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calwaterfowl.org

2015

HUNT PROGRAM The top three things that prevent hunters from remaining actively engaged are things CWA can’t influence: health, age, and time constraints with work and family. But the next thing on that list - access to hunting land – is something we can, and do, address. California Waterfowl’s Hunt Program gives hunters access to private-land hunting through a lottery, similar California’s public land reservation system, only our hunts are at private clubs, on private land with guides and on property CWA owns.

NOTEWORTHY: If CWA’s Hunt Program were a California Type A or Type B hunt area, it would rank in the top half in hunters served, ahead of the Sutter, Gadwall and Kern refuges and wildlife areas.

PARTICIPATION YEAR OVER YEAR:

While our regional biologists ensure there’s excellent habitat on the ground for ducks and duck hunters, our public policy team fights every day in Sacramento for laws and regulations that help waterfowl and hunters, or at least policies that don’t get in the way.

2015 ANNUAL REPORTCalifornia Wood Duck ProgramOnce on the brink of extinction, wood ducks are now thriving in California, and a major reason for their success story is the use of wood duck nest boxes that help mitigate the loss of riparian habitat that 100 years ago nearly led to the wood duck’s demise.

For the past 25 years, CWA’s California Wood Duck Program has enlisted and coordinated an army of volunteers and citizen scientists who put up nest boxes and monitor their use. Thousands of volunteers have made it the largest citizen science program of its kind, and in 2016, the 750,000th wood duck duckling will leap from a CWDP nest box.

• 5,773 nest boxes produced 24,093 wood duck ducklings.

• 4,000 students learned about wood ducks from CWA in 136 classroom programs and 13 field days. Students visit wetlands, study wood duck ecology, peer into nest boxes, and sometimes, witness a hatch.

• Since 1991: 740,609 ducklings have hatched from CWDP nest boxes.

PUBLIC POLICY IN 2015

CWA was awarded the coveted ★★★★ rating in 2015 from Charity Navigator; America’s largest independent charity evaluator. Only one of four non-profits evaluated earn this rating.

AUDITED 2014-15 FINANCIALS

General/other hunts

Youth Hunts

Women's hunts

Veteran hunts

Family hunts

Hunter camps

Donations and Grants

Fundraising Event Net proceeds

Membership & Sponsorships

Other

2015-16 participation by hunt type

General/Other Hunts

Youth Hunts

Women's Hunts

Veteran Hunts

Family Hunts

Hunter Camps

2015-16 participation by hunt type

Participation year over year

Egg Salvage Ducks Banded and Released:

300

600

900

1,200

1,500

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

General/other hunts

Youth Hunts

Women's hunts

Veteran hunts

Family hunts

Hunter camps

Donations and Grants

Fundraising Event Net proceeds

Membership & Sponsorships

Other

2015-16 participation by hunt type

General/Other Hunts

Youth Hunts

Women's Hunts

Veteran Hunts

Family Hunts

Hunter Camps

2015-16 participation by hunt type

Participation year over year

Egg Salvage Ducks Banded and Released:

300

600

900

1,200

1,500

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

2015-16 PARTICIPATION BY HUNT TYPE:

General/other hunts

Youth Hunts

Women's hunts

Veteran hunts

Family hunts

Hunter camps

Donations and Grants

Fundraising Event Net proceeds

Membership & Sponsorships

Other

2015-16 participation by hunt type

General/Other Hunts

Youth Hunts

Women's Hunts

Veteran Hunts

Family Hunts

Hunter Camps

2015-16 participation by hunt type

Participation year over year

Egg Salvage Ducks Banded and Released:

300

600

900

1,200

1,500

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

894

131

22

150

189

43

2015: 1429

2014: 1275

2013: 781

2012: 650

General/other hunts

Youth Hunts

Women's hunts

Veteran hunts

Family hunts

Hunter camps

Donations and Grants

Fundraising Event Net proceeds

Membership & Sponsorships

Other

2015-16 participation by hunt type

General/Other Hunts

Youth Hunts

Women's Hunts

Veteran Hunts

Family Hunts

Hunter Camps

2015-16 participation by hunt type

Participation year over year

Egg Salvage Ducks Banded and Released:

