Wisconsin Sandhill Crane Season One Step Closer to Reality; Update on Washington Firearms Legislation; Montana Tag and License Bills Advancing

Vigorous Duck Production, HunteR3, and other Delta-supported efforts continue across the United States and Canada

United States

State

Wisconsin

  • Sandhill Crane Hunt: After months of stakeholder engagement through the Legislative Council Study Committee on Sandhill Cranes last year, Delta Waterfowl is pleased to see that legislation to approve a managed, regulated hunt for Sandhill cranes in Wisconsin was recently introduced. Delta policy staff is actively working with partners in Madison to encourage lawmakers to support this common-sense package that was already deliberated by a bipartisan group of stakeholders throughout 2024.
  • Sporting Coalition for Stewardship: Delta policy staff traveled to Madison last month to participate in a sportsmen’s day at the Capitol advocating for reauthorizing the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. Since 1989, the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program has provided more access and opportunities for outdoor pursuits like hunting, fishing, and trapping, but the program is set to expire in June 2026. A powerful group of hunting and conservation groups, the Sporting Coalition for Stewardship, spoke with lawmakers about the importance of this program and highlighted the fact that lands acquired using Knowles-Nelson Stewardship funds are required to remain open to hunting and trapping, making it one of the most sportsmen- and women-friendly land conservation programs in the country.

Pennsylvania

  • Sunday Hunting: Recently, state Senator Dan Laughlin reintroduced legislation to expand Sunday hunting opportunities to the sportsmen and women of Pennsylvania. Building off the momentum in Pennsylvania and surrounding states in 2024, Delta Waterfowl is thrilled to see Senator Laughlin reintroduce this bipartisan legislation—Senate Bill 67—and looks forward to working with lawmakers in the House and Senate to put it on the Governor’s desk this session.

In addition to being supported by Delta and other hunting and conservation groups, the Pennsylvania Game Commission fully supports repealing the prohibition on hunting on Sundays.

North Dakota

  • State Duck Stamp: Delta policy staff recently submitted testimony in support of Senate Bill 2216, legislation that that will create a state waterfowl habitat stamp and establish a state waterfowl habitat improvement fund through the North Dakota Department of Game and Fish (Game and Fish). This legislation would enable Game and Fish to more effectively monitor and analyze the annual number of resident waterfowl hunters, providing valuable insights into hunting activity and harvest rates.

Delta Waterfowl specifically supports a $10 cost for the stamp that would, if enacted, result in an estimated $264,000 of additional revenue per two-year period for Game and Fish. Waterfowl hunters have shown time and time again that they are ready to step up and help fund the conservation efforts necessary to protect critical habitat on both private and public lands and help promote waterfowl hunting to the next generation of North Dakota residents.

South Carolina

  • Hunting Heritage Act: Delta Waterfowl recently joined other hunting and conservation organizations in submitting a letter of support for South Carolina House Bill 3872, the Hunting Heritage Protection Act. This legislation, if enacted, would establish a minimum acreage of South Carolina Department of Natural Resources land (DNR-owned) open to hunting which the DNR holds management authority of and which is enrolled in the Wildlife Management Area program. 

This “No-Net-Loss” idea is not new. In fact, if the legislation is passed, South Carolina would join other southern states like Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee as states that have passed similar laws to protect public hunting access for sportsmen and women in their state. Thankfully, this bill has already cleared the South Carolina House and is moving forward in the Senate.

Montana

  • License Fees for Sandhill Cranes and Tundra Swans: Delta’s policy team is pleased to report that House Bill 146—a noteworthy piece of legislation that will have longstanding positive effects on Montana wetlands and waterfowl—has passed the House and is now on its way to the Senate.

For decades, sportsmen and women have shown their willingness to fund state-based conservation programming through the sale of licenses, duck stamps, tags, permits, etc. The additional fees generated by HB 146 will go to support some of the state’s most critical habitat—wetlands. Wetlands ecosystems across Montana are impacted more than any other ecosystem in the state and are essential in providing more opportunities for wildlife and migrating waterfowl.

