Before you pack your decoys and start scouting, tune in to watch waterfowl experts from Ducks Unlimited and guest panelists as they dip into the spring survey results and share their expectations for waterfowl numbers and hunting prospects for the upcoming season. Stay up-to-date on the latest issues affecting waterfowl populations, habitats, and hunters and gain valuable insights for the 2023-2024 season.
Get to know Ducks Unlimited's leading waterfowl experts and guest panelists.
Senior Waterfowl Scientist, Ducks Unlimited Inc.
Mike Brasher is a Senior Waterfowl Scientist at Ducks Unlimited’s National Headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. Prior to this role, Mike served for 13 years as Biological Team Leader for the Gulf Coast Joint Venture in Lafayette, Louisiana. In his current position, Mike collaborates with DU staff and partners to communicate and advance the scientific foundation of DU’s conservation activities. Mike also serves as a co-host of the Ducks Unlimited Podcast.
Senior Waterfowl Scientist, Ducks Unlimited Inc.
Waterfowl Research Scientist, Ducks Unlimited Canada
Matt Dyson is a Waterfowl Research Scientist at Ducks Unlimited Canada’s Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research who studies the behavioral and demographic responses of ducks to landscape change. Matt has studied duck nesting ecology in Alberta’s boreal forest, nesting and brood ecology of wood ducks in southern Ontario, Canada goose nesting ecology on James Bay, and even woodland caribou in northern Ontario.
Waterfowl Research Scientist, Ducks Unlimited Canada
Chief, Branch of Migratory Bird Surveys, USFWS
Mark Koneff is a pilot-biologist and Chief of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management, Branch of Migratory Bird Surveys. In that role he coordinates, manages, and conducts large-scale monitoring programs for waterfowl and other migratory birds including aerial surveys and banding operations. Mark previously served as Chief of the Division’s Population and Habitat Assessment Branch in overseeing biological assessments to inform harvest management and habitat conservation. Prior to that his work focused on planning, evaluation, and delivery of habitat conservation through the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.
Chief, Branch of Migratory Bird Surveys, USFWS
Director of Marketing, Higdon Outdoors
Brook Richard is the Director of Marketing at Higdon Outdoors, Co-Host of Higdon Outdoors TV, and a World Team Live Duck Calling Champion. Having grown up in South Louisiana, Brook enjoys chasing White-fronted geese across the Mississippi Flyway on his free time.
Director of Marketing, Higdon Outdoors
Director, Conservation Programs, Ducks Unlimited Inc.
Virginia Getz is the Director of Conservation Programs at DU’s Western Regional Office (WRO) in Rancho Cordova, California. She oversees DU’s wetland conservation program in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Hawaii and is a member of the WRO’s management team. Virginia has worked at DU for over 23 years. Prior to her employment at DU, Virginia served for 12 years as a Senior Biologist for a private consulting firm in California’s Central Valley.
Director, Conservation Programs, Ducks Unlimited Inc.
Director of Conservation, MeatEater
Ryan "Cal" Callaghan is MeatEater's Director of Conservation and a national board member of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. Cal has been a passionate member of the outdoor community, having grown up hunting and fishing, guiding, and playing in the West. Cal is host of the MeatEater podcast, “Cal’s Week in Review.”
Director of Conservation, MeatEater
National Coordinator, National Wildlife Disease Program, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services
Dr. Julianna Lenoch is a veterinary epidemiologist and National Coordinator for USDA APHIS Wildlife Services National Wildlife Disease Program. She has been with USDA since 2016, working at the forefront of disease investigations, including recent work on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, Chronic Wasting Disease, African Swine Fever, SARS-CoV-2, and other emerging diseases. Dr. Lenoch is the United States designated Focal Point for Wildlife for the World Organisation for Animal Health.
National Coordinator, National Wildlife Disease Program, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services
No, please contact your federal, state, and local wildlife agencies for your location's hunting rules and regulations.
The data collected from the Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey are used to establish annual hunting regulations in the United States and Canada and provide a long-term time series important for researching bird-environment relationships critical to effective conservation planning for waterfowl.
The data collected through this survey are vitally important to the management of waterfowl across North America. The information gathered is used to set waterfowl hunting regulations for the following years.
https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/waterfowl-population-status-reports, or Google "Waterfowl Population Status Reports" and click on the link from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS.gov)
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