Duck population and harvest estimates don’t always match up with what hunters see in the field. Duck hunters say their season sucked last year. The USFWS just published population survey and harvest stats that say mallards numbers are up from last year and harvests were high in 2023. So who’s right? Everyone agrees on a few key issues: Duck numbers are down. Habitat is in bad shape. And duck hunting just isn’t like it used to be. Where we begin to disagree is what we should do about it all. List