Duck Hunting Chat

Service Enforcement Officers Foil Artifact Trafficker

An Illinois man was sentenced to pay $150,326 in restitution to the Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge in southern Illinois after admitting that he excavated more than 13,000 artifacts from a Native American archaeological site on the refuge so he could sell them and live off his profits.

Archaeological Resources Protection Act

Secretary Salazar Moves to Ban Importation and Interstate Transfer of Burmese Python and Eight Other Giant Invasive Snakes

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will propose to list the Burmese python and eight other large constrictor snakes that threaten the Everglades and other sensitive ecosystems as “injurious wildlife” under the Lacey Act. More than 1,200 of the snakes have been removed from Everglades National Park since 2000, where they threaten many imperiled species and other wildlife.

ALUS in Alberta – Good News for American Duck Hunters – ‘Farmers Conservation Plan’ Launches on Breeding Grounds

Today’s launch of the first Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) pilot program in Alberta—a prime duck-producing province—is great news for U.S. hunters. Designed by Delta Waterfowl and backed by several Canadian farm groups, ALUS compensates agricultural producers for providing ecological goods and services, including waterfowl habitat, on their working lands—lands that in time Delta Waterfowl hopes will rival the U.S. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in duck production.

Two Service Biologists Lost in Oregon Plane Crash

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pilot-biologist Vernon Ray (Ray) Bentley, 52, and David Sherwood (Dave) Pitkin, 49, were killed when their plane crashed January 18th near Corvallis, Oregon. The two pilots were participating in the Mid-winter Inventory of waterfowl along the Oregon coast and were returning to Corvallis when the crash occurred. Every winter, select teams of Service pilot-biologists and observers take to the skies to survey North America’s waterfowl during January in one of the oldest wildlife surveys, dating back to the 1930s.

Coral Smuggler to Pay More than $35,000 in Penalties

A German national who runs a coral export business out of that country has been ordered to pay more than $35,000 in criminal fines, restitution, and community service payments after pleading guilty to smuggling over 40 tons of coral into the United States from the Phillippines. The Philippines bans any export of its coral resources; coral trade is also regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

New DHC Sponsor – G&H Decoys

We’d like to welcome our newest sponsor to DuckHuntingChat.com – G&H Decoys. G&H Decoys – A Waterfowl Tradition Since 1934! All G&H Decoys are made right here in the U.S.A. at their Henryetta, Oklahoma facility. G&H Decoys, Inc. is proud to offer decoys that are American made and of superior quality and value. At G&H, we [...]

Ginseng Dealer Sentenced to Prison Term, Fine

A North Carolina man who illegally sold and transported American wild ginseng in violation of State law and the Federal Lacey Act will spend one year in Federal prison and pay a $50,000 fine. A Service undercover agent documented this trafficking during a three-year investigation focused on the illegal take and interstate sale of ginseng and bear parts in the southern Appalachian region.

New DHC Sponsor – Call Coozy

I’d like to welcome the newest sponsor to DuckHuntingChat.com – CallCoozy.com Call Coozy – Got it Covered! Never before has such a small innovation made such a large impact on the game call industry. [...]

New DHC Sponsor – Super Strike Charters

Please welcome our newest sponsor here at DuckHuntingChat.com – Super Strike Charters Super Strike Charters – Duck Hunting & Fishing in Louisiana Super Strike Charters is based in Venice, La. We offer some of the best duck hunting and fishing you will find anywhere in the country. We have a big variety of duck species that migrate [...]

Mississippi Duck Hunt

By Tammy Sapp I’m not usually the kind of woman who hollers out to perfect strangers in public. But, my choices were continue lurking around a Memphis airport telephone booth or find out if the two women strolling by, one in a camouflage jacket, were my ride to Hunter’s Paradise Lodge. “Hey, are you Shannon?” I blurted. The [...]