1018-0023 Ssb 06062023

Supporting Statement B for

Paperwork Reduction Act Submission

Migratory Bird Surveys, 50 CFR 20.20

OMB Control Number 1018-0023

1. Describe (including a numerical estimate) the potential respondent universe and any sampling or other respondent selection method to be used. Data on the number of entities (e.g., establishments, State and local government units, households, or persons) in the universe covered by the collection and in the corresponding sample are to be provided in tabular form for the universe as a whole and for each of the strata in the proposed sample. Indicate expected response rates for the collection as a whole. If the collection had been conducted previously, include the actual response rate achieved.

Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program and Migratory Bird Hunter Survey: The potential respondent universe is all licensed migratory bird hunters in the 49 States that have migratory bird hunting seasons, approximately 3,500,000 individuals. The universe is stratified by: (1) State, and (2) hunters' hunting activity and success the previous season. A systematic sample is selected within each stratum from the names and addresses in the order in which they are received. Stratum-specific universe and sampling data for forms 3-2056J, 3-2056K, 3-2056L, 3-2056M and 3-2056N are given in Tables 1-4. Sampling rates vary by State, form, and success strata, and range from <1% to 100%. Because sampling rates vary by State, form, and success strata, weighted and unweighted response rates were calculated to each survey form for 2017. Unweighted and weighted response rates for all six form types average 38% and 39% nationally, respectively. Response rates for the 5 HIP survey forms in 2021 were as follows:

Unweighted Weighted

Survey form Response Rate Response

Waterfowl (3-2056J) 0.36 0.38

Dove (3-2056K) 0.40 0.41

Woodcock (3-2056L) 0.42 0.46

Snipe/Coot/Rail/Gallinule (3-2056M) 0.41 0.43

Sandhill Cranes (3-2056N) 0.45 0.47

About 6% of the non-response rate is due to undeliverable mail.

Parts Collection Survey: Approximately 75,000 duck wings and 14,000 goose tails are collected and examined by biologists out of a universe of 9,500,000 ducks and 2,600,000 geese harvested. These parts are obtained from approximately 4,300 successful waterfowl hunters who return form 3-165 out of a universe of 991,200 active waterfowl hunters. Sample sizes for waterfowl are given in Table 5.

The sample of hunters who will be sent form 3-165E consists of approximately 650 successful mourning dove hunters from a sample universe of about 642,800 active dove hunters. We solicit wings from the first week of the hunting season only. We collect and examine about 9,200 wings from the first week of the hunting season out of a universe of about 9,202,100 birds that are harvested during the first week of the mourning dove hunting season. Sampling rates vary by state, and range from 18% to 80% of successful mourning dove hunters responding to Form 3-2056K in the previous year. Less than 1% of the harvest during the first week is sampled. Sample sizes for mourning doves are listed in Table 6.

The sample of hunters who are sent form 3-165C consists of approximately 800 successful hunters from a sample universe of approximately 119,000 active woodcock (≈95,000 hunters), rail (≈13,000 hunters), gallinule (≈8,000 hunters), and band-tailed pigeon hunters (≈3,000 hunters). We no longer request snipe wings from hunters because the number of wings received in the past has been low, and this information has not been used in any decision making in harvest management. We continue to monitor the harvest of snipe through our hunter diary survey. Approximately 8,400 wings are collected and examined out of a universe of approximately 252,000 birds harvested. The percent of harvest sampled ranges from <1% -4% for the species or species groups, with the highest sampling rate applied to woodcock harvest. Sample sizes for woodcock, rail species, and band-tailed pigeons are listed in Table 7.

Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey: The universe for sampling is approximately 49,000 individuals who obtain an annual permit to hunt sandhill cranes. Sampling rates are set by State, with 20% of the permittees randomly selected to receive questionnaires in Texas and North Dakota, 10% in Alaska and South Dakota, 50% of the permittees selected in Minnesota and Oklahoma, 60% of the permittees selected in Kansas, and 100% of the permittees contacted in all other States with a sandhill crane season. Pertinent sampling characteristics by State are listed in Table 8. In 2019, the unweighted response rate for the crane survey was 44%, and the weighted response rate was 39%.

2. Describe the procedures for the collection of information including:

• Statistical methodology for stratification and sample selection,

• Estimation procedure,

• Degree of accuracy needed for the purpose described in the justification,

• Unusual problems requiring specialized sampling procedures, and

• Any use of periodic (less frequent than annual) data collection cycles to reduce burden.

Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program: Each State requires all migratory bird hunters to identify themselves as such, and to provide their name, address, and date of birth, as a condition for obtaining authorization to hunt migratory game birds in the State. All of the name, address, and date of birth information collection is done by the State’s hunting license vendors (agents) or by a State contractor. State license agents or contractors ask each migratory game bird hunter to answer a series of questions that allows us to stratify our sampling procedure. Each State collects the information in a way that is most appropriate for that state, but all states ask some variation of the following questions:

1. Will you hunt migratory birds this year?

2. How many ducks did you bag last year?

3. How many geese did you bag last year?

4. How many doves did you bag last year?

5. How many woodcock did you bag last year?

6. Did you hunt coots or snipe last year?

7. Did you hunt rails or gallinules last year?

8. Will you hunt sandhill cranes this year?

9. Will you hunt band-tailed pigeons this year?

10. Will you hunt brant this year?

11. Will you hunt sea ducks this year?

States are responsible for development of adequate control procedures to ensure that agents (1) account for all validated licenses; (2) promptly provide the State with names, addresses, and other information; (3) have a low proportion of incomplete or illegible information; and (4) return information from all migratory game bird hunters. We conducted a study in 2010 to track the collection and receipt of HIP name and address data from each state. Results from the 29 states participating showed that most MBHIP data are being sent to the FWS and being processed properly by the FWS (Appendix A).

