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A family of geese at sunrise. Photo by Steve Arena/USFWS.
Service releases migratory bird hunting activity and harvest report
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released the Migratory Bird Hunting Activity and Harvest Report for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 hunting seasons. The report presents hunter activity and harvest estimates from the Harvest Information Program surveys for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 hunting seasons. These estimates are preliminary, pending final verification of data.
The Harvest Information Program is a cooperative state-federal program that requires licensed migratory game bird hunters to register annually in each state in which they hunt. Each state is responsible for collecting the name, address, and date of birth from each migratory bird hunter, asking each of them a series of general screening questions about their hunting success the previous year, and sending all of this information to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Service uses this data to systematically sample and survey migratory game bird hunters nationwide. Sampled hunters are asked to keep a record of the number of days they hunted and the birds they harvested.
A subset of hunters that were selected for and responded to the diary survey the previous year are asked in subsequent years to participate in the parts collection survey and to send in a wing (ducks), or wing primaries and tail feathers (geese). Service and state personnel work cooperatively at “wingbees” held in each of the four flyways during the winter, to determine the age, sex, and species of the collected parts, and these data are used to estimate the composition of the harvest.
Harvest estimates are calculated by state, flyway, and nationwide, and by species, annually. Estimates of active waterfowl hunters and days afield are also available at state, flyway and national scales. These data are used in a variety of ways to manage migratory waterfowl and ensure that harvest and populations are sustainable. Learn More.
By Larry Dean
Regional Office – External Affairs
