MORE ABOUT THE N EW MALLARD MODEL

Many years of effort on the part of DFG and California Waterfowl finally resulted in a Western Mallard Model for setting hunting regulations based on the birds we produce and harvest here in the Pacific Flyway. This is the first year that USFWS used the long-awaited Western Mallard Model, and yet ironically the liberal limit it suggested caused some concern. In the end, DFG and the Regulations and Traditions Committee chose a more restrictive stance for mallard hens, despite a strong desire to reap the rewards of a long battle.

Historically, the USFWS used a continental system for setting the hunting regulations, and frequently this broad-based system didn’t concur with what was happening with mallards locally. Work to generate data for the western model began in 1985 when DFG and California Waterfowl teamed up to collect data on locally breeding ducks. To date, we have worked together to band more than 135,000 mallards using Duck Stamp funds.