Possible Duck Stamp Change

[scolopaxmatt]

From the NY Times:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/07/us/a-tempest-over-the-duck-stamp-could-an-oriole-help-raise-more-money.html?_r=0

[Lawdwaz]

Boy would that be a disaster!

Why they feel the need to mess with a successful program is beyond me......

[Four Season Whitetail's]

It was explained in the write up. Hunters are getting older and buying less so they will tap into the bird watchers pockets.  Makes one wonder how many hunters would buy a stamp if they didnt have to?  Many bird watchers and collectors buy the stamp for what the money is used for.  Not real sure how many hunters would buy if it was not mandatory?

Cant say i would.

[Elmo]

I don't quite understand the big deal. Why would it suck to have a sand hill crane on it one year instead of a duck? Is a sand hill crane not as cool to look at?

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[G-Man]

The bird watchers can by the stamp now.. they arent...like many others that use areas bought and paid for by hunters , they love it... but don't want to pay for it or acknowledge that hunters dollars paid for it.

I see the same with hikers that use snowmobile trails and bridges in county and state owned property ,that are paid for and maintained by clubs, one group was talking loud enough so we could hear them,I don't know why they allow snowmobiles on the hiking trails anyway.. boy they got an earful of education from us on who built and maintains the trails they use, a sheepish oh we didn't know was the final response from them.....

[mike rossi]

Do you think the nation's 12 million deer hunters are buying duck stamps as implied by the NRA, sportsmens alliance and all that crapoloa?

Are you aware there are only about 1 million waterfowl hunters in the USA and there are more bird watchers than hunters? And some refuges which are heavily utilized by bird watchers require bird watchers to possess a stamp or pay an entrance fee.

Some of the national bird organizations actually are vendors for the stamp - this is done intentionally so they have a record of how many bird watchers buy the stamp.... This has not been in place very long, so expect to hear more about it in the future.

There certainly are enough bird watchers using NWRs to egual the number of waterfowl hunters, keep that in mind.

Another related matter is the movement lobbying Congress to create a Federal Wildlife Conservation Stamp - nicknamed the Non-Hunting Stamp. Persons who oppose hunting ( or are tired of hearing how hunters pay for it all and they pay nothing) want to boycott the duck stamp and this is what this is about.

It is about time hunters temper their swagger and learn the facts. Bird watchers negatively impact us bird hunters, while they actually want the deer killed, so they are a headache for us, not for you deer hunters. However unless the hunting community starts to align their narratives with reality, the image, public support, and participation in hunting is going to continue to decline.

[G-Man]

Do you think the nation's 12 million deer hunters are buying duck stamps as implied by the NRA, sportsmens alliance and all that crapoloa?

Are you aware there are only about 1 million waterfowl hunters in the USA and there are more bird watchers than hunters? And some refuges which are heavily utilized by bird watchers require bird watchers to possess a stamp or pay an entrance fee.

Some of the national bird organizations actually are vendors for the stamp - this is done intentionally so they have a record of how many bird watchers buy the stamp.... This has not been in place very long, so expect to hear more about it in the future.

There certainly are enough bird watchers using NWRs to egual the number of waterfowl hunters, keep that in mind.

Another related matter is the movement lobbying Congress to create a Federal Wildlife Conservation Stamp - nicknamed the Non-Hunting Stamp. Persons who oppose hunting ( or are tired of hearing how hunters pay for it all and they pay nothing) want to boycott the duck stamp and this is what this is about.

It is about time hunters temper their swagger and learn the facts. Bird watchers negatively impact us bird hunters, while they actually want the deer killed, so they are a headache for us, not for you deer hunters. However unless the hunting community starts to align their narratives with reality, the image, public support, and participation in hunting is going to continue to decline.

I buy a stamp ever year and don't hunt ducks, stamp collectors love buying them. Especially when we were required to sign across the stamps. The are in fact migratory bird stamps and are required for hunting birds like woodcock as well.

If you want to know who buys them just start a second stamp. Lea c e the duck stamp for what it is.. and as for having the hunters pay for everything we pretty much did during the 1900's

[mike rossi]

 The are in fact migratory bird stamps and are required for hunting birds like woodcock as well.

 

 

WRONG....

 

The federal duck stamp is not required to hunt webless migratory game birds. You are required to be registered in HIP however. The exception being crows, you do not need to be HIP registered to hunt crows.

[airedale]

I will support any group that supports my hunting and shooting interests as much as I can. I support Ducks Unlimited and buy Duck stamps most years the same as I buy Turkey permits even though I hardly hunt much for either these days.

 

A so called "Birder's" stamp for the bird watchers is an easy solution. 

 

Al

[mike rossi]

 

 

A so called "Birder's" stamp for the bird watchers is an easy solution. 

 

Al

 

Here ya go.....

 

http://wildlifeconservationstamp.org/

[Curmudgeon]

Fact is, hunters have funded a lot of conservation through Pittman Robertson and duck stamps. This has given hunters a significant amount of political power. A group of national wildlife organizations - frustrated by their relative lack of influence compared to hunters - tried for many years to get an excise tax on binoculars, bird seed, etc. This failed.

 

As Mike said, some of these organizations encourage the purchase of duck stamps by non-hunters.

 

I am a hunter but that is just an extension of a life-long interest in wildlife. Like many hunters, satisfaction in the field has less to do with meat and the kill than the wildlife experience -  whether that be birds, weasels or porkies. I haven't bought a duck stamp since I quit duck hunting decades ago. However, over the years I have spend thousands of out-of-pocket dollars, and thousands of unpaid hours on serious wildlife research.

[mike rossi]

 A group of national wildlife organizations - frustrated by their relative lack of influence compared to hunters - tried for many years to get an excise tax on binoculars, bird seed, etc. This failed.

 

 

 

I would say the Humane Society is working around the clock to convince bird watchers they are getting screwed and agencies are favoring hunters. But in reality the bird watching community has a huge amount of influence, If anything the Humane Societies claim that an imbalance of interests exists in NY may be correct, but it is the bird watchers who are favored in NY, not the bird hunters.  

 

Eventually bird watchers will get their excise tax as well as their stamp. Everyone knows that at some point the hunting population will be so small that it can no longer support agencies. At the same time, participation in bird watching is growing in leaps and bounds. Agencies know this and are preparing for the time when bird watchers will  replace hunters as their funding source. 

 

By the way: The attitude of the hunting community helps the Humane Society dupe the bird watchers into believing they are getting screwed. And, the Humane Society knows that and is probably laughing at us. 

Edited April 7, 2016 by mike rossi