Pacific Flyway HIP, 2024

Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program: Estimates of Harvest and Hunter Activity

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Division of Migratory Bird Management
Pacific Flyway Office
http://www.pacificflyway.gov

15 October 2024

Introduction

In 1992, the US Fish and wildlife Service (USFWS) and State Fish and Wildlife Agencies (States) established the Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program (HIP), which was fully operational nationwide by 1999. This cooperative State-Federal program requires licensed migratory game bird hunters to register annually in each state in which they hunt.

Each State is responsible for collecting the name, address, and date of birth from each migratory bird hunter, asking each of them a series of general screening questions about their hunting success the previous year, and sending this information to the USFWS. The States are also responsible for providing migratory bird hunters with proof of compliance to carry while they are hunting. The USFWS is responsible for using these data to conduct annual national migratory game bird hunter activity and harvest surveys.

This report presents hunter activity and harvest estimates from the HIP surveys for the 1999 to present hunting seasons with a focus on the Pacific Flyway. These estimates are preliminary, pending (1) final counts of the number of HIP registrants in each state each season, and (2) complete audits of all survey response data.

Also presented in this report are the waterfowl harvest estimates and age ratios in the waterfowl harvest from The Mail Questionnaire Survey (MQS), 1961 through 1998, which was conducted prior to HIP (1999 through present). Although we present time series estimates from the two different surveys together (1961 through present), we urge caution when making comparisons over time between estimates derived from each survey (MQS and HIP) as they are not directly comparable. We separate estimates in time-series plots with a red vertical line to indicate the change in survey methodologies.

Technical Details
The HIP estimates are presented for each Pacific Flyway state in general, but may differ somewhat for waterfowl harvest, waterfowl age ratios, webless species harvest, and hunter participation and activity as described below.

Waterfowl Harvest
Waterfowl harvest estimates are provided for each state in the Pacific Flyway, each of the 4 flyways (Pacific, Central, Mississippi, and Atlantic), and the United States by hunting season. Four states are split between the Pacific and Central flyways: Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. For those split-flyway states, only the Pacific Flyway portion of those states are included in state and flyway totals. Total harvest in the Pacific Flyway includes all Pacific Flyway states in whole or part and includes Alaska.

Also provided is a bar graph showing the mean annual harvest during the most recent 5-year period for each state and a color-shaded map indicating the proportion of the Pacific Flyway harvest that the 5-year mean harvest in each state represents.

Waterfowl Age Ratios
Waterfowl age ratios (immatures per adult) in the Pacific Flyway (including Alaska) harvest are provided for each of the most common duck (n = 16) and goose (n = 6) species by hunting season. Age ratios were calculated using all known age class birds for a species as immatures/adult. Also provided is a bar graph showing the mean annual age ratio during the most recent 5-year period for each species.

Webless Species Harvest
Harvest estimates for American coot, snipe, and gallinules are provided for each state in the Pacific Flyway, each of the 4 flyways (Pacific, Central, Mississippi, and Atlantic), and the United States by hunting season. Four states are split between the Pacific and Central flyways: Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. For those split-flyway states, Montana is included in the Pacific Flyway in its entirety whereas Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico are excluded. Total harvest in the Pacific Flyway includes all Pacific Flyway states in whole (except Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico) and includes Alaska.

Also provided are graphs of the estimated active hunters and hunter days afield for the Pacific Flyway by season, and a summary table with the recent estimate and 3-year moving average total harvest, active hunters, and hunter days afield.

Harvest estimates for band-tailed pigeons, mourning doves, and white-winged doves are similar to other webless species above except that state aggregations are by Management Unit rather than Flyway. The Western Management Unit includes Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. The Central Management Unit includes Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. The Eastern Management Unit includes Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.

Hunter Participation and Activity
Hunter participation (active hunters) and activity (hunting days afield and seasonal bag per hunter) are reported for ducks, geese, and mourning doves in the Pacific Flyway or Western Management Unit, by season. Split-flyway states are treated the same as for webless species harvest. Hunting days afield per active hunter could be approximated by dividing total hunting days afield by total active hunters.

Also provided is a bar graph showing the mean annual active hunters and hunter days afield during the most recent 5-year period for each state and a color-shaded map indicating the proportion of the Pacific Flyway (or Western Management Unit) active hunters and hunter days afield that the 5-year mean in each state represents.

The seasonal bag per hunter is estimated only at the state level and is not available at the flyway or management unit scale.

Data Access
All data and figures in this report may be downloaded for use from an online portal. Each table and figure is referenced by the data table number it is associated with. Contact the Pacific Flyway Office for the URL of the online portal.

