award for best design and construction in the annual Regatta.

Ed Zimmer of Central MD DU congratulates Mike Poe for HighAll Around Score at the Central MD trap shoot at Carney Rodand Gun Club.

The Washington College Chapter of DU admires their handiwork beforegetting ready to paddle the Chester River.

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