Well, duck hunting is a $70 million
industry in Arkansas and industry
that's tied to the history of our state.
And now that the sun is set on
another season, concern is mounting
over the future of this sport.
And teach the 11 Scott cover Texas into
the blind for a look at the challenges
facing this cherished tradition.
Deep inside of the duck,
blind watching, waiting,
hoping a practice of patience that's
common for the mini duck hunters who
flocked to the flooded rice fields
and timberland of eastern Arkansas.
But now they're patience is being
tested more than ever before.
I don't think duck numbers
are what they used to be,
just just by observation alone,
just by seeing with my eyes and and
seeing them in places that used to be
and where they're not there anymore.
Birch literally wrote the
book on duck hunting.
He knows the problems this
storied pastime is facing,
and he took us along to see first hand.
You see, Birch has waited the cold
waters of these fields for decades,
taking advantage of the ideal
conditions that bring millions
of ducks to Arkansas every year.
As much of the country freezes over,
the natural state offers the
birds they're only two needs,
a place to sleep and a meal to eat.
But the problem now facing dock St.
Duck hunters alike,
our ability to meet those two needs.
Is changing.
Something happens with the the the habitat
itself that changes where the ducks go, but.
I just don't think we're seeing the numbers.
The habitat is better north of us.
I don't think that's the only reason.
I think part of it is we're not providing
the habitat like we used to in the state.
Scientists like Doctor Ryan Askren,
who's also a lifelong duck hunter,
agree that warmer temperatures
north of us don't give ducks much
of a need to travel further South
to spend their winters here.
If there is a strong warming
trend in this region,
we we definitely could see a shift in
in ducks further north, which again,
that's hard to kind of disentangle.
From other landscape level changes,
but definitely could be impacting migration.
When winter conditions do
force ducks to migrate S,
they're looking for water.
That's historically not
been an issue in Arkansas,
but that wasn't the case at the
beginning of this past duck season
when severe drought hung heavy
over many hunters all worried
a lack of water would lead
us to become a flyover state.
We were very concerned a lot
of the kind of whole region
level habitat that's provided.
Was based on rainwater during the fall.
And I mean it was so low that even
if people did want to pump water
out of like Bayes and Rivers,
there wasn't enough water to
flood a lot of these habitats and
and that's huge obviously if if.
Ducks are coming here and
there's not habitat for them.
Especially
once we start hunting them, there's
just not much of a reason to stay here.
Fortunately for hunters,
record flooding in the delta
midway through the season would
eventually ease the droughts,
leading to ducks falling into decoy
spreads all throughout the Grand Prairie.
And Mullet may sound like problem solved.
Don't forget the other half of the equation,
food we're farming early and earlier.
Unfortunately,
Rice is a a huge food source.
We're getting a lot more
efficient with farming.
Which just means there's there's
less and less food for ducks.
I understand farmers have to
make a living and they have
reasons why they do what they do.
But some of that has been to
the detriment of waterfowl.
When ducks aren't eating rice,
they're likely eating acorns.
And while improved farming
techniques are already limiting
one of those food sources,
it's a practice going back decades
that's now hurting the other.
For years, bottomland forests
have been artificially flooded
to create habitat for ducks.
And while water is important
for ideal duck conditions,
scientists have recently learned that too
much of a good thing can be a problem
or flooding earlier than historically
they would have been naturally.
And we're leaving water on too long.
So the earlier you put water on and the
longer you leave it on in the spring starts
hurting the health of those red oaks.
It can hurt Acorn production, and
it can also just lead to species
composition, tree composition that.
That is less favorable than mallards,
changes to our climate,
enhanced farming practices and outdated
management of Arkansas natural resources,
all factors putting our state's
favorite pastime at risk.
But hunters and scientists alike agree
what's at stake is worth fighting for.
We shouldn't take it for granted.
We need to care for these ducks
if we're going to keep them here.
We really need to be passionate
about managing the habitat
while thinking about, you know,
just just taking care of them,
not over hunting them,
providing the food.
That they need and providing
the rest they need.
There's a there's a bigger window
than the 60 days of duck season that
we got to take care of the Ducks when
they're in the state of Arkansas.
And I believe that that that's a
big part of our responsibility
as hunters and land owners and
habitat managers is to to do all
we can to to help them have all
the conditions they need to to be
good to go back N so they come back next
year with babies and and more ducks
and they just get it keeps building
in East Arkansas. Cloud cover, THV 11 news.