Duck hunters cry foul on proposed rest days

Just about everybody, from weekend hunters to guides to the Colorado Division of Wildlife biologists agree that duck hunting along the South Platte River isn't what it used to be.

In fact, on some days, it's nothing but a glorified way to walk their bird dogs.

What no one seems to agree on, however, is what to do about it.

The Division of Wildlife's new proposed restrictions on duck season would limit hunting along the South Platte River from Greeley to the Nebraska state line to certain days of the week and on a reservation system. The crux of the controversy seems to be another proposal from Wildlife commissioner Brad Coors that would put the same restrictions on all public and private land, not just the select state wildlife areas, for one mile on either side of the South Platte from U.S. 85 near Evans to the Nebraska state line.

The proposal will be discussed at a public meeting in Fort Collins on Tuesday and in Greeley on Wednesday, but the commission won't vote on the new restrictions until July.

Even so, news about the restrictions has stirred outfitters and hunters, and biologists expect them to be the bulk of the discussion at the two-hour public meetings that begin Monday in Sterling.

The restrictions are designed to improve the quality of the duck season by giving the birds days off from getting blasted by guns. The duck population isn't the issue. It's the constant hunting pressure in the river corridor that seems to be driving the ducks to reservoirs and even a few parks. Birds aren't dumb, and if they're getting shot at every day in an area, hunters believe the ducks will eventually avoid that area.

The restrictions would be the first on duck season in Colorado, and some biologists agree they are long overdue.

"We've had some liberal duck seasons in the last few years," said Jim Gammonley, avian researcher for the Division of Wildlife, "and we've had some record numbers over the last decade across the country. The problem is they don't come all through Colorado, and we're not getting the ones that do come to use the river. One of the theories is that there's too much hunting pressure, and once that's relieved a bit they will start to use it, and so the days that are available for hunting, the hunting should be really good."

But the alternative proposal suggested by Coors that would stretch those restrictions to private property along the river corridor angers private landowners and outfitters who lease land for their hunts. They say the real problem was the public state wildlife areas were overrun by hunters who used the land and blasted away at birds every day of the week. Private outfitters and landowners say they run their land the right way, by allowing what they called "rest" days in between hunting days so they don't train the birds to avoid the area. They could probably shoot their limits every day on their land, if they chose to, but they don't. In fact, they say they run their land better than the state runs the public land.

"We are careful to manage our areas, and we don't shoot every day," said Mike Adams, an outfitter and guide with Bucks, Bulls and Beards out of Greeley. "If you don't, you won't get a good shoot that way.

"Toward the end, if a field is hot and it's the last week of the season, trust me, we'll go there every day. But if you do that throughout the season, you'll burn the field."

Cutting down the number of hunting days on private land would cut into Adams' profit, he said, and other outfitters expressed the same concern.

"Trust me, that would hurt," said Kevin Ayers, who manages the waterfowl division for his father, Bruce, owner of Ponderosa Outfitters and Waterfowl Adventures. "My leases wouldn't be affected by that, but many of the other outfitters would be hurt."

If the restrictions don't sound like a big deal to you, consider that duck hunting is at its best when the weather is nasty and cold because that affects the reservoirs and may even freeze them over. It forces the ducks to the river corridors for cover, and then that stirs the birds already there.

"But if it's restricted, if a storm happens to come through Thursday, you can't hunt that day," Gammonley said, "and then you could have a bluebird day Saturday, and the hunting isn't that great."

Gammonley, who isn't sure what to think yet, acknowledged that many outfitters and private landowners do indeed manage their land correctly and give it time to "rest" during the week. But he also said some commissioners such as Coors were concerned just limiting public hunting wouldn't be fair, and it's also possible that the quality of duck hunting is so serious that drastic measures need to be taken to improve it.

"That really could be seen as being unfair to the average Joe duck hunter out there, without putting any cost on the rich duck club hunters," Gammonley said, "and some really believe we've got to do something big and now."

But in fact the cost is there already, Ayers said, in the premium prices he pays for leasing private land for his guiding service. He already pays to give public hunters opportunities by buying a hunting license and the waterfowl stamps required by every hunter.

"That premium price gives me the opportunity to hunt it and take clients out there," he said. "I had to work my way up to that. The people who are complaining about limited duck hunting are the ones who are using the public state wildlife areas."

What they mean

The proposed restrictions would take place during duck season, which runs from Oct. 4-20 and Nov. 1-Jan. 18.

They would limit hunting at select state wildlife areas to Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays and most holidays. The hunting would be by reservation only.

Waterfowl hunters also would have to leave by 2 p.m. on these properties.

An alternative proposal would limit duck hunting to the same restrictions on all public and private land one mile on either side of the South Platte River from U.S. 85 near Evans to the state line.

Meeting

A public meeting to discuss these proposed regulations will be 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Hilton Fort Collins, 317 W. Prospect and Wednesday at the Greeley Guest House, 5401 9th St., Greeley.