Southern Region E-Newsletter
July 2019
Keep up with DU’s Southern Region.
Connect with us on Facebook (@sroducks), Twitter (@DUSouthernNews), Flickr and Instagram (@ducksunlimitedsouth).
Hello DU Supporter,
A Message From the Regional Leadership Team
A great question doesn’t merely inform, it enlightens. The question of the day for DU is, where do we go from here? 

We completed an historic, 7-year, $2.34 billion comprehensive campaign. Our transformational CEO Dale Hall has retired. Much in the Ducks Unlimited world points to great endings, but what about new beginnings? We have a dynamic, new leader in Adam Putnam. Nick Wiley has assumed the new Chief Operating Officer position. We have a groundbreaking International Conservation Plan (ICP) that unifies all three DU organizations (DU, Ducks Unlimited Canada and Ducks Unlimited de Mexico) and quantifies the benefits of our various programs to waterfowl through the fundamentally economic lens of return on investment (ROI). 

The only true constant in life is change. Threats to waterfowl and their habitats continue to mount. Rates of loss of coastal marshes and mid-continent prairies, ephemeral potholes and southern cypress brakes continue at a terrifying pace. DU must change because the world around us keeps changing. DU is constantly working to adapt itself to the world in ways that allow optimized conservation delivery. That’s why we place a premium on science. We must always stand ready to sharpen our understanding of the complex interactions between waterfowl populations and the world in which we find ourselves. 

The need for what we do is more self-evident than ever. Humanity is exerting immense pressure on the natural world. In one of the great paradoxes of modern existence, as society stresses the planet, we are more and more dependent on the natural world for our well-being. If you are reading this, there is a high likelihood you understand the sublime majesty of wild things and wild places. However, many people do not value the sounds of a marsh at sunrise, yet they benefit daily from our conservation efforts. Ironically, as fewer people are consciously connected to wild things and wild places, more are being directly impacted by the loss of these places. A prime example is the record flooding occurring throughout the Mississippi River Valley. The loss of wetlands across the country has reduced the capacity of this system, which drains 41 percent of the conterminous United States to absorb variable rainfall. 

DU was forged from the simple notion that concerned citizens could raise funds and apply conservation activities to critical landscapes and make a difference for waterfowl on a continental scale. While the threats continue to mount, and change is occurring at a dizzying pace, DU’s central purpose remains timeless. No matter what your role in DU’s mission, you support a noble cause that is bigger than your own self-interest. At its core, continental conservation is playing the long game, working for a better future for succeeding generations in an increasingly hostile and volatile world. 

More change is surely on the way. We will constantly reinvent ourselves to squeeze just one more acre of habitat out of our conservation machine. Though the threats to waterfowl are sometimes overwhelming, DU’s purpose is timeless. Our new leadership will continue to make us better than we’ve ever been. That is what we do and who we are. Science will guide us, our purpose will center us and our efforts to fund and deliver continental conservation will redouble. That is what we expect and demand of ourselves. DU’s question is simple, and the answer is enlightening. We must do more. 

Thank you for being part of the solution.
News From Around the Region
Ronal Roberson/Legacy Greenwing Dedication
Conservation partners, friends and family gathered on June 15, near Indianola, Mississippi to dedicate a project to Ducks Unlimited volunteer and Major Sponsor, Dr. Ronal Roberson. Roberson (pictured left with wife, Patti) takes special interest in introducing youth to waterfowl hunting. He was honored for his leadership with youth and education and his passion for the Legacy Greenwing Program. As Advisory Senior Vice President for Youth and Education on DU's national board, Roberson was instrumental in implementing DU’s scholarship program for varsity members.  Read More
Eagle Lake Enhancement Continues
Ducks Unlimited is working with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) to continue enhancements to Eagle Lake Refuge in Shelby County.  Read More
White River NWR Farm Unit Enhancement Begins
Ducks Unlimited and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are beginning to enhance the 108 acres on the Farm Unit on White River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Arkansas.  Read More
Huey WMA Enhanced
Ducks Unlimited designed and is providing construction management services for wetland improvements at the William S. Huey Wildlife Management Area in Eddy County, New Mexico.  Read More
Rich Johnson Tribute 
Virginia DU hosted a tribute event for Rich and Joyce Johnson in April. More than 100 attendees gathered at the Commonwealth Club in Richmond to celebrate the Johnson’s dedication to conservation and Ducks Unlimited.
“We raised just shy of $100,000 at the event, bringing our total to $1.86 million in pledges, cash and commitments,” said Sr. Director of Development Chip Heaps. Read More
Second NAWCA Grant for Florida
Ducks Unlimited is working to expand the 1.4 million-acre Everglades Headwaters Conservation Area and restore wetlands in the crucial Kissimmee Chain of Lakes watershed .  Read More
Pea Island NWR South Pond Project
Ducks Unlimited recently secured funding in partnership with Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) to enhance 307 acres of managed wetlands on the refuge for waterfowl, wading birds, shorebirds and other wetland-dependent species within the Southern Outer Banks Focus Area.   Read More
Pointe-aux-Chenes WMA Moist-Soil Unit Project
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries & DU partnered to create an intensively managed moist-soil unit on Pointe-aux-Chenes Wildlife Management Area. Pointe-aux-Chenes WMA lies on the front lines of coastal land loss along the Gulf of Mexico. Its coastal marshes protect nearby cities such as Houma. It is also among the most popular Louisiana WMAs, providing a great area for fishing, camping, hunting and wildlife watching. The project is dedicated to Kell McInnis, retired executive director of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation, past LADU state chairman and DU Major Sponsor. Read More
Jefferson County Marsh Restoration
Ducks Unlimited is supporting a project to construct two siphons under the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW). Lack of freshwater inflows to the Salt Bayou Marsh remains a critical impediment to its overall restoration. Construction of the siphons will provide for the necessary inflows of freshwater to this ecologically significant marsh complex.  Read More 
The People of DU
Golden Triangle Chapter
Florida

Named for the triangle formed by three towns, Mt. Dora, Eustis and Tavares, the Golden Triangle chapter put on three events and continues to be one of the state’s top chapters. Read More
Flint Hills Resources Corpus Christi Refinery  

Ducks Unlimited recognized Flint Hills Resources for reaching the $1 million milestone in giving to the organization nationwide. Regionally, Flint Hills Resources, Corpus Christi, Texas, has supported Ducks Unlimited’s Gulf Coast Initiative since 2015 .   Read More
Public Policy
Texas:
Bills proposing a constitutional amendment for state parks funding passed and will be placed on the November ballot. These measures (SB 26 and SJR 24) were almost unanimously supported by the House and Senate and will direct taxes from the sale of sporting goods to support state parks owned and operated by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, one of DU’s strongest partners in waterfowl conservation. Many of the state parks offer public recreational access to water and wetlands. DU is supporting the work of the coalition and will work with grassroots staff and volunteer leadership to keep them informed of this effort.
South Carolina:
The House and Senate agreed to significantly increase funding for the South Carolina Conservation Bank. Last year’s funding for the bank was $9 million, and this year there is $13.05 million in the budget bill. This funding will be used by DU and its conservation partners to secure habitat on private lands and leverage dollars for NAWCA projects in South Carolina.

East Cooper DU Chapter Chair Dr. Mark Hartley and DU fundraising and policy staff are working with Secretary of State Mark Hammond and other partners on legislation that supports DU’s event-based fundraising business and conservation efforts in the state.

South Carolina and North Carolina DU volunteer leadership attended the 3 rd Annual Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Sporting Clay Shoot in Edgefield, SC. DU volunteers, including SC State Chair Brian Ford, and staff discussed policy priorities with members of the General Assembly.
Oklahoma:
SB 703, authored by Senator Casey Murdock (District 27), was defeated in the Senate. The bill would have prohibited Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation from all future land acquisition, reducing public hunting and fishing opportunities and affecting future waterfowl habitat projects in the state. DU volunteers, led by State Chair Richard Godfrey and State Policy Chair Bill Hoffman, communicated to their senators and helped defeat this bill. 
North Carolina:
North Carolina DU State Policy Chair, Clark Purvis, attended the annual Sportsmen’s Day at the Capitol in Raleigh on May 21. While there, he discussed Ducks Unlimited projects in the state and our partnership with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.
Washington, D.C.:
More than 700 guests gathered for the annual Ducks Unlimited Capitol Hill dinner and auction on April 30. More than 70 bipartisan members of congress were in attendance, along with many congressional staff members, partners in agriculture and conservation, members of the Trump Administration, Wetlands America Trustees and Ducks Unlimited volunteers and board members from around the country. Attendees included Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. 
This year marked the 30th anniversary of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) that has conserved nearly 30 million acres of vital wetlands habitat. While in DC, DU conservation and policy staff and staff from ConocoPhillips met with members of the Louisiana Congressional Delegation to discuss our conservation partnership, completed and ongoing wetland projects, and reauthorization and funding for NAWCA.        
Research Update
Quantifying Ecosystem Benefits from DU Projects

We know that Ducks Unlimited’s habitat delivery programs contribute many biological and economic values derived from wetland habitats, but the process to compute and quantify how much they contribute is not as easy as it may seem. Ducks Unlimited science staff are working to develop a system that will allow quantification of the many contributions our wetland conservation efforts provide to waterfowl and people alike.  Read More
Roberson/Legacy Greenwing Dedication
Staff Changes
New Alabama RD
Terry “TJ” Thomas started his new career with DU June 10 as the Regional Director for central and northern Alabama. TJ, a lifelong resident of Madison, Alabama, has served in various volunteer roles for DU, most recently as a district chairman for the Huntsville area. He comes to DU from the Department of Defense (civilian) where he served supporting multiple US Army close combat missile systems. TJ is a graduate of Athens State University in business management. He replaces Stephen Walker, who, after an 11 year career with DU, is leaving to manage his family business. 
Awards
Congratulations to the 2019 Varsity scholarship recipients.

We’re especially proud of these 35 winners from the Southern Region:
Ducks Unlimited National Scholarship ($10,000)
William Anderson, NC (pictured right)

Ducks Unlimited Conservation Scholarship ($1,000)
Crawford Doyle, AL
Irene W. & C.B. Pennington Foundation Conservation Scholarship- Joshua Andrews, AR
Owen Tyrone, AR
Keegan Cardman, FL
Alyssa Creech, NC
Hunter Hodge, NC
Thomas Rose, NC
William Quinlen, TN

Ducks Unlimited Varsity Scholarship ($500)
Riley Knight, AR
Ron & Christen Sanders Varsity Scholarship- Andrew Meyer, GA
Gary & Debbie Salmon Varsity Scholarship- Jerry Mullen, LA
Ronal & Patti Roberson Varsity Scholarship- Ford Lange, MS
Nathan Blanton, NC
Braden Hartis, NC
Nicholas Mitchell, NC
Bob Barnhill Varsity Scholarship- Joseph Parish, NC
Bobby C. Haulbrook Memorial Varsity Scholarship- Molly Edenfield, SC
Donald & Heather Potter III Varsity Scholarship- Zoe Lewis, SC
Samuel Andrews, TN
Wesley Bomar, TN
Sophia Cervetti, TN
Jaye Harris, TN
Wendell Weakley Varsity Scholarship-Clay Durham, TN
Cayson Beal, TX
Thomas Ray Edwards, TX
Theresa E. DeLaup Memorial Varsity Scholarship- Chloe Eubank, TX
Logan Holloway, TX
McKenna Holloway, TX
Tom Johnson Varsity Scholarship- Hale Ingram, TX
Kayley Kraig, TX
Blake Saenger, TX
Jack Avolio, VA
Jack Horsley, VA
Jerry & Bobbi Harris Varsity Scholarship- Logan Weller, VA

Other Regions

See what's going on around the country in the other Ducks Unlimited regions. Check out their e-newsletters.
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