Looking for solutions Despite some logical reasons for Minnesota's duck drought, Lawrence and others aren't simply shrugging their shoulders. McGinty noted that more than 700,000 waterfowl were reported at one time last fall on the Mississippi River near La Crosse, Wis., where they remained for weeks. Those ducks simply flew over Minnesota, without stopping or stopping only briefly, and didn't provide Minnesota hunters any opportunities, McGinty said. Many ducks are passing over Minnesota's once rich shallow lakes because they no longer hold the small organisms, wild rice or wild celery that ducks love to eat, Lawrence said. And even where there is food, there may be too much activity to keep ducks there.
Duck hunters are a big part of the problem, concentrating their efforts in the few hot spots.
Lawrence said the DNR may ask anglers to avoid certain areas during October. A voluntary no-boating zone is working on the Mississippi River near La Crosse to keep ducks in a zone around a major refuge, McGinty said. But no-boating zones are just a part of the solution. Tom Landwehr, state conservation director of Ducks Unlimited, said entire watersheds need to be changed. More no-hunting refuges are needed and hunting hours may need to be altered, some hunters say.