Research and Management
Methods developed over the years and applied systematically supply information which is necessary to intelligent management. Breeding pair and brood surveys indicate the distribution of nesting populations, and their success from year to year in hatching and raising their broods of young. The banding of waterfowl, carefully aged, sexed, and released, gives specific information on the travels of individual birds, on mortality, and on some phases of hunting pressure. Periodic air-counts in late summer and fall serve to measure, in a rough way, the distribution of different species during southward migration, and the rate of movement. Hunter-bag checks, carried out in the field during the shooting season, complement fall counts with regard to distribution at given points. A post-season sampling of hunter success, by mail, supplies data on additional aspects of hunting pressure, and gives an index of total kill. Finally, the annual winter count indicates the distribution and relative size of populations remaining after the shooting season ends. In combination, these methods are steadily increasing our knowledge of North American waterfowl, and in particular are providing the sort of “running inventory” which is the first requirement for intelligent management of this resource.
The Central Flyway Council is the clearing house for coordinated planning in this Flyway. It is a delegate organization, including in its membership administrative and technical representatives from the fish and game departments of all states and provinces in the flyway. A Flyway Representative has been assigned from the Fish and Wildlife Service. This group is concerned with all phases of waterfowl research and management in the flyway. The Central Flyway Council provides for an effective interchange of information between member agencies and assists in the coordination and integration of flyway management programs. These purposes have been furthered by regular meetings for the open discussion of flyway problems.