Waterfowl Hunter Numbers Continue to Decline
Canada had 10% fewer waterfowlers last season, while the United States dropped 8%
By Paul Wait
Fewer people hunted ducks and geese last year in North America than during any season in the past 60 years.
After a one-year uptick in 2020 presumably because of COVID-19 closures restricted other recreational activities, the number of waterfowl hunters in both the United States and Canada has resumed a downward slide.
According to statistics from the Canadian Wildlife Service, 125,635 residents hunted waterfowl during the 2022-2023 season. That’s the lowest number since Canada began tracking in 1966, and represents a 75% decrease from the country’s high of 505,681 resident waterfowl hunters in 1978. For further context, Ontario—the province with the most resident duck and goose hunters—had 150,994 waterfowl hunters in 1978, compared to just 44,091 last season.
In the United States, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Migratory Bird Hunter Activity and Harvest Report shows waterfowl hunter numbers slipped to 913,700, an 8% decrease from 2021-2022 season participation and the lowest tally since 1962. Together, 1.04 million waterfowl hunters were active in North America during the 2022-2023 season.
“More people are falling out the bottom—exiting hunting—than are coming in the top,” said Joel Brice, chief conservation officer for Delta Waterfowl. It’s people aging out, and a percentage of people losing interest.”
The Baby Boomer generation, people born from 1946 to 1964, have represented a high percentage of the waterfowl hunting population for the past half century. The oldest of the Boomers are now 77, while the youngest are 59. The median age of a Boomer is currently 68.
Studies have shown that hunters begin to drop out around age 70.
“There’s a huge time urgency to fixing this problem,” Brice said. “When that big mass of hunters that are in the system hit age 70, we’re going to see a noticeable decline.”
Hunters aging out would be less problematic if most Boomers who hunt successfully passed down the tradition to their children and grandchildren.
“Hunting has been a hand-me-down tradition for centuries—handed down from parent to child—and that’s a broken or nonexistent model in most households across the country today,” Brice said.
Urbanization, loss of access, less free time, and cost are frequently cited as reasons not to take up hunting. In addition, people who try waterfowl hunting but don’t stick with it often point to a lack of ducks/geese and complex regulations as factors.
Delta Waterfowl has prioritized R3—hunter recruitment, retention, and reactivation—for the past 25 years, and remains a continental leader continually working to boost hunter numbers through mentorship programs and public policy advocacy to maintain and increase hunting opportunities.
By the late 1990s, Delta’s leaders had recognized that waterfowl hunter numbers were declining. The Duck Hunters Organization first jumped into the R3 movement in 2000, pushing for the adoption of Waterfowler Heritage Days in Canada, a special weekend hunting opportunity for youth to hunt with experienced mentors. The effort was successful, and spawned Delta’s First Hunt, a chapter volunteer-led hunter recruitment program that has mentored nearly 90,000 participants in the past 20 years across the continent.
Strong hunter participation is important to ensure the future of waterfowl hunting in North America.
“The number of hunters matters for political relevancy and conservation funding, but that’s not why individuals hunt,” Brice said. “The smaller the pool of hunters, the more easily we can be dismissed. As the population is growing, even if the number of hunters stays the same, we are a declining percentage and viewpoint of society.”
R3 programs have continued to grow and evolve, pushing for a balance between youth-focused and adult-focused hunter recruitment—specifically targeting more people ages 18 to 30, according to Brice.
“At that age, a lot of people don’t have a mortgage or the responsibility of kids yet,” he said. “They’re trying things, and if they are interested in waterfowl hunting, young adults can adopt hunting more quickly than younger people. A new recruit typically has to go duck hunting more than once with someone else before they feel comfortable enough to do it on their own.”
Delta’s First Hunt Program is growing. During 2022-2023, 46 percent of the organization’s chapters conducted a hunter recruitment event. Of those, 54 events were focused on adult recruits.
“We are heading in the right direction,” Brice said. “By mentoring young adults, we get an immediate hunter who can then teach their own children to hunt. The payoff is both immediate and long-term, restoring the hand-me-down tradition of hunting.”
Every year the prices go up, licences,stamps,shells,gas. Every year we lose access to go. Its amazing that there are as many hunters as we have.
Access is a major issue.
