Duck Hunter Surveys

R

Rod VanZile

Active member
I'm curious to see how many of the members here participated in a Federal or State waterfowl survey this year. I was asked to track my hunting days and harvest numbers, both duck and goose for Indiana only.

Also wondering what they do with the data collected.

RVZ
 
Rod

I participated in the wing survey. I think it's the fourth time for me. I bet Brad can answer your question.

Eric
 
Ron (and everyone else).

I'll answer this in a very general way but I'd be happy to answer specific questions. The USFWS and state agencies conduct harvest surveys to estimate the number, species, age and sex of the critters harvested by hunters and the number of hunters actively hunting. All of this information goes back into monitoring the populations and setting the appropriate hunting seasons. The data is used in all sorts of analyses to evaluate potential new seasons or regulations, defend hunting in court, and many other uses. When used with banding data, harvest data can be used to estimate the size of populations of birds. Participation in harvest surveys and reporting bands are two of the most important ways that hunters can ensure that hunting seasons will continue. I can't state it enough that it's in hunters best interests to participate.

If you have specific questions fell free to ask.

I was asked to track my days and harvest in the US and Canada this year, submit waterfowl wings in the US, report overall waterfowl harvest in the state of Washington to WDFW and the number of Brant harvested in Washington to both WDFW and USFWS. It's the least I can do to continue to hunt and ensure my grandson can hunt in the future.
 
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I participated in the Fed survey for CT. I sent a daily log, and wings, this year and the last 3
 
I have participated in the wing survey several years. The daily tracking one a few years as well. Also some random ones (rail hunting in RI I think), which is odd because I've never hunted rails in RI!

I always enjoy doing it, and really enjoy seeing how my seasons have changed. When I was younger I sent in FAR more wings than I do these days and its fun to look back at those records.
 
I have done both in the past, I believe they only ask you a few years in a row before taking a break.

Last year I was chosen for the survey and record of daily harvest, this year I did the wings. I also helped out the local federal biologist and saved carcasses for him for avian flu swabbing.
 
Thanks guys for all the responses. I have participated in the wing survey four times in 39 years of waterfowl hunting, and the state survey twice. Out of all the waterfowl hunters I know here in Indiana and Michigan, I have not encountered anyone else that was chosen for the sur veys.

Brad, I'm sure the data is used effectively to manage our resource. Appreciate your response.

As a side note, all my banded birds have been reported over the years.

RVZ
 
This year I was asked to participate in a contaminants survey. I believe it was NY, NJ, and PA. They were interested in Black Ducks, Mallards, Teal, and Canada Geese. I was asked to take a picture of each bird, submit it, show on a map where it was harvested, and a biologist would contact me within 48 hours and let me know if they wanted the bird. Each bird was to be kept intact (not dressed) until they contacted me. If they wanted the bird (mature birds only) they would send a cooler and prepaid label. I was skeptical as I did not want a pile of whole birds in my fridge. The whole process went well though and the biologists usually contacted me within a few hours. I sent quite a number of whole birds in. The results of the study are to be shared with me later this year.

I've never been asked to do a wing survey.
 
Hunters are selected randomly but successful hunters are sampled at a higher rate.

My funny story about getting picked to be in the survey is that it is done entirely randomly and anonymously. In my previous job my signature was on the bottom of the letter asking hunters to participate in the survey. One year I was selected so I received a letter from myself asking me to participate in the survey. My wife thought it was pretty funny.
 
Last year I participated in the CT survey. This year I participated in the RI one (though I didn't hunt there this year) and the wing survey. Then I received a request for the CT one at the end of January 2022 for the 21-22 season. I haven't filled it out yet, I called and left a message with a question , no call back. I was hoping maybe they could put the wing survey together; as while I keep a tally of all the birds I shoot each year, I wasn't going to be able to get the dates accurate (didnt keep those on my sheet- will next year). That being said it's still sitting on my shelf.
 
Brad Bortner said:
Hunters are selected randomly but successful hunters are sampled at a higher rate.
Click to expand...

I try to emphasize this to many conspiracy theorists who say they "don't want the government to know what they kill". I've been chosen for waterfowl, dove and Woodcock surveys. I've always considered it an honor to be able to contribute.
 
