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WATERFOWL BREEDING GROUND SURVEY, IDAHO, 1954 
Robert L. Salter 
Introduction 
Most of the data presented here were gathered under Federal Aid Project 
96-R-5 with biologists Charles S. Blake, Elwood G. Bizeau, Charles D. Haynes and 
Hugh A. Harper, Jr., responsible for the collection of material in Districts Four, 
Five, Three and One and Two, respectively. Mr. F. Sheldon Dart, Refuge Manager, 
Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge, again cooperated in conducting the Homedale 
goose neSting and banding work. Mr. C: G. Wolf, Refuge Manager, Minidoka 
National Wildlife Refuge, assisted in the goose banding at the refuge. Mr. Wallace 
Leonard, Refuge Manager, Camas National Wildlife Refuge, participated in the brood 
counts taken on the refuge and in the Canada goose banding done there. Mr. James S. 
Cromwell, Game Management Agent, assisted in the Homedale nesting and banding 
studies. Many Idaho Fish and Game Department employees, including conservation 
officers, refuge managers and biologists, cooperated in the banding and brood count 
work. 
Weather and Water Conditions 
The winter of 1953-54 in Idaho followed the pattern set the previous year in being 
quite open and mild. Although there was a slight setback in March, temperatures in 
April and most of May were above normal. The last 10 days of May and most of June 
were characterized by below average temperatures and above average rainfall. July 
was about normal and August was cool with above average precipitation in the northern 
section of the State. 
Winter and spring precipitation was ample to fill most reservoirs and insure 
summer water. An above average snowpack coupled with a hot spell brought ona 
serious flood along the Kootenai River in Boundary County. Waterfowl production 
here is slight and this is the only area where flooding occurred to any degree. 
Migration 
The 1954 winter inventory showed a 19 percent increase in ducks and a 37 percent 
increase in geese over the previous year. This was believed to be due primarily to 
the mild weather and abundance of open water. Most of these birds left the State soon 
after the inventory, however, and the late winter population was no larger than usual. 
The spring migration passed through the State at about the same rate as 1953. 
Some observers believed the numbers were slightly larger than last year. 
