By Dave Workman
Senior Editor
Ducks Unlimited, Inc., (DU) has a new president and has launched a new wetlands conservation effort with a goal of raising $2 billion to conserve waterfowl habitat, dubbed “Rescue Our Wetlands: Banding Together for Waterfowl.”
The organization named Paul Bonderson, Jr., to the helm during its national convention in Milwaukee in late May. Bonderson is the 43rd president of Ducks Unlimited, succeeding George Dunklin, Jr.
During his acceptance speech, Bonderson jumped on the ambitious conservation effort, noting, “The success of this campaign will in great measure shape not only our organization, but the future of wetlands conservation for many years to come. Rescue Our Wetlands is a continental wetlands and waterfowl conservation effort and comprehensive in nature – meaning everyone at every level within Ducks Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited Canada and Ducks Unlimited de Mexico has a role to play.”
The new big money effort will include Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Ducks Unlimited Canada, Ducks Unlimited de Mexico and Wetlands America Trust, according to a press release. It’s already off to a good start, as DU has reported that the campaign has raised $1.1 billion.
“This is the largest wetlands and waterfowl conservation campaign in history,” Bonderson said, “and we are confident our volunteers and supporters will help us achieve our $2 billion campaign goal.”
According to DU, the Rescue Our Wetlands effort has five components, including the Breeding Landscapes effort, Wintering and Migration Landscapes component, Conservation Legacy, Conservation Education and Waterfowl Forever.
The goal is to improve and restore habitat, educate the public about the importance of wetlands, protect breeding habitat, and grow DUs endowment to sustain conservation efforts for future generations. DU has been working for nearly eight decades to protect and enhance waterfowl habitat.
According to Steve Maritz, president of the Wetlands America Trust, DU spends “at least 80 percent of every dollar on habitat conservation and conservation education.”
Another bright spot in waterfowl enhancement was announced during the DU gathering by Tom Vilsack, secretary of Agriculture. An additional 800,000 acres is going to be eligible for enrollment in the successful conservation reserve program. This program has taken agriculture lands and restored them to habitat.
Since 1985, when the CRP program was launched under the Reagan administration, sensitive grasslands have been protected. From 2006 through 2011, more than 1.3 million acres of grassland were converted to croplands across the upper Great Plains, DU reported in a press release.
This reserve program is not only beneficial to waterfowl, but to other wildlife.
Under CRP, farmers have been paid to “retire” marginal croplands for 10 to 15 years. It has resulted in restoration of upland and waterfowl cover, and