Estimates of ducks harvested by hunters from 1965 to 1975, as calculated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, were compared to corresponding estimates calculated by 33 State wildlife agencies. States were grouped into 4 categories according to survey methodology and the relative magnitude of Federal estimates to State estimates was calculated for each category and contrasts performed through analysis of variance on log transformed data. As a group, States where wildlife agencies made pre-season hunter contact produced harvest estimates that were not significantly different from Federal figures. State estimates calculated by the Southeastern Cooperative Fish and Game Statistics Project were significantly higher than Federal estimates, as were estimates from the remaining 2 groups of States where agencies did not make pre-season contact but either sampled or did not sample junior hunters. No statistical evidence was found that inclusion of junior hunters in State surveys affected the relationship between Federal and State estimates.
