University of Nebraska - Lincoln
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln US Fish & Wildlife Publications
US Fish & Wildlife Service
7-24-2002
Waterfowl Population Status, 2002 Pamela R. Garrettson U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
[email protected]
Timothy J. Moser U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
[email protected]
Khristi Wilkins U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
[email protected]
Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usfwspubs Garrettson, Pamela R.; Moser, Timothy J.; and Wilkins, Khristi, "Waterfowl Population Status, 2002" (2002). US Fish & Wildlife Publications. Paper 403. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usfwspubs/403
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Waterfowl Population Status, 2002
WATERFOWL POPULATION STATUS, 2002
July 24, 2002
In North America the process of establishing hunting regulations for waterfowl is conducted annually. In the United States the process involves a number of scheduled meetings in which information regarding the status of waterfowl is presented to individuals within the agencies responsible for setting hunting regulations. In addition, public hearings are held and the proposed regulations are published in the Federal Register to allow public comment. This report includes the most current breeding population and production information available for waterfowl in North America and is a result of cooperative efforts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS), various State and Provincial conservation agencies, and private conservation organizations. This report is intended to aid the development of waterfowl harvest regulations in the U.S. for the 2002-2003 hunting season.
________________________________________________________________________________________ Cover art: Black scoters. Joseph Hautman, winner of the 2002-2003 Federal Duck Stamp design competition.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Waterfowl Population and Habitat Information: The information contained in this report is the result of the efforts of numerous individuals and organizations. Principal contributors include the Canadian Wildlife Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state wildlife conservation agencies, provincial conservation agencies from Canada, and Direccion General de Conservacion Ecologica de los Recursos Naturales, Mexico. In addition, several conservation organizations, other state and federal agencies, universities, and private individuals provided information or cooperated in survey activities. Some habitat and weather information was taken from the NOAA/USDA Joint Agriculture Weather Facility (http://www.usda.gov/oce/waob/jawf/), Environment Canada and Waterfowl Population Surveys reports (http://www1.tor.ec.gc.ca/ccrm/bulletin/), (http://migratorybirds.fws.gov/reports/reports.html). Appendix A provides a list of individuals responsible for the collection and compilation of data for the Ducks section of this report. Appendix B provides a list of individuals who were primary contacts for information included in the Geese and Swans section. We apologize for any omission of individuals from these lists, and thank all participants for their contributions. Without this combined effort, a comprehensive assessment of waterfowl populations and habitat would not be possible. Authors: This report was prepared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management, Branch of Surveys and Assessment. The principal authors are Pamela R. Garrettson, Tim Moser, and Khristi Wilkins. The authors compiled information from the numerous sources to provide an assessment of the status of waterfowl populations. Report Preparation: The preparation of this report involved substantial efforts on the part of many individuals. Support for the processing of data and publication was provided by Mark C. Otto, James A. Dubovsky, Judith P. Bladen, and Michael Runge. Graham Smith reviewed drafts of this report and provided helpful comments. Ray Bentley, John Bidwell, Karen Bollinger, Elizabeth Buelna, Bill Butler, Carl Ferguson, Rod King, Mark Koneff, Fred Roetker, John Solberg, Phil Thorpe, James Voelzer, and James Wortham provided habitat narratives, reviewed portions of the report that addressed major breeding areas, and provided helpful comments. This report should be cited as: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2002. Waterfowl population status, 2002. U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. 51pp. All Division of Migratory (http://migratorybirds.fws.gov).
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Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ 2 Table of Contents............................................................................................................................... 3 Status of ducks Methods ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Results and Discussion...................................................................................................................... 6 References......................................................................................................................................... 21 Status of geese and swans Methods ............................................................................................................................................. 22 Results and Discussion...................................................................................................................... 22 Appendices Appendix A. Individuals who supplied information on the status of ducks ....................................... 38 Appendix B. Individuals who supplied information on the status of geese and swans .................... 40 Appendix C. Transects and strata for areas of the breeding waterfowl and habitat survey ............. 42 Appendix D. Estimated number of May ponds and standard errors in portions of Prairie Canada and the northcentral U.S ....................................................................................................... 43 Appendix E. Breeding population estimates for total ducks and mallards for states, provinces, or regions that conduct spring surveys ................................................................................. 44 Appendix F. Breeding population estimates and standard errors for 10 species of ducks from the traditional survey area ............................................................................................ 46 Appendix G. Breeding population estimates and standard errors for the 10 most abundant species of ducks in the eastern survey area, 1999-2002 ..................................................... 48 Appendix H. Estimated number of July ponds and standard errors in portions of Prairie Canada and the northcentral U.S ....................................................................................................... 49 Appendix I. Canada goose population indices during 1969-2002 .................................................... 50 Appendix J. Population indices for snow geese, greater white-fronted geese, brant, emperor geese, and tundra swans during 1969-2002 ........................................................................ 51
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List of duck tables Table 1. Estimated number (in thousands) of May ponds in portions of Prairie Canada and the northcentral U.S. ............................................................................................................ 8 Table 2. Total duck breeding population estimates .......................................................................... 10 Table 3. Mallard breeding population estimates ............................................................................... 11 Table 4. Estimated number of July ponds in portions of Prairie Canada and the northcentral U.S. ....................................................................................................................................... 15 Table 5. Duck breeding population estimates for the traditional survey area................................... 16 Table 6. Duck breeding population estimates, for the 10 most abundant species) for the eastern survey area ........................................................................................................................... 16 List of duck figures Figure 1. Number of ponds in May and 95% confidence intervals for Prairie Canada and the northcentral U.S. .................................................................................................................. 8 Figure 2. Breeding population estimates, 95% confidence intervals, and North American Waterfowl Management Plan population goal for selected species for the traditional survey area .......................................................................................................................... 12 Figure 3. Number of ponds in July and 95% confidence intervals for Prairie Canada and the northcentral U.S. .................................................................................................................. 15 Figure 4. Estimates and 95% confidence intervals for the size of the mallard population in the fall.......................................................................................................................................... 21 List of goose and swan figures Figure 1. Important Arctic and subarctic nesting areas of North America ....................................... Figure 2. The extent of snow and ice cover in North American for 3-5 June 2001 and 3 June 2002 ...................................................................................................................................... Figure 3. Approximate ranges of Canada goose populations in North America .............................. Figures 4-16. Estimated numbers of Canada goose populations .................................................... Figure 17. Approximate ranges of selected goose populations in North America ........................... Figures 19-23, 25. Estimated numbers of light goose populations .................................................. Figure 24. Approximate range of Emperor goose, and eastern and western swan populations in North America ....................................................................................................................... Figure 26. Estimated numbers of Eastern and Western Populations of tundra swans during winter.....................................................................................................................................
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23 24 25 26-30 31 33-35 36 36
STATUS OF DUCKS Abstract: In the traditional survey area (strata 1-18, 20-50, and 75-77), total duck abundance was 31.2 + 0.5 [SE] million birds. This was 14% below (P< 0.001) last year’s estimate of 36.1 + 0.6 million birds, and 6% below the long-term (1955-2001) average (P