  • Governor’s Tundra Swan Tag Bill: House Bill 330 seeks to create a yearly lottery tag for pronghorns and swans in Montana. Lottery tags—sometimes referred to as “Governor Tags”—are separate from the traditional Montana tagging system as they can be sold at auction to support conservation in the region. This style of tag generally receives more exposure from the greater hunting community. This higher level of exposure leads to more interest in state conservation, as well as higher levels of revenue generated through tag sales. The money generated through this auction is then used in a fund to support specific habitats related to these species.

HB 330 has passed in the House and moves next to the Senate Fish and Game Committee. Delta’s policy team is working closely with the bill sponsor and stakeholders on the ground to ensure that this bill has the strongest likelihood of becoming law.

Washington

  • Firearms Legislation: Unfortunately, HB 1163 is continuing to move through the legislature. Most recently, this bill was sent back to the House floor after receiving amendments in the House Appropriations Committee.

In Washington, if an individual wants to buy, sell, or transfer a firearm, they must possess either a hunting license or prove that they have completed a firearm safety program. House Bill 1163 would require Washington gun owners to take an extensive firearm training course and pay a tax to receive a five-year permit to purchase firearms—even if they already own a hunting license. Even with the recent amendments, this legislation remains concerning and will have negative outcomes for duck hunters in the state. Delta’s team will continue to diligently combat this bill as it continues through the legislative process.

  • Capitol Visit: Recently Chris Hoon, Delta Waterfowl’s manager of government affairs on the Pacific Flyway, travelled to Olympia, Washington, for meetings at the state capitol. The Delta team had excellent meetings with legislators and staff with both the House and Senate and expressed support for Senate Bill 5443, legislation to restructure requirements for holding auctions and raffles.

Delta also outlined the organization’s concern for the numerous anti-gun bills introduced in this legislative session that would directly impact waterfowl hunters in the state.

Utah

  • Navigable Waterways: House Bill 386 is a particularly concerning bill that seeks to change and overcomplicate the definition of navigable water. In Utah, navigable water is especially important to duck hunters because it acts as the best and most convenient way of accessing wetlands to hunt.

This bill is not supported by the Utah Department of Natural Resources or the Legislative Sportsmen Caucus. The bill sponsor has been encouraged to drop this bill, and Delta’s team is hopeful that this will occur. In the meantime, however, Delta will continue to monitor it.

Colorado

  • Hunting as Wildlife Management: Delta’s team is happy to report that House Bill 25-1258—Scientific Wildlife Management—failed to pass committee. Although this bill may seem minimal, it would have had profound negative effects for Colorado hunters.

HB 25-1258 sought to alter the current wildlife management system by changing the requirement that Colorado Parks and Wildlife “shall” utilize hunting and angling as a wildlife management tool to a lesser standard of “may authorize,” which undermines CPW’s management mission. This bill served no benefit to Colorado’s ecosystem and, in fact, laid the groundwork to remove hunting as a wildlife management tool.

Hunting has been utilized as a tool for wildlife management for over 100 years, under the widely agreed upon North American Model of Conservation; this bill directly challenged that model. Delta’s policy team testified in opposition to this bill to the House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Committee, and we are pleased to report it failed to pass with a vote of 3-10.

Louisiana

  • Cocktails for Conservation: Delta policy staff recently attended the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ Cocktails for Conservation event in New Orleans. Flanked by members and volunteers from our Louisiana State Committee, our policy staff was able to speak in front of a room full of legislators, LDWF staff and commissioners to talk about our priorities for waterfowl and waterfowl hunters in the state ahead of the upcoming legislative session in 2025.

Kansas

  • Non-Resident Waterfowl Hunting Restrictions: Delta Waterfowl has been closely following Kansas Senate Bill 213, legislation that seeks to restrict the use of public lands for non-resident waterfowl hunters to certain days during the season. While Delta respects a state’s authority to manage and regulate their state-owned public lands for the betterment of their residents, this legislation includes federal public lands such as National Wildlife Refuges. After passing out of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, the bill is currently awaiting floor time on the Senate.

