They’re migratory birds. Letting them rest can help establish historic habitat that can be used from generation to generation. If you opened the flood gates to hunters, they’d burn the place down and in 5 years there’d be no ducks to hunt. Alabama just doesn’t sit in a flyway, so all help is needed to attract AND keep ducks. The state just wants to maintain some quality, waterfowl oriented and managed, public hunting land. I don’t see what the big deal is.