The Nation - News from Feb. 17, 1987

Acid rain may be partly to blame for the decline in North American duck populations, an environmental organization said. The Izaak Walton League said in Washington that a study of waterfowl breeding grounds found that ducks and their young may be underfed because of the acidity of lakes. Black ducks, which have declined by 65% since 1955, inhabit the Northeastern states where the most acid rain falls, the report said. It said that breeding areas in the Midwest and eastern Canada also are threatened and urged tighter regulation of industrial and auto emissions.