Migratory Bird Hunter Survey Procedures: Survey procedures are based on Dillman's Total Design Method (Dillman, 1978, Mail and Telephone Surveys, the Total Design Method, Wiley). This method has been shown to substantially reduce non-response in many situations.

a. States provide the Service with migratory game bird hunters' names, addresses, birth dates, and their answers to the above questions in an acceptable form (electronic data or machine-scannable paper form). We receive the first list of hunter names and address in August prior to the migratory bird hunting seasons in each state. The States then send the Service updated lists every 2 weeks until the end of the migratory bird hunting seasons within each respective state. This information is needed in timely fashion for the Service to contact survey participants and ask them to keep records of their migratory game bird hunting throughout the hunting season. This also allows the Service to get survey forms to selected hunters before the hunting season starts or shortly after the hunter purchased his or her hunting license.

b. To protect hunters' privacy, it is the policy of the Service to use the names and addresses only for conducting hunter surveys and for no other purpose. All records of hunters' names and addresses are deleted after each year's survey results are finalized and no permanent record of names and addresses is maintained by the Service.

c. We use the answers to these questions to assign each hunter to one of three activity strata for duck, goose, dove, and woodcock hunting; and one of 2 hunting activity strata for coots and snipe, rails and gallinules, band-tailed pigeons, brant, and sea duck hunting. The 3 hunting activity strata for hunters of duck, goose, and dove hunters are (1) no harvest; (2) low harvest; and (3) high harvest. Low harvest of ducks and geese is defined as harvest of 1-10 birds the previous year; low harvest of doves is defined as harvest of 1-30 birds the previous year. The 2 hunting activity strata for hunters of woodcock, coots or snipe, rails or gallinules, band-tailed pigeons, brant, sea ducks are: (1) will (did) hunt or (2) will (did) not hunt.

d. The Service selects samples of hunters for receipt of one of four Migratory Bird Harvest Survey forms: waterfowl (duck, goose, sea duck, and brant; form 3-2056J), dove and band-tailed pigeon (form 3-2056K), woodcock (form 3-2056L), and snipe, rail, gallinule, and coot (form 3-2056M). Similar species are grouped together on the same form to control survey costs. Higher sampling rates are needed for successful hunters and for those who hunt less-frequently hunted species. Hunters are not asked to participate in more than one survey per State per year to minimize the burden on individual respondents.

e. Samples are stratified by survey form, state, and hunting activity. Stratification by state is relevant because: (1) hunters must register for the Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program in each state in which he/she hunts; (2) harvest regulations and species distributions vary by state; (3) response rates vary by state. Theoretically, there could be up to (3)(3)(3)(2)(2)(2)(2)(2)(2) = 1,728 activity strata in each State, defined by (number of duck hunting activity strata) X (number of goose hunting activity strata) X (number of dove hunting activity strata) X (number of woodcock hunting activity strata) X (number of coots/snipe success strata) X (number of rail/gallinule success strata) X (number of band-tailed pigeon success strata) X (number of sea duck hunting success strata) X (number of brant hunting success strata). However, individual States do not allow hunting of all the species listed; therefore most States have fewer strata. For example only 40 states have mourning dove seasons, only 36 states have woodcock seasons, and only 7 states have band-tailed pigeon seasons. We also consider the stratification of each species/species group independently. Thus, there are a total of 705 strata in the 49 states, with the number of activity strata in individual states ranging from 10 to 17.

f. Samples are selected as the names are received so that migratory bird hunters can be contacted and asked to keep records as soon as possible after the hunting season starts. The first, eligible hunter in a file is selected, and then every n^th hunter in each stratum is selected thereafter, with (potentially) different sampling rates for each stratum. Sampling without replacement is used, with high priority strata being sampled before lower priority strata. Stratum priority is determined by: (1) biological need, and (2) desired precision levels for the estimates.

g. Double sampling estimates (Hansen and Hurwitz, 1958, JASA) are used to account for non-response (see Groves, 1989, Survey Errors and Survey Costs, Wiley, pages 165-169; and Hansen, Hurwitz and Madow, 1953 Sample Survey Methods and Theory, Wiley, vol. 1, pages 468-475). Two response strata are defined by the respondents and non-respondents to the first wave of reminder letters. A second wave of reminders and survey replacement forms is sent to all non-respondents to the first wave of reminder letters. Additionally, a third wave of reminder letters and survey replacement forms is sent to all non-respondents to the second wave of reminder letters.

For each species (e.g., mourning dove) or species-group (e.g., geese), the number of active hunters, number of hunting days, and number of birds harvested are estimated from the questionnaire responses using a ratio estimator with the harvest per hunter and the number of migratory bird hunters reported, by stratum, by State. Species-, age- and sex-specific harvests are estimated using ratios estimated from the Parts Collection Survey.