Suggested Citations
Any use or reference to the data provided in this report should be cited accordingly.

Pacific Flyway HIP:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2024. Pacific Flyway HIP, 2024. U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management, Pacific Flyway Office, Washington D.C.

Original Data Source:
Raftovich, R. V., K. K. Fleming, S. C. Chandler, and C. M. Cain. 2024. Migratory Bird Hunting Activity and Harvest during Hunting Seasons. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Laurel, Maryland, USA.

Waterfowl Harvest Estimates

Data Table 1: Duck

Note that ducks include the species in data tables 2 through 22 (21 species).

Table 1. Duck harvest by State and Flyway, 1961-2023. Estimates during 1961-1998 are from MQS and 1999-present are from HIP and not directly comparable.

Season	AK	AZ	CA	CO	ID	MT	NV	NM	OR	UT	WA	WY	PF	CF	MF	AF	US
1961	NA	19,503	1,046,402	NA	194,390	54,844	22,996	NA	197,863	119,171	404,486	NA	2,059,656	769,458	1,653,549	474,862	4,957,525
1962	NA	19,211	957,326	9,830	161,625	32,993	25,182	1,343	231,193	114,297	373,703	8,850	1,935,552	416,692	1,059,038	471,621	3,882,902
1963	NA	26,466	1,459,136	13,715	243,475	61,478	55,396	5,527	251,555	236,069	464,515	9,253	2,826,586	990,296	2,389,604	610,220	6,816,706
1964	NA	40,328	1,246,055	20,280	249,967	43,946	73,343	2,712	231,642	165,868	441,681	9,545	2,525,369	1,287,425	3,370,451	669,781	7,853,025
1965	NA	33,837	1,458,140	13,436	187,048	102,676	74,213	8,291	246,941	263,620	511,366	7,478	2,907,046	1,186,343	3,445,888	722,228	8,261,505
1966	48,381	48,051	1,740,785	23,466	245,523	159,677	98,336	4,592	362,378	283,508	532,904	11,026	3,558,627	2,056,005	4,689,709	1,037,746	11,342,087
1967	63,301	69,468	2,447,509	28,571	346,658	142,519	108,427	5,125	353,977	324,862	520,142	8,841	4,419,400	2,192,609	4,575,275	980,594	12,167,877
1968	68,772	47,837	1,325,350	16,690	235,313	96,493	98,428	5,222	341,378	288,830	543,621	10,903	3,078,837	1,186,161	2,257,059	951,847	7,473,904
1969	41,636	81,130	2,209,118	19,666	275,763	157,107	110,623	3,587	400,726	259,186	517,779	13,975	4,090,296	2,500,440	4,325,523	1,381,075	12,297,335
1970	58,872	76,418	2,447,502	21,583	278,815	129,091	120,013	6,198	422,136	317,845	572,957	16,030	4,467,461	2,871,354	6,192,884	1,512,402	15,044,101
1971	66,301	97,656	2,071,942	32,192	315,464	121,654	119,262	6,759	369,921	337,504	486,544	8,365	4,033,564	2,735,444	5,188,353	1,302,454	13,259,815
1972	91,172	98,117	1,987,393	27,026	341,310	134,658	87,060	7,562	399,262	226,875	531,908	11,101	3,943,443	2,866,712	4,786,670	1,282,080	12,878,905
1973	83,386	41,141	1,447,260	24,130	268,177	96,090	85,508	4,931	346,345	338,756	549,737	9,791	3,295,252	2,399,917	4,386,684	1,151,995	11,233,848
1974	53,352	84,604	1,920,696	27,915	329,956	101,088	77,418	6,802	279,158	273,679	480,640	10,239	3,645,547	2,139,004	4,988,986	1,277,409	12,050,945
1975	64,855	73,320	1,956,656	25,874	314,197	129,179	127,126	4,961	450,844	387,774	532,335	11,934	4,079,055	2,825,942	6,413,216	1,419,480	14,737,693
1976	103,801	73,750	2,078,239	29,337	318,497	158,590	100,903	9,203	466,087	339,576	545,791	14,790	4,238,565	2,741,648	5,823,371	1,631,671	14,435,256
1977	107,838	55,145	1,366,205	27,070	221,755	139,022	76,310	4,101	360,195	240,729	564,424	9,905	3,172,699	2,381,572	5,760,686	1,555,709	12,870,666
