Points North: Conservation or convenience?

Are you going duck hunting this weekend? The September 27 openingdate, a week earlier than the traditional first Saturday in October, is intended to give hunters more opportunities to kill ducks. Early migrants, such as blue-winged teal and wood ducks, are more likely to be available to hunters, because they head south when cold winds begin to blow.

To make it easier to kill birds, the DNR relaxed bag limit restrictions, increasing the mallard hen bag from one to two and the wood duck limit from two to three. The total daily bag limit is six ducks, the most allowed under the federal waterfowl harvest guidelines.