Target 95% confidence intervals for harvest estimates at the management unit level (e.g., Flyway) are as follows: ducks, ± 5%; geese, ± 5%; mourning doves, ± 5%; brant, woodcock, band-tailed pigeons, and white-winged doves, ± 10%; sea ducks, ± 25%; snipe, rails, gallinules, and coots, ± 50%. These target precision levels were deemed appropriate by the Federal and State biologists who are charged with managing those migratory bird species.

Surveys must be conducted annually because migratory bird harvests can change substantially between years depending on the size of the fall flight and hunting pressure. Estimates are required for annually promulgating hunting regulations.

Parts Collection Survey Procedures: Samples of successful hunters from the previous year’s Migratory Bird Hunter Survey are asked to complete and return a postcard (forms 3-165A, C, and E), volunteering to contribute wings and tails during the following hunting season. The samples are randomly selected in proportion to the estimated harvest in each State, and sampling rates vary from 30 to 100% of successful hunters. In addition, in some years due to the small number of successful waterfowl hunters in some states, we sample an additional amount from the list of hunters who were not sampled for the diary survey the previous year in order to reach our target number of parts. Because it is difficult to find enough hunters to participate in the Parts Collection Survey each year, hunters can remain in the survey for 3 (waterfowl)-10 (all others) years. Those who volunteer are sent a cover letter with instructions and a supply of pre-addressed, postage-paid return envelopes (forms 3-165, 3-165B, and 3-165E) for mailing in the wings and tails. Inner envelopes to protect other mail from stains and seepage are enclosed with the instructions and return envelopes. These packages are sent to survey volunteers before the hunting season opens in their state. Throughout the hunting season, survey participants mail in parts to four collection points (one in each flyway), where they are stored until they are examined. At the end of the hunting season, biologists examine each part to determine species, age, and sex composition of the sample; hunters cannot reliably determine this information. After those data have been compiled, respondents are sent a personalized thank you letter detailing the species, age, and sex of each bird from which they contributed a wing or a tail. The proportions of species, age, and sex in the Parts Collection Survey are then applied to the total harvest estimates from the Migratory Bird Hunter Survey, to allocate harvest estimates among groups. The allocation is proportional to the state, because of different hunting regulations in states and different sampling rates.

Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey: Sampling is stratified according to State of permit issuance; sampling rates vary from 20% in States with many crane permittees (e.g., Texas) to 100% in States with few crane permittees (e.g., Wyoming). No specialized sampling procedures are required, and we use the standard estimation methods for stratified random samples. Stratum-specific (State-specific) estimates of the proportion of permittees that actually hunted cranes, the mean number of days hunted, and the mean number of cranes harvested are derived from the responses. Those estimates are expanded by N (number of permits issued) for each State to obtain State totals, which are then combined to provide estimates of the number of active crane hunters, days of hunting, and cranes harvested for all mid-continent sandhill crane hunting in the U.S. The 95% confidence interval for the annual harvest estimate is about +5%, which is a precision level that is adequate to ensure responsible harvest management (i.e., hunting regulations) decisions.

3. Describe methods to maximize response rates and to deal with issues of non-response. The accuracy and reliability of information collected must be shown to be adequate for intended uses. For collections based on sampling, a special justification must be provided for any collection that will not yield "reliable" data that can be generalized to the universe studied.

Response to the Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program is mandatory. We monitor participation by reviewing trends in data transmission from each state, for which we have direct information from 1999-present and indirect information from 1961-present. We also spot-check compliance by following the registrations of individual hunters (Appx. A). We use standard methods to encourage response to the Migratory Bird Harvest Survey, Parts Collection Survey, and Sandhill Crane Survey. These include a cover letter that is addressed to the individual hunter and signed by the Chief of the Division of Migratory Bird Management or the Chief of the Branch of Monitoring and Information Management. The letter explains why the information is important and includes a toll-free number to call and ask questions. The cover letters attempt to motivate the respondent and stress the importance of participation. Forms are sent as early in the hunting season as possible, to encourage participation. The online forms are dynamic, with one question asked at a time, and have been designed to be as attractive and as easy to use as possible. The online survey also allows hunters to add comments about their hunts, and they can download their hunt log at the end of the season with comments as a pdf or spreadsheet file. The Migratory Bird Hunter Survey and Sandhill Crane Survey requests daily diary records, to minimize response bias. The forms also includes space to record season totals, for hunters who do not wish to record daily hunting activity. The Migratory Bird Hunter Survey uses four email invitations, one every 6 days, followed by one paper invitation to contact non-respondents; for hunters who have not submitted email addresses, we send three waves of paper invitations, one every 2 weeks,,to contact non-respondents and encourage participation. Once hunters have registered for the survey online, they receive up to 3 end-of-hunting-season reminders by email to encourage submission of hunting data. The Sandhill Crane Survey also uses the same schedule of invitations, but without end of season reminders because most sample frame information are not available after the end of the season, when invitations are sent. The Parts Collection Survey maximizes response rates by using forms 3-165A, C, and D to solicit volunteer participants from a randomly selected sample of successful hunters. Solicitation forms are mailed out well in advance of the opening of the hunting season, so that survey envelopes can be mailed to them before the start of the hunting season. In these solicitation forms, we tell hunters that we will send a report that contains all of the biological data on the specimens they send in each year, as incentive to participate in the survey for the duration of the hunting season. This report is sent in June of each year. As described in item B. 2.g. above, double sampling estimates are used to detect and, if necessary, account for non-response.

