﻿DECREASE 
  OF 
  WATERFOWL. 
  11 
  

  

  tion 
  of 
  waterfowl. 
  Since 
  1885, 
  however, 
  the 
  problem 
  of 
  duck 
  

   preservation 
  in 
  North 
  America 
  has 
  entirely 
  changed. 
  The 
  prairie 
  

   districts 
  of 
  central 
  Canada, 
  comprising 
  large 
  portions 
  of 
  Manitoba, 
  

   Saskatchewan, 
  and 
  Alberta 
  are 
  the 
  "ducks' 
  paradise." 
  Within 
  the 
  

   United 
  States 
  this 
  favored 
  region 
  extends 
  to 
  the 
  northeastern 
  part 
  of 
  

   Montana, 
  the 
  northern 
  half 
  of 
  North 
  Dakota, 
  and 
  the 
  northwestern 
  

   corner 
  of 
  Minnesota. 
  The 
  whole 
  vast 
  region 
  is 
  crowded 
  with 
  lakes, 
  

   ponds, 
  sloughs, 
  and 
  marshes 
  that 
  furnish 
  ideal 
  nesting 
  conditions 
  and 
  

   unlimited 
  food. 
  Forty 
  years 
  ago 
  every 
  available 
  nook 
  was 
  crowded 
  

   with 
  waterfowl, 
  and 
  the 
  whole 
  region, 
  200 
  miles 
  wide 
  by 
  400 
  miles 
  

   in 
  length, 
  was 
  a 
  great 
  breeding 
  colony, 
  and 
  numbered 
  its 
  inhabitants 
  

   by 
  the 
  hundreds 
  of 
  thousands. 
  To 
  the 
  northward 
  the 
  forests 
  formed 
  

   a 
  partial 
  boundary; 
  to 
  the 
  southward, 
  the 
  general 
  absence 
  of 
  suitable 
  

   breeding 
  grounds 
  was 
  the 
  controlling 
  factor, 
  restricting 
  the 
  breeding 
  

   waterfowl 
  to 
  the 
  few 
  lakes 
  and 
  marshes. 
  The 
  number 
  of 
  breeding 
  

   ducks 
  decreased 
  rapidly 
  from 
  central 
  North 
  Dakota 
  southward, 
  until 
  

   the 
  outposts 
  were 
  reached 
  in 
  the 
  lake 
  region 
  of 
  southern 
  Wisconsin, 
  

   the 
  Kankakee 
  marshes 
  of 
  Illinois 
  and 
  Indiana, 
  a 
  few 
  favored 
  spots 
  in 
  

   southwestern 
  Minnesota, 
  and 
  the 
  lakes 
  of 
  north-central 
  Iowa. 
  In 
  

   southern 
  Wisconsin 
  in 
  1861, 
  every 
  pond 
  hole 
  and 
  every 
  damp 
  depres- 
  

   sion 
  had 
  its 
  brood 
  of 
  young 
  ducks. 
  During 
  the 
  next 
  fifteen 
  years 
  the 
  

   farming 
  of 
  the 
  region 
  changed 
  from 
  grain 
  raising 
  to 
  dairying, 
  the 
  

   marshes 
  were 
  drained, 
  the 
  former 
  duck 
  nurseries 
  became 
  grazing 
  

   grounds, 
  and 
  duck 
  hunting 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  sport 
  of 
  the 
  past. 
  

  

  An 
  article 
  written 
  in 
  1877 
  on 
  the 
  birds 
  of 
  northeastern 
  Illinois 
  

   enumerates 
  12 
  species 
  of 
  ducks 
  as 
  breeding 
  commonly 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  

   and 
  3 
  others 
  as 
  occasionally 
  found 
  there 
  in 
  summer. 
  At 
  present, 
  a 
  

   brood 
  of 
  young 
  ducks 
  in 
  this 
  region 
  is 
  rare. 
  In 
  1885 
  some 
  14 
  species 
  

   bred 
  near 
  Clear 
  Lake, 
  Iowa, 
  and 
  16 
  species 
  at 
  Heron 
  Lake, 
  Minnesota. 
  

   Now 
  scarcely 
  any 
  ducks 
  breed 
  at 
  either 
  lake. 
  But 
  the 
  places 
  just 
  

   mentioned 
  were 
  merely 
  the 
  outskirts 
  of 
  the 
  " 
  ducks' 
  paradise." 
  As 
  

   great 
  a 
  change 
  has 
  taken 
  place 
  in 
  the 
  very 
  heart 
  of 
  the 
  breeding 
  

   grounds. 
  The 
  Northern 
  Pacific 
  Railroad 
  cut 
  across 
  its 
  southern 
  border 
  

   in 
  Minnesota 
  and 
  North 
  Dakota 
  and 
  this 
  was 
  soon 
  followed 
  by 
  a 
  north 
  

   and 
  south 
  line 
  to 
  Winnipeg. 
  Other 
  shorter 
  branches 
  were 
  built 
  later, 
  

   but 
  the 
  final 
  doom 
  of 
  the 
  ducks 
  was 
  apparent 
  when 
  the 
  Canadian 
  Pacific 
  

   Railroad 
  crossed 
  between 
  Winnipeg 
  and 
  the 
  Rocky 
  Mountains 
  the 
  

   finest 
  duck 
  breeding 
  grounds 
  on 
  the 
  continent. 
  During 
  the 
  past 
  

   decade, 
  the 
  last 
  stronghold 
  of 
  the 
  waterfowl 
  has 
  been 
  invaded, 
  and 
  

   soon 
  the 
  great 
  breeding 
  colonies 
  of 
  northern 
  Alberta 
  and 
  Saskatchewan 
  

   will 
  be 
  of 
  the 
  past. 
  The 
  population 
  of 
  North 
  Dakota 
  increased 
  many 
  

   fold 
  from 
  1880 
  to 
  1900, 
  and 
  during 
  this 
  same 
  period 
  the 
  vast 
  prairies 
  

   of 
  central 
  Canada 
  were 
  changed 
  to 
  wheat 
  fields. 
  It 
  is 
  evident, 
  there- 
  

   fore, 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  and 
  southern 
  Canada 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  years 
  

   there 
  will 
  be 
  no 
  great 
  breeding 
  colonies 
  of 
  the 
  ducks 
  most 
  valued 
  for 
  

  

  