"On January 6, 2025, Louisiana Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) penned a letter to the USFWS Director Brian Nesvik, calling the flooding of corn to attract waterfowl “legal baiting” and asking for the practice to be reviewed, saying that the practice of hunting over flooded corn has been the cause for such a steep decline in duck numbers.
Kennedy shared his concerns about the practice, stating that the practice of hunting over flooded corn “undermines the foundational standards of wildlife conservation.”
This topic has been one of the most heated, vitriol-filled debates among waterfowlers for years. Mostly in the Mississippi and Central flyways. Multiple guides, outfitters, and even legal officials have been outspoken about their opinions on hunting over flooded corn. While many hunters point to changing weather patterns and migration shifts, others state that the flooding of corn fields and other similar crops is to blame for the poor duck harvest numbers.
The letter further reads:
“Mallard harvest in the state of Louisiana dropped 95% from 1999-2021, more than any other state in the Mississippi Flyway. In Missouri, the mallard count rose from 280,000 in 1999 to 550,000 in 2016. This discrepancy is not the result of a growing overall population shifting away their traditional wintering grounds in the southern portions of the Mississippi Flyway. Instead, the data indicates that mallards are concentrating and stopping in regions where the manual flooding of corn has become widespread. Unlike rice, which requires flooding as part of its natural growth cycle, there is no agronomical justification for flooding corn. Put simply, the intentional flooding of standing crops has enabled an unsportsmanlike practice, weakened long-standing protections for migratory birds, and adversely impacted waterfowl populations in Louisiana.”
While the idea that flooding corn is the culprit to the lack of mallards at the bottom of the Mississippi Flyway has its fans, an interview done by WILDFOWL Magazine with Dr. Steve Adair of Ducks Unlimited suggests that there are more factors at play.
“I would say that waterfowl migration patterns have definitely seen some changes,” said Dr. Steve Adair, the Bismarck, North Dakota based chief scientist for Ducks Unlimited. “But there are a number of factors in play, including changing climate conditions, food resources, and changes in disturbances for waterfowl. And depending on the particular year, and how those various factors come together, all of those changes can be different, at least in how they impact ducks and how they move about through the flyways.” (WILDFOWL Magazine, 2023)
That article further explains that weather and climate are the main factors as to why birds aren’t moving south.
‘“There is certainly mounting evidence of ducks wintering further north, and waterfowl that are arriving in southern areas of the country later than they once did and leaving southern places earlier than they used to,” Adair said, noting a recent study of 16 common duck species that winter in the southeastern U.S.
That study, which was reported in the spring of 2021, was a joint effort between the National Audubon Societyand Clemson University’s James C. Kennedy Waterfowl and Wetlands Conservation Center. The resulting work showed that as temperatures have changed in the past 50 years, so have the wintering duck populations noted above, which have shifted northward over time, even if their numbers have remained somewhat steady. (WILDFOWL Magazine, 2023.)
Continued in the letter, Senator Kennedy urges the USFWS to conduct a formal study to evaluate the impact of flooded corn on migratory waterfowl and their behavior.
Kennedy writes:
“Continued declines in southward waterfowl migration will only accelerate this negative trend, further reducing revenues from duck stamps, Pittman-Robertson funding, and other mechanisms vital to waterfowl habitat conservation programs partially reliant on Louisiana hunters with a vested interest in waterfowl. Duck migrations have always been based on a multitude of factors, including varying winter weather patterns, wetland health, hunting pressure, and breeding trends. Recognizing the importance of preventing further habitat degradation in vital breeding grounds like the Prairie Pothole Region is essential to ensuring the future of North American waterfowl. But failing to address the evident change in migratory behavior of a waterfowl population already in serious decline would fall short of the stewardship the resource desperately requires.”
While there is no immediate evidence indicating that flooded corn is the cause of a lack of ducks in the southern part of the Mississippi Flyway, it is worth noting that the states where flooding corn is more prominent have noticed in upward trend in mallard harvest compared to other states (according to USFWS harvest data.)
Some hunters applaud Senator Kennedy’s letter, others wonder if it will make any difference at all.
WILDFOWL Magazine will provide more information as it becomes available.