Delta will continue to have conversations with lawmakers and commissioners about this legislation as it moves forward.

Oklahoma

  • Guiding and Outfitter Licensing: Delta Waterfowl continues to monitor and speak with legislators and agency staff about Senate Bill 208, legislation that mandates the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) to establish a registration and licensing system for individuals or entities offering guiding services for hunting within the state. This system aims to enhance the safety and security of both landowners and hunters.

After various amendments in committee, giving more discretion to ODWC and their commission to establish the parameters for licensing, the bill passed out of the Senate Agriculture and Wildlife 12-0.

  • Hackberry Flats Wildlife Management Area: Recently, Delta policy staff traveled to Oklahoma to meet with partners from Ducks Unlimited and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation to discuss the management of Hackberry Flats Wildlife Management Area. Delta and the organization’s conservation partners are interested in finding a method to get water back on the WMA for waterfowl hunters.

Missouri

  • Missouri Department of Conservation/Trout Opener Event: Jeff Wardlaw, Delta’s senior manager of government affairs for the Mississippi and Central Flyways, recently attended a reception to mark the opening of trout season in Missouri. There he was able to meet with several state legislators, staff and leaderships from the Missouri Department of Conservation and their commission, and Governor Kehoe.

Canada

Provincial

Ontario

  • Discharge of Firearms By-law: Town of Mono: The Town of Mono has moved forward with a draft bylaw to regulate the discharge of firearms and bows. Since the last report, the Delta policy team has written a formal letter to staff and members of council highlighting the organization’s comments, suggestions, and concerns with the draft bylaw.

Delta has been informed that the town is likely to host a public meeting as their next step in an effort to seek feedback from their constituents. Delta will continue to monitor this situation closely and respond as necessary.

  • Late Canada Goose Hunting Season (Feb/Mar): Delta continues to lead the discussions on trying to find viable solutions to secure a late Canada goose hunting season in municipalities who have adopted (or are considering) Sunday gun hunting in southern Ontario.

The Delta team had a meeting with a subset of OWAC members to discuss next steps, including possible scenarios to secure the late season, spatial criteria, and more. Delta has since crafted a goose hunter survey based on the outcomes of that meeting that will be used to solicit feedback from goose hunters. The survey began distribution in the middle of March at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show and will continue to be distributed to help better inform Delta’s team of the interests of goose hunters prior to the next Ontario Waterfowl Advisory Committee meeting.

  • Ontario Waterfowl Advisory Committee (OWAC): Delta Waterfowl continues to lead the discussion on the possibility of securing a late Canada Goose hunting season in municipalities which have adopted Sunday gun hunting in much of southern Ontario. The traditional, ‘late Canada goose season,’ is currently the largest regulatory issue waterfowl hunters are facing in the province. This topic, along with others, will be a priority on Delta’s list at the next OWAC meeting, which will occur on Monday, March 24.
  • Provincial Election Results: On Thursday, Feb. 27, Premier Doug Ford and his Progressive Conservative Party secured their third-straight majority government after calling a snap winter election on Tuesday, Jan. 28—more than a year before the next fixed election date was set to occur (June 2026). Premier Ford is the first Ontario party leader to win three majorities since 1959.

Importantly, the Hon. Graydon Smith has been the Minister of Natural Resources since June 2022, and Delta’s team is waiting eagerly to see what cabinet shuffles might occur following the recent party victory.

Alberta

  • Budget ’25: After submitting a budget request of $12 million to the Minister of Environment, the Delta team was hoping to see Delta’s Shallow Wetlands Incentive Program (SWIP) launched. Unfortunately, there was no mention of SWIP in the budget legislation. Now Delta awaits the details of a potential Ecosystem Services (ES) program that may be announced as early as April 1. Within the ES, we anticipate SWIP to be an eligible activity among several delivery options for private landowners and communities to choose from.