GREAT OUTDOORS: Despite their undisputed value, wetlands still threatened

An inexplicable rule change that defies common sense has been floated by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) administrators. If approved, it would remove protection in the U.S. portion of the Prairie Pothole Region, known as the "Duck Factory" that seasonally floods and creates suitable nesting habitat. In a statement released by Ducks Unlimited (DU), "For 60 years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has followed a "No Impact" policy for wetlands protected by voluntary easement contracts, which prohibit draining, filling, or burning these wetlands." DU supports maintaining this policy of "no impact" while providing safe harbor for landowners with approved tile drainage plans. Weakening the rule could result in changes that would have a devastating impact on habitat in the prairies." Recognizing the impact the rule changes would have, DU partnered with Delta Waterfowl, the California Waterfowl Association, and the South Carolina Waterfowl Association to send a letter directly to the Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. With a public comment period only lasting 14 days and ending August 7, last week they urgently requested that affected people submit comments opposing the idea. Regretfully, thousands of the comments citizens submitted to the USFWS were the unchanged form letters crafted by Ducks Unlimited, often credited as only one comment. DU has spent billions of dollars throughout North America improving breeding and wintering habitats and protecting resting areas along their primary migration routes. Most of this investment was courtesy of hunters, anglers and conservationists through fundraising banquets, donations and the purchase of Federal and State Waterfowl (Duck) Stamps, hunting licenses and funds generated with Pittman-Robertson excise taxes on guns, ammunition and hunting-related equipment. Hundreds of bird species other than waterfowl benefit from wetlands, such as shorebirds, wading birds, songbirds, birds of prey, not to mention many reptiles, amphibians and mammals. Farming in wetlands sees crops often flooded out except in dry years, making enrollment in conservation acreage a wiser economic choice. If not for crop insurance, few farmers would ever waste costly seed and fertilizer in flood prone areas where the risk of crop failure, erosive soil loss and water quality degradation is a threat. 50-70% of North America's ducks are produced in the Prairie Pothole Region, including Mallards, Gadwalls, Blue-winged teal, Northern shovelers, Northern pintails, Redheads and Canvasbacks. North Dakota is the heart of it, annually producing millions of ducks that migrate throughout all four flyways. "North Dakota holds a large percentage of the breeding potential for ducks in the U.S. prairie pothole region," said Joel Brice, Delta Waterfowl's chief conservation officer. "But we're not getting enough precipitation to fully recharge the state's wetlands." Blue-winged teal, North Dakota's most common nesting duck, were estimated at 525,163, a 23.4% decrease from 2025, and 26.7% below the long-term average. The survey estimates 408,893 mallards, a 6.9% increase over last spring, but still 15.3% below the long-term average and the second-lowest total since 1993. Pintails increased 23.7% from 2025 to 171,371 but are still 30.7% below average. Among other puddle ducks surveyed, gadwalls dropped 13.8% to 353,326, shovelers declined by 11% to 297,136, and wigeon fell 4.2% to 28,328. Green-winged teal increased 20.9% to 33,309. Diving duck numbers were down across all reported species, with a total estimate of 546,963, a 10.4% decline from 2025. Canvasbacks decreased 31.8%, redheads were down 6.3%, scaup were 12.3% lower, and ruddy ducks dipped 4.6%. The survey estimates 199,232 Canada geese, a 6.5% decline from 2025, but still more than double the state's population management objective. Allowing draining of flood prone depressions in fields will decrease waterfowl populations further.