300

600

900

1,200

1,500

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

General/other hunts

Youth Hunts

Wom

en's hunts

Veteran hunts

Family hunts

Hunter cam

ps

Donations and G

rants

Fundraising Event

Net proceeds

Mem

bership & Sponsorships

Other

2015-16 participation by hunt type

General/O

ther Hunts

Youth Hunts

Wom

en's Hunts

Veteran Hunts

Family H

unts

Hunter Cam

ps

2015-16 participation by hunt type

Participation year over year

Egg Salvage Ducks Banded and Released:

300

600

900

1,200

1,500500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

Firearms Confiscation Bill (SB 347)Vetoed by the governor. Bill would have

confiscated a person’s firearms for 10 years after relatively minor, non-violent

violations of the law, potentially including having a shell in the duck jacket in your back seat when you drop a child off at school.

Wildlife Corridor Protection Bill (AB 498) Signed by the governor. Bill makes it state policy for

proponents of development projects in wildlife corridors to consult

with the Department of Fish and Wildlife,

and wherever feasible, take steps to protect or restore the functioning of a wildlife corridor.

Expanded Youth Hunting Eligibility Supported By U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Following passage of a California Waterfowl Association sponsored bill in California to expand eligibility for junior hunting licenses by two years, U.S. F.W.S. agreed to the same extension. If adopted by California in 2016, the policy will extend a youth’s eligibility to participate in federally sponsored youth hunts for an additional two years.

Water Delivered To Lower Klamath NWR in Time For Fall Migration. The refuge has been largely deprived of water deliveries since 2012, but a California Waterfowl Association letter helped get more than 13,000 acre feet delivered to the refuge in September as migrating pintail were arriving. The water also expanded hunting opportunity on the refuge.

2015 HIGHLIGHTS:

2015 HIGHLIGHTS

calwaterfowl.org

HUNTER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION PROGRAMSHunters are the reason most managed wetlands exist in California – the vested interest that pays for the purchase, maintenance and restoration of waterfowl habitat. Recognizing that, California Waterfowl invests in recruiting new hunters and keeping existing hunters engaged.

Habitat WorkIf California Waterfowl were a conventional business, its primary product would be habitat: Nearly two-thirds of our budget goes into doing thousands of acres of habitat restoration and improvement every year to ensure ducks have quality habitat to live in, and that duck hunters have quality places to hunt.

NOTEWORTHY: A crucial part of the habitat work CWA did in 2015 was on water conveyance structures that help improve water efficiency on nearly 10,000 acres of wetlands. That’s smart in any year in California, but in the depths of a historic drought, this work helped wetland managers make the most of their extremely diminished water supplies.

• Acres Benefited: 17,656

• Public Land Acres: 10,527, or 59%

• Acreage Change Over 2014: 21% increase

EDUCATION PROGRAMSWhile hunters provide the vast majority of support for managed wetland habitat in California, CWA recognizes that waterfowl need broad public support to ensure habitat’s long-term survival. That’s why CWA deploys an education team that educates kids and adults all over the state about the importance of wetlands, and hosts a variety of field days that bring kids, often from low-income urban areas, out to the wetlands to see for themselves how much life they sustain.

NOTEWORTHY: CWA teaches kids about waterfowl and wetlands through its junior duck stamp program. Our educators visit schools, teach students about waterfowl and wetlands, give them a lesson in drawing or painting waterfowl, and encourage them to submit entries in the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest. CWA reaches 6,000 students a year with this program, and the entries that result from it help keep California in the top five states nationwide for participation in the federal contest.

Bass Pro Outdoor World, LLC

Riley P. Bechtel

Paul and Sandi Bonderson

Cabela’s Outdoor Fund

Dave and Gerri Christman

CJ Berry Foundation

Conaway Preservation Group

Estate of Dean T. Copsey *

Paul L. Davies, Jr. *

Donna Egan

Federal Premium Ammunition

The Foothills Foundation

Steve Gidaro

John W. Goddard

Jay Greenwell

Claude Grillo

Larry R. Gury

W. Kurt Hauser

Becoming an Outdoors-Woman

The Hofmann Family Foundation

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel

Ron Leineke

Tom J. Louderback, Jr.