The reason the hunters are declining tell the truth it’s a rich man sport now !!!!period
Agreed, back in the early 2000’s a box of steel shot was anywhere from $15 to $20 a box, cheap pair of waders $40 and a dozen decoys $30-$40 now if you can find ammunition it’s priced outrageously, waders over $100 and there is no such thing as cheap decoys anymore. When you think about it to the average Hunter is blue collar and right now we’re just trying to keep a roof over our heads and food on our tables for us and our families. Hunting is a privilege and a luxury and right now we can’t afford it.
If the usfws would have restrictions that made sense instead imposing more and more restrictive requirements that have no basis in science ie. No skin feathers on birds from Canada, when no bird flu is occurring, no airboats in areas only accessible by airboat, 6 bird limits when 4 is plenty, starting the season by Sept 21, it goes on and on.
How do you expect young people to like something where they sit for hours seeing nothing, swatting bugs, it just can’t compare to the video games
Loss of waterfowl hunters in my area of Florida, Volusia and Lake counties, is due to the US Army Corps of Engineers. They have absolutely wiped out the Reed’s, grass and water lilies in Lakes; George, Woodruff, Dexter, Bersford, Monroe and more South and all along the St. Johns River. All in the name of “pleasure boating””
This makes me so sad. I have hunted ducks for 50 plus years and all I read is negative. If hunting ducks was just about the harvest then so be it. But for me it’s a beautiful sunrise the owls and birds of prey its the field mice in my blind. But most importantly is the time I spend with this crazy Labrador who loves running thru the marsh. I don’t care if I even pull the trigger anymore it’s just not that important I know there will be one morning it will all come together and there will be a few ducks to eat. Get out there and enjoy youre time out there while you can. God Bless.
If it wasn’t so dam expensive now
Time u buy ur stamps lic, season or even 1 or 2 day pass to get into a refuge. Then u got gas
Shells, shells cost more now than it takes Gas
To get to the field
The reason waterfowling sucks in mobile is because the season miss the migrations.
Why kill beautiful living things? Why not mentor and be advocates for nurturing and caring for the animals with which we share this planet. Blasting these innocent birds out of the sky is just cruel and cowardly. So sad to treat them as fun targets with no feelings. Go to the target range to play with your guns and leave living sentinel beings to live their lives.
Hi Paula, I think you have some misconceptions about hunters. Why poison & kill off entire ecosystems. Why would you not protect the land and create a better habitat where animal populations can thrive and flourish. Vegans have lead to more destruction of animal populations and ecosystems then any hunter. Hunters learn to live sustainably with their natural resources while Vegas cause mass farming which destroys entire ecosystems. Hunters also provide money and assistance to national refuges and habitats all across north America. In my opinion hunters are the ultimate conservationists.
Don’t fight ignorance with straw men Andrew. This is why we’re losing so much ground. Argue the real points, because you have them to argue.
We hunt, Paula, not because we’re starving, or because just like to kill things. We hunt because it is culturally significant to our way of life. I don’t expect you, Paula, to have an appreciation for that way of life, but I do expect you to respect that we have a culture that you don’t understand.
You’re appreciation for sentient beings, Paula, is understandable from someone who doesn’t have perspective – but it doesn’t trump my desire and need to participate in a cultural tradition that has gone on for generations.
Cost of steel shot reason everyone I know stopping. The other non toxic are joke in their prices.
I am 64 almost, I can believe everything you have mentioned. My dad passed it on to me . He hunted until he was shot by his younger brother at close range. He carved all his decoys and made his own wooden boat. I tried calling Ducks Unlimited to tell them his story. He is now 88 years old. My son hunts now and my grandson who is 12. 4 generations! I would not be here today if my dad would have died in that marsh. My son still hunts it today. What an incredible story of survival that day.We still hunt everything and have overcome many challenges. What a story to tell! But people answering phones don’t understand. My name is Norm Buyalos.Email me and we can talk!
Ammo is a big factor, at $18-$20 minimum per box. Might be my last year due to cost of ammo. It’s a shame
My Dad passed it on to me, he hunted and guided part time on the Missouri River bottom around Peru Nebraska, hunted off and on until he lost the use of one arm, I grew up hunting waterfowl with him on the Missouri, then on my own on the Platte River and Loup River, and in the Rainwater basin marshes, passed it on to a few younger people, don’t really have access to decent ground anymore, plus the difficulty of hunting with a sore back, and alone, most of the time, makes it difficult to get out, I still purchase the stamps, in hopes that I can get out, once in awhile, drought has made it difficult also.
