Central Flyway: Harvest and Population Survey Data Book, 2005.

摘要

From 1961-2001, estimates of waterfowl harvest, waterfowl hunter participation, and waterfowl hunter success in the United States were derived from a combination of several sources: (1) sales of migratory bird conservation stamps (Duck Stamps), (2) a Mail Questionnaire Survey of individuals who purchased ducks stamps for hunting purposes, and (3) the Waterfowl Parts Collection Survey (PCS). This survey, which was based on duck stamp sales was discontinued after the 2001 hunting season. Beginning in 1999, new survey methods were implemented that obtained estimates of waterfowl harvest, hunter participation, and hunter success from: (1) States' lists of migratory bird hunters identified through the Harvest Information Program (HIP), (2) a questionnaire (HIP Survey) sent to a sample of those hunters, and (3) the Waterfowl PCS. The basic difference is that during 1961 - 2001 waterfowl hunter activity and harvest estimates were derived from a Mail Questionnaire Survey (MQS) of duck stamp purchasers, whereas from 1999 to the present those estimates were derived from HIP surveys of people identified as migratory bird hunters by the States. Both survey systems relied on the Waterfowl PCS for species composition data. During 1989-2002, migratory game bird harvest and population survey information in the Central Flyway was presented in annually updated Data Books. Because of the recently implemented changes in survey design, historical harvest estimates will not be directly comparable to current estimates. Therefore, previous harvest survey information derived from the MQS are considered as final and compiled in the Central Flyway Waterfowl Hunting and Harvest Survey Information, 1961-2001. For 1999 and subsequent years, waterfowl hunting and harvest estimates that are derived from HIP, along with the usual population survey information, will be compiled in annual updates of the Central Flyway Harvest and Population Survey Data Book. In the future, the annual Data Book will be expanded to also present annual hunter activity and harvest estimates for other migratory game bird species that are now derived from HIP surveys.