Greetings everyone!
First off, I would like to thank all of you who hunted with us last fall and for those who expressed interest in joining us in a first-class Manitoba waterfowl hunt.
Birdtail Waterfowl reached its maximum number of guests in 2013. We have kept those numbers intentionally to provide our guests with the best experience possible. Bigger is not always better. My annual reinvestment into Birdtail is probably more than it needs to be but our guest and staff experience is my number one priority. That’s the dead honest truth. Maybe Birdtail is turning into a Co-op or something lol but whatever I just shot two wolves with one bullet.
Flintlock next time.
I used to think our government was always late to the party in the sense of regulation development, well, not anymore.
The Department of Natural Resources and Northern Development has implemented some pretty significant changes for the 2023 waterfowl season. Can’t say it’s truly the first of its kind in North America, but it is in Canada.
The Waterfowl Modernization Strategy is strictly focused on land access and land carrying capacity. It definitely chisels away at the illegal guides/outfitters and shitty illegal Super Camps that are popping up all over Manitoba.
Do some of us like it? Yes, but there is still a ton of work to do to get it right for the licensed outfitting community. Thankfully, our Minister created a Waterfowl Advisory Committee for outfitters to work with the department as we go through this discovery period.
What’s changed for Manitoba waterfowl outfitters? We are now capped in the volume of Foreign Resident guests we can host, also capped operating area and now a capped number of licensed waterfowl outfitters in Manitoba.
All of this will ensure a sustainable and accessible waterfowl future for Manitoba residents and visitors alike.
The new licensing regulations will not affect our Canadian resident guests. For our American guests, south of the border, it actually just got a bit easier for you.
How it works now for me as a Manitoba outfitter is I now have X amount of Foreign Resident (non-Canadian) provincial waterfowl licenses available to sell.
Birdtail Waterfowl will have an online account with Manitoba e-licensing and I will purchase and complete your license for you prior to your arrival. I will also keep things a bit simpler for you by purchasing your Federal Migratory Permit (stamp) to help make your trip as seamless as possible.
So for anyone outside of Canada joining us, your license will be ready for you when you arrive at the lodge.
