Plan to attend the 15th Annual Minnesota Waterfowl Symposium
January 19, 2012
Well, it appears winter is finally here. We still have little in the way of snow, but the thermometer this morning showed below-zero temperatures. Even if the duck season was still open, I’m not sure I’d want to be sitting out there.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t be thinking about ducks and duck hunting, which brings me to Saturday, Feb. 4, which is the day of the annual MWA waterfowl symposium. Without tooting our own horn, it’s not an event that waterfowlers should miss.
The symposium runs from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Ramada Mall of America. (Our annual awards banquet and Minnesota Waterfowl Hall of Fame induction follows; read this blog next week for more about that event.)
We’re pretty excited about this year’s symposium, the full agenda for which you can find on our website – www.mnwaterfowl.com.
But let me just elaborate on a couple of the agenda items:
Steve Cordts, the DNR’s waterfowl specialist, will update everyone on the state and continental status of waterfowl. In addition, he’ll discuss the changes the DNR made to the regulations for the 2011 duck season, and the possibility of more changes in 2012. It’s bound to be an interesting discussion and I’m looking forward to hearing how the 2011 regulations package affected hunters. We won’t know harvest information until this summer, but it’s clear that more people bought state duck stamps in 2011 than in 2010, and I have to think the liberalized regulations played a role.
But I wonder if some people will argue that we went too far in the liberalization direction.
The second agenda item I want to elaborate on a little is an afternoon session that Todd Arnold, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, is leading. He’s looked at mallard band returns and will discuss where our mallards in Minnesota come from. I’ve discussed the information with him and, without giving too much away, will say I was very surprised. I don’t think anyone will be bored during Todd’s presentation.
We look forward to seeing everyone at this year’s symposium. Not only is the symposium a good time to learn more about waterfowl, but it’s a good opportunity to get some face time with the people who play key roles in setting our duck seasons and managing our ducks.
