An early fall tour of the marsh provides a wonderful respite for many of us. We find escape from the travails of everyday life by immersing ourselves in nature.  For a few hours the insanity of the world is left behind. On my most recent visit, I needed a break from the anger I felt toward those responsible for our economic crisis. The financial week had just ended after a tumultuous ride on Wall Street that would have left a fighter pilot nauseous. Out in the marsh I saw some ducks, far fewer egrets and herons than normal along with the usual denizens of the waterways. Just about the time my manic mind started to relax, a mallard in eclipse plumage flushed. My hunting reflexes kicked in. Was it a hen or drake? The hunting regulations in California this autumn allow for the daily taking of seven mallards but only one hen. My happy day came crashing down as the two realities converged. The Fiscal and Feather Mismanagement parallels were all too obvious.

Everyone is now aware of the factors leading to the United States financial crisis.  Arrogance and ignorance are two of the causes that resonate along with an unhealthy dose of greed. Those people in charge of loaning money adopted a Ponzi scheme.  Creative financing evolved whereby a mortgage was granted to someone who put no money down and relied on meeting a monthly payment that exceeded his income. Those who found themselves in arrears believed they could always sell their homes to the next person for more. God forbid that the value of the home should decline. Why lend the money? “If I don’t someone else will and get those dollars.” The blame also falls to the consumer. Using credit cards to buy a huge TV one cannot pay for is identical to signing for a loan to buy that house that is 10 steps up from what the borrower could afford. Toxic mortgages resulted.

Unlike the government ordinary citizens cannot print money to bail themselves out. The people in charge of regulation at the highest levels failed. The solution: turn to the taxpayer who is in fear of losing his job and fighting to stay in his home that is decreasing in value.

How does this relate to seven mallards (one hen) and my angst?  California has endured a very dry spring. California mallard production is way down. Approximately 85 percent of the mallards harvested by California hunters are raised in this state. A seven mallard limit is asinine. It will further reduce next spring’s breeding stock. 

This year for the first time a Pacific Coast Adaptive Harvest Model has been developed to assist in establishing season length and bag limits. The model dictates we can have a liberal season this year. Even the experts agree that this model is deficient but since we have been requesting it, we should follow the recommendations regardless. Those who fall for a fashion model or the Pacific Coast Model need to know a simple fact. Both of them are flawed. One has been enhanced by a heavy coat of makeup to appear something it is not, the other features misleading measurements.

Those in charge of regulating our waterfowl are stumbling down the same path as the financial regulators. There is overwhelming evidence we are making a mistake by adopting a liberal season. Taking a stance and saying “Enough” takes conviction and guts, a characteristic lacking in bureaucracies.

California’s most prominent waterfowl organization has been hijacked by a few members who are plagued with greed or ignorance. They have successfully lobbied the organization to support a liberal season. Once again the duck hunter is writing checks nature cannot cash.  Rationalizing a seven bird limit is offering false hope to the average hunter.

Establishing a limit of one hen will cause law abiding hunters to become violators. They will find themselves in the unenviable position of choosing between wanton waste or coming in with two hens. I don’t know many hunters who on a foggy day will stop shooting after discovering that first drake they shot turned into a hen upon retrieval. All of us could wait until it was light enough to absolutely identify species and sex. But let’s be honest. That first half hour of the hunt will usually yield about one half of our bag that day. Let’s try a scenario. You take a young friend out for an early season youth hunt and his first shot bags that eclipse bird I flushed. It was a hen. Do you tell him the hunt is over – at least until the light improves? What kind of values and ethics are you going to instill? Remember that his first impression is going to last the rest of his life.

As I leave the marsh, I am distressed that the arrogant and ignorant overseers of our financial and waterfowl resources will profit from the new managerial paradigm – a career based on fiscal and avian bankruptcy that will provide a well-funded retirement.