As a result of the investigation of the Mississippi •Flyv'ay Canada Greese, "both , 

 on their .'breedin,? f^r'oijiids and later-. dui*! rig the migratory and' winter seasons, it ' 

 was obvious that a close irja.nagement program was imperative.' ■'■■" 



Habitat conditions throughout most -parts of the Prairie Provinces werp" un- . 

 usually good and left little to be desired. Nevertheless, and v;hile not visited 

 by an investigator of either Government, reports indicated a considerable l©^s"(^Aie 

 to droi:ight in southern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan. Gn the other hand, ' 

 the Canadian biologist reported that in the Peace River region of Albertfi and the 

 lake coiintry to the north of this stream, the numerical status of ducks war of a 

 high order. He recorded this as one of the finest waterfovl producing arpas that 

 he h?.d ever seen. The Mallard was the most abundant with the Lesser Scaup a close 

 second — these two species together representing more than half of the vraterfowl . ' 

 population observed. 



Similar conditions prevailed In the great breeding marshes of southern Manit/hba 

 wher« rainfall was normal, . which reisulted in the filling to capacity of hundreds of 

 sloughs that previously were dry» and the highest lake levels recorded during 

 recent years. An abundance of ducks was reported on Lake Winnipegosis and the 

 grpat marshes around the southern ends of Lakes Winnipeg and Manitoba. In this 

 lake region the Mallard, Black Duck, Canvasback, and Ruddy Duck showed a marked in-, 

 cr-^ase and a slight increase was recorded for the Redhead. Little or no change was 

 noted in the status of the Lesser Scaup, Baldpate, G-adwall, Green-Twinged Teal, and 

 Shovr-ler, 



Other \xrgent assignmer^ts prevented the biologist of the Pacific Fly^^^ay from 

 undertaking inirestigations north of the United States, but here again, the Canadian 

 National Parks Bureau cooperated by making available a copy of the report of the 

 Chief Federal Migratory Bird Officer for British .Columbia,. Investigations in the 

 Cariboo region, the prlndpfil waterfowl producing district in that Province, re- 

 vea.led that drought deterioration of the nesting habitat that existed a few years 

 a,go, had been greatly modified by the heavy rains of -the last year or two. The in- 

 vestigator reported that at no time in" his exr'erience had conditions been so favor- 

 a.ble for waterfowl which resulted in more widespread distribution. He found, hovr- 

 ever, that three species, the Gadwall, Redhead, and Ruddy Duck had declined numer- 

 ically. The Mallard was the .most abunduant species, followed by the Ring-necked 

 Duck and the Lesser Scaup. Strangely enough, considering its importance in the 

 Pacific Flyv/ay, no Pintails were, found nesting in. the, areas studied in central 

 British Columbia. The Redhead and Ruddy Duck also were entirely absent and onl/ 

 one Canvasback vras seen d.uring the entire siomraer. 



Alaska ' 



ITo special waterfowl investigations v;efe made in Alaska, but such reports as 

 were received from wildlife agent-s of the Alaska Game Commission indicated a normal 

 season, A definite increase in the populations of Pintails and Widgeons was antic- 

 ipated. .- ■ ' •, 



■ ' : "' ■ . Newfoundland,. 



Two biologists of the Pish and Wildlife Service again spent several weeks in 

 Newfoundland, including a short trip to the coast of Labrador. No important change 

 was detected in the status of the nesting waterfowl. 



