INTHOCUCTION 
Walter F, Crissey 
The intelligent management of any business is dependent upon periodic 
inventories to determine the amount and condition of the atock on hand. 
Management of the waterfowl resgurcee of the continent fall within this 
category and immense strides have been made in recent yesrea in improring 
the inventory date upon which management ic cdetermlned. 
during the early years the majority of data upon which the length 
of the shooting reaeon was based were gathered during January while the 
birds were concentrated on wintering grounds. In geome measure, the sige of 
the wintering population, determined after the hunting season le orar, fives 
a good indication of the size of the breeding pomalation the following spring. 
Small scale recoennalesance work in the major breeding erounde in the north~ 
central estater and Canada, however, rerénled that weather conditions canuced 
considerable changer in the distribution of the breeding birds, that some 
regione were not as owroductive as others, and that breeding success varied 
considerably from year to year. Since shooting regulations would be neet 
satisfactory if they were based upon the numter of birds which actually 
migrate southward during the fall, it Decame evident that an attempt should 
be made to mepsure the euccess of birde on the breeding ¢rounds. 
The first attempt to conduct a wide-spread treeding ground study war 
made in 1947. The U. &. Fiehn and Wildlife Service gent 12% biologists into 
the major breeding grounds in Canadas, northcentral United States and Alaska, 
Tnese men were aseleted by cocperative workere fron Canada and from rarious 
state and other conservation agencies. it was clear at the end of the first 
aunumer, however, that in order to do a better job of appraising breeding 
nuccess & @reat deal more of the breeding ground would need to be sampled, 
The full ecope of such a task extended beyond the limite of the facilities 
and manpower of the Fleh and Wildiife Service and Dominion Wildlife Service 
and it wae obvious that cooperative effort was the only anewer. As one meang 
cf siimutating interest in the program and to inaicete more clearly how 
coaperatore might take part, it wae decided to publich the retorts of the 
various studies that were conducted. Special Selentific Henort No. 46 
eovering the 1947 sumner work was the resvlt. In L348 the summer studies 
increneed considerably in extent and the results were published in Special 
Scientific Report Mo. €0 which wae sponsored jointly by the Fish and Wildlife 
Service anc the Dominion Wildlife Serrice. 
The present repert is the third in the series, and to those who are 
familiar with the previoue publications, 1t will be evident that there hes 
been a further major increase in the amount of breeding studles carried on. 
Gontinued explorations in the far north have further reduced the amount of 
unknown territory which may produce irportant numbers of waterfowl. The 
erent majority of Statee which hare extensive breeding habitat are now 
cooperating to the fullest extent. The rarioue provinces in Canada are 
supplementing the work done by the cooperative crewa wherever needed. As a 
result, it aprears that the *reeding grounds, wice-epresd ps they may be, 
are now teing sampled to a degree that ic probebly adeocuate for the proper 
