Hunt Lake Manitoba Narrows

In 1916 the First Migratory Bird Treaty with Great Britain was signed. It recognized the Federal Government’s obligation to care for migratory birds while they were in this country. World War I virtually halted waterfowl hunting, both in Canada and in the United States. Ducks increased until by 1919 they were almost as numerous as in the early 1900′s. Then, after the end of the war, came a veritable flood of hunters, along with better guns and ammunition , plus more deadly hunting methods. In 1918 the United States signed a second Migratory Bird Treaty recognizing its obligation to protect waterfowl from guns except during certain open seasons. From 1921 to 1931 the U.S. Department of the Interior estimated that hunters took a bag limit of ducks that exceeded by 9,000,000 a year the number leaving the nesting grounds. The pressure of human population, more effective guns and ammo, rapid transportation and vast drainage projects for agriculture were already being felt by the 1930′s. In 1929 the Migratory Bird Conservation Act was passed by Congress, authorizing a program of acquisition of lands and water acreage as inviolate sanctuaries for waterfowl. The next year drought became more evident over the land; it had been rearing its ugly head since 1915. In 1930 the population was down to 27,000,000. People became genuinely alarmed. Some made the dire prediction that waterfowl faced extinction. The situation called for heroic measures. In 1934 the Duck Stamp Act was passed. J.N. (Ding) Darling, who had taken over as chief of the U.S. Biological Survey, designed the first stamp. It sold for $1 and depicted a pair of mallards pitching into a marsh. A total of 635,100 were sold, the proceeds to be used for wetlands acquisition, refuge management and law enforcement. Meanwhile, the Federal Government had been steadily reducing the season and limits on waterfowl. A 107-day season with 25 ducks daily and 50 in possession had prevailed from 1920 through the 1929 season. In 1930 the season was left at 107 days, but limits were cut to 15 and 30. In 1931 a 92-day season prevailed with limits remaining at 15 and 30. The next year hunters were given only 61 days with 12 and 20 limits. By 1934 the plight of ducks had become so drastic that the season was cut to 30 days with six five day periods for hunting and a limit of 12 and 24. The 30-day season prevailed through 1935 and 1936, with limits of ten ducks daily and ten in possession. Now there were signs of abatement in the drought, and the stringent restrictions in waterfowl hunting were beginning to pay off. The ducks, assisted by man and nature, began to bounce back. By 1938 it was possible to have a 45-day season, by 1940, a 60-day season, 1942, 70 days and 1944, 80. But limits were held strictly to the 10 and 20 formula in the Mississippi flyway which was worst hit of all.

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Hunt lake Manitoba Narrows

Alberta – Fish and Wildlife Director Curt Smith of Alberta said breeding ducks are down 25 to 35 percent overall in the province. Many pairs of ducks on potholes do not appear to have been successful in nesting attempts. This is particularly evident among canvas backs and redheads. Early broods appeared to indicate rather good nesting success in the early part of June. But the optimism generated at the appearance of early broods has now been curtailed by the absence of succeeding hatches. It appears that ducks again will be scarce throughout Alberta, as was the case last year. The only optimistic observation that can be made is that rains falling south or Edmonton may increase the ground moisture and, if rains continue, they may provide a condition more suitable for a runoff next spring. Rains south of Edmonton have only reduced evaporation and contributed nothing to re-establishing potholes here.

E.W. Burkell, Alberta provincial manager of Ducks Unlimited, said that southern and east-central portions of the province are experiencing drought conditions. Because of the lack of runoff, there wasn’t water to entice the birds. The more northerly parkland areas generally are in good-to-excellent condition. But some birds nested on non permanent waters.

Fred Sharp, Alberta provincial naturalist reported that one of the brightest spots in the province is the Peace River area north of Edmonton. Spending the second week in May there, he found water conditions excellent, with the countryside dotted with countless potholes full of water at full-supply level. In the south, waterfowl are at a minimum, while in the Grande Prairie-Peace River areas there is a heavy nesting population. Although there is an excellent population in the north, it would not account for the large numbers of ducks missing from the big duck factory of the short-grass plains.