Rocque Merlo

Marvin A. Meyers

Al Montna

Judy Oswald and Jim Yost

Peter J. Ottesen

Michael G. Parker

The S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation

Casey Safreno

Dave B. Sanson

Thomas A. Seeno

John M. Simmons

Sitka

Wilbur H. Smith III

Spanda Industrial

SportDOG Brand/Radio Systems Corporation

The Henry Mayo Newhall Foundation

Estate of Henry F. Trione *

Mark Trione

Victor Trione

Angelo Tsakopoulos

And one donor who wishes to remain anonymous

* denotes deceased

In 2015, Benelli’s The Fowl Life with Chad Belding (center) featured CWA’s egg salvage program in two episodes on Outdoor Channel.

EGG SALVAGECalifornia’s resident ducks looking for a place to nest each spring need two things: upland habitat with good cover for nests and nearby water to offer safety hatched ducklings. Farm fields are perfect habitat except for one thing: Normal operations like disking, mowing and harvesting can destroy nests before ducklings get a chance to hatch. CWA’s Dwight L Merriman Egg Salvage & Duck Rescue Program coordinates the rescue of these duck nests. Through a volunteer network, eggs are collected, incubated until they hatch, then the ducklings are reared until they’re five weeks old, banded, then released into the wild.

2015 REACH: 20,126 PEOPLE INCLUDING:• Classroom Programs: 10,759• Festivals and Events: 6,375• Field Days: 1,941

General/other hunts

Youth Hunts

Women's hunts

Veteran hunts

Family hunts

Hunter camps

Donations and Grants

Fundraising Event Net proceeds

Membership & Sponsorships

Other

2015-16 participation by hunt type

General/Other Hunts

Youth Hunts

Women's Hunts

Veteran Hunts

Family Hunts

Hunter Camps

2015-16 participation by hunt type

Participation year over year

Egg Salvage Ducks Banded and Released:

300

600

900

1,200

1,500

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

2014 2015

2015 HIGHLIGHTS:

2015 HIGHLIGHTS:

$10k+ DONORS

2015-16

Thank You!

2015 HIGHLIGHTS:• Egg Salvage Ducks Banded and

Released: 4,000, a 15% increase over 2014. 3,253 were mallards, a 20% increase over 2014

• Youth Volunteers Engaged: 200+

• CWA-Banded Egg Salvage Ducks Recovered Since 1986: 14,120

PARTICIPATION: 1,631 in 2015 Overnight hunter camps: 280 Hunter education courses: 129 Clinics and shoots: 867 Junior hunts: 118 Youth/�eld days: 237

calwaterfowl.org

California Waterfowl Association1346 Blue Oaks Boulevard Roseville, CA 95678(916) 648-1406

BANDING PROGRAMCalifornia Waterfowl, with partner funding from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, bands thousands of ducks every year to help provide California-specific data used to assess waterfowl populations and to set seasons and bag limits in this state. We target pintail in particular in hopes of liberalizing limits on the most abundant species in our Flyway.

2015 HIGHLIGHTS:• Total: 7,957 Banded By CWA• Most-Banded Species: Mallard (56%),

Pintail (26%), Wood Duck (13.5%)

• 2015 Recoveries Of CWA-Banded Birds: 1,170 • Oldest: Female Canada goose banded in 1996

when she was too young to fly – 18.7 years old• Oldest Duck: Drake Mallard banded in 2000

when he was too young to fly – 14.6 years old• Most-Recovered Species: Mallard (69%), Pintail

(15%), Wood Duck (8%)• How Most Were Recovered: Shot (92%),

Recovered during banding operations and released (3%), Found dead (1%)

• Average Age At Recovery: 3.3 years

Mallard PintailWood DuckOther

In 2015, 1,170 CWA-banded birds were recovered in two countries and nine American states. This map shows most of the recovery locations, and if you scan the QR code with your smart phone, it will take you to an interactive map of all recoveries.

About This Map