Federal duck stamp impact goes far beyond the scope of hunting

Here is some outdoor news for everyone: The single most important legislation that Congress has passed and that sportsmen have supported for the past 80 years is the Federal Migratory Bird Stamp Act.

Both Congress and sportsmen across the nation realized that every waterfowl species was in terrible trouble because of the unrestricted slaughter of all species of waterfowl. Almost all species of migratory birds, and waterfowl in particular, were given full protection under the new federal law.

In order to fully understand what sportsmen achieved you would first have to understand the totality of the problems of true sportsmen back then.

Wetlands including whole lakes, marshes and other bodies of water were in the throws of a major drought. Not only did many countless bird species face extinction, but waterfowl populations, both game and non-game species, had virtually no place to nest and raise their broods, much less feed them into adulthood.

Add to that monumental problem there were market gunners everywhere. They were still active, taking waterfowl everywhere they were found but most often “rafted” on large bodies of water such as the Chesapeake Bay, Barnegat Bay (NJ), Delaware Bay, Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds (NC).

The slaughter of waterfowl and other marketable migratory birds on all of these areas was simply unimaginable. And many thousands of kegs containing this spoil were shipped to Baltimore and many other cities. It was pure slaughter, and nothing else.

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Time to take action

Hunters had observed waterfowl numbers in decline steadily since the turn of the 20th century. The situation was getting worse with each passing year, and something had to be done.

It was waterfowl hunters and their allies that rallied to this cause, urging Congress to pass the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act, popularly known as the Duck Stamp Act, in 1934. What this program has done for waterfowl and other wildlife since that time is one of the greatest success stories in the history of conservation.This year marks the 80th anniversary of the federal duck stamp. Since its enactment, this landmark initiative has generated well over $900 million to conserve nearly 8 million acres of wetlands all across the United States through the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund.

The program is a model of conservation efficiency, with almost all of every duck stamp dollar being spent to acquire or lease lands for the National Wildlife Refuge System. These refuges and waterfowl production areas benefit not only migratory game birds but also countless species of fish and wildlife, including many listed as endangered or threatened.

The duck stamp program has been such a success of our conservation heritage that it's easy to take for granted, but the truth is that this historic legislation didn't happen overnight. It was years in the making.

Duck Stamps aren't for hunters only

A bill to establish a federal duck stamp was first introduced in Congress in the early 1920s. Similar bills followed but never got the votes they needed to pass both the House and Senate. It is one of the ironies of history that the period of the Roaring Twenties, for all its prosperity and lavish spending, couldn't muster the resolve to spare a few bucks for the ducks.

There are many reasons to buy duck stamps.

Hunters age 16 and older must purchase a federal duck stamp each year to legally hunt migratory waterfowl in the United States. Birders and other visitors to national wildlife refuges buy the stamp each year to gain free admission to these public lands. Collectors appreciate the beautiful artwork and the collectability of the stamps.

Whatever your motivation for purchasing duck stamps, buy a couple of them each year to help make a difference for waterfowl and our sporting traditions.

Laying the groundwork

Still, those who cared about the health of waterfowl populations recognized the need for federal action, and several important laws were passed early in the 20th century. The Lacey Act of 1900 sought to curtail market hunting by making it a federal crime to transport illegally taken game across state lines.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 established which species of migratory birds could legally be hunted, and designated the federal governments of the United States and Canada as the primary authorities for regulating migratory bird harvests. But these laws were regulatory in nature and did nothing to address the ecological needs of waterfowl.

The emerging science of wildlife management made it clear that what waterfowl needed was more habitat, especially on the prairie breeding grounds.

In 1929, President Herbert Hoover signed the Migratory Bird Conservation Act, which authorized the acquisition of wetlands in the United States as waterfowl habitat but did not establish the funding for this work.

When the stock market crashed later that fall, the resulting economic depression seemed to doom any hope of securing federal dollars to acquire more land for wildlife refuges.

Undaunted, hunters and other wildlife advocates rose to the challenge, pressuring President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to do something about the "duck depression." In 1933, Roosevelt responded by appointing a special committee to formulate a program for restoring waterfowl populations.

Chairing the three-man committee was Thomas Beck, editor of Collier's magazine, which was owned by Joseph Knapp—who just a few years later would found Ducks Unlimited. Joining Beck on the committee were two of the nation's staunchest conservationists, Aldo Leopold and Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling.

'Quite a ride for this old duck cop'

And yes, a cadre of dedicated men and women were hired to enforce all of the regulations generated by both the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Migratory Bird Conservation and Stamp Act. These dedicated individuals went all out to protect our migratory bird heritage.

I was fortunate to become a member of this force, and spent most of my career working as a Special Agent (Criminal Investigator) as an investigator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Law Enforcement. It was quite a ride for this old duck cop.

Len Lisenbee is the Daily Messenger's Outdoor Writer. Contact him at lisenbee@frontiernet.net.

This article originally appeared on MPNnow: Federal duck stamp impact goes far beyond the scope of hunting