I am happy to report that the fowl bill that would have required duck and goose hunters to get permission from riparian landowners to hunt in public water closer than 150 yards to shore is no longer moving forward. A lot of waterfowl hunters showed up and wrote or called their state legislators to oppose this bill. It is a good thing because many of us would have lost our ability to  hunt public water and waterfowl hunting and conservation in general would have taken a direct hit as a result of a few greedy people wanting the water to themselves. For those of you that opposed this bill and did something about it, Thank you!

Duck hunters, this is a serious alert about a bill that  passed the Virginia Senate and is now in the House of Delegates regarding our duck hunting heritage. Senator Stuart introduced SB 1725 which will require all stationary and stake blinds to be more than 150 yards from shore. We all know that in most waters that is impossible.

Here is the summary of the bill on the LIS system:
Provides that no stake or stationary waterfowl blind that is erected in the public waters, except in the waters of Virginia Beach, shall be located less than 150 yards from a riparian owner's shoreline at the mean low water mark, unless the riparian owner gives written permission to locate the stake or blind closer to shore.
An amendment was later added that read: Except in the waters of the City of Virginia Beach and the Counties of Fairfax, Prince William, and Stafford, the blind or stake shall not be located less than 150 yards from a  riparian owner's shoreline on private property at the mean low watermark, unless the riparian owner (i) gives written permission to locate the blind or stake closer to shore or (ii) declines to file a complaint with the Department regarding the location of the blind.

This bill makes no sense and it appears that duck hunters using public water are being targeted. A similar bill was introduced by Delegate Ransone but never made it out of committee. Why anyone would want such a thing enacted into law is beyond me save one possibility. Perhaps a wealthy riparian landowner does not want to see a duck blind on the river in PUBLIC water because it is in their view.

Reportedly those supporting the bill are saying it is a safety issue. I am checking with VDGIF on this to see if there have been reports of duck hunters shooting at homes along the waterfront, but I strongly suspect this is NOT true. Duck hunters know that duck blinds are built facing the water, not homes. Further, the effective range of a shotgun with duck or goose loads is less than 50 yards. No one shoots at houses while duck hunting. It is a lie to insinuate that duck hunters do such things.

What this bill would do is effectively kill most duck hunting opportunities by the public on public waters. Most waters are not wide enough to accommodate a blind 150 yards out and if they are, the chances are that the water is more than 8 feet deep which is the cut off for building a blind.

Duck hunting and blind laws are so complicated now that you better have a good lawyer to go duck hunt in Virginia these days or so the joke goes. It is interesting that if this is a safety issue, then why are highly populated areas such as the ones excepted in the bill, NOT included? There are far more houses in VA Beach, Stafford, Fairfax and Prince William?

Could this be a "land/water grab" by the wealthy to keep the rest of us out of their sight? Whatever it is, it smells and smells badly. Shame on those that support this bill!

What is next? Our fishing rights within 150 yards of shore? Maybe we won't be able to paddle our kayaks or boat within  150 yards?
Why is the area west of I-95 not included in this bill? What makes that area so special? There are flatwater areas west of I-95 for sure.

If you ever want to get your mind in a twist, try reading the blind laws! http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/hunting/regulations/waterfowl-blind-laws/   The laws are so numerous and complicated that it is tough to know when you are in the right or in a gray area. Blind laws vary across the state.

Does anyone even know how many hundreds or thousands of blinds are now going to be in jeopardy? How many friends and family and kids will now no longer be able to enjoy the time honored tradition of duck hunting? How many family traditions will be broken now? How many duck hunters will we lose?
 I attempted to reach out to both of the lawmakers to get their reasoning and get the opposing side to the story. I have not received a response from Senator Stuart’s office. I did get a brief response from Del. Ransone’s office asking if I had any suggestions for the wording regarding the bill that would not impact landowners or existing duck blinds that are stationary and registered. While I most certainly appreciate that our Delegate’s office reached out to me and made an attempt, I don’t think that request is possible. Someone IS going to be impacted by the bill as written. It is going to be most duck hunters out there.

 Kill waterfowl hunting and you will kill a lot of conservation efforts too.  Hunter numbers are going down annually and I would bet that waterfowl hunter numbers are the seeing the highest attrition rate. Shouldn’t we be trying to encourage wholesome outdoor pursuits?

In summary, I never received an answer as of press time as to what the problem was that the bills sought to address. This scenario is a fowl one for waterfowlers to contend with. If you are enjoying waterfowl hunting and have a blind closer than 150 yards to shore, perhaps you better ring your delegate or senator’s office ASAP. You just might be trying to sell your gear next season if these bills pass.  Senator Stuart   (804) 698-7528   email: [email protected]  Delegate Ransone – ( 804) 698-7528  email: [email protected]