Montana hunters find booming waterfowl numbers

In the Prairie Pothole region, wildlife biologists had estimated the duck numbers up 8 percent since last year’s record numbers – a total of a 43 percent increase over the past 60+ years.

This spring, biologists estimated the duck population to slightly top 49 million birds. That was an 8 percent increase over the record numbers of ducks seen just the year before.

That population represents a 43 percent increase over the long-term average of ducks that have been counted the past seven decades.

Thank you hunters and your conservation contributions in the form of licenses and excise-taxed gear over the years!

Hat tip from The Missoulian here…