By Nick Simonson

With the approaching Youth Waterfowl Opener on Sat. Sep. 19, the Resident Waterfowl Opener set for Sat. Sep 26, and the Non-Resident Waterfowl Opener slated for Mon. Oct. 5, Ducks Unlimited Biologist Dane Buysse sees good things on the horizon for duck hunters in North Dakota as the starts of these duck hunting seasons come to be.

“The breeding ducks are pretty similar to what they were last year. The numbers you’re going to be seeing in North Dakota are going to be probably better than what you were seeing last year,” Buysse summarizes, expanding, “locally, you’re probably going to be seeing less mallards, which overall, across the country what they’ve shown is that mallards are at their lowest estimate in 33 years. But gadwalls specifically in North Dakota are up 96 percent from last year’s survey. Pintails and redheads were also up 76 percent. So, we’re producing a lot of those birds this year,” he concludes, adding that significant recent rains in Alberta and Saskatchewan may slow down migrating ducks as well, extending the action later into fall.

While mallard numbers are once again off this year and hovering around a three-decade low, Buysse notes that a number of other species benefitted from moisture in both the northwestern and northeastern portions of the state, particularly near Devils Lake, in the latter.  That hotspot should likely draw hunters to a traditional autumn area for waterfowl, and they will see more of noted species in their bag both from resident birds and migrating ducks.

“Our biologists and agronomists have been putting on the miles across the state, that’s for sure. And one of the things we’ve been noticing is we’re noticing a fair number of ducks on those ponds that are out there.  Like the northwest region, the Devils Lake region specifically has received some pretty significant rainfall this year and the potholes are filling up there, the ones that are there,” Buysse explains.

While drier conditions elsewhere throughout North Dakota and the prairie pothole region in general have been the case throughout much of the spring and summer, it’s turning the tide of habitat loss that has been at the forefront of Ducks Unlimited’s focus over the past 12 months. Via grants through the state’s Outdoor Heritage Fund, DU biologists, staff and grassroots volunteers have been able to restore those sloughs and prairie pothole wetlands that have been lost to drain tiling and development over the past 50 years.  These are the efforts the organization hopes to build on in the coming seasons.

“There’s been some really exciting work going on in the state. Through the Outdoor Heritage Fund we received a grant called ND Warp, the whole focus was to restore drained wetlands and enroll those acres and adjacent uplands into PLOTS.  So what hunters are going to see in the fall here and in the next year or so, is 100 acres of restored wetlands, which is our goal with that project.  We’re looking to actually meet that and be enrolling an additional 3,000 acres into PLOTS,” Buysse details of DU’s habitat and access efforts which also include grassland plantings and virtual fencing projects with ranchers around the state to limit physical fencing on the  landscape.

More information on North Dakota’s waterfowl seasons can be found online at gf.nd.gov/hunting/waterfowl while additional information on Ducks Unlimited, its habitat efforts and waterfowl news for North Dakota can be found at ducks.org.

Simonson is the lead writer and editor of Dakota Edge Outdoors.

Featured Photo: Mallards are at a three-decade low, as drain tiling and removal of sloughs throughout the prairie pothole region of the upper Midwest have taken their toll on populations. Simonson Photo.