Why It Matters: With declining wetland habitats, severe drought, increased predation, and other challenges, waterfowl populations are not as robust as waterfowl hunters and others would like to see. For example, mallard ducks are down 23% from their long-term average, a sign of the struggle associated with breeding success. However, there are well-established practices such as building hen houses that can deliver meaningful results for waterfowl and waterfowl hunters.
Highlights:
- A few weeks ago, Rep. Michelle Fischbach (MN) along with Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) Members Reps. Mike Thompson (CA) and Doug LaMalfa (CA) introduced R. 6854, the Habitat Enhancement Now (HEN) Act.
- This bipartisan legislation, which is strongly supported by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), would establish two grant programs for a total of $3 million annually for a period of 5 years to bolster the breeding success of waterfowl across the nation.
- Specifically, the legislation will establish a grant program for both the state of California and the prairie pothole region to build hen houses and to improve other important breeding resources for waterfowl.
In late December, Representative Michelle Fischbach as well as CSC Members Representatives Mike Thompson and Doug LaMalfa introduced the Habitat Enhancement Now Act, a bipartisan bill that seeks to improve breeding success for migratory waterfowl.
The HEN Act will authorize $1.5 million annually for the construction and maintenance of hen houses, which are significantly valuable to improving breeding success for migratory waterfowl. Additionally, the legislation authorizes another $1.5 million annually to boost incentives for private landowners in the state of California to improve breeding habitat on private lands.
According to Delta Waterfowl, a strong CSF partner and a leading waterfowl conservation organization, nesting success for mallard ducks is a marginal 3.8%. Combine this low success rate with challenges such as drought and predation, mallard ducks in particular have their work cut out for them to maintain healthy and sustainable populations. Fortunately, mallards have a unique ability to utilize hen houses, which is why the HEN Act seeks to establish funding to build, maintain, and improve them. In addition, John Devney, Chief Policy Officer for Delta Waterfowl, states “Our research is pretty solid that if we can build 110,00 hen houses across the most productive parts of the Prairie Potholes and Canadian parklands, we can add up to 250,000 mallards to the flyway every year”.
CSF looks forward to working with Reps. Fischbach, Thompson, and LaMalfa to see this legislation signed into law given the challenges associated with breeding success for waterfowl across the nation.