1978	118,195	62,252	1,847,703	43,510	329,822	143,079	88,018	11,183	502,311	335,478	576,143	15,739	4,073,432	2,910,302	6,150,026	1,561,781	14,695,542
1979	110,671	61,924	1,660,722	29,617	219,088	134,212	74,078	7,367	398,352	282,915	468,825	14,715	3,462,485	2,652,146	6,192,568	1,509,732	13,816,931
1980	109,422	63,855	1,398,138	26,588	249,430	117,742	85,065	4,913	360,241	341,967	528,334	9,926	3,295,622	2,053,306	5,704,390	1,511,982	12,565,299
1981	74,150	40,450	1,138,322	25,613	316,567	108,923	80,262	6,715	301,794	223,183	429,429	10,704	2,756,111	1,988,930	5,300,290	1,529,621	11,574,951
1982	78,562	51,122	1,349,439	35,662	282,758	108,260	76,861	5,412	284,793	333,257	348,928	11,980	2,967,033	2,156,336	4,878,181	1,310,846	11,312,395
1983	90,661	60,338	1,284,411	32,229	281,323	113,716	112,892	7,624	372,672	310,720	465,056	12,383	3,144,024	2,104,231	5,781,223	1,438,724	12,468,202
1984	88,279	44,556	1,001,894	26,224	224,008	79,401	99,359	6,688	310,517	212,450	438,972	12,737	2,545,085	2,281,175	5,668,730	1,549,824	12,044,814
1985	72,075	45,792	1,024,447	24,977	215,771	78,742	51,789	5,543	287,452	154,161	375,609	6,750	2,343,108	1,492,781	4,126,496	1,127,995	9,090,380
1986	96,959	44,864	988,778	24,498	168,773	78,012	51,604	3,378	269,319	155,191	347,303	12,048	2,240,727	1,580,131	4,086,454	1,149,680	9,056,991
1987	77,783	66,638	1,078,576	22,420	155,407	72,884	58,851	3,700	239,017	97,546	300,706	9,143	2,182,670	1,721,864	3,735,049	1,144,672	8,784,255
1988	70,534	30,176	514,411	13,298	112,327	30,499	33,270	1,903	197,550	58,723	239,075	9,207	1,310,974	732,551	1,876,575	788,705	4,708,805
1989	67,627	30,888	720,123	21,602	118,732	40,541	32,385	1,690	178,073	76,995	237,714	7,462	1,533,830	901,066	2,519,626	915,321	5,869,843
1990	76,245	31,353	668,946	15,572	95,932	39,602	30,065	842	219,683	91,301	267,785	3,594	1,540,921	887,824	2,518,058	874,772	5,821,575
1991	56,771	22,701	652,959	15,282	116,876	40,899	16,533	3,338	159,326	98,005	240,701	5,424	1,428,816	733,317	2,748,794	932,164	5,843,091
1992	63,411	21,026	706,000	15,612	125,622	44,458	23,941	2,073	178,741	88,901	247,618	4,304	1,521,708	896,134	2,959,429	817,409	6,194,680
1993	49,397	13,560	846,959	19,601	152,680	50,882	35,753	3,747	251,412	129,343	203,360	3,188	1,759,884	991,553	2,967,421	929,985	6,648,843
1994	44,392	26,419	849,798	19,917	146,057	37,059	74,267	5,614	234,650	176,647	318,777	8,325	1,941,923	1,456,743	3,935,300	961,357	8,295,323
1995	63,182	29,861	1,199,468	37,757	212,678	57,187	80,487	5,865	323,185	206,968	370,565	12,970	2,600,171	2,001,783	6,397,576	1,495,917	12,495,447
1996	78,563	39,672	1,455,676	37,081	261,002	83,879	66,021	7,480	349,192	279,409	418,358	12,381	3,088,715	2,315,555	6,624,068	1,355,775	13,384,113
1997	96,091	33,246	1,372,830	28,666	267,915	103,369	89,244	3,754	429,789	350,625	457,675	21,292	3,254,497	2,905,313	7,631,721	1,626,644	15,418,173
1998	90,449	48,537	1,652,647	32,508	281,393	119,499	106,210	2,023	385,360	365,019	465,874	7,721	3,557,240	3,339,118	7,833,906	1,737,277	16,467,541
1999	73,600	53,100	1,212,468	19,860	249,989	78,060	88,325	2,746	424,936	251,925	638,072	19,242	3,112,324	3,054,680	7,947,803	1,665,220	15,780,027
2000	72,818	56,118	949,183	23,380	233,256	99,625	47,228	4,497	421,616	204,091	565,833	10,886	2,688,529	3,289,263	7,950,166	1,567,264	15,495,222