It’s a lot of the reasons above: access, cost, time. One that no one looks at is demographics. Each subsequent generation is smaller. Gen Z, my kids, are the smallest generation in US history. The military is already feeling the pinch because they are targeting Gen Z.
Also people are not getting outside like they used to. I work on a large team and manage large team at work. No one besides me hunts, fishes, hikes, or camps. Out of around 60 people, I’m the only one.
Glad to hear the decline in hunters. This generation of Duck Dynasty want- a- be’s has totally taken the art of duck hunting and made it cheap and superficial. They want instant gratification with out the knowledge or respect for the sport. Very sad and zero respect for other hunters and the sport.
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so true no place to go and the judge just ruined catahoula lake the cost to go on a trip is up to 100 dollars a duck
I haven’t duck hunted in a few years even though I buy a stamp every year. It is just too damn expensive, and ducks are too few and far between. It is not worth the fight. Y’all can claim Missouri’s short-stopping isn’t affecting anything but that’s bull crap. Historically great duck hunting areas in Louisiana are completely devoid of ducks today. It has been this way for many years now.
I am in my 60s. I have to hunt public land. It’s difficult for me to throw a bag full of decoys an my back hoist a shotgun and ammo. Put on a pair of heavy waders and march through 300 yards of waist high grass to get a couple of shots. I have bought stamps and licenses religiously since I have been 16. But now I can’t hunt any of these public places. All the land owners want money to hunt. So unless your wealthy or young and in shape…good luck!
I just got back from a hunt with my grandson in Drumheller Alberta. It was his first hunt and he adored it. He had to go through a mountain of paperwork to get his license and this is a big reason for the decline in hunters. I am 83 and still hunt a lot.
It’s become an elitist sport because of outfitters and leases. The prices keep going up. Less access. I have to pay some outfitter to hunt the farm I grew up hunting for free. Outfitters like all hunting are killing the joy and tradition of it and making it all about money. I paid an outfitter a couple times and ended up shooting less ducks than I did when I could hunt it for free. Had to laugh cause the average cost of the duck was 600$.
I have since quit waterfowl hunting. It’s too much work and cost for a tiny bird that doesn’t taste that great.
My thoughts as a Senior Duck Hunter here in Minnesota are largely negative. I live and breathe waterfowl and always will, but duck hunting has been crippled here in Minnesota largely by a lack of ducks and I think most of that has happened by bad duck management here, drainage of wetlands in Western and Southern Mn and the remaining shallow wetlands are in horrible shape. The opening day experience is now a total joke with early teal seasons (teal are down 40% long term I think I heard recently), early goose season (local Canada Goose populations are down quite a bit) and youth openers. Local ducks are long gone before the real opening day happens. Diving ducks, especially bluebills are seemingly at an all-time low or almost completely avoid Minnesota. We have the most liberal bag limits and seasons ever and more opportunity than ever but no ducks over your decoys. That is the problem. Its sad.
The cost of ammo should hardly be the deterrent. Your $12 box in 2000 shakes out to $22 today. Gas, decoys and finding a spot to hunt are a major part of it. But the boats are really a huge part. The hardmen that rowed a 12′ aluminum boat a mile now would get swamped by the big boy boats out there today.
I would say access is the biggest issue. Nobody is going to let you hunt their slough without some $. The prairie pot hole region in MN is nothing like it once was. Even in a drought like we have been having, the bigger sloughs are filled with minnows and no vegetation. Drain tile has made a major impact on these areas, and without major reform on the draining of ephemeral wetlands the breeding populations will stay down.
We don’t need more places to hunt here, we need more places worth hunting. We aren’t losing public land to private owner ship, we are losing productive public land to the discharge of water from private land.
With the increased mowing frequency of CRP (1/3 every year) none of the 2.2 million acres of CRP in SD reach their duck/pheasant/deer/ etc nesting potential. In SD only about 300,000 is marginal (2 year old) nesting cover. In SD CRP is a $122 million annual cost to taxpayers. It takes 3 years for CRP grasses to mature. At the peak of CRP in ND & SD put 2 million ducks annually into the fall flight. Unless the mowing frequency goes back to pre 2018 levels (as recommended by PF, NWF, DU & TRCP) CRP is basically a “free government hay” program. If you hunt ducks you better let Congress know you are not happy with the existing Farm Bill!
