Youth Waterfowl Day: Getting 'em started

"You see any ducks, Dad?" 13-year-old Hunter Landwehr asked his father just after legal shooting time at dawn Saturday on a pond near Prior Lake.

"I see nothing," answered Tom Landwehr, scanning the lush green pastoral landscape.

But before he finished the words, a flock of perhaps 20 teal rocketed past just out of shotgun range, their wings whistling through the calm, warm air. They vanished as quickly as they arrived.

"When you least expect it," muttered the elder Landwehr, Department of Natural Resources commissioner and an avid waterfowl hunter.

Landwehr, 56, was among parents and guardians who accompanied an estimated 5,000 kids age 15 and under Saturday on Minnesota's Youth Waterfowl Day. Also along was Hunter's friend Corey Benson, 13, of Shoreview and mentor, Alex Larson, 20, of Mounds View. I hunkered nearby.

This was the 16th annual youth hunt. But Saturday's outing was historic. The kids hunted ducks earlier than anyone has in Minnesota in 93 years. In 1918, the duck season opened Sept. 7.

Saturday's special one-day hunt, usually held two weeks before the regular duck opener, is for youths accompanied by non-hunting adults. The idea is to encourage youngsters to take up waterfowl hunting -- a key goal considering the state has lost 40,000 duck hunters in the past dozen years.

Gabe Hofrenning, 14, of Northfield downed five Canada geese, his limit, in a field. "They came in pretty good," he said with a grin. "It was fantastic."

The ducks were scarce, but we saw some mallards, teal and wood ducks.

Early hunting

Landwehr was instrumental in making Saturday's hunt unique. After the Legislature changed a law to allow the DNR to open the regular duck season a week earlier than in recent years, Landwehr shifted the season's first day to Sept. 24. He then had to decide whether to retain the traditional two weeks between the youth day and the regular season, or hold the youth hunt on Sept. 17, just a week before the opener.

Some hunters -- and Landwehr himself -- questioned whether Sept. 10 would be too early. Some ducks might not be fledged, and likely none would be fully plumed, meaning identification would be difficult.

Landwehr said the DNR's waterfowl committee, made up of biologists, wildlife mangers, conservation officers and supervisors, suggested Sept. 10

"They said, biologically, it's not an issue," Landwehr said. A week wouldn't make much difference, they said.

So Landwehr went with Sept. 10.

Besides, he said, the kids disturb fewer ducks than once thought.

For years, officials estimated up to 23,000 youngsters participated in the event, based on end-of-year hunter surveys. But last year the DNR began requiring youths age 15 and under to get a free small-game license to hunt.

Other states offer two-day youth waterfowl hunts, but Minnesota offers just one day, a nod to the 27 percent of waterfowlers who oppose the hunt, according to a 2005 scientific survey of duck hunters. About 63 percent support the youth hunt.

Save the ammo

The only thing that was disturbing Saturday was the lack of ducks.

Hunter and Corey waited patiently in their blind with Landwehr and Larson. By 8:30, they pulled their decoys without having fired a shot.

"I think I killed a lot of mosquitoes," Hunter said.

Doug Smith • dsmith@startribune.com