Investigations of non-response bias and attempts to increase response rates. As requested by OMB in 2004 we conducted several investigations of non-response bias in our surveys. Based on these analyses, we do not believe that the following aspects of our surveys impart significant bias that requires adjustment via weighting:

(1) non-response bias and Parts Collection Survey – waterfowl;

(2) response wave bias and Migratory Bird Harvest Survey;

(3) non-response bias and Sandhill Crane Harvest Survey.

Summaries of those investigations were included with previous Information Collection Request packets and can be provided upon request.

4. Describe any tests of procedures or methods to be undertaken. Testing is encouraged as an effective means of refining collections of information to minimize burden and improve utility. Tests must be approved if they call for answers to identical questions from 10 or more respondents. A proposed test or set of tests may be submitted for approval separately or in combination with the main collection of information.

We conducted a 3-year test of the waterfowl and dove online surveys from 2019—2021 alongside a full paper harvest survey, in order to evaluate response rates, non-response bias, and harvest estimates from the two platforms. Analysis of these data have not yet been completed, and will be included in the next Information Collection Request.

5. Provide the name and telephone number of individuals consulted on statistical aspects of the design and the name of the agency unit, contractor(s), grantee(s), or other person(s) who will actually collect and/or analyze the information for the agency.

The individual directly responsible for information collection and analysis is: Dr. Kathleen Fleming, Chief, Branch of Monitoring and Information Management, Division of Migratory Bird Management, Laurel, MD 20708-4028, phone: (301) 497-5902.

The following statisticians have reviewed the statistical design and analysis of these surveys:

Dr. Christine M. Bunck, Deputy Center Director, USGS National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI 53711 (608-270-2407)

Mr. Grey W. Pendleton, Statistician (Biology), Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Douglas, AK 99824 (907-465-4353)

Dr. Robert E. Trost, Division of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 911 N.E. 11th Avenue, Portland, OR 97232-4181 (503-231-6162)

Dr. Paul H. Geissler, Biometrician, National Ecological Surveys Team, USGS Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, CO 80526 (970-226-9482)

