Migratory Game Bird Regulations and Flyway Process Dave Luukkonen, Wildlife Division Law Enforcement Division, Waterfowl Enforcement Training September 16, 2014

Presentation Goals Increase your understanding of: Federal/State Migratory bird regulation setting processes Biological and social considerations for migratory bird regulations Increase my understanding of: Law Enforcement issues and concerns relevant to migratory bird regulations

Migratory Game Birds in Michigan Protected Under the Migratory Bird Treat Act Ducks and mergansers Geese Others Black duck Black scoter Blue winged teal Bufflehead Canvasback Common goldeneye Common merganser Gadwall Greater Scaup Green winged teal Hooded merganser Lesser Scaup Long-tailed duck Mallard Pintail Red breasted merganser Redhead Ringnecked duck Ruddy duck Shoveler Surf scoter White winged scoter Widgeon Wood duck American coot American Woodcock Common moorhen Common snipe Sora rail Virginia rail Brant Canada goose Ross' goose Snow goose White fronted goose

Some Interesting Statistics About Migratory Hunting in Michigan Among U.S. states, Michigan ranked 6th for Federal duck stamp sales (2010 & 2011 season average). Can you guess the top five states? TX, MN, LA, WI, CA Waterfowl hunters spent about $22.7 million on hunting trips in Michigan (2012-13 season) Michigan was 4th in the nation in harvest behind MN, ND, and MD in harvest of this migratory bird during the 2013 season? Michigan always leads the nation in annual harvest of what duck and migratory upland bird species? Processes Completed Consider additional waterfowl population status information (mid-July) Provide framework recommendations to USFWS via Mississippi Flyway Council (July 17 – 23) Consider additional input via mail surveys and Citizen’s Waterfowl Advisory Committee (July 29) Provide options and recommendations to NRC for action in August

Michigan Canada Goose and Mallard Harvest Composition Derived From Weighted Band Recoveries Canada geese Mallard

Agency Roles in Regulation Setting U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service Sets frameworks for migratory bird seasons Flyway Councils Provide mechanism for coordinated management and input on federal regulation frameworks MIDNR Participate in Flyway process Gather input from public, including Citizens Waterfowl Advisory Committee Make Recommendations to Natural Resources Commission Make season selections through Federal Process

Federal/State/Provincial Cooperative Management of Migratory Birds Michigan’s Representatives to the Mississippi Flyway Council PACIFIC CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI ATLANTIC Council Representative: Russ Mason (WLD Chief) Technical Section: Dave Luukkonen and Barbara Avers (Game) Karen Cleveland (Nongame) Law Enforcement Committee: Dave Shaw

Waterfowl Hunting Regulations Schedule Early Seasons February/March Mississippi Flyway Council Citizen’s Waterfowl Advisory Committee (CWAC) June Regulations for information at NRC USFWS Regulations Committee Set early season framework July Regulations for action at NRC Meeting Early Season Selections Due to USFWS Late Seasons July Regulations for information at NRC Mississippi Flyway Council USFWS Regulations Committee Set late season framework August CWAC Meeting Regulations for action at NRC Late Season Selections Due to USFWS July 27-28 is Service Regs committee

Duck Season Considerations Moving on to duck breeding habitat conditions and population status.

49.2 million birds in 2014 Up 8% from 2013 43% above LTA

www.flyways.us

Adaptive Harvest Management (AHM) Adopted by FWS in 1995 Process of using monitoring data to make “optimal” decisions about regulations Based on the size of the mid-continent mallard population (including MI, MN, & WI) and the number of Canadian ponds Current goal to maximize long-term harvest of mid-continent mallards Process of learning through setting regulations (season length and daily limits) Based on mid-continent mallards and Canadian ponds 12

AHM Matrix for 2014

2014 Duck Framework Liberal Season (60 days) Saturday nearest September 24 to the last Sunday in January Duck bag limit 6 total, 4 mallard, 2 female mallard, 3 wood ducks, 2 redheads, 3 scaup, 2 pintails, 1 black duck, 1 canvasback Seasons may be set by zone (north, middle, south) allowing one split in each zone 14

700,000 in 2014 Similar to 2013 18% above LTA NAWMP Goal

FYI States can adopt regulations that are more restrictive than Federal Migratory Bird Hunting Season Frameworks For example, several MF states (including Michigan) allowed only 1 hen mallard daily although the Federal Frameworks allow for 2 For what other migratory bird do we select regulations more restrictive than Federal Frameworks? Processes Completed Consider additional waterfowl population status information (mid-July) Provide framework recommendations to USFWS via Mississippi Flyway Council (July 17 – 23) Consider additional input via mail surveys and Citizen’s Waterfowl Advisory Committee (July 29) Provide options and recommendations to NRC for action in August

Factors affecting productivity and harvest rates of mallards in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, 1961-2011 My name is Howie Singer and I am a graduate student at Michigan State University working under the advisement of Dave Luukkonen and Scott Winterstein. My research at MSU involves different aspects of mallards breeding in the Great Lake States. Today I will be showing everyone some of the work I have done and some I am continuing to do. Howard Singer August 25, 2014

Adult female mallard kill rates These next two graphs are summaries of the time series data for harvest rates. The first series is the mean harvest rates for michigan minnesota and wisconsin from 1961-1996 and the second series if the time period during AHM. Note that in all 3 states harvest rates are lower during AHM than they were historically.

Juvenile female mallard kill rates The same pattern holds for hatch year birds as wellThe take home message here is that even with the liberal package under AHM, we are experiencing harvest rates that are lower than that of histoircal times when seasons were shorter and for the most part more restrictive.

MI annual mallard harvest/hunter

Canada Goose Status and Regulation Considerations

MF Canada and Cackling Goose Breeding Ranges 2 Species 5 Management Populations

Canada Goose Abundance in the Mississippi Flyway, 1939-2014

Canada Goose Abundance in the Mississippi Flyway, 1939-2014

Population Estimates, 1991-2014 Michigan Canada Goose Population Estimates, 1991-2014 25

Federal Canada Goose Harvest Estimates for MI, 1961-2014

2014 Canada Goose Season Frameworks Early season Upper Peninsula and Huron, Tuscola, and Saginaw Counties 1-10 September Remainder of state 1-15 September Maximum 5 bird daily limit Regular season Maximum 92 days No earlier than 16 September No later than January 31 Maximum 2 bird daily limit Late season Maximum 30 days No earlier than 31 December No Later than 15 February Season splits Regular seasons may be split into 3 segments SJBP frameworks exclude local Goose Management Units

Regular Canada Goose Season Length, MVP and SJBP Zones, 1998-2014

2014 Federal Frameworks for Other Geese Snow and Ross: 107 days up to 20-bird daily limit White-fronted: 88 days 1-bird daily limit Brant: 29

Great Lakes, Great Times, Great Outdoors Thank you Great Lakes, Great Times, Great Outdoors www.michigan.gov/dnr