2001	74,700	39,186	1,063,604	15,983	141,247	85,457	36,593	6,815	310,128	168,323	426,472	6,410	2,374,918	3,255,089	6,591,619	1,503,387	13,725,013
2002	70,864	33,643	825,584	16,207	191,122	92,085	44,676	7,925	354,535	171,628	384,653	2,613	2,195,537	2,586,403	5,677,258	1,510,932	11,970,130
2003	65,522	40,146	1,010,712	16,882	261,402	86,553	49,865	5,502	273,995	321,976	347,429	3,896	2,483,880	2,484,477	6,367,778	1,346,800	12,682,935
2004	58,549	33,993	1,476,868	24,564	187,431	77,607	37,007	1,907	254,412	197,424	348,768	3,146	2,701,675	2,629,606	5,363,734	1,190,989	11,886,004
2005	70,725	51,747	1,324,806	24,290	257,408	78,616	49,523	5,009	353,368	268,972	391,433	9,954	2,885,852	2,697,377	5,155,901	1,362,991	12,102,121
2006	60,608	45,613	1,477,599	17,348	277,369	83,081	55,288	2,346	628,966	307,816	493,164	14,042	3,463,241	2,426,060	6,112,234	1,367,263	13,368,798
2007	60,775	47,363	1,628,594	19,830	227,845	84,591	43,682	10,192	678,268	230,057	446,594	12,946	3,490,738	2,628,156	6,565,134	1,436,584	14,120,613
2008	59,664	28,641	1,630,893	10,820	255,616	80,390	29,753	7,487	640,974	185,030	392,979	6,507	3,328,755	2,076,208	6,359,852	1,505,867	13,270,681
2009	58,283	36,732	1,437,676	41,276	226,309	61,854	40,329	5,263	357,778	185,506	371,381	11,697	2,834,085	2,452,559	5,960,212	1,435,026	12,681,882
2010	88,155	38,035	1,725,376	25,633	156,098	70,525	48,099	2,297	412,651	247,066	285,033	10,829	3,109,796	2,199,030	7,496,510	1,622,106	14,427,442
2011	57,062	37,723	1,486,460	40,997	208,588	66,447	63,549	514	474,510	311,251	509,858	4,488	3,261,448	2,937,376	7,850,749	1,465,850	15,515,423
2012	56,611	50,721	1,583,874	10,388	276,205	79,663	50,636	3,690	385,700	273,839	483,957	8,356	3,263,641	2,994,325	7,397,100	1,662,384	15,317,451
2013	60,722	67,858	1,060,690	23,076	318,245	80,187	38,267	5,782	274,567	182,138	293,975	6,643	2,412,148	2,764,084	6,744,099	1,414,044	13,334,375
2014	48,400	25,322	946,442	13,660	248,605	132,611	30,050	10,264	337,308	206,592	392,446	13,089	2,404,788	2,814,997	6,334,960	1,392,607	12,947,352
2015	21,061	21,305	1,263,862	19,900	173,153	146,073	26,918	1,416	237,408	192,196	440,880	12,107	2,556,278	2,237,926	4,722,153	1,179,175	10,695,532
2016	59,642	26,353	1,151,371	9,328	266,115	121,643	32,022	1,390	313,308	178,429	421,852	7,547	2,589,000	2,418,720	4,852,016	1,419,094	11,278,830
2017	48,403	12,830	1,301,715	14,469	230,443	82,783	30,199	234	474,722	224,257	325,179	10,548	2,755,782	2,406,857	5,242,959	1,375,324	11,780,922
2018	41,482	15,523	1,079,917	13,225	258,730	112,153	46,124	2,734	304,445	177,679	374,163	9,624	2,435,799	2,269,530	3,900,319	1,386,570	9,992,218
2019	46,681	16,825	960,587	8,633	163,874	71,210	42,107	5,359	285,078	189,643	370,892	7,457	2,168,345	2,113,159	4,074,641	1,049,101	9,405,246
2020	41,204	11,796	1,087,734	10,427	196,821	174,911	28,607	6,311	304,435	249,295	436,525	12,406	2,560,472	2,762,476	4,300,191	1,177,849	10,800,988
2021	38,043	14,825	928,013	8,990	203,557	59,361	32,421	5,433	382,624	175,469	412,579	3,926	2,265,241	1,921,574	3,891,474	1,076,635	9,154,925
2022	39,024	20,689	725,234	7,719	204,366	55,517	34,179	2,773	279,478	95,551	308,748	4,174	1,777,450	1,975,017	3,340,264	964,986	8,057,717
2023	60,782	41,662	1,034,418	19,970	140,104	83,698	34,779	1,057	259,222	263,557	468,908	12,427	2,420,583	3,810,808	6,192,250	1,899,187	14,322,828