As other’s have stated costs is a major factor, between that and the steady decrease in the bag limits it’s not worth the time and effort. I’m not going to pay for a guided hunt or go hunting on my own and out out the effort , time and money for 1 Canada Goose. Due to the crazy weather the last couple of years the Snows in my area offer very limited opportunities to hunt. Do I miss it, you bet I do, hopefully I can afford to get back into big time like I was once I retire in a couple of years.
How can you have a liberal season for over 20 years ??USFW has the numbers wrong. LTA is wrong!!! Science based is a bunch of crap !! I am sure there is political pressure for a long season including Delta and DU . Seems like it’s all about the $$$.
Money should have nothing to do with it !! Protect our resource for future generations to enjoy.
Delta and Ducks Unlimited in Iowa have not followed through with DNR to see What is happening with their projects. Our Missouri River
refuge areas are all dried up. How can you expect old and young people to get excited when there’s no place to go. All wondering where ducks and geese are expected to rest?
Since the commercialization of hunting all creatures it has ruined hunting for us regular guys with out fitters leasing up all the good land and all the restrictions AGand fish put on non resident is awful.Bass pro shop and DU and Delta are to blame for promoting commercial hunting and making a lot of people so called pros what a joke .I am 67 and taught all nephew and grand kids to duck hunt.Hunting will never be the same.
I am a disabled veteran who has a hard time getting access to land, public or private because of my disability, land access is going to kill hunting, then the politicians will kill it off the rest of the way.
I have been hunting ducks for close to 50 years and these past few years our duck season here in southern Indiana has been really bad, we use to get a lot of Ducks & geese come through our flyway but gotten worse every year. I totally believe that years ago when farmers picked corn quite a bit was left in the fields for wildlife to eat nowadays your lucky to find any corn in the fields & I realize that’s money in the farmers pocket . What don’t see anything being done in our part of the state to draw waterfowl back in our flyaway, you look at Missouri with all the thousands of acres of flooded rice & corn fields for habitat guess where the birds are heading. The other issue is all the retention ponds that are built in & around the Indianapolis area just drive around up there & look at all the ducks & geese you will see ! Indiana to me isn’t a big player in hunting & fishing habitat nothing like states around us , our DNR is poorly paid . Goose pond is about the only draw we have in our area even Hovey Lake which use to be the golden child in southern Indiana isn’t much of a hunting draw anymore. Indiana needs to step up in a bigger way to get out youth involved & outside. Indiana claims to have surplus money sometimes we’ll use it in wildlife habitat.
I am 65 years old and have been duck hunting for 46 years. There are several reasons why the numbers are declining, all of which have been discussed in many of the comments in this trail. One big issue not discussed is the continued negativity toward owning guns, a stigma that is being infused into the younger generation. Without guns there is no hunting All of the pro-hunting societies and magazines like Delta Waterfowl, Ducks Unlimited, American Waterfowler, etc. need to have a publicity campaign to educate society that gun owners, who follow the laws, are good people, have a right to own a gun, and require a gun to hunt. The NRA seems to be standing alone defending gun ownership. Other pro-hunting societies and magazines need to also be vocal and in the public and with politicians so that the younger generation sees owning a gun to hunt is acceptable.
Crp being 100% hayed or grazed up every other year and sloughs being drained that are on the farm bill, increase lands being leased up by guides and lodges(this year SD increased non residents tags that lead to lodges leasing up more lands,lost 12 more landowners everyone had a chance to hunt, to guides) . The price of shells isn’t the reason, it’s states like sd closing off public waters to duck hunters and fishing enthusiasts, that started the downward trend. They are the main reasons in SD.
It’s been said a 100 times but I’ll say it again. Loss of land access has killed my drive to do it anymore. It’s so expensive I’m not going to pay out the rear to go fight with other hunters for what’s left of public access. I have hunted waterfowl for 30 years and when we lost our last lease to a horse rancher wannabe from Colorado we were pretty much done. Most of the guys I knew that did it are the same way. Young families having a hard enough time staying afloat in this economy and definitely don’t have the means to shell out a couple grand a year for a lease.
Here in Minnesota, as I get older, I continually look for the younger generation to take out!! I thoroughly enjoy sharing my knowledge and a little young gun decoy help. Lol.
It’s going to be a banner year I cannot wait!