BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Drought in North Dakota this summer is likely to reduce the number of ducks available to hunters in the fall.
A Game and Fish Department survey concluded duck broods are down 5 percent from last summer. Officials cite a longer-term trend of less grassland habitat and fewer wetlands this year. The amount of water available to ducks was down 38 percent from last summer.
Migratory Game Bird Supervisor Mike Szymanski says early season duck hunting probably won't be as good as normal. He says hunters will be more reliant on ducks coming out of Canada later in the fall.
The number of those migratory birds is hard to predict. Game and Fish is estimating an overall fall duck flight in North Dakota that's down 8 percent from last year.