Delta to pull the plug on predator control / North American Duck Symposium

[SCTurkeyGuide]

First, understand this thread is not intended to "bash" Delta. I'm a sponsor and will remain that way. It seems "new studies" are coming out on a pretty regular basis these days. I received an e-mail yesterday talking about Delta pulling the plug on predator control - which I'm glad to see.

Here's the e-mail:

"By now you may have heard that Delta is pulling the plug on predator control as a means of increasing waterfowl populations. At the recent North American Duck Symposium, their data indicated that for predator management to contribute 1% of the fall population of mallards, you would need to spend $125 million per year and control predators on an area the size of the entire US portion of the Prairie Pothole Region! For that price DU could permanently conserve over 347,000 acres of grasslands in one year."

A 1% ROI is a tough sell. I'd be pretty upset, as a supporter if they were to continue down the path of predator control after the findings of this study. However, I look at this as a good thing because Delta recognized this is not wise use of moneys raised and will use those dollars else-where.

I'm curious to hear from a few Delta committee members about this... specifically, do y'all have any idea where/how Delta is going to redistribute those dollars?

[BigBrother]

I look at this as a good thing because Delta recognized this is not wise use of moneys raised and will use those dollars else-where.

First I have heard of it...and agree with the quoted statement.

I would be leery of making any statements regarding the decision until I heard a release from Delta. It sounds like the email is slightly slanted and originated from DU.

[duckman88]

I got that email and I was told that it was propaganda. There is some truth to it but just like a political add people pick and choose what they want others to hear and do not give the whole story.

The email I recieved also contained another paragraph which either your's did not contain or, you left out. I feel I speak for Delta as a whole and for my Delta Chapter when I say that we would never try and use propaganda tactics to get new members.

Both DU and Delta Are great conservation agencies working for the same goal, conserving waterfowl habitat and populations. It is unfortunate that some people do not see it the same way.

[seastreet]

While I am disappointed in their decision, I can understand the reasoning for this action. Expect the DU koolaiders (that's not directed at all DU members, but rather the overzealous ones who guard territory like a mountain line) to harp on this relentlessly as a sign of "organization failure."

[Chessbay]

Like BB I have not heard of this or read about it in any of the emailings I recieve.

Que Delta Ducks.

[SCTurkeyGuide]

Anyone who knows me, or reads my posts on this site knows that the only waterfowl "org" that I publicly dispute is SCWA. I support the others, Delta, FF and DU financially. I don't descriminate.

This thread isn't meant to "solicit members" or talk about "organization failure." Delta is nowhere near organization failure! Rather this thread is meant to solicit information about the study. If you have some related info to share, please do so.

[2thDoc]

i got the email, too. was considering posting it but wanted to get more info....which i have not had the time to do.

but, the things that came to mind included the sound reasoning of changing course when scientific data dictates it. scientists need studies. they need facts and numbers. once they get them, THEN they can make observations based on the data at hand. Delta would be the first to tell you the predator control works...but not on the scale they once imagined. Good for them (if this is the case) for deducing what they will from the data.

[BigBrother]

Where did the email originate?

[seastreet]

Jason will surely give us the scoop.

BTW: Get your rear end up here before the banquet Jason so we can go out and drink beer!!!

[willyworm]

But let's figure out if there's any truth in this before we go redistributing the money...

We'll see before too long whether this story holds any water or not.

[SC quacker]

Absent evidence of major effectiveness, killing predators just for the sake of killing predators is hard to justify in the public eye. Through the non-hunter eye, you are killing certain animals so you have more ducks to kill.

[BigBrother]

Before judgement is passed by anyone else, I urge you to wait on the whole story...

[SCTurkeyGuide]

Before judgement is passed by anyone else, I urge you to wait on the whole story...

10-4 on that! Have talked to a few reliable sources... there's more to this story. Thank you for all you do, BigBrother! Keep at it!

