Jack Miner and Miner Bands

Will Poston for SPLIT REED

“In 1915, he began using banded birds as “missionary messengers,” by stamping a scripture verse on them..”

For waterfowl hunters, bands are special and rare items that decorate many a call lanyard. For many others, they are idolized and friendship—ruining pieces of metal. But for an even smaller sector of people in the waterfowl world, they are an invaluable basic tool for waterfowl research and conservation.

Jack Miner fell in the latter group of people. Jack Miner was born in 1865 and was raised on a homestead in Ontario, Canada. Back then, waterfowl sanctuaries or trapping waterfowl only to attach a metal band and let the birds go were completely foreign ideas. But then Jack Miner came along.

In 1904, Miner established a waterfowl sanctuary on his farm’s pond that within several years provided habitat for thousands upon thousands of ducks and geese, which would then become known as the Jack Miner Migratory Bird Sanctuary. Miner was quickly pegged as the “Father of Conservation,” for founding the modern waterfowl refuge management system. However, his conservation legacy did not end there.

Miner wanted to better understand waterfowl migrations, so, in 1909, he attached the first band to a wild duck on his sanctuary. Later that season, that first band made its way back, as a South Carolina hunter recovered the band and mailed it back. This was the inception of modern banding programs. And while Miner’s initial bands were not very complex or informative—bands had Miner’s address and bible verses—they gave him a basic idea of migration patterns.

In 1916, Miner’s early tagging data was instrumental in the developing of the Migratory Bird Treaty between Canada and the United States. This bilateral treaty was essential for the long-term conservation of the species that we, as waterfowl hunters, love to chase and pass along that passion. It was said that by 1944, Miner had banded 40,000 Canada Geese and 50,000 wild ducks on his sanctuary. Today, through Miner’s efforts, more than 13 million ducks and 2.8 million Canada Geese have been banded, contributing greatly to waterfowl research and conservation.

So, next time you are lucky enough to harvest a banded bird, make sure you carry our Miner’s conservation mission by returning the information and then adorn it on your lanyard. Jack Miner may be long removed from this earth, but his legacy on waterfowl is strong and improving all aspects of waterfowl hunting.