Saturday, February 11, 2012

Blackwater, a Refuge for Waterfowl

Unregulated market hunting nearly destroyed our wildlife resources.  I have read where the great migrating flocks of Canada geese that wintered around the Chesapeake Bay were virtually destroyed by the time meaningful regulation began protecting the tiny remnant populations that remained.

Both federal and state laws were established to protect both waterfowl and habitat.  The federal migratory bird hunting stamp act was signed into law by President Roosevelt in 1934.  The money generated through the sale of "duck stamps", basically a federal permit required of all hunters targeting migratory waterfowl, was to be used for the single purpose of purchasing wetlands to create what is now known as the National Wildlife Refuge System.   

A visit to a refuge clearly illustrates how well this program is working.

For more Critters from around the World
visit Misty's

10 comments:

Robert Disney said...

Nice set of images. In the case of Canada Geese, protection has worked almost too well. Their population is almost out of control in some areas.

Montanagirl said...

Nice photos! There seems to be plenty of Canada Geese these days.

Lois Evensen said...

Beautiful. We see plenty of Canada Geese, too. In fact, they seem to follow I75 while migrating so plenty of them stop in our area.

eileeninmd said...

Wonderful captures of the geese!

Ian Nance said...

Thanks for posting. Great pics!

Chubskulit Rose said...

Beautiful critter capture.

Our Family Pets, hope you'd come and see.

Chris said...

Excellent set of images Coy, and yes fortunately some people in the past realize that it was urgent to protect both the environment and the animals! It is a bit of them in each of our pictures!

Anonymous said...

Great couple of pictures! Some don't particularly care for Canadian geese, but I like them.

Bob Shank said...

I agree, Coy. I've been to several Wildlife Refuges and the bird populations I've seen are nothing short of extraordinary! I am sure glad that Theodore Roosevelt and others saw fit to protect the birds and the land to help preserve them for the future. WIthout this who knows where we'd be today!? All of us need to have this foresight, passion, and interest in preserving our resources for future generations. I am very glad to have the opportunity to photograph at our Wildlife Refuges and hope this continues long into the future. And, as always, your images are spectacular!

Mo said...

Love all of these shots -- you really do excellent work!