Waterfowl Hunters Flock to Conservation Board Meeting

Roughly 60 waterfowl enthusiasts showed up to voice their displeasure at the Lee County Conservation Board meeting Tuesday night. The duck hunters sounded off regarding a new rule on county property which limits hunting to boat blinds only and will make it unlawful to hunt waterfowl from permanent blinds entirely by 2019. The concerns involved everything from the safety of boat blinds on the rough waters of the Mississippi River to the poor communication of the rule that was actually enacted in December but wasn’t known by the hunters until recently. Montrose native Even Longenecker explained that hunting from a boat blind won’t work for most hunters financially.

 Donnellson resident Brandon Ruffcorn felt that after hearing the board speak there was not enough understanding of waterfowl hunting when the vote was taken on permanent blinds.

 Conservation Board Mark Holland agreed with Ruffcorn and felt that idea could help in the future.

 The board agreed to revisit the permanent duck blind ban before the next meeting on September 12^th.