EP 559. ”Splash Limits” versus Hunter Satisfaction

"Splash limits" offer hunters the option to bag any 3 ducks regardless of sex or species. Through 2025, the 2-tiered duck hunting pilot program in South Dakota and Nebraska gives hunters the choice of licenses entitling them to either convention bag limits or splash limits, and was intended to grow future waterfowl numbers.  Dies it seem to be working as intended? Who would choose to bag fewer ducks, and why the heck do we need more duck hunters? Why did some states refrain from experimental participation, why might more states begin considering this harvest strategy--or definitely not--and how has this increased harvest of sensitive species such as canvasbacks--or has it? South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks' Senior Waterfowl Biologist, Rocco Murano, is a gifted communicator, shedding light on the splash limit experiment's objectives, data collection, measures of success and preliminary results. While waterfowl identification has been a fundamental tenet of duck hunting since forever, this fascinating conversation has me rethinking the conventional harvest paradigm and definition of hunter satisfaction.

 

 

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