Missouri Mallards

09/01/2026

Well, it isn’t ideal, but here’s the BPOP. Looking forward to seeing the Arctic goose situation.

The time has come — 2026 breeding population survey results are out!

According to the USFWS Annual Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey, this year's estimated breeding duck population is 33.44 million, a 2% decline from last year and 6% below the long-term average dating back to 1955. The report shows that while dabbling duck populations have decreased, diving duck populations have increased over the past year.

Total pond counts increased 14% from 2025, notably 29% in Canada; however, U.S. wetlands were down 10%.

Get Delta's full review of the USFWS's report here: https://deltawaterfowl.org/whats-new/news/delta-waterfowl-reports-usfws-annual-waterfowl-survey-estimates-3344-million-ducks/.

The Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey and the Waterfowl Status Report are the result of a collaborative effort conducted annually by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Canadian Wildlife Service, and the Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, and Pacific Flyway Councils.

This report is presented by our friends at Jahpoo.

08/31/2026

Cooler days are on the way…eventually. Give us a shout if you would like to put a hunt together for this season.

08/23/2026

Here’s the history of our area. Really makes you wonder.

Much of Missouri's Bootheel did not always look like the flat agricultural landscape people know today. In 1914, the Little River Drainage District began a 14-year construction program aimed at transforming enormous areas of swamp and overflow land in southeast Missouri. The State Historical Society of Missouri describes the project as a turning point that converted Bootheel swamp into rich agricultural land. Historical research on the district says more than one million acres of wetlands were ultimately drained.

That required far more than digging a roadside ditch. The region was part of a vast lowland system shaped by the Mississippi River, with cypress swamps, sloughs, seasonal flooding, and water moving slowly across extremely flat ground. Engineers and contractors built a huge network of drainage ditches, levees, and channels. Giant dredges worked through terrain that could swallow ordinary equipment, cutting artificial pathways for water that had previously spread across the landscape.

The economic transformation was enormous. Land that had been difficult to farm became some of Missouri's most productive agricultural ground. Towns, roads, farms, and industries developed around a landscape that had been fundamentally re-engineered. But the ecological cost was enormous too. Wetland habitat disappeared on a scale that is hard to understand from today's fields. Places such as Mingo National Wildlife Refuge preserve only fragments of the swamp ecosystem that once dominated much more of southeast Missouri.

This story is not as simple as saying people "conquered" a swamp or that agriculture merely replaced useless land. The drainage district created livelihoods and communities while also permanently changing water flow and habitat across a huge region. That tension is exactly why it belongs in Missouri history. Drive through the Bootheel today and the straight ditches, broad fields, and nearly level horizon can seem completely natural. They are not. Much of that geography was deliberately remade. If you could see one aerial view of southeast Missouri before the drainage work began, what part of the old landscape would surprise you most?

08/01/2026

We need to take the initiative to say no on this one. The Missouri Coteau is the duck factory of North America. If you’ve never seen it…go. Every waterfowler should wether your hunting or see it while it’s green. The amount of water on this landscape is THE determining factor for the amount of birds we see. No water, very few birds. Breeding season is what makes a duck season. Not flooded corn, not rice, not flooded timber. …potholes. Protect them.

On the northern Great Plains, the grasslands in states from Montana and the Dakotas to Minnesota and Iowa, as well as parts of Canada, are dotted with countless often-temporary wetlands. Some cover less than an acre. Many dry up and disappear during the year, only to return with snowmelt and spring rain.

Collectively, these glacial depressions form one of North America’s most productive wildlife landscapes—the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR).

Often called the continent’s “duck factory,” this is the breeding, nesting, and hatching habitat for over 60% of ducks in North America, as well as dozens of other species of migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, and songbirds.

This sprawling collection of millions of shallow wetlands is arguably America’s least known yet most important and threatened ecosystem.

Now, however, an obscure federal review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has placed the future of many thousands of those tiny wetland habitats in doubt.

"Right now, the most important waterfowl habitat in the United States of America is at risk. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering repealing the rule that protects the integrity of the Duck Stamp easements that have been purchased for generations," said Adam Putnam, CEO of Ducks Unlimited.

"Whether you’re a duck hunter or not, you understand the importance of conservation, the importance of waterfowl habitat, wildlife habitat, and clean water. Please take advantage of this opportunity to make your voice heard."

Read more and speak up for your ducks, geese, pelicans, cranes, sandpipers, grebes, and dozens of other water and songbirds here: https://ourpubliclandsandwaters.substack.com/p/a-quiet-rule-review-could-drain-the

07/25/2026

Let’s line one of these days up!

07/22/2026

Some days are just flat out special. This one was just that! Come hunt the Boot with us!

04/22/2026

Friends! So I went on a health kick a couple years ago and am running in a 5k for the ducks! It's a fundraiser for wetland conservation and any donation goes straight to work. If you feel so inclined to donate, follow the link or click the tab below.

Thanks!
-Andy

The DU Dash is a virtual run, walk, or ride hosted by Ducks Unlimited, Inc., supporting waterfowl and wetlands conservation. Join us and "put some throttle in your waddle" to support waterfowl, wetlands, and clean water! Do the Dash on your own time...

02/02/2026

The Drought Season.

Very little water.

Enough geese.

Every year gets harder. Every year you adapt or fold.

We adapt.

Even in the toughest of years, I look back through the photos and smile. This year’s album reflects a lot of really…really good times. Times spent with family, days with some of my oldest and dearest friends. Times spent with my little band of brothers at camp. Days spent with a ton of incredible clients; many of which whom have become year-round friends. Days spent with dogs starting their careers and others at the top of their game, all the while knowing my old girl is slowing down. Waterfowling is a lot more than a tailgate picture. Thankful to of experienced another year of it. …the highs, the lows, the people, the piles, the burritos, and even the drama.

25/26, you were a good one!

Thanks to all who came!

-Andy