The state manages about 3,520 acres of public 

 gamelands to provide habitat for ducks and geese. 

 Hunting is allowed in the gamelands and some blinds 

 are provided. 



Additional refuges where hunting is limited are 

 provided for waterfowl by the North Carolina Nature 

 Conservancy and the Audubon Society. Some private 

 clubs also maintain gamelands though the clubs are 

 not as prevalent as they once were. 



Management 



The various species of waterfowl are managed 

 jointly by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 

 and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commis- 

 sion. Each year the federal agency assesses in- 

 dividual waterfowl breeding populations to establish 

 a framework for seasons and numbers of kill. 



Within that framework the state agency sets 

 season dates — November 22 through November 25 

 and December 6 through January 20 this year in the 

 eastern part of the state— and bag limits. The bag 

 limit this year allows a hunter to take on a given day: 

 five mergansers; five ducks; 15 coots; and seven sea 

 ducks. There are some bonuses and restrictions. For 

 example, redheads and canvasbacks may not be killed 

 this year. 



Fish and Wildlife Service statistics show that of 10 

 major species of ducks, some breeding populations 

 were down and others were up last year. While the 

 canvasback— on which the season is closed this 

 year— experienced a whopping 40 percent decline, 

 many other species increased: gadwall up 31 percent; 

 wigeon, 42 percent; green-winged teal, 53 percent; 

 shoveler, 34 percent; pintail, 14 percent; redhead, 21 

 percent. Declines of 7, 3 and 5 percent were reported 

 for mallards, blue-winged teal and scaup, respec- 

 tively. 



Grady Barnes, assistant chief for field operations, 

 Division of Game of the Wildlife Resources Commis- 

 sion, says these figures indicate that waterfowl are in 

 basically good shape. The real danger, he says, is the 

 destruction of breeding and feeding grounds. "When 

 you start to destroy that, you're running into trou- 

 ble." Waterfowl populations will never be as great as 

 they were in the 1920s and 1930s, Barnes says, due to 

 the destruction of breeding habitats farther north. In 

 Canada, for example, where many species breed, 

 prairie lands routinely have been converted to farm 

 land. 



To recreate breeding grounds, Ducks Unlimited 

 (DU), a national organization of hunters, has spent 

 millions of dollars to lease and manage land for 

 sanctuaries. Last year alone DU collected $13 million. 

 North Carolina chapters raised over $500,000. (North 

 Carolina traditionally has ranked among DU's top 

 fund raisers on a per capita basis.) 



Adaptability 



With 20 different species of duck alone — each with 

 different habits, populations and habitats— changes 

 in waterfowl habitats can have unexpected effects. 

 For example, canvasback, the species which is in the 

 most trouble now, seems to be a victim of environ- 

 mental degradation. 



Jack Donnelly, state waterfowl biologist for th6 

 Wildlife Resources Commission, explains that due to 

 the elimination of grasses on which the bird once fed, 

 the canvasback has been changed from a plant eater 

 to an animal eater. The bird also requires very par- 

 ticular breeding conditions. "Nobody's really sure 

 what's happened to them," Donnelly says. But they're 

 "not very adaptable and any bird that's not adaptable 

 in these days is in trouble." 



+ ♦4 



WMm 



Hunter and dog in the marsh 



