Delivering Conservation in the Great Plains for Continental Waterfowl
|
|
Fall is a special time of year. After months of heat and humidity, we’re finally enjoying some cooler weather, seeing beautiful fall colors come to life and eagerly awaiting one of our nation’s most spectacle sights and sounds—the annual waterfowl migration. Fall reminds us just how important our conservation efforts are across U.S. and Canadian Prairies. The small wetlands that dot this treasured landscape are the engine that drives continental duck populations, sustain healthy fall flights and maintain our nation’s rich hunting traditions.
|
|
Kansas - Westar Energy and DU Improve Habitat on Quivira NWR
|
Westar Energy
supported Ducks Unlimited’s work on Quivira National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) by sending their
Green Team
of volunteers to remove an old oil road that was blocking water flow to Big Salt Marsh. Several North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grants have been awarded for work on Quivira and this project marks another success to improving management capabilities on the refuge.
|
|
Montana - Pat Nolan Honored at Montana Event
|
Pat Nolan’s legacy of supporting waterfowl conservation will live on through generous contributions to Ducks Unlimited’s prairie conservation work and a new accessible blind dedicated in his honor in Montana’s Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
|
|
Nebraska - DU and Partners to Conserve 13,000 Acres of Migration Habitat
|
Ducks Unlimited and partners are expanding restoration work in the bottleneck of the Central Flyway migration corridor that runs from central Kansas through central Nebraska. A new North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant will help the partners protect, restore or enhance more than 13,000 acres of wetland habitat. This grant extends ongoing conservation work to include the Platte River and Loup River Sandhills.
|
|
North Dakota - Outdoor Heritage Fund Grant Will Help Farms Integrate Livestock, Cover Crops
|
North Dakota agricultural producers can get help diversifying their operations and improving soil health. Ducks Unlimited and its partners worked with producers in southeastern North Dakota to build a simple, useful program called Cover Crop and Livestock Integration Project (CCLIP). CLLIP provides financial assistance to farmers and ranchers to add sustainable, mixed-operation practices.
|
|
Gadwall nest in fall-seeded cereal rye initiated after planting soybeans in June.
|
|
South Dakota - Improving Soil Health and Wildlife Habitat
|
Soil health practices have become increasingly popular among producers across North and South Dakota, and Ducks Unlimited is seeking opportunities to develop associated wildlife benefits and provide financial assistance to interested farmers. By incorporating more diversified crop rotations, reducing tillage, and incorporating cover crops, producers can improve soil structure, improve water infiltration and storage, increase organic matter, and increase microbial diversity in their soil.
|
|
Wyoming - Partnership Receives NAWCA Grant for Muddy Creek Wetlands Project
|
With the award of a $100,000 North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant, Ducks Unlimited and partners will compete work on the Muddy Creek wetland complex in Carbon County, Wyoming. Partners worked for 30 years on this 862-acre complex that is the largest constructed wetland project in the state, creating quality wetlands for waterfowl and other wildlife.
|
|
DU Works with Landowner to Protect Carbon Assets
|
In a region where land conversion is high and water rights are prized possessions, one rancher is fighting to continue his way of life, keep grasslands intact and support wildlife on his ranch. Ducks Unlimited helped Dallas May and his family market the carbon offsets their ranch provides and give the family the financial security they need.
|
|
Dallas May and his family
|
|
Erik Wettersten (left), DU Senior Regional Director and Kirk Davidson (right), DU Director of Development
|
|
Colorado and GPR Fundraising Tops in Nation
|
The Colorado-based Ducks Unlimited fundraising staff took top honors this year at DU’s Leadership Conference in Memphis. Two of the state’s fundraising staff were chosen as the top in their field nationally in separate awards. Kirk Davidson was named National Ducks Unlimited Director of Development of the Year and Erik Wettersten was awarded National Regional Director of the Year.
|
|
Youth Waterfowl Hunting Workshop
|
Ducks Unlimited hosted a free workshop for kids ages 16 and under to learn the basic skills needed for duck hunting. The kids also got a shooting lesson at Capitol City Sporting Clays, just outside of Bismarck, N.D. This was the 9th year for the workshop.
|
|
|
|
|
Youth Mentored Waterfowl Hunt
|
Opening day of duck season is an exciting time, especially for youngsters hunting for the first time. During the 2017 North Dakota youth waterfowl hunting season, Ducks Unlimited volunteers took a group of kids hunting at the Coteau Ranch. The ranch, which is open to public hunting, is owned by Ducks Unlimited and located in the heart of the Prairie Pothole Region.
|
|
On a beautiful day in Kansas you may find a rouge biologist by the name of
Joe Kramer
inspecting Playa Wetlands just for fun. But approach with caution, he uses corn cobs as a weapon and just may take your eye out.
|
|
|
Abe Lollar is the new biologist working in Kansas to advance DU’s playa wetlands program and other priorities in the state. Abe comes to DU from the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) where he served as a private lands biologist. Abe is from Derby, Kansas and is active in the Garden City Ducks Unlimited chapter. He also won DU’s Wetland Biologist of the Year award at the Kansas State Convention in 2016 for his work with KDWPT in the playa region.
|
|
|
For the next year, Aidan Healy will be working with the Great Plains research team as a GIS intern on a collaborative project. He is a recent graduate from Grinnell College in Iowa where he majored in biology. He is a native of Seattle, Washington, and enjoys studying spatial patterns and the outdoors.
|
|
Michael Furtman Gallery Available
|
Author and photographer Michael Furtman provides amazing waterfowl and habitat related photos for DU employees to use in PowerPoint presentations and other electronic media. He recently updated his gallery and redesigned the website to make it easy to explore categories and find images that fit your purposes. He has also extended permissions for use on social media. These photos are for DU employee use only and you must display the copyright notice in the lower right corner of the image.
|
|
November 18
- Greenwing Legacy and Donor dedication at Neosho Wildlife Area, Kansas, contact
Matt Hough
January 5
– Wyoming State Convention, Thermopolis, Wyoming, contact
Robert Hathaway
January 20
– North Dakota State Convention, Jamestown, North Dakota, contact
Terry Lassiter
January 26
– South Dakota State Convention, Chamberlain, South Dakota, contact
Don Thorpe
February 3
– Colorado State Convention, Loveland, Colorado, contact
Erik Wettersten
February 3
– Montana State Convention, Bozeman, Montana, contact
Barry Allen
February 23
– Kansas State Convention, Kansas City, Kansas, contact
Chris Young
|
|
Ducks Unlimited Great Plains Office
2525 River Road
Bismarck, North Dakota USA 58503
701-355-3500
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
