This could have been a lot worse.

With spring and summer’s frequent flooding, managers of Missouri and Kansas waterfowl marshes had feared the worst. Moist-soil food in the pools was flooded, levees were breached and access roads were damaged.

But as today’s duck-hunting opener approached, managers began breathing a big sigh of relief.

For the most part, managed wetlands have bounced back nicely. And with the duck seasons opening today in Missouri’s North Zone and Kansas’ Late Zone, waterfowl already are streaming into the region by the thousands.

“We dodged a big bullet, especially at Bob Brown,” said Marty Marks, a wildlife biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation at the Bob Brown and Nodaway Valley conservation areas in northwest Missouri.

“In the July floods, we came within a few inches of the Missouri River coming over the top of the levees. That would have caused big problems.

“As it was, we lost some moist-soil food at both Brown and Nodaway, and it was getting late for it to re-grow and be mature enough to attract ducks. But it’s come back better than we even thought.”

Indeed, there are good stands of moist-soil food, plenty of water and lots of cover at both of the popular northern Missouri waterfowl areas — all essentials for attracting ducks and producing good hunting.

Add them up, and you have a bright outlook for today’s opener.

Bob Brown has 15,000 ducks splashing around in the marshes, while Nodaway Valley has 5,500. Young hunters experienced a successful youth season at both places last weekend, and Marks is expecting more of the same this weekend.

The situation is similarly encouraging at the Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge in northwest Missouri.

There, too, plenty of food, water and cover already are attracting ducks. The area had 42,000 ducks and 1,500 geese as of the last count, and more ducks are arriving daily with colder weather to the north.

“We survived the bad stuff,” said Charles Marshall, park ranger at Squaw Creek. “We really didn’t get affected by the flooding this spring and summer.

“We got enough rain to give us plenty of water in the marshes and good food. But we didn’t have anything severe.”

The same is true at the Marais des Cygnes Wildlife Area in eastern Kansas.

There, all marshes except one that is being repaired have good to excellent water and good food. The result? About 10,000 ducks already have shown up.

But other marshes weren’t so fortunate. The Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge in north-central Missouri has been flooded 10 times since March, according to manager Steve Whitson, and that has taken a toll.

“The last flood was in September, and it was devastating,” Whitson said. “We lost a lot of our moist-soil food. And the floods as a whole took 80 percent of our crops.

“With our water, we’ll get ducks and geese this year. But the big question is, ‘How long will they stay?’”