Table 1. Potential respondent universe (N) and number of waterfowl hunters sampled (n) by stratum for Form 3-2056J, based on 2015 counts. Each hunter is assigned a duck, sea duck, goose, and brant stratum
Duck hunters in stratum (N) and sample (n)								Seaduck hunters in stratum (N) and sample (n)						Goose hunters in stratum (N) and sample (n)								Brant hunters in stratum (N) and sample (n)
state	Bagged none		Bagged 1-10		Bagged > 10			state	Do not hunt		Do hunt			state	Bagged none		Bagged 1-10		Bagged > 10			state	Do not hunt		Do hunt
	N	n	N	n	N	n			N	n	N	n			N	n	N	n	N	n			N	n	N	n
AK	5490	181	1308	74	922	76		AK	7179	267	541	64		AK	6631	239	831	59	258	33		AK	5943	152	1777	179
AL	120355	5473	6520	760	5957	1381		AL	0	0	0	0		AL	128899	6568	2388	516	1545	530		AL	0	0	0	0
AR	75671	1576	17574	1266	28888	4059		AR	0	0	0	0		AR	98247	3668	12601	1302	11285	1931		AR	0	0	0	0
AZ	34093	10069	1386	782	892	891		AZ	0	0	0	0		AZ	35811	11270	418	332	142	140		AZ	0	0	0	0
CA	99820	2079	12529	1449	21594	2989		CA	133552	6295	391	222		CA	114273	3646	11825	1531	7845	1340		CA	133367	6137	576	380
CO	48703	1886	7011	806	4304	955		CO	0	0	0	0		CO	49481	2084	6801	720	3736	843		CO	0	0	0	0
CT	3018	501	1343	362	365	150		CT	4726	1013	0	0		CT	3392	592	1017	295	317	126		CT	3392	1013	1334	0
DE	4449	746	1839	588	1696	862		DE	7328	1773	656	423		DE	4570	792	2039	687	1375	717		DE	6866	1663	1118	533
FL	82125	2166	6455	869	6105	1751		FL	0	0	0	0		FL	94685	4786	0	0	0	0		FL	0	0	0	0
GA	140535	3162	15347	1823	6940	1506		GA	0	0	0	0		GA	162822	6491	11455	1179	11455	1179		GA	0	0	0	0
IA	65482	4998	6133	911	5991	1286		IA	0	0	0	0		IA	68388	5497	5910	945	3308	753		IA	0	0	0	0
ID	26097	735	4595	386	4690	776		ID	0	0	0	0		ID	30241	1168	3980	470	1161	259		ID	0	0	0	0
IL	59330	1206	12462	755	9876	980		IL	0	0	0	0		IL	63914	1489	12162	844	5592	608		IL	0	0	0	0
IN	9072	586	5635	665	3099	656		IN	0	0	0	0		IN	10668	833	5235	655	1903	419		IN	0	0	0	0
KS	43785	1451	6826	483	8695	986		KS	0	0	0	0		KS	46940	1670	6453	506	5913	744		KS	0	0	0	0
KY	20949	728	4478	1142	4442	2090		KY	0	0	0	0		KY	24547	1809	4238	1602	1084	549		KY	0	0	0	0
LA	130000	3077	13939	2026	18291	3391		LA	0	0	0	0		LA	152294	6404	6812	1245	3124	845		LA	0	0	0	0
MA	8308	995	2221	573	611	236		MA	10201	1378	939	426		MA	9182	1186	1580	484	378	134		MA	10791	1583	349	221
MD	27301	1914	11049	2260	6417	1695		MD	33638	3425	11129	2444		MD	23677	1852	13744	2388	7346	1629		MD	41325	4939	3442	930
ME	20085	1726	1449	596	488	277		ME	18264	1040	3758	1559		ME	21107	2099	762	394	153	106		ME	0	0	0	0
MI	124998	2306	17891	1099	12043	1272		MI	0		0	0		MI	131222	2833	16465	1068	7245	776		MI	0	0	0	0
MN	87871	1408	35065	1588	23635	1456		MN	0	0	0	0		MN	105872	2097	29532	1529	11167	826		MN	0	0	0	0
MO	51972	1687	8281	845	9999	1325		MO	0	0	0	0		MO	59827	2413	6111	731	4314	713		MO	0	0	0	0
MS	63491	1839	7562	1057	7523	1428		MS	0	0	0	0		MS	73615	3265	3632	718	1329	341		MS	0	0	0	0
MT	54140	1911	3846	664	2854	667		MT	0	0	0	0		MT	53339	1938	4899	746	2602	558		MT	0	0	0	0
NC	274252	3524	18600	1488	12473	1559		NC	0	0	0	0		NC	290881	4827	11270	1201	3174	543		NC	239562	4917	65763	1654
ND	35305	1281	14007	1802	16279	2505		ND	0	0	0	0		ND	42508	2287	15352	1935	7731	1366		ND	0	0	0	0
NE	15613	705	5438	741	4403	891		NE	0	0	0	0		NE	16640	973	5745	764	3069	600		NE	0	0	0	0
NH	5988	781	1566	569	395	281		NH	7756	1480	193	151		NH	6677	1015	1061	462	211	154		NH	7916	1604	33	27
NJ	6821	713	2755	545	1701	424		NJ	10443	1393	834	289		NJ	7871	905	2112	473	1294	304		NJ	9238	1128	2039	554
NM	25274	1756	1416	180	841	177		NM	0	0	0	0		NM	26700	1942	667	116	164	55		NM	0	0	0	0
NV	5989	505	1208	318	917	399		NV	0	0	0	0		NV	7135	799	779	330	200	93		NV	0	0	0	0
NY	23419	1604	9924	1377	5079	1163		NY	32367	2665	6055	1479		NY	25589	2123	8280	1055	4553	966		NY	31909	2646	6513	1498
OH	26459	641	7864	440	3035	307		OH	0	0	0	0		OH	27363	725	7708	433	2287	230		OH	0	0	0	0
OK	37044	2016	4228	567	6418	1460		OK	0	0	0	0		OK	42037	2737	3476	705	2177	601		OK	0	0	0	0
OR	28204	985	6139	626	8257	2389		OR	42293	3693	307	307		OR	33525	1880	5320	899	3755	1221		OR	42481	3881	119	119
PA	81738	2169	11669	1178	4945	831		PA	0	0	0	0		PA	82039	2401	11166	989	5147	788		PA	0	0	0	0
RI	1068	348	422	241	243	148		RI	1224	407	509	330		RI	1178	382	379	238	176	117		RI	977	254	756	483
SC	83854	1993	7082	1340	5758	1691		SC	0	0	0	0		SC	93844	3994	2353	715	497	315		SC	0	0	0	0
SD	33830	5985	86	20	74	24		SD	0	0	0	0		SD	33890	6005	91	20	9	4		SD	0	0	0	0
TN	56374	571	5492	281	6137	629		TN	0	0	0	0		TN	61986	838	3666	287	2352	356		TN	0	0	0	0
TX	700142	5370	28537	2703	32180	3962		TX	0	0	0	0		TX	745002	10076	10958	1206	4899	753		TX	0	0	0	0
UT	17316	827	6843	909	5270	1130		UT	0	0	0	0		UT	24900	1892	3701	737	828	237		UT	0	0	0	0
VA	32370	1904	6984	987	4032	932		VA	41814	3297	1572	526		VA	35084	2213	6110	1038	2192	572		VA	41574	3343	1812	480
VT	5633	683	1489	444	710	306		VT	0	0	0	0		VT	6274	848	1187	421	371	164		VT	0	0	0	0
WA	24769	2357	7424	1686	9878	3386		WA	41841	7273	230	156		WA	32399	4463	6657	1915	3015	1051		WA	41147	7004	924	425
WI	92336	1985	28512	1809	14793	1575		WI	0	0	0	0		WI	113367	3446	19072	1528	3202	395		WI	0	0	0	0
WV	4310	1476	764	522	327	327		WV	0	0	0	0		WV	4507	1604	658	494	236	227		WV	0	0	0	0
WY	4981	732	1858	659	1021	583		WY	0	0	0	0		WY	5234	916	1897	681	729	377		WY	0	0	0	0
Total	3030229	95317	393051	45261	341483	60220		Total	392626	35399	27114	8376		Total	3340274	135980	300555	39588	146845	27588		Total	616488	40264	86555	7483

