Hunter Attitudes Regarding a Special Teal Season in Iowa

During 2014-2016, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) allowed Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan the opportunity to hold experimental September teal-only hunting seasons that would fall outside of these... [ view full abstract ]

During 2014-2016, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) allowed Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan the opportunity to hold experimental September teal-only hunting seasons that would fall outside of these states' regular fall duck hunting seasons. These states were required to evaluate hunter ability to identify teal from other ducks, and to quantify non-target take during these special September hunting seasons.  Iowa hunters’ performance and non-target take fell within the bounds required by the USFWS, and may allow Iowa to make a special September teal-only season a permanent option for Iowa duck hunters.  However, do Iowa hunters really want a teal-only hunting season, or do they just want to hunt ducks?  Prior to 2014, Iowa used part of its regular duck season allotment of days during September which allowed hunters to take any type of duck during the five day September season.  This September use of the annual allotment was popular among many Iowa hunters, and disliked by others who wished the days to be used later in the year.  It was unknown at the start of the experimental teal season, whether Iowa hunters would find hunting in September and being restricted to taking only teal, a synonymous experience to hunting in September during periods when any species of duck could be taken.  Between November, 2016 and January, 2017 the Iowa DNR administered a multi-modal survey to a stratified sample of 4,996 Iowa duck hunters to determine their satisfaction with the 2016 duck hunting season in Iowa and their preferences regarding a teal season.  Nearly a quarter of hunters indicated that they did not hunt the experimental teal season in 2016, and 50% of those that did were dissatisfied with the number of ducks they saw during that season.  When asked about their level of support for a future September special teal-only season, 51% of Iowa duck hunters wished to return to a 5-day September any-duck season rather than a 9-day, or a 16-day, special September teal-only season.