Monumental Executive Order Signed, Colorado Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish Vote, and Provincial Meetings
Delta’s Policy Team continues to advocate on behalf of ducks and duck hunters across the United States and Canada
United States
Delta Leadership on Hand for White House Executive Order Announcement
In mid-September, Delta staff traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend an executive order signing at the White House. “Reinvigorating America’s Hunting Heritage” recognizes the critical role hunters and landowners play in conservation and directs agencies to implement expanded hunting opportunities on federal lands, Sunday hunting on state and federal lands, voluntary agreements with private landowners and producers to conserve and enhance habitat, and other hunting and conservation priorities supported by Delta Waterfowl. You can read more about the executive order here.
Latest on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wetland Easements
Delta staff were invited by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to participate in two roundtable discussions (one in Washington, D.C., and one in Valley City, North Dakota) to discuss USFWS wetland easements in the wake of the USFWS’ Request for Information, published in late July. The meetings were a venue to convene both conservation and agricultural interests to hear respective positions on easements.
Funds Generated on California Refuges
We are pleased to report that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1987 into law on Sept. 30, and it will officially take effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
AB 1987 will lead to more funding for state wildlife areas by ensuring that money generated from certain wildlife areas is properly used to support them. The bill creates the Waterfowl Management Areas Operations and Maintenance Account within the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. All revenues generated from the sale of waterfowl hunting reservation applications and entry passes for Type A and Type B wildlife areas will be deposited into this account. These funds are continuously appropriated for the operation, maintenance, and reasonable administrative costs directly related to public hunting programs in these areas.
This bill passed its final floor vote in the Assembly and Senate unanimously. Delta’s Policy Team sent a letter to Gov. Newsom earlier this month encouraging him to sign this legislation that will have longstanding positive impacts not only for California duck hunters, but for habitat throughout the Pacific Flyway as a whole.
Colorado Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish
Delta’s Policy Team and our partners have been advocating for the constitutional right to hunt and fish in Colorado. The proposed ballot initiative would amend the Colorado Constitution to establish the right of people to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife. It would recognize hunting and fishing as preferred methods for responsibly managing wildlife populations while preserving Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s authority to regulate seasons, licenses, bag limits, and other wildlife-management measures based on sound science, public safety, and conservation needs.
More than 124,000 valid signatures are required for the measure to qualify for the ballot. On July 8, 2026, supporters successfully submitted 180,000 signatures. The measure will be on the ballot for the Nov. 3 under the title of Proposition 83. Click here to view our campaign and make sure you are registered to vote in the Nov. 3 elections.
Additionally, if you would like to make your voice heard on this issue, please join us and our partners in signing onto the Protect Wild Colorado petition in support. In recent years, Colorado has seen many attacks on the right to hunt and fish. Hunting and fishing are key tools in science-based wildlife management. Our team also stood up an independent campaign specifically for duck hunters to support Prop. 83.
Oregon/Washington Sportsmen’s Caucus Fishing Trip
Chris Hoon, Delta’s senior manager of government affairs for the Pacific Flyway, and Millard Houser, Delta’s regional director for the Pacific Northwest, traveled to Ridgefield, Washington, to attend the annual joint Oregon-Washington legislative sportsmen’s caucus fishing trip. Hoon and Houser met with legislators from both states and discussed pressing issues affecting duck hunters in the region. They also had the opportunity to give a brief presentation on the history of Delta Waterfowl and our on-the-ground engagement with programs such as Waterfowl Heritage Funds. We would like to thank our partners at the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation for once again putting on such a successful event.
Wisconsin Sporting Coalition
On Sept. 9, Wisconsin regional director, Taylor Pahl, and Delta’s communications director, Paul Wait, attended the Wisconsin Sporting Coalition meeting in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin. The discussion centered around the state’s desire to try to recapture revenues missed by providing free licenses. Among other states, Wisconsin is leaving millions of dollars of conservation funding on the table by not being able to claim license holders for purposes of Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson federal match funding. Also, license fee increases and stamp fee increases were both discussed as a means to patch current Department of Natural Resources shortfalls. Additionally, key races in the November election were discussed. Wait spoke briefly about Delta’s priorities, which included sandhill crane hunting, Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program reauthorization and more broadly, Delta’s Restoring Our Refuge initiative.