Table 2. Potential respondent universe (N) and number of mourning dove and band-tailed pigeon hunters sampled (n) by stratum for Form 3-2056K, based on 2015 counts.
	Mourning dove hunters in stratum (N) and sample (n)									Band-tailed pigeon hunters in stratum (N) and sample (n)
	Bagged none			Bagged 1-10			Bagged >10			Do not hunt			Do hunt
State	N	n	Sampling rate	N	n	Sampling rate	N	n	Sampling rate	N	n	Sampling rate	N	n	Sampling rate
AL	105461	5245	0.049734025	20522	1301	0.063395381	6849	1068	0.155935173	0	0		0	0
AR	94883	3776	0.039796381	17663	1592	0.090131914	9587	1533	0.159904037	0	0		0	0
AZ	20146	6592	0.327211357	12815	3796	0.296215373	3410	1354	0.397067449	29632	8104	0.273488121	6739	3638	0.539842707
CA	94576	3373	0.035664439	30471	1997	0.065537724	8896	1147	0.128934353	132078	5887	0.044572147	1865	630	0.337801609
CO	47252	1873	0.039638534	6654	625	0.093928464	6112	1149	0.187990838	59019	3325	0.05633779	999	322	0.322322322
DE	5834	1270	0.217689407	1573	602	0.382708201	577	324	0.56152513		0		0	0
FL	81581	3053	0.037422929	10293	1102	0.107063053	2811	631	0.224475276	0	0		0	0
GA	116708	3037	0.026022209	37327	2318	0.062099821	8787	1136	0.129281894	0	0		0	0
IA	69672	5582	0.080118268	6395	1145	0.17904613	1539	468	0.304093567	0	0		0	0
ID	30286	1138	0.037575117	4480	583	0.130133929	616	176	0.285714286	0	0		0	0
IL	64241	1810	0.028175153	14704	836	0.056855277	2723	295	0.108336394	0	0		0	0
IN	10489	857	0.081704643	6025	732	0.121493776	1292	275	0.212848297	0	0		0	0
KS	35916	1219	0.033940305	15211	893	0.058707514	8179	808	0.098789583	0	0		0	0
KY	13484	1053	0.078092554	12051	1813	0.150443947	4334	1094	0.252422704	0	0		0	0
LA	143886	5406	0.037571411	14405	2224	0.154390837	3939	864	0.219345011	0	0		0	0
MD	36202	3810	0.105242804	7663	1748	0.228109096	902	311	0.344789357	0	0		0	0
MN	136636	3314	0.024254223	6196	577	0.093124597	3739	561	0.150040118	0	0		0	0
MO	55152	2047	0.037115608	11149	1236	0.110861961	3951	574	0.145279676	0	0		0	0
MS	61013	2288	0.037500205	13250	1285	0.096981132	4313	751	0.174124739	0	0		0	0
MT	59954	2912	0.048570571	727	243	0.334250344	159	87	0.547169811	0	0		0	0
NC	253741	3349	0.013198498	45406	2543	0.056005814	6178	679	0.109906118	0	0		0	0
ND	58566	4094	0.06990404	5552	1039	0.187139769	1473	455	0.308893415	0	0		0	0
NE	16159	1017	0.062937063	7306	956	0.130851355	1989	364	0.183006536	0	0		0	0
NM	21143	1210	0.057229343	4801	541	0.112684857	1587	362	0.22810334	23867	861	0.036074915	3664	1252	0.341703057
NV	5972	636	0.106496986	1900	433	0.227894737	242	153	0.632231405	0	0		0	0
OH	26867	766	0.028510813	8938	431	0.048221079	1553	190	0.122343851	0	0		0	0
OK	33919	2100	0.061912203	10079	1174	0.11647981	3692	769	0.208288191	0	0		0	0
OR	37973	2891	0.076133042	3502	687	0.196173615	1125	422	0.375111111	42091	3811	0.090541921	509	189	0.371316306
PA	80814	2507	0.031021853	15248	1277	0.083748688	2290	394	0.172052402	0	0		0	0
RI	1542	596	0.386511025	175	127	0.725714286	16	14	0.875	0	0		0	0
SC	78941	2415	0.030592468	13589	1707	0.125616307	4164	902	0.216618636	0	0		0	0
SD	33986	6027	0.177337727	4	2	0.5	0	0		0	0		0	0
TN	52909	540	0.010206203	9735	429	0.044067797	5361	512	0.09550457	0	0		0	0
TX	537863	3753	0.006977613	138736	3989	0.028752451	84260	4293	0.050949442	0	0		0	0
UT	24759	1966	0.079405469	4202	756	0.179914327	468	144	0.307692308	28178	2592	0.091986656	1251	274	0.21902478
VA	28852	1805	0.062560654	9172	998	0.10880942	5362	1020	0.190227527	0	0		0	0
WA	39108	6123	0.156566431	2746	1111	0.404588492	217	77	0.35483871	0	0		0	0
WI	127354	4392	0.034486549	7598	851	0.112003159	689	126	0.18287373	41865	7292	0.174178908	206	137	0.665048544
WV	4128	1539	0.372819767	1273	786	0.61743912	0	0		0	0		0	0
WY	6556	1420	0.216595485	1102	420	0.381125227	202	134	0.663366337	0	0		0	0
Total	2754524	108801	0.086111084	540638	46905	0.181567719	203583	25616	0.264870403	356730	31872	0.109597208	15233	6442	0.399579904

