The Duck Factory

In the foreward of “The Duck Factory – A History of Waterfowl in North Dakota,” Mike Johnson, waterfowl program leader for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department from 1981 to 2015, wrote this:

“This book recounts the remarkable history of the ecology, management, conservation, research and hunting of waterfowl as well as their habitats in North Dakota, and tells the stories of the people, conflicts and politics that wind through this history. It is an extraordinary story and its telling is long overdue.”

“The Duck Factory,” a Game and Fish Department publication, is all that and more.

“We had a lot of information to work with, an incredible amount of history and interesting facts about waterfowl in North Dakota,” said Mike Szymanski, Game and Fish Department migratory game bird program leader. “We wanted to make the book appealing to both waterfowl hunters and people interested in history. We tried really hard to produce a piece of literature that was user friendly and fulfilling to read and I think we did that.”

Szymanski and Johnson worked with authors Mike Jacobs and Erik Fritzell and others to see the book to publication.

In the world of waterfowl, “The Duck Factory” is an important story because of North Dakota’s longtime and continued contribution to the world of migratory birds.

“North Dakota is the most important state for breeding ducks,” Szymanski said. “The contribution of ducks from North Dakota into the fall flight is unmatched by any other state, and its importance to duck hunters cannot be understated. Describing the history of waterfowl in North Dakota was a story that we felt was certainly worth telling.”

The 200-plus page book is now on sale only online for $24.99, including shipping.

“Not only is the book a great read, there are a lot of good, old waterfowl and duck hunting photos that go back almost 150 years,” Szymanski said.