Tennessee Discussions
Jeff Wardlaw, senior manager for government affairs in the Central and Mississippi Flyways, attended a Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation dove hunt with the Tennessee Sportsmen's Caucus, members of Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Ducks Unlimited, the Tennessee Wildlife Federation, and other groups from around the state. Discussion centered on funding for the agency and on fixing Tennessee's raffle laws for nonprofits.
Additionally, Wardlaw met with Rep. William Lamberth of Cottontown to discuss a proposal to fix issues with raffle laws in Tennessee. Lamberth agreed to sponsor the bill and has been working with the National Wild Turkey Federation on the bill language. Consensus language is being finalized and will be forwarded to Lamberth ahead of the upcoming legislative session.
Wardlaw also attended the Tennessee Wildlife Federation's first Tennessee Wildlife Town Hall in Dyersburg. About 35 members of the public attended, along with a number of TWRA staff. Discussion centered on TWRA's work on refuges and the importance of inviolate sanctuaries for waterfowl, and Dr. Brad Cohen, leader of the Cohen Wildlife Lab at Tennessee Tech University spoke at the meeting. The public was very receptive to the agency's funding challenges, which bodes well for public support of a dedicated funding source next session.
Mississippi Conservation Summit
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks hosted the Waterfowl Conservation Summit in Jackson. Delta’s Jeff Wardlaw attended and met with a number of landowners from around the state. The department presented, in an informal setting, federal programs available to landowners to help manage wetlands for higher-quality waterfowl habitat.
Kansas Wetland Workshop
Delta’s Jeff Wardlaw attended the Interdunal Wetland Workshop in Great Bend, spending the day primarily with staff from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. He had the chance to mingle with refuge managers throughout the day and have dinner with them that evening, discussing challenges including department funding for wetland operations, as well as duck hunting pressure.
Louisiana Economic Development
Delta’s Jeff Wardlaw met with Sec. Tyler Bosworth of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in Vermilion Parish to discuss a potential economic development project and the mitigation of its impact on the landscape. The Policy Team will continue to closely monitor this project and its effects on waterfowl habitat.
Canada
North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance Wetlands Workshop
The North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance hosted a wetlands workshop in Edmonton where they reviewed wetland strategy with an array of stakeholders with interest in wetland conservation. The Policy Team was impressed with the watershed’s work and pleased to be a part of the process. During the discussions, Jim Fisher, Delta’s vice president of Canadian policy, was able to highlight the Shallow Wetlands Incentive Program model and how it’s working in Manitoba. You can read the report from 2024 here.
Nova Scotia Provincial Government Changes
Following a provincial layoff period and staff shuffle earlier this year, Delta’s Policy Team was finally able to reconnect with a key provincial manager to discuss a couple of priority topics, including a prospective Hunter Apprentice License program, and the need for provincial engagement in HunteR3 programming. The discussions were productive and are expected to continue later this fall.
Ontario Waterfowl Advisory Committee Meeting
Earlier this month, Delta’s Policy Team participated in the fall OWAC meeting and received general regulatory updates on the new sandhill crane hunting season and the late Canada goose hunting season in select wildlife management units, including a request for us to share information about a new website designed to support the hunting seasons for sandhill cranes in Ontario and Quebec.
The new website, which included summaries and identification tools, was highlighted by an opportunity for hunters to contribute to monitoring harvest age ratios through a voluntary photo survey of their harvested birds. We shared the information through the Delta Waterfowl Ontario Facebook page. We hope to receive some preliminary hunt/harvest feedback in the coming weeks.
There was also discussion on the government’s new online Regulatory Services Platform that launched late this summer. A few common complaints have been received about the new system, including from non-resident hunters from the United States who are having a difficult time buying permits online due to the need for a Canadian bank account. We have been told the government is looking into the issue.
Do you want to stay involved with issues that are threatening the future of waterfowl hunting? Make your voice heard by registering for Delta Waterfowl's Duck Hunters Action Alert System. Delta Waterfowl's policy team will send you emails and alerts when issues that impact you arise and provide you with the tools and resources to engage with lawmakers.