The time 2024 was effective for Delta Waterfowl as an institution, and the function that Delta’s plan team does on behalf of birds and bird hunters was no exception. Delta works tirelessly at every level of government to combat the dangers of duck hunting, promote new and expanded opportunities for sportspeople and women, struggle for conservation funding where it is most needed, and advocate for novel and creative methods for preserving habitat. From the halls of Congress and Parliament to express cities all over the country and over to the local level, Delta’s coverage team is active in defending birds and duck hunting.
In a nutshell, here are some of the biggest successes for birds and duck hunting in 2024:
Access and Opportunity
- United States: Delaware – Delta Waterfowl collaborated closely with the Delaware General Assembly to provide written and oral testimony in favor of House Bill 271, a law that overturns the ten-year-old ban on hunting birds and other game animals on Sundays. It passed the Delaware Senate and House without a single noted” NO” vote. Delaware duck hunting enjoyed their first Sunday chase earlier this fall after Governor Carney signed it into law.
- Canada: Ontario – Through Delta’s plan work, and with the help of Delta’s regional chapters and native birds hunters, six new municipalities experienced Sunday gun looking for the first time in 2024. New areas include Amaranth, Oro-Medonte, Mapleton, Minto, Scugog, and Springwater, which was approved later in the fall 2023 but implemented in flower 2024.
- Canada: Prince Edward Island – The General Assembly of Prince Edward Island earlier this year repealed a long-standing restrictions on Sunday shooting in the area province thanks in large part to Delta’s plan work and grassroots advocacy. Bird and duck hunters in Poe may continue to get 18 additional days of hunting after this prohibition is lifted.
- Canada: Maritime Provinces – Delta’s policy work was successful in securing a whole 107-day time for each of the Maritime regions. In 2024, this resulted in an extra one to two months of duck hunting.
- United States: California – In California, Delta plan staff worked diligently to pass legislation to define and clarify the rules for accessing usable waters while waterfowl hunting. California hunters will be able to depart the designated boundaries of a lake on January 1, 2025, provided they don’t breach on private property and keep a minimum 150-yard distance from any building or residence. The Fish and Game Code and a 1985 State Attorney General’s View were the subject of this legislation’s draft. In accordance with Article X, Section IV of the California Constitution, which mandates the State Legislature to protect public access to accessible waters, the State Attorney General in 1985 determined that shooting was a fundamental component of the people right to transportation.
- United States: Wisconsin – After years of steady advocacy work, waterfowl hunters in Wisconsin are one step closer to enjoying an established, regulated season for sandhill cranes. In order to review and evaluate options for managing Wisconsin’s sandhill crane population, Delta successfully collaborated with partners to successfully lobby for a legislative study committee. Delta was fortunate to have a staff member, Paul Wait, representing waterfowl hunters on this study committee. The study committee’s vote, 8-4, was followed by months of discussion and interaction with lawmakers and the conservation movement, which put the 2025 legislative session’s agenda on hold for sandhill cranes.
- Canada: Saskatchewan– Delta’s policy team helped enable a regulation change so that all-day dark goose hunting is allowed throughout the season and across the province. In prior years, morning-only dark goose hunting was allowed until mid-October in much of southern Saskatchewan.
- Working with the Canadian Wildlife Service, Canada: Ontario and Quebec– Delta has been advocating for a sandhill crane season in some of Ontario and Quebec. We saw the official proposal for a modest crane season after more than a decade of advocacy, and we will continue to support the implementation of this initiative in 2026.
- United States: Missouri/Illinois – Delta staff members remained engaged on a regional issue from Alton, Illinois, which aimed to establish a new National Park designation in the area that would include a number of state and federal wildlife management areas and national wildlife refuges. Following in-person consultations, Delta policy staff wrote a letter to the organization that is responsible for this endeavor, as well as the leadership of several state and federal agencies, including the Missouri Department of Conservation and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, expressing concerns that this designation would end hunting access to public lands that were purchased and paid for by hunters and are specifically managed for migratory waterfowl. By collaborating with local communities, conservation groups, and policymakers, Delta aims to find a balanced solution that respects both environmental protection and public access rights.
Funding for and policies promoting habitat
- Canada: Manitoba– SWIP—the Shallow Wetlands Incentive Program—builds on Delta’s successful model of wetland conservation adopted by Manitoba in 2018 as part of the province’s Growing Outcomes for Watersheds, AKA the GROW Program. By 2024, over$ 7 million in grant funds have been allocated to the Manitoba SWIP program and is on track to conserve 9, 925 acres of shallow wetlands.