Table 3. Potential respondent universe (N) and number of woodcock hunters (n) sampled by stratum, for Form 3-2056L, based on 2015 counts.
	Woodcock hunters in stratum (N) and sample (n)
	Do not hunt			Do hunt
State	N	n		N	n
AL	132,178	7,278		654	336
AR	116,912	5,983		5,221	918
CT	4,245	797		481	216
DE	7,859	2,110		125	78
FL	93,384	4,474		1,301	312
GA	160,132	5,970		2,690	521
IA	74,289	5,249		3,317	1,946
IL	80,433	2,711		1,235	230
IN	17,577	1,776		229	131
KS	59,028	2,715		278	205
KY	29,517	3,794		352	166
LA	158,711	7,681		3,519	813
MA	10,375	1,489		765	315
MD	43,960	5,368		807	501
ME	21,102	2,015		920	584
MI	142,920	3,814		12,012	863
MN	138,207	3,514		8,364	938
MO	69,409	3,500		843	357
MS	77,454	3,921		1,122	403
NC	300,477	6,056		4,848	515
NE	25,451	2,336		3	1
NH	6,668	1,174		1,281	457
NJ	10,664	1,382		613	300
NY	36,907	3,557		1,515	587
OH	36,792	1,308		566	80
OK	47,595	3,986		95	57
PA	94,404	3,532		3,948	646
RI	1,639	663		94	74
SC	0	4,725		0	299
SD	96,110	6,029		584	0
TN	66,272	1,209		1,732	272
TX	760,580	11,970		279	65
VA	42,731	3,508		655	315
VT	7,233	1,218		599	215
WI	127,391	4,465		8,250	904
WV	5,174	2,099		227	226
Total	3,103,780	133,376		69,524	14,846

Table 4. Potential respondent universe (N) and number of snipe/coot and rail/gallinule hunters sampled (n) by stratum for Form 3-2056M, based on 2015 counts. Each hunter is assigned to both a coot/snipe and rail/gallinule stratum.
	Coot/snipe hunters in stratum (N) and sample (n)						Rail/gallinule hunters in stratum (N) and sample (n)
	Do not hunt			Do hunt			Do not hunt			Do hunt
State	N	n		N	n		N	n		N	n
AK	7517	308		203	23		0	0		0	0
AL	131945	7314		887	300		132447	264		385	59
AR	117773	6516		4360	385		119492	124		2641	31
AZ	35314	11252		1057	489		35668	480		703	35
CA	131674	5863		2269	654		133403	270		540	105
CO	58009	3376		2009	271		59706	199		312	11
CT	4703	994		23	19		4678	101		48	27
DE	7789	2073		195	123		7910	128		74	23
FL	89784	3908		4901	878		93232	191		1453	63
GA	159789	5934		3033	557		160882	147		1940	177
IA	74120	5180		3486	2015		74418	191		3188	800
ID	35230	1870		152	27		35382	73		0	0
IL	80761	2870		907	71		81363	82		305	16
IN	17375	1645		431	262		17692	38		114	58
KS	59053	2728		253	192		59087	150		219	109
KY	29204	3725		665	235		29811	31		58	8
LA	156962	7340		5268	1154		158753	399		3477	92
MA	10908	1629		232	175		11021	218		119	45
MD	43646	5430		1121	439		43832	88		935	169
ME	18399	1103		3623	1496		18392	42		3630	148
MI	152826	4518		2106	159		152826	156		2106	26
MN	137257	3966		9314	486		138577	141		7994	163
MO	68804	3687		1448	170		69591	137		661	13
MS	64325	2750		14251	1574		64142	135		14434	37
MT	60149	3035		691	207		60840	124		0	0
NC	259207	5263		46118	1308		261810	193		43515	140
ND	64581	5013		1010	575		0	0		0	0
NE	24526	2210		928	127		24799	64		655	16
NH	7879	1585		70	46		0	0		0	0
NJ	11009	1551		268	131		11016	142		261	76
NM	26074	1631		1457	482		26200	34		1331	216
NV	7863	1043		251	179		8014	85		100	53
NY	34533	3056		3889	1088		34839	139		3583	201
OH	36368	1304		990	84		37011	43		347	13
OK	47414	3920		276	123		47623	101		67	19
OR	39482	3324		3118	676		0	0		0	0
PA	96457	3880		1895	298		96990	102		1362	33
RI	1507	583		226	154		1528	36		205	23
SC	96055	4741		639	283		96172	248		522	70
SD	33987	6026		3	3		0	0		0	0
TN	66479	1251		1525	230		66721	15		1283	18
TX	760053	11887		806	148		760693	381		166	13
UT	23032	2006		6397	860		0	0		0	0
VA	42589	3452		797	371		42642	215		744	225
VT	7775	1394		57	39		0	0		0	0
WA	31378	2977		10693	4452		0	0		0	0
WI	128421	4700		7220	669		129822	109		5819	197
WV	5227	2179		174	145		5257	214		144	49
WY	7414	1665		446	309		7668	103		192	97
Total	3,612,626	175,655		152,138	25,141		3,421,950	6,133		105,632	3,674

