With only days before Minnesota’s early goose and teal seasons open, the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday released its 2026 Waterfowl Status Report that showed a slight decline in the continental duck breeding population from last spring.
The total breeding population of ducks in the Traditional Survey Area is estimated at 33.44 million, a 2% decline from last year and 6% below the long-term average, according to results from the annual Breeding Population and Habitat Survey.
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