Paul Taylor said:
Brad Bortner said:
Hunters are selected randomly but successful hunters are sampled at a higher rate.
Click to expand...

I try to emphasize this to many conspiracy theorists who say they "don't want the government to know what they kill". I've been chosen for waterfowl, dove and Woodcock surveys. I've always considered it an honor to be able to contribute.
Click to expand...

Even worse are those that lie in the surveys to try and lower the harvest numbers thinking it leads to more opportunity. "If I tell them I'm killing X when I kill 3X" types don't realize is they are shooting themselves in the foot. The less accurate (more variability) the harvest estimates are the greater the the uncertainty becomes. Uncertainty leads to more restrictive bags and shorter seasons. Ask any statistician and they will tell you the more precise the estimates are the better they feel about their knowledge of how the system is working and the more at ease they are to "loosen up." Uncertainty is the enemy, not the USF&WS.

Eric
 
I appreciate you fighting the conspiracy theorists and under-reporting hunters. The conspiracy theorists always make me laugh. The names and addresses of hunters are not turned over to law enforcement for game violations or anything else. I have heard all sorts of concerns but never heard one story or fact that backs up any of the conspiracies. Just people making up stuff.

As for under-reporting. The questions you are asked when getting your HIP registration or migratory bird permit are just screening questions to lead to a more efficient and cost effective survey. When it comes to the questions about rails, snipe and other species, you can imagine how hard it is to randomly find rail hunters among all the duck and goose hunters. Another common problem is the sporting goods store clerks who don't ask those questions or just answer "did not hunt or zero" for number of birds shot last year. What we have found in a few states over the past 2 years is that those clerks are also HIP registering deer/rabbit/squirrel hunters. This adds additional uncertainty to the sampling process.

The vast majority of hunters I have talked to over the years are conscientious and willing to participate in surveys if they know what the data is used for and what the survey is about. They want to make sure seasons are set based off of sound data and they want to be legal. But in this day and age, questionnaires have shown that the most trusted source of information for hunters is other hunters. Unfortunately state and federal agencies, hunting and conservation groups, and outdoor writers/magazines/publications are not viewed as credible as your buddies/fellow hunters. In my mind the best way to fight these issues is to answer your questions and hope all of you can influence others by knowing answers to your questions.

There are a number of other retired and current waterfowl biologists on DHBP, I am sure that everyone of us would be happy to answer questions for the members here. Feel free to ask me a question at anytime.


Nick, the exact date isn't as important as to know how many days you hunted and what you harvested.
 
Are some States beta testing charging or receiving a small fee for the HIP survey in order to attempt to gather more accurate data and point of sale compliance? If so, is it too soon to tell if this has helped obtain more data of any sort?
 
Some states charge a small fee for HIP and others are adamantly opposed. It all comes down to how much that state sees the fees as an impediment to hunter recruitment and retention. Some states integrate the HIP into their state migratory bird permit or stamp. There is no doubt that a fee helps hunters decide if the need HIP or not. There was a review done in 2002 with the suggestion to charge a small fee for HIP. I don?t know how many states decided to charge based on that review. However it didn?t do much of anything in getting sales clerks to as the questions at many point of sale locations.
 
Bred,

Indiana and Michigan both require the survey questions be answered before the license transaction can be completed. It wasn't always that way in Michigan. I went toe to toe with a Michigan license agent years ago who didn't ask the HIP questions. I made him cancel the transaction and start over as I explained why this survey was important. He was not happy about the situation but complied.

RVZ
 
Ron, I think that is a fairly common experience. I had it happen to me when I was "a high ranking government official" in charge of all surveys at my childhood sporting goods store. They didn't ask me the questions. The clerk said "we don't do that here". I asked for the manager, I explained the importance of the questions, how it helped, and told him I was in charge of the survey. He still refused to ask me the questions, so I took my business elsewhere. I am hopeful that as agencies promote purchasing licenses through internet sales or develop apps that we will eventually remove the sales clerk from the licensing process.
 
I did it for 3 years in a row and then I started get them every year it seemed. I finally stopped sending them in. It became to much work as I was spending close to 100 days afield.
 
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