PRESERVING THE CONFLUENCE FLOODPLAIN SINCE 2000 |
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Christopher J. Hyams
President of the Board, GRHA
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For more than two decades, Great Rivers Habitat Alliance has worked with equally dedicated partners in protecting the Confluence and this year has been no different. We have increased our efforts and partnerships in protecting and restoring habitat both in the Confluence, and up the Mississippi River. We continue to meet with politicians and civic leaders to shape policy. We recently launched our new website and now this e-newsletter to help educate the public, inform elected officials, spread our message, and raise support to preserve the Confluence Floodplain.
We can assure you GRHA will continue to provide the political will, influence, and awareness to stem the tide of floodplain development, protect wetlands and waterfowl habitat, and maintain agriculture in the 100-year floodplain. We have been the voice for Confluence landowners and wildlife for 22 years, and we pledge not only to continue the fight but to grow our efforts!
As we increase our efforts, we thank you and ask that you consider increasing your support of our shared goals to preserve our great rivers and the Confluence! Thank you!
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2022 Conservation Updates
In 2022 GRHA increased its partnership with Ducks Unlimited in the Conservation Easement Program by providing landowners financial support during the due diligence process and continuing to promote the overall program. These easements preserve the land in perpetuity, with a goal of eventually assembling enough parcels to effectively create a wall of protection against commercial development in the Confluence.
GRHA is also signing its first agreement outside of the Confluence by partnering with the Wisconsin Big Rivers Initiative. This partnership provides a mechanism for GRHA to partner with Ducks Unlimited, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other non-governmental organizations to work cooperatively with public and private partners to prioritize and deliver projects in a highly efficient manner. The Wisconsin Big Rivers Initiative focuses on the western two-thirds of the state that drains into the Mississippi River, down to the Confluence and eventually to the Gulf of Mexico. The goal of this program is to maintain and improve waterfowl habitat, which in turn will provide flood mitigation, decrease sediment load and water loads in the Mississippi River and enhance public recreation opportunities.
Moving towards 2023, we are continuing our strategy to protect the Confluence through programs such as the Missouri Agriculture Wetlands Initiative (MAWI), which delivers coordinated private land conservation in Missouri. We look to join the MAWI Partnership in 2023-2026 with financial and leadership support. GRHA’s support will be directed at the three-county area of Lincoln, Pike and St. Charles, and our hope is to bring additional awareness and matching dollars to the program, ultimately increasing the number of habitat acres on the ground in the Confluence. It’s been a productive and successful year, and 2023 looks even better.
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On August 31, the eve of the 2022 dove season, harbinger of all fall hunting seasons, GRHA launched a new website that will help detail and promote our critical mission. A special thanks to Jason Thompson and Cedar Hills Media for their assistance and partnership.
The new website provides organizational info and an opportunity to join or make donation gifts online as well as show your support through purchases of GRHA logo products from well-known and reputable manufacturers. GRHA apparel and products look great and show the world your support, and a portion of your purchase helps fund GRHA’s mission.
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In October 2014, GRHA and Ducks Unlimited came together for an inaugural fundraising event and the signing of a partnership agreement. More than 300 people attended, and the event netted over $130,000 for conservation work in the Confluence through GRHA Conservation and policy programs and DU's Big Rivers Initiative. The agreement focuses on a five-year plan for habitat protection and restoration, youth education, and policy efforts impacting the Confluence.
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GRHA is proud to announce we have been selected by the DUCKFEST Board to be a featured nonprofit charity in 2022 and beyond. A portion of the moneys raised at DUCKFEST will stay in the Confluence to support GRHA’s mission to protect the Confluence’s floodplain and waterfowling heritage. This year DUCKFEST was held on Saturday, October 1, at the Smart Airfield. Sponsorships, vendor space, raffle and tickets were available, and the event was another tremendous success.
All proceeds from DUCKFEST 2022 benefit the following local nonprofit organizations:
• Great Rivers Habitat Alliance
• Emmaus Homes
• St. Charles Jaycees Charitable Foundation
• Joshua Chamberlain Society
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2022 GRHA Golf Tournament |
On August 30, 12 foursomes hit the links to support GRHA’s critical mission and experience a fun day at Glen Echo Country Club as we celebrated the last days of summer and prepared for fall. The four-man scramble format and games insured all had a great time. Each team received a goody bag, raffles, prizes for longest drive and closest to the pin. Of course, there was a great raffle that included firearms and support from partners at Top Tier Outdoors, BOSS Shotgun Shells, Dirty Duck Coffee and more.
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2022 Sporting Clays Shoot |
On March 31 GRHA held its first annual Sporting Clays Fun Shoot at the beautiful Strathalbyn Farms. Strathalbyn Farms Club is home to some of the finest outdoor shooting facilities in the St. Louis area and provides the perfect setting for a memorable outing. The event was a sell out with 84 shooters. The attendees were treated to a two-man flurry competition, 100 target clays course, a five gun raffle, attendance prizes, live auction, incredible food and fellowship.
Winner of Class AAA was team GS&S Construction with a score of 343, followed by Team Schwetye and Team Bollmeier. In Class AA team Arco took first with a score of 257 while Team Avac took second and Team Old Blue took third. Keith Blubaugh was crowned Top Gun with a 95/100 and Zach Nannini was runner up with a 92.
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Wetlands Habitat and Management Workshop 2022 |
GRHA hosted a Wetlands Habitat and Management workshop July 18-20. The workshop was part of GRHA’s Public Awareness and Education pillar and provided basic information about the fundamentals of habitat management options and techniques for private waterfowl hunting clubs. A combination of in-class presentations and on-site field tours incorporated and demonstrated the current state-of-understanding about waterfowl and wetland ecology and contemporary hunting strategies in a practical management format.
The workshop focused primarily on moist-soil wetland types but also included landscape considerations for agriculture, forest, shrub-scrub, and emergent habitats, along with perspectives on the opportunity of individual properties in relation to their location, size, and management objectives.
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Meet Great Rivers Habitat Alliance’s
New Executive Director
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In May of 2021 Great Rivers Habitat Alliance announced the hiring of Michael Checkett as its new Executive Director.
"I have admired the work GRHA has done since its inception in 2000 and have a lifelong appreciation of the Confluence and the protections the organization accomplishes. GRHA and its partners have testified at numerous public hearings and submitted written opposition to planned developments, zoning changes, and annexation proposals in the Confluence...
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Donate to the GRHA Mission
and our organization goals!
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Great Rivers Habitat Alliance was founded in 2000 to directly combat the
commercial development of the 100-year Confluence Floodplain through policy,
protection, conservation, public awareness and education. Its vision is a natural floodplain
protected for the benefit of all. For more information on our work, visit www.grha.org.
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Great Rivers Habitat Alliance | GRHA.org
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