Show 16: Revisionist Ducks and Flyways: The Duck Debate Begins 🌽🦆

Show 16: Revisionist Ducks and Flyways: The Duck Debate Begins Aired July 3, 2025 Presented by *TheOutdoor.News* Hosts: Duke Lowrie & Josh Goins Produced by Rex MoncriefThis episode launches The Flyway Series on The Outdoor News—the podcast series that helped force the flooded corn and short-stopping debate into the national spotlight, culminating in U.S. Senator John Kennedy formally raising these concerns with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.Long before politicians weighed in, hunters on the ground were already asking the uncomfortable questions.In this first episode, Michael Duke Lowrie and Josh Goins lay the foundation for a fact-driven examination of modern waterfowl management, migration shifts, and the unintended consequences of flooded agricultural practices across the Mississippi Flyway.This isn’t nostalgia. It’s history, data, and accountability.Topics include:Why Louisiana hunters saw the decline firstHow flooded corn and “short-stopping” became normalizedMissing or removed public data on band returns and migrationNorth vs South tensions inside flyway decision-makingWhy debate was discouraged—and who benefited from that silenceThis series exists because too many hunters were told to stop asking questions. Instead, those questions kept getting louder—loud enough to reach Washington.You don’t have to agree with every conclusion. But you can’t dismiss the evidence anymore.00:22 – Intro & launch of the Flyway Series01:31 – Turning the show over to Duke Lowrie & Josh Goins02:00 – Why this series exists and what it will cover02:27 – Josh Goins’ background: Cameron Parish duck hunting03:19 – Recognizing the decline & asking uncomfortable questions04:18 – Discovering legal changes & beginning the fight05:04 – Why debate and open dialogue matter06:17 – Duke Lowrie hunting history & early conservation efforts07:06 – Ducks Unlimited, prairie conservation & a turning point08:24 – The VFW town hall incident that changed everything10:22 – Leaving DU and forming new conservation efforts10:55 – Three types of modern waterfowlers12:11 – North vs South perspectives on duck management3:13 – Rex’s role and learning alongside the audience15:18 – The origins of The Outdoor News16:06 – Lack of historical understanding in waterfowl science17:00 – Flyway Federation origins and organized pushback19:06 – Online attacks and accusations against Flyway advocates20:27 – “They only attack when they have something to lose”21:10 – Clearing misconceptions about Flyway Federation22:05 – Early articles, backlash, and historical warnings23:52 – Why comprehensive short-stopping studies never happened24:36 – Infrared ag research and missing migration studies25:13 – “Kept in the dark” – the mushroom analogy26:45 – Funding attacks and misinformation campaigns30:51 – Hurricanes, COVID, and collapsing grassroots efforts33:40 – Why long-form truth struggles in the TikTok era34:27 – What this series intends to expose over time35:48 – Josh steps away from Flyway, not the fight37:04 – Open invitation to critics to debate live38:02 – The deleted US flyway banding database40:08 – Band data shifts north after 200041:49 – North vs South conflict inside flyway councils43:15 – “We don’t care if Louisiana kills another duck”45:13 – Flooded crops vs baiting: the legal contradiction47:29 – Arkansas band data and wintering losses49:44 – More disappearing articles and inconvenient data51:18 – Missouri article showing massive duck concentrations54:41 – Canada, baiting permits, and treaty conflicts57:04 – Wealthy hunting clubs & selective enforcement1:00:19 – GPS data: ducks going nocturnal during season1:02:46 – Who really benefits from flooded crops?1:04:59 – Wrapping up Episode 1 & what’s coming next1:08:30 – Where to watch, listen, and follow the series Like Comment (respectful debate encouraged) Share with hunters who still wonder where the ducks went