User:MALorentz/Harvest Information Program



The Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program, or HIP, is a nationwide program for anyone hunting migratory game birds in the United States. Anyone hunting migratory birds is required purchase a hunting license and then register with the state or states where they hunt to obtain a new state HIP number each hunting season. The purpose of the program is to improve estimations as to the number of hunters in each region so that they can better predict the amount of birds harvested. The government uses these estimates to make decisions about lengths of hunting seasons, and bag limits in order to manage bird populations. Hunters are required to carry proof that they participate in HIP any time they are hunting migratory birds.

How It Works
State wildlife services collect basic information from everyone who identifies themselves as migratory bird hunters each season. The state passes this information on to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who then take a random sample of hunters and look at how many of each type of bird was harvested each season. The Service then uses this information to produce estimates of the total number of each type of bird hunted that year. These estimates, along with animal population surveys, provide biologists with all of the data they need to establish future hunting season lengths and bag limits in order to keep the bird populations stable.

History
From 1961 to 2001 information regarding the hunting of waterfowl in the United States was collected by the Fish and Wildife Service's Waterfowl Harvest Survey. This survey included a mailed questionnaire of duck hunters and a waterfowl parts-collection survey. In 1998 the current Harvest Information Program was brought into effect because state biologists had voiced concerns that the nation's current method of collecting data was inadequate. In 1998 this program was introduced to only a few states, but the next year, in 1999, it was implemented nation wide and has been used ever since in every state except Hawaii.

HIP Migratory Bird List
The list of migratory birds covered by the Harvest Information Program vary from state to state. A full list of all the birds in the HIP is included below.
 * Ducks
 * Geese
 * Coots
 * Brant
 * Swans
 * Doves
 * Rallidae
 * Snipe
 * Sandhill Cranes
 * Band-tailed Pigeons
 * Gallinules (Moorhens)
 * Woodcock

National Harvest Information Page
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

State Harvest Information Pages
Alabama

Alaska

California

Colorado

Delaware

Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon Rhode Island

South Dakota

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

Wisconsin

Wyoming