- United States: Washington, D. C. – Delta continued to work towards the Migratory Bird Resurgence Initiative in 2024—an outgrowth of Delta’s” Working Wetlands” pilot program where the USDA-NRCS invested significantly in breeding and wintering habitat for waterfowl. In all, NRCS invested$ 14.8 million into the program, distributing$ 11.4 million in key wintering areas ( AR, LA, MS, TX, CA ) and$ 3.4 million in North Dakota and Iowa. Delta, and the organization’s partners, continue to believe in the power of this approach to work with farmers to conserve and enhance the most important habitat. With the new administration, work has already begun on this program.
- United States: Washington, D. C. – While Congress has not passed a new Farm Bill, important initiatives for ducks and duck hunters appear to be in good standing, at the moment. Important initiatives like EQIP, CRP, WRE, and VPA-HIP performed well in the discussions to date, and Delta and the rest of the conservation industry will be eager to collaborate with the new Congress to pass a strong Farm Bill for farmers, rural communities, as well as ducks and duck hunters.
- For a “phase one” SWIP initiative that will conserve 4, 000 acres of vulnerable shallow wetlands in croplands, Delta Waterfowl submitted a budget submission of$ 12 million to the government of Alberta. The policy team has met with a number of government representatives, elected officials, representatives from the environment, and representatives of the agricultural and environmental sectors to promote SWIP over the past year. They are well-positioned as the government considers its new Ecosystem Services program and budget for 2025. Delta has also engaged a large portion of the organization’s Alberta members to take action to promote SWIP with their MLAs using Delta’s Duck Hunters Action Alert System.
- United States: Washington, D. C. – Delta Waterfowl worked to successfully introduce the Habitat Enhancement Now ( HEN ) Act in the House of Representatives in 2024. In addition to establishing nesting and brood habitat in California, this bill would authorize$ 3 million annually to increase duck production in the prairie pothole region through the installation and maintenance of hen houses. In February, Dr. Frank Rohwer, the president of Delta and chief scientist, testified before the House Subcommittee on water, wildlife, and fishing, about the effects this legislation would have on breeding ducks. Though this legislation didn’t reach fruition in the 118th Congress, Delta’s policy team is already working to champion this bill again in 2025.
Sporting Heritage
- Canada: Ontario – Municipal by-laws ( Discharge of Firearms, Noise and Nuisance by-laws ) in Canada and other similar efforts in the United States are some of the greatest threats to waterfowl hunters. As more and more urban residents relocate to traditional rural settings and anticipate having their norms along with them, laws that restrict or prohibit shooting are quickly becoming a common agenda item at local meetings. Without the consent and guidance of organizations like Delta Waterfowl, this would lead to the prohibition of hunting, trapping, and recreational shooting.
Delta’s policy staff was successful in defending against several discharge of firearms bylaws efforts in Ontario in 2024, including in the towns or municipalities of Caledon, Innisfil, Kingsville, Perry, Ramara, Seguin, Temagami, and Trent Hills. Additionally, Delta employees were able to avoid a noise bylaw in Mono and a nuisance bylaw in South Stormont.
- United States: California – Delta’s policy staff is working to address a persistent threat in California that prohibits hunting and the discharge of weapons on Southampton Bay near Benicia, California. Delta testified earlier this year in front of the California Department of Fish and Game and claimed that the state’s waterfowl hunting is a rich and cherished tradition that generates valuable economic benefits and important conservation outcomes for the state. Delta’s efforts were successful, and Southampton Bay remains open to duck hunting.
- Legislation that would have required Californian gun owners to register their firearms annually and pay a tax starting at$ 250 per gun, which would have exponentially increased based on the number of firearms an individual owns, was up for debate by United States: California – Delta policy staff. Additionally, under this bill, the state of California would have the power to seize and destroy a person’s firearms if they lapse for any reason on their annual registration. This would have had a direct impact on law-abiding sportspeople and women. For now, this legislation is dead.
- United States: Florida Delta Waterfowl is proud to have supported the passage of Amendment 2 to the Florida-based Right to Fish and Hunt. Florida hunters will now join the dozens of other states whose constitutions protect hunting, as this ballot amendment was unanimously passed. More than$ 14 billion is raised annually from hunting and fishing in Florida, and sports teams and individuals directly contribute millions of dollars annually through licenses, stamps, and tags to state conservation efforts. Yet the threats to hunting and fishing—and, with it, wildlife conservation across the country —are persistent. Floridians were able to participate in our cherished traditions of outdoor recreation for future generations by passing Amendment 2 while also upholding natural resources and supporting conservation.