Table 5. Potential sample universe for the Waterfowl Parts Survey Form 3-165, based on 2015 data.
	Ducks			Geese
State	Harvest	Number of wings		Harvest	Number of wings
AK	20,300	525		5,400	89
AL	106,800	488		12,500	21
AR	945,400	3685		86,900	222
AZ	21,700	505		2,500	20
CA	1,266,100	7511		167,700	755
CO	111,900	472		80,200	270
CT	7,700	186		5,700	190
DE	26,700	315		13,700	136
FL	183,500	1750		900	15
GA	135,800	568		56,600	109
IA	167,900	1055		54,900	139
ID	173,700	1659		44,100	355
IL	263,200	1657		90,200	380
IN	75,400	424		37,400	149
KS	236,200	1565		109,000	303
KY	129,400	369		29,000	55
LA	846,400	5497		54,300	62
MA	17,900	474		9,800	185
MD	71,400	970		106,100	869
ME	12,200	412		7,300	184
MI	317,500	1061		159,700	458
MN	573,400	1670		143,700	296
MO	408,700	2099		45,700	237
MS	222,900	924		14,600	44
MT	183,700	1154		73,400	486
NC	309,200	1717		37,400	88
ND	509,300	4727		162,400	1400
NE	167,000	1555		91,000	282
NH	9,700	256		4,100	77
NJ	37,500	742		16,100	257
NM	24,300	598		2,300	18
NV	27,200	563		4,500	86
NY	129,200	2015		102,900	995
OH	120,600	676		65,100	165
OK	261,600	1673		42,200	84
OR	238,900	4388		52,000	692
PA	69,500	721		76,400	783
RI	5,400	237		3,700	219
SC	139,500	983		19,300	11
SD	180,800	1977		73,200	313
TN	196,500	761		20,300	35
TX	733,700	6641		92,600	188
UT	193,000	1722		21,100	147
VA	112,700	1277		40,500	355
VT	14,800	253		6,800	143
WA	444,400	4106		63,300	553
WI	449,400	1627		99,600	307
WV	5,900	84		3,700	90
WY	31,100	750		18,400	295
Total	10,937,000	77,044		2,530,200	13,612

Table 6. Potential sample universe for the Mourning Dove Parts Collection Survey for Form 3-165D, based on 2015 data.
ST	Doves harvested	Dove wings collected
AL	428,000	503
AR	252,500	300
AZ	401,500	1046
CA	686,900	621
CO	204,500	641
DE	24,900	91
FL	142,000	466
GA	725,800	341
IA	111,500	266
ID	100,800	356
IL	283,700	575
IN	93,700	721
KS	558,200	268
KY	286,600	26
LA	214,200	151
MD	63,100	105
MN	96,800	310
MO	307,400	348
MS	257,100	246
MT	18,100	25
NC	734,300	591
ND	73,600	545
NE	160,700	391
NM	111,900	133
NV	22,400	204
OH	131,300	397
OK	294,000	312
OR	22,600	127
PA	119,300	153
RI	1,100	15
SC	548,700	362
SD	84,600	405
TN	288,400	294
TX	4,892,200	572
UT	54,800	240
VA	229,500	274
WA	43,600	258
WI	60,400	133
WV	13,700	32
WY	15,000	401
Total	13,159,400	13,245

Table 7. Potential sample universe for the Other Migratory Game Bird Survey for Form 3-165B, based on 2015 data.
	Woodcock			Rail species			Band-tailed pigeon
State	Harvest	Number of wings		Harvest	Number of wings		Harvest	Number of wings
AL	6,200			0	0		.	.
AR	7,300	2		0	2		.	.
AZ	0	. 1		.	.		500	0
CA	0	.		.	.		6,700	32
CO	0	.		0	0		200	0
CT	800	171		200	0		.	.
DE	100	7		0	0		.	.
FL	0	0		3,600	0		.	.
GA	1,800	51		3,500	15		.	.
IA	400	19		0	5		.	.
IL	200	3		0	0		.	.
IN	600	68		100	0		.	.
KS	400	0		0	0		.	.
KY	600	1		0	0		.	.
LA	3,600	195		200	2		.	.
MA	1,800	434		100	3		.	.
MD	1,100	119		8,200	0		.	.
ME	4,800	936		0	0		.	.
MI	63,200	2,781		1,000	0		.	.
MN	25,700	1,232		0	19		.	.
MO	400	53		0	11		.	.
MS	3,600	23		0	0		.	.
NC	7,200	114		0	76		.	.
NE	0	0		0	0		.	.
NH	9,200	691		.	.		.	.
NJ	4,800	205		1,700	26		.	.
NM	0	.		0	0		100	6
NY	8,700	623		0	2		.	.
OH	2,200	105		100	2		.	.
OK	0	0		500	0		.	.
OR	0	.		.	.		600	36
PA	5,400	353		0	0		.	.
RI	200	4		100	0		.	.
SC	2,000	201		3,500	25		.	.
TN	0	3		0	0		.	.
TX	1,000	.		0	0		.	.
UT	0	.		.	.		20	0
VA	3,300	213		4,200	105		.	.
VT	3,400	393		.	.		.	.
WA	0	.		.	.		100	15
WI	31,000	2,281		0	0		.	.
WV	800	62		0	0		.	.
WY	0	.		600	0		.	.
Total	201,800	11,343		27,600	293		8,220	89
1 "." indicates no season available in the state.

Table 8. Potential respondant universe, number of sandhill crane hunters, and response rates for Form 3-2056N, based on 2015 counts.
state	Number of hunters	Number sampled	Number of responses	Response rate
AK	2,186	206	77	37%
CO	787	459	178	39%
KS	1,040	662	307	46%
MN	1,199	600	342	57%
MT	404	404	316	78%
ND	4,543	909	609	67%
NM	365	365	284	78%
OK	510	257	141	55%
SD	4,876	605	392	65%
TX	22,033	4,407	1,807	41%
WY	454	454	313	69%
Total	38,397	9,328	4,766	55%

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