North Dakota – Bud Morgan, Midwest representative for the National Wildlife Federation, stated that 104 square miles in north-central North Dakota were sampled on June 1. Water conditions were greatly improved over 1961, and nearly twice as many ducks were recorded. The ducks were there to raise families, and the greatly improved quality of production habitat indicates they will be successful. Most of the water was the result of May rains which came after the peak of migration had moved into Canada. Production in North Dakota may be increased over that of 1961 but may not be sufficient to recoup losses of the past three years.

South Dakota – Walter Fillmore, game-fish and parks director for South Dakota, commented that, for once, there was more water than there were ducks to fill the available nesting habitat. Water conditions are excellent throughout the state, probably as good as they ever will be. Unfortunately, when the spring migration took place through the state, many water holes were dry or nearly so. When the potholes did fill up, many ducks had already passed through. Even so, it would appear that production will be above or near the ten-year average. May surveys indicated a 64 percent increase in water and a 44 percent increase in nesting ducks over 1961. Since June, however, conditions in the Dakotas have turned more bleak.

Flick Davis, game management chief in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with headquarters in Minneapolis, said the most recent information is that duck production in the Dakotas has been poor. Many nests were drowned out when the rains came after nesting had begun. Those broods which survey men checked have been small in size and number. The broods are averaging only three or four ducks, and in North Dakota only one brood was seen that had as many as six ducklings. Moreover, those broods that have appeared are very late. Usually the first broods of mallards and pintails are seen around May 20; this year mallard and pintail broods only days-old were seen as late as July 1.

Minnesota – Jim Kimball, Minnesota game and fish director, reported water conditions 98 percent improved over 1961 in the western pothole area and that levels have held up well through the summer. Breeding-pair survey were made in ten western countries where most of the ducks are produced Local ducks, principally mallards and bluewing teal, are up an estimated 10 percent over last year, and 14 percent above the 1958-61 average. There was some flooding of nests and some renesting, but the feeling is that over production will be at least as good as last year.

So, all in all, it looks like this is not yet the year for liberalization of duck harvest regulations. But there is an encouragement for the future in the fall that 1962 saw the end of the long drought that nearly ruined major duck producing regions.

Now, at least, we seem to be turned around and headed in the right direction. And we must remember that ducks are an elastic wildlife resource. They can and have bounded back from dangerously low population levels. But they need conservation by man and major assist from the weather.

At the turn of the century incalculable millions of ducks migrated along the flyways of North America. Hunting was unrestricted as to seasons, method and limits.

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Hunt lake Manitoba Narrows

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MANITOBA can boast some of the best outdoors-style craftspeople in Canada. We have painters and knife makers, and some of Manitoba’s woodcarvers are beginning to take the decoy carving world by storm.

As many know, decoys are used by most waterfowl hunters to help lure birds within shotgun range, and the art of wooden decoy carving goes back many hundreds of years. Back in the “old days,” wooden decoys were the norm and the collecting of those antique decoys has become an obsession for many. In fact, there are decoy styles that typify certain carvers and certain regions of North America. For example, Manitoba’s own Delta Marsh, for decades a treasured waterfowling area, has its very own “Delta-style” wooden decoy.

The Manitoba decoy carving tradition is thriving, thanks in large part to the Oak Hammock Carving Guild. The guild is a group of about 20 dedicated carvers who regularly meet at the Oak Hammock Centre (OHC) to create wooden decoys and other types of carving as well. And according to master carver Bill Palmer, Manitoba’s carvers rank right up there with the very best.

“Manitoba’s decoy carvers can truly be described as world-class,” said Palmer. “Take St. Claude’s Jean Minaudier, who creates stunning decoys, and when he attends the World Carving Competition, he literally cleans up.”

During the weekend of May 15 and 16, the guild held the seventh annual Decoy Carving Competion at OHC. According to Palmer, the event is designed to test the skills of Manitoba’s master carvers to create real traditional hunting decoys that can be taken into the marsh.

“We had three categories,” explained Palmer. “There are the true hunting decoys that are sturdy and painted with oils so they won’t deteriorate in the water. Then we have the traditional hunting decoys that most often end up in collections, and then we have the contemporary hunter decoy class where the carvers’ imaginations take over with often stunning results.”

Interestingly, the decoy judging takes place literally in the water. Decoys are placed in the marsh and three judges carefully grade the “birds” based on their actual utility in the duck blind.

“Many guild members are dedicated waterfowlers,” explained Palmer, “which explains why our fall weekend workshops have fewer attendees; they are all in the marsh with their decoys and shotguns.”

Bunch of winners

Best of Show winners were: Danny Myhal, novice division; Ron Pozernick, intermediate division; and Saskatoon’s Harvey Welch, open division. The Oak Hammock purchase award went to Ray Minaudier for his black scoter; the Richard Whittom award went to Frank McFarlane for his merganser drake head; the Rod Fowler Memorial purchase award went to Doug Carson of Neepawa for his plover; the Ross Gage purchase award went to Al Whitfield for his antiqued Shorebird. A merganser hen by Harvey Welch received the Best of Show award.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/other/carving-a-name-for-themselves-95172669.html

It was here in Yellowknife, on an inlet of the Great Slave Lake, that Stephen Kakfwi, then a minister of wildlife and economic development who would go on to become premier of the Northwest Territories, brought together in 1996 a group that would decide which areas of the forest needed to be protected and which areas could be developed.

The trigger was the opening of diamond mines in the area, some occupying prime hunting grounds for the local tribe, the Dene.

The process turned into something called the Protected Area Strategy (PAS). Local tribes designated areas like calving or hunting grounds or places of spiritual significance, with input from scientists. After negotiations with miners, the provincial and then federal governments officially set aside these areas as parks.

“The PAS was the first tool to get everyone to work together,” Kakfwi, now retired from politics, said during a drive through the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary, another success story where the wood bison, the largest land mammal in North America, has gone from under 200 to over 2,000 – many of them grazing by the side of the road.

Today, under the PAS system, the Northwest Territories is in the process of more than doubling its parks area from 10 percent to 23 percent.

“The PAS opened the way,” said David De Launay, an assistant deputy minister of the environment in Ontario, in an interview in Toronto.

Last week’s agreement between tree huggers and tree cutters is the latest chapter in a process, initiated by Kakfwi 16 years ago, in which environmentalists, native governments, political leaders and Canadian logging companies work together to set aside lands for conservation on a scale never seen in human history, with existing commitments totaling 1.6 million square kilometres, an area nearly the size of Iran (or five times the size of France).

“These commitments are five times the U.S. national parks system,” says Steve Kallick, the director of the Pew Environment Group’s International Boreal Conservation Campaign, which has played a leading role in facilitating these processes. “Canada has gone from leading the pack to lapping the field.”

Much of this land is in the lightly populated northern boreal forest zone, which lies between the treeless tundra and the southern fifth of the country where most of its population lives.

“The threats to the far northern boreal forests don’t seem significant right now,” says Nigel Roulet of McGill University. “After all, we’re only developing a tiny fraction of the resources that are there.”

“But I’m convinced pressure is going to increase as northern Canada gets warmer and it gets easier to operate there. Also, I expect our resources will become more valuable as other sources get exhausted,” he added. “That’s why it’s important to lock in this legislation now.”

When the process of creating the world’s protected areas network began a decade ago, saving the woodland caribou and other wildlife was the prime goal. It received fresh vigour and legitimacy over the past few years as new studies of the remote region showed the forest will play a key role in future climate change scenarios.

In July 2008, Ontario’s premier Dalton McGuinty announced the province would turn half of its northern boreal region into nature reserves, setting aside 225,000 sq km “for ourselves, future Ontarians and for the sake of the planet”. Here again, scientists and native Canadians – known locally as First Nations – would play a central role in determine which parts would be protected from mining, logging and dam- building.

In the other half of Ontario’s boreal region, development would be encouraged in some areas and restricted in others, taking into account the carbon implications, among others, of any project, says Roulet, who is advising the Ontario government.

In 2009, Quebec’s Premier Jean Charest made a similar commitment for an area nearly three times larger, promising like Ontario to protect at least half as new parks, refuges and nature reserves and ensure that new development in the other half can only start if it fits into an approved land- use plan.

Another province, Manitoba passed a law providing for consultations with First Nations over protecting another 85,000 sq km.

Meanwhile, on the federal level, when the Conservatives took over four years ago, they pledged to double the area of national parks to 183,000 sq km by 2012.

“It’s our gift to future generations,” said Alan Latourelle, CEO of Parks Canada. “We’re the last generation that can do that.”

Even Avrim Lazar, head of the Forest Products Association of Canada, which groups loggers, paper mills and other wood- product companies, was enthusiastic.

“The boreal forest is a huge wilderness treasure and Ontario’s plan is a huge step in the right direction,” he said at the time. “We strongly believe that every improvement in environmental quality can translate into market value for our products.”

The latest step in that process came last week, when after two years of negotiations with nine environmental groups, the 21 members of the association he leads signed an agreement with nine environmental groups.

The members agreed to set aside some 300,000 sq km of the public lands for which they have leases and to harvest the rest under the eco-friendly standards of the Forest Stewardship Council. In exchange, the green groups agreed top suspend their campaigns with buyers of wood products, enabling the companies to gain market share.

In just five years, the proportion of logging done under the Council’s rules, which reduce environmental damage and ensure that the rights of natives and employees are respected, has risen eightfold to 350,000 sq km, 20 percent of the area logged.

“I expect 80 percent of the logging will be done this way within 10 years,” says Antony Marcil, the council’s CEO, noting that not all logging companies are members of the Forest Products Association of Canada.

Caribou biologist Justina Ray, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, says it’s still too early to say whether the lands to bet set aside will be the ones most needed by the woodland caribou, whose numbers have been falling recently.

“The devil’s in the details,” she said. “But at least now we have a different model for the north than we used in the south, which was develop what we want and try to salvage the best of what’s left.”

A shooting skills day held in Seven Sisters last weekend attracted nearly 40 people that event organizer Wayne Single said virtually guarantees it’ll happen again next year.

“Everyone had a great day and we had so many good volunteers and generous sponsors. For a first time it certainly proved popular,” Single said.

The skills day, which attracted people of all ages and allowed them to try their hand at archery, rifle shooting, skeet shooting, shotguns, and muzzle loader, was sponsored by the Manitoba Wildlife Federation (MWF) and hosted by the Seven Sisters and Lac du Bonnet wildlife associations.

Those like 12-year-old Riley Bear came out to have some fun and learn how to safely use the weapons.

“It’s fun, I like it a lot,” the young man said.

White Lake cottager Darren Towells brought his 13-year-old son Pavel out as well.

“It’s good for the kids to experience this and learn how to do it safely,” Darren said.

Seven Sisters Wildlife Association vice president Al Kotowich said it’s good to see such an event happen after so many years.

“We once had something like this way back, but it was so long ago I can’t even recall,” Kotowich said. The skills day was held at the association’s shooting range just outside Seven Sisters along Homestead Road.

The Seven Sisters Wildlife Association itself has been around since the 1960s, and has over 100 members from around southern Manitoba.

Lac du Bonnet’s recently-revived wildlife association has more than 200 members now. President Gerry Arbez was pleased to see so many people come out for the event.

Reg Wiebe, hunter education coordinator for the MWF, said archery and gun-related sports are experiencing a surge in popularity because public perception of guns and hunting is beginning to change.

“In 1998 we had 1,600 people in Manitoba graduate the (hunter’s safety course),” he said. “Since then that number has doubled. It’s not as taboo like it used to be, and I think people are rediscovering it.”

Sponsors for the event included Cabela’s, Wholesale Sports, and Tirschman Grocery Gun & Archery. The Whitemouth 4H Club also helped out.

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Hunt lake Manitoba Narrows

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Fall is hunting season, and the County of Newell offers plenty of ideal scenic locations and amenities for hunters and their traveling companions.

If hunters need to practice their shots, the Books Clays and Feathers Club (www.clayandfeathers.ca) offers a shooting range that feels like golfing with a shotgun. Shooters perfect their shot at 24 stations over a 1.5-mile sporting clays range. The club also has four standard American trap layouts, equipped with voice-command systems, plus a wide range or target presentations, which simulate shotgun game hunting.

The Canadian Pheasant Company (www.canadianpheasant.com), just east of Brooks, is Canada’s largest pheasant production facility. With over 80 acres of irrigated flight pens and a state-of-the-art hatchery, they can produce 200,000 top-quality pheasants a year, many of which are released for hunting purposes.

When all that fresh air and hunting work up an appetite, gamesmen can satisfy their hunger at the Bassano Masonic Sportsman Supper(October 22) or with the western flavours of the famous Patricia Hotel Steak Pit (www.thepatriciahotel.ca). Patricia is the place to savour the taste of a tender, juicy beef steak, or genuine buffalo steak, with all the trimmings. The coffee shop welcomes families and lighter appetites, while The Water Hole Tavern’s dance floor, pool table and special drink, “The Patricia Blowout,” will satisfy a hunger for fun.

Once the evening has wounded down, several motels, campsites and bed-and-breakfasts are available for a relaxing, comfortable stay. Tillebrook Provincial Park, just east of Brooks, offers travellers a quiet, shady oasis surrounded by grasslands, and remains open until October 12. The Village of Tilley also has a new campsite next to the village, and winter campers are welcome at Dinosaur Provincial Park and Kinbrook Island Provincial Park.

The Douglas Country Inn, Stagecoach Inn, and the 100-year-old Imperial Hunter Hotel in Bassano (www.imperialhunterhotel.ca) are all well-known to pheasant, bird and game hunters. The Douglas Country Inn (www.bbcanada.com/10098.html), located on the road to Dinosaur Provincial Park, has in-house dining, friendly hosts and heated dog kennels for those furry hunting companions.

If you need activities for the family, there is a pumpkin-carving contest at EID Historical Museum (www.eidhistoricalpark.com) on October 30, or Country Christmas celebrations at Dinosaur Provincial Park on November 20. Visitors will find plenty of exciting activities in the Country of Newell this fall.

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In this stretch of years the hunting pressure more than doubled. 448,204 duck stamps were sold in the all-time low year or 1935, and 1,487,029 in 1944. Then came World War II with another decline in hunting pressure and a rest for the ducks. But overshooting and the pressure of man made themselves felt again soon after the war. Ducks went into another tailspin. In 1945 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service estimated 20,000,000 fewer ducks than in the previous year. By 1946 the duck population had fallen to a total of 80,000,000 a decline of 45,000,000 from the estimated 125,000,000 population of 1944. So the 1946 season was cut to 45 days with limits of 7 ducks daily 14 in possession. Further reductions were necessary in 1947, with a 30-day season and four and eight limits in the Mississippi and Atlantic flyways where the greatest waterfowl declines had been observed. Once again man’s self-imposed restrictions and the weather came to the rescue of the ducks. There was a slight improvement in the waterfowl population in 1949 and a 40-day season was permitted. But the limit was held to four and eight that year, and in 1950, when a temporary duck setback was recorded, the season was cut to 35 days.

Then weather intervened again in the form of good rains. In my 1952 Sports Afield survey of ducks in western Canada I reported the best hatch in 15 years. It was spectacular in Alberta, Saskatchewan and northern Manitoba. So the season was extended. By 1953 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service estimated the duck population at 160,750,000. In the fall of 1954 heavy rains provided conditions for a real boom in waterfowl the following year. The early spring and ideal nesting conditions of 1955 accentuated the boom. There was water everywhere, western Canada was in great shape for waterfowl and there was a great hatch of ducks.

The season was liberalized in 1955, with an all-time high sale of 2,181,566 duck stamps. Sales held pretty well through the next year, then went up to 2,332,014 in 1957.

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Hunt lake Manitoba Narrows

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