Harvest Management Working Group Report 2020

This report provides a summary of presentations and discussions that occurred at the 32nd meeting of the Harvest Management Working Group (HMWG). The 2020 meeting focused on planning for the 2021 regulatory cycle and the revision of the pintail Adaptive Harvest Management decision-making framework. For meeting details please refer to the appended 2020 HMWG Meeting Agenda. The HMWG is grateful for the continuing technical support from the waterfowl management community, including many colleagues from Flyway Technical Sections, the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and other invitees from management and research institutions. We acknowledge that information provided by USGS in this report has not received the Director’s approval and, as such, is provisional and subject to revision.

A working group comprised of representatives from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS), and the four Flyway Councils (HMWG Members) was established in 1992 to review the scientific basis for managing waterfowl harvests. The working group, supported by technical experts from the waterfowl management and research communities, subsequently proposed a framework for adaptive harvest management, which was first implemented in 1995.

The 2020 HMWG meeting report was prepared by the USFWS Division of Migratory Bird Management based on contributions from meeting participants. G. Scott Boomer was the principal compiler and serves as the coordinator of the HMWG.