Who’s in more trouble? Canada or North Dakota?
With the Canadian borders closed to waterfowls this fall, thousands of outfitters across the province will loose a total estimated $68 million dollars in the first month. North Dakota will see a troubling amount of hunters flock to their state because Canada is no longer and option for the start of the season for many water fowlers. North Dakota will look like a war zone with hunters come October 3rd.
Canada, a duck hunters paradise. Every year, thousands of duck and goose hunter go north across the border into Canada to have the first opportunity to harvest waterfowl. Canada is the first place that ducks and geese stop to eat, and it is where their journey begins when they start to migrate south for the winter. Canada is breeding ground for most ducks and geese and this make it the first-place hunters have a shot at harvesting birds.
With COVID-19 still a factor in everyday life, and travel across the world being very limited; Canada has decided to close its borders to American hunters this year. Leaving many people upset and worried about what the future brings.
Canada is home to over 25,000 hunting outfitters, meaning these are places where people (mostly Americans) can stay and go on professional guided hunts for certain amounts of money. Outfitting is a huge business in Canada and most of the revenue comes from American hunters looking to hunt waterfowl in the early fall. With the closure of the border, many outfitters are left scrambling, worrying about how they are going to make enough money to stay open for the future. Fox News reported that In 2018, there were reportedly about 17,000 licensed waterfowl hunters in Saskatchewan and 54% percent were nonresidents. American duck hunters reportedly outnumber resident duck hunters in other parts of Canada as well.
To many hunters from the states, going to Canada is a dream come true and a great way to start the season off with a bang! In a recent survey, over 81% of Canadians didn’t want the border to open for American hunters. This was due a spike in covid cases in the states, but some see it differently. Canadian Travel and Tourism generates around $74 billion and employs 1.8 million people, they have been pleading to the prime minister to allow healthy Americans back into Canada, without American tourists, Canada has already lost a lot of money. Its estimated that over $68 million dollars will be lost just from hunting outfitters in Alberta alone.
Not only is the waterfowl industry huge in Canada, its also a way of life and a main income for thousands. But Canada has much more hunting to offer than just ducks and geese. Canada is home to many types of big game like Elk, Moose, Deer and sheep. All animals are hunted from outfitters and people lives depend on clients from parts of the world to come hunt. This spring alone outfitters for sheep and moose lost over 32 million dollars across Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
This decision has left a big impact on hunters in the states as well. With Canada closed, the next area for hunters to travel to is North Dakota. North Dakota outfitters are filling up fast and with an unlimited number of licenses to hand out, ND seems like it will be a zoo with hunter come this fall. Waterfowl biologist Al Afton says the pandemic and the closure of Canada will lessen the pressure of hunters that ducks and geese face in Canada, instead they will be awoken when the cross the border into the states.
While the revenue in North Dakota will go up from hunter buying non-resident licenses, COVID has really been an impact for data research and management within government agencies like Ducks Unlimited and Delta Waterfowl. Due to COVID, much of the data that is collected annually was not collected in full amount because of CDC guidelines. Many biologists couldn’t go to work and many wildlife officers weren’t able to get an accurate and full count on how well the hatch of ducks and geese were. Without this data, hunters are left uncertain on how well the season might go, and whether or not they will even see birds come out of Canada. With Canada closed, hunters are speculating birds will stay in Canada longer, due to the lack of hunting pressure. Many theories are coming from duck hunter across the country on every bulletin board and social media site across America. We are just left uncertain.
What is certain is the amount of pressure there will be in North Dakota. Mike Szymanski, migratory game bird management supervisor for North Dakota Game and Fish said, “there will be a ton of competition for hunting spots this year. Without Canada, thousands of hunters will come to the fields and marshes that North Dakota offers.” Mike also stated, “It will be interesting to see the turnout in person; I can imagine our game wardens to be busy 24/7 when our season opens up on October 3rd”
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