Keep up with DU’s Southern Region.

Connect with us on Facebook (@sroducks), Twitter (@DUSouthernNews), Flickr and Instagram (@ducksunlimitedsouth).

Hello DU Supporter,

 C hallenges including COVID-19, social distancing, swings in the stock market, oil price wars, another year of epic flooding, and a presidential election cycle seem to be everywhere we look. Fear and uncertainty seem to underlie most of these things. We worry for our physical and financial well-being every day, and these stressors can have serious impacts to our health and our quality of life. Yet there are two facets of existence that we should truly concern ourselves with because our very survival depends upon them – the health of the earth and the health of our bodies. Believe it or not, Ducks Unlim ited’s mission fuels both of these priorities. Ducks are a proxy for a healthy environment which is imperative for healthy bodies, and DU’s mission gives us all a purpose greater than self to serve. In this way DU works for a better world, and happier and healthier denizens upon it. 

It is spring in the South. It is a wonderful time with blooming redbuds and dogwoods and gobbling turkeys. It is a time of rebirth and renewal where the cycle of life begins again. The resource that is North American waterfowl are making their way back to the prairies of the US and Canada to nest and bring forth a new generation. As habitat across the continent continues to dwindle, they are increasingly dependent upon DU’s work to meet the demands of population level success. In turn, DU is utterly reliant upon each of us to simply do our work. In doing so, we shall find more than one type of reward. 

DU is like an airplane. We have lift only when we are moving forward. The secret to DU’s success is to keep doing the work. We are built on action, gaining our accolades by what happens on the landscapes important to waterfowl. We can make a better planet with healthier and happier people, but to do that we must do the work. 

Now is the time we build upon the solid foundation laid for us by previous generations of conservationists and lay the base for our coming successes. We donate time and treasure, we vote our conservation conscience, and we relentlessly ask others to join us. We do this because we’ve discovered a secret: it is far more fulfilling to give than to take. In these times of uncertainty, we have found our answer to peace of mind – do the work, serve the mission, and save the wild things and wild places we all depend upon.

Go outside. Enjoy all the splendor and wonder that nature holds. Wash your hands. This too shall pass.

Thanks for all you do for the mission.

DU recently met with New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) regarding potential restoration efforts at Tucumcari Lake. The project is in its infancy, and DU is working with NMDGF and others to develop a scope of work for completing a topographical survey and beginning some restoration concept planning. In Oklahoma, efforts are continuing on the Environmental Assessment that will lead to wetland restoration at Drummond Flats WMA.   

The People of DU

DU volunteers, staff and partners meet with members of Congress

February 2020 saw more than 75 members of team DU, including state chairs, state policy chairs, senior volunteers and members of the Ducks Unlimited Board of Directors gathered in our nation’s capital to meet with members of Congress and advocate for legislation to protect and restore wetlands and migratory bird habitat. Read More

Investigating Mallard Winter Body Mass in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley of Arkansas

The Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV) is the most significant mallard wintering area within the Mississippi flyway, where populations have historically averaged around 1.6 million.  This landscape supports waterfowl populations with forested wetlands and managed waterfowl-habitat complexes, which include naturally flooded and managed habitats on publicly and privately-owned lands. Specific waterfowl habitat types include flooded bottomland hardwood forest, moist-soil wetland impoundments, green-tree reservoirs, and flooded agricultural fields which all provide the food resources necessary to sustain wintering waterfowl and ultimately influence body condition. Since body condition during winter may affect survival, productivity, and ultimately population size, it is important that managers have a good understanding of the factors affecting body mass and therefore condition. 

Ducks Unlimited, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC), USGS Arkansas Fish & Wildlife Cooperative Research Unit and the University of Arkansas are currently supporting a research study to determine how body mass and body condition of overwintering mallards in the LMAV of Arkansas vary across time, land management strategies, and by other intrinsic and extrinsic factors. This study, led by Master of Science candidate John Veon, and advisors Dr. Brett DeGregorio and Dr. David Krementz, will sample waterfowl body mass of harvested ducks at duck hunting clubs, gamebird cleaning businesses, and public hunting areas in Arkansas. The primary objective is to explore correlations in duck body mass to habitat management performed for waterfowl in the vicinity of their harvest site to better evaluate the management actions of AGFC and other land management agencies. This study will combine novel data from Arkansas duck seasons 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 with historical data collected from 1979 to the early 2000s to explore variation in body mass and body condition index based on intrinsic (age, sex) and extrinsic (rain, temperature) factors. During the winter of 2019-20, body measurements were taken on 1,140 mallards across the Arkansas LMAV. As landscapes and climate are changing over time, waterfowl and their use of habitats are likely a good indicator of how these changes are affecting food resources. Examining waterfowl body condition over four decades will allow us to better understand how modifications to landscapes and specific habitats, as well as a changing climate are impacting the fitness of mallards in the LMAV.

Ducks Unlimited and our many conservation partners especially the AGFC have tirelessly worked together to deliver wetland habitat in Arkansas and across the continent. While putting habitat on the landscape is the most recognized facet of waterfowl management, it is also critical to recognize that rigorous waterfowl and habitat research provides the information necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation programs and inform management decisions. Ducks Unlimited prides itself in being science-based.  Our investment in research collaborations with various universities and agencies not only provides information that improves our conservation programs and policies, but also develops future waterfowl managers and conservationists. 

 

Photo Albums from the Southern Region

Latest Addition to the DU Family



Congratulations to The McVay Family on the arrival of their first duckling! Michael and his wife Caroline welcomed their first child in March. Please join us in welcoming baby Doss to the nest!

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