The Rise and Fall of SC's inland gadwalls

[BOGSTER]

I can agree. I hunt a plantation with friends that has a field called the Widgeon field from back in the day when they were so plentiful. Overall, regardless of the species the habitat of the lakes plays such a big role in duck numbers it's got to be a critical focal point. Along with management of refuges and coastal regions. I do think Gadwall are the next species on the decline in our region though even if they are shifting. It's difficult though because this year was such an exception vs. rule...

There are 3 major wintering grounds in South Carolina's lowcountry.
The Santee Cooper watershed, The Delta, and The ACE.
And all 3 are most certainly connected.

And widgeon are just like gadwalls in terms of dietary needs.

SAVs are more important to them than most think.

[coot nasty]

Why couldn't this site help fund a project or something like that. Don't they say they run out of money over there? Hell there are 18,000 some odd members on here make it mandatory to donate $5.00 to be a member to help fund a project. Hell who can't spare $5.00.

[Griffin]

Be a good idea to get the bass crowd in on this. I know they would love to see some grass back. I'll post something up on BBC for us

[Elcid_Fowler]

Why couldn't this site help fund a project or something like that. Don't they say they run out of money over there? Hell there are 18,000 some odd members on here make it mandatory to donate $5.00 to be a member to help fund a project. Hell who can't spare $5.00.

I have to say...great point. I'd give $5 to the founders to focus on habitat restoration. 18,000 members at $5 is ~$90k that's a big start. However the bigger issue is politics and control over the managing agencies for these properties. However cash is king and money talks....

[Relentlous]

How much trouble would one get in if they were too transplant hydrilla from the cooper river back in various places in the lake?

[Elcid_Fowler]

Ask forgiveness not permission...

[GobblerHntr]

None at all because the damn carp will eat the ever living shit out of it before you got back to the island to your house!

[GobblerHntr]

Just don't get caught

[coot nasty]

I know when they opened the gates on the lake they lost a shit ton of the carp on my end. They were all over the land on the river.

[Relentlous]

What time of year does hydrilla seed out?? Who's got 25 burlap sacs??

[GobblerHntr]

and Squatty was wearing a T shirt hunting in MA in December.

Hey leave me out of this. I really wasn't hunting. I really wasn't there. Nothing to see here

[BOGSTER]

How much trouble would one get in if they were too transplant hydrilla from the cooper river back in various places in the lake?

That's exactly what DOESN'T need to happen.
Hydrilla is why they overstocked carp in the first place.

Vallisneria will draw just as many if not more ducks, and it won't choke out the entire water column.
It IS the answer for Marion and Moultrie.

[GobblerHntr]

What time of year does hydrilla seed out?? Who's got 25 burlap sacs??

It wonk work!

There's too damn many habitat eradicators swimming beneath the surface!

Never fear though they are sterile*

[GobblerHntr]

There's plenty of "our" Gadwall "inland"

[Relentlous]

That's exactly what DOESN'T need to happen.
Hydrilla is why they overstocked carp in the first place.

Vallisneria will draw just as many if not more ducks, and it won't choke out the entire water column.
It IS the answer for Marion and Moultrie.

True. If you found eel grass a couple years ago, you was gonna have a good morning.

[ndbrown213]

I'm willing to help. I don't hunt these areas but more waterfowl is beneficial.

[GobblerHntr]

Trouble is the friggin killed that shit too!

[Relentlous]

I know it

[BOGSTER]

I'm willing to help. I don't hunt these areas but more waterfowl is beneficial.

That's the thing. More waterfowl coming to winter in the lowcountry likely means more waterfowl stopping elsewhere in the state along the way.
A lot of folks think that ducks get to their wintering areas and stay there.
This may be true, but the area can be big.
For instance, it's known that ducks will come to the delta, stay a few weeks, then fly to the ACE and stay there a while.
They may get up and head back to the delta, down to Savannah, or up to the lakes. And they will do this throughout the season.
Sometimes an impoundment owners "new" birds were just 30 miles away for the last month and not fresh off of a front from the Chesapeake.

[SwatEm]

To those of you paying attention over the last 5 years, you may have noticed that our inland gadwalls are declining.
I started noticing a substantial increase in birds in the winter of 2009.

In the lean years (2002-2009) gadwalls weren't uncommon, but certainly weren't numerous along inland waterways.
After the drought I was seeing bigger, and more flocks on public water, and from 2009-2014-15 season they were the number one duck in my boat.
Granted I persued them more so than other ducks, but the increase in gadwalls wintering along the Santee Cooper watershed was definite.
We were seeing them everywhere and hunters were killing decent numbers both publicly and privately.
Both the Bluff and Cuddo units of the refuge were swarmed with them. On numerous accounts over several seasons, we have seen them stretch clear across Cantey Bay as well as Black Bottom. Several thousand.
But last season, they weren't as numerous as the season before, and this season they are even more scarce. Some private places around here are still holding a decent amount of birds, but they are just remnants of leftover imprinting.
My theory - vallisneria and southern naiad.

Up to 70% of gadwall's diet globally consists of aquatic vegetation.
While gadwalls numbers have been climbing over the last decade, our increase in wintering birds on the Santee Cooper lakes, has to be directly related to the increase of SAVs in that 09-14 time period.
Due to hard-nosed policies on Crested Floating Heart and Hydrilla, our once 18k acres of native vallisneria and southern naiad was wiped out, and I know that is why our gadwalls are finding somewhere else to winter.
We have got to make it priority and take a stance to demand that native SAVs be brought back to the Santee Cooper lakes.
The entire state will reap the benefits of thousands of acres of habitat centrally located.

Maybe it's a good idea to write a letter to your state reps asking them to support a proviso demanding this habitat be restored.

If you could draft an online petition, we could get that going, and if you could also draft a letter that people could conveniently print out. I know a rep seeing the same wording over and over hand signed by constituents would at least get them thinking about it. Its in Santee Coopers best interests to respect the land as well.