[DeltaDucks]

The best way to summarize this is that it’s false propaganda, generated by DU.
It’s a sand grain of truth displayed one sided.
It is mis-representation of data gained from ONE student during ONE study. A study that was conducted on predator management in areas of ND that contain 40% or better in grass cover and has ZERO Red foxes on the landscape. This type of landscape would expect to see high nest success without any programs. So the fact that predator management didn’t increase nest success there by 2-3 times is in NO way a representation of the program as a whole.
We have been studying Predator Management(PM) since 1994 and this is the first time anyone has found anything from a PM study that can be spun in a negative light. Delta is a research/science based org. That means we conduct research on a variety of waterfowl related issues thru our student research program. Delta is proud of the fact that we will remain transparent in the data regardless of the results. Keep in mind that the study DU has used to generate this only refers to Mallard #’s.

Delta Waterfowl is in NO way pulling the plug on predator management. This year predator management was implicated into new areas and with new ideas. The results thus far from this year have been very impressive. The ONE study that DU has spun in an attempt to find something negative about Delta, showed just what Delta has preached for years. Predator Management has the most impact in areas with little nesting cover, high breeding pair density and high predator populations. Delta has never wanted to or believed that it was necessary to implement PM into the entire PPR, It is a program that works best in areas most vulnerable, a sniper type program.

There are many issue in which Delta could spin in a negative manner about other orgs, but we will remain Who We Are and that is “Duck Hunters”.
There is alot more to this story but I tried to keep it as short as possible.

[BigBrother]

Que Tater:

"Word"

However, note that the email was intended for internal use only...the disturbing part of it is, that DU employees seem to have an axe to grind with "other" conservation groups.

I am waiting with baited breath some sort of response from DU regarding their position on other conservation groups, in particular Delta.

[DUCK BUSTER 68]

Good read J.

[DeltaDucks]

This is one of the original emails that went out last week from a DU RD to one of my chairmans. There are a few versions of the email floating around.

Mr. ******,
By now you may have heard that Delta is pulling the plug on predator control as a means of increasing waterfowl populations. At the recent North American Duck Symposium, their data indicated that for predator management to contribute 1% of the fall population of mallards, you would need to spend $125 million per year and control predators on an area the size of the entire US portion of the Prairie Pothole Region! For that price we could permanently conserve over 347,000 acres of grasslands in one year and meet our Rescue the Duck Factory goal.

Bottom line…our organization has the vision and mission to do what is right for the ducks. For almost 75 years we have maintained our focus while others have flirted with whatever may be trendy (mallard releases, predator control, etc.). I thought this information would reaffirm what we all know…habitat is where it’s at! Thanks for all your hard work in raising dollars for the ducks and let me know if you have any questions.

[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']Please help Make a real difference in the fall flight for years to come. Support Ducks Unlimited![/font]

[Chessbay]

Conservation organizations with a common goal, competing for membership via borderline slanderous emails is downright absurd and shameful.

Like BB said, I anxiously await a response.

[sprigdog]

Conservation organizations with a common goal, competing for membership via borderline slanderous emails is downright absurd and shameful.
.

x2

[SCLAND&TIMBER]

Conservation organizations with a common goal, competing for membership via borderline slanderous emails is downright absurd and shameful.

Like BB said, I anxiously await a response.

And people give em' money hand over fist. I know, I know they do some good things with the money but I just don't see the accountability of every penny. I'm not out to bash DU because I see it in other conservation organizations as well. They all start out rather small with a good common goal and most do achieve that goal while gaining membership and educating the public on their objective. When the objective is obtained or for the most part successful they start branching out through 10,000 programs because the organization just doesn't want to say hey folks we have been successful. I don't see dismantling an organization because they have done a good job but I don't see doing some of the things that certain ones are doing either.

From what I have read on the website Delta Waterfowl is pretty straight forward. There are a lot that are not. Check em' out sometime.