Dennis Anderson: Changing times for duck hunters

Fifteen Minnesota waterfowlers and a handful of state wildlife officials gathered Tuesday in Rogers to write a new chapter in Minnesota duck hunting history.

The group's intent wasn't so much to decry a shortage of ducks in Minnesota, or to bemoan that duck-hunting opportunities here have declined over the years as wetlands have been drained, and those that remain have been degraded.

Those facts aren't in dispute and wouldn't have warranted members of this hand-picked bunch to travel from throughout the state to attend a four-hour meeting.

Instead, the 11 men and four women came at the invitation of the DNR, and particularly of Commissioner Tom Landwehr, a duck hunter who is himself concerned about the future of these birds.

"We want to get your input," Landwehr said, adding that the goal of assembling the state's first "Waterfowl Hunter Focus Group" was to develop a duck initiative for Minnesota.

More than 300 duck and goose hunters applied for membership to the focus group. Age, gender and town of residence formed part of the DNR's selection criteria for the eight at-large members. The remaining seven represent a cross-section of organizations that in turn represent thousands of Minnesota duck hunters.

Among them: Ducks Unlimited, the Minnesota Waterfowl Association, Delta Waterfowl, the Minnesota Conservation Federation, the Izaak Walton League, the Minnesota Duck and Goose Callers Association and the Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Alliance.

One question: "Should duck hunting in the state open on the Saturday nearest Sept. 24, or the Saturday nearest Oct. 1? (State law requires the latter; legislative approval would be needed to open near the earlier date.)

When first asked, the group generally was split, with nine members strongly agreeing or agreeing, and the remainder disagreeing or strongly disagreeing.

Discussion followed, with those favoring an earlier opener arguing that more blue-winged teal and wood ducks would be in the state at the time, and that more young hunters might take up the sport if mild weather was likely to prevail on the opener.

Those favoring the current opener didn't so much disagree as worry the earlier opening date would cost them late-season hunting opportunities.

But duck-hunting management is nothing if not complex, and Landwehr subsequently had the group consider the question if the state were divided into two different hunting zones, say north and south, and the southern zone was also "split," meaning it would open on the Saturday nearest Sept. 24, stay open for an indeterminate period, close for a week, then open again -- thus allowing both early and late season hunting, albeit with a week lost in between.

So the evening went, with each question drawing considerable comment, not least this: "Should Minnesota open duck hunting one-half hour before sunrise on opening day (instead of 9 a.m., as it is now)?"

Twelve members strongly agreed or agreed before the subject was discussed. The other three voiced concerns about identifying ducks at the earlier hour, and about hunter crowding and safety in the dark. But a later vote showed their worries had abated, and 14 were in favor.

More meetings are planned, with questions about the 4 p.m. duck-hunting closure in early season, early over-water goose hunting and spinning-wing decoys to be discussed.

The DNR might not adopt any of the group's opinions. But Landwehr made equally clear to the group, if only implicitly, that change is coming to duck-hunting management in Minnesota, and that hunters themselves will be part of the change.

A critic could argue that most duck hunters will favor more opportunity for themselves -- absent continual reminders about the dismal condition of duck habitat in Minnesota, and the challenges this poses for waterfowl. But it's also true that it's the DNR's job to balance hunters' wishes with the agency's paramount responsibility to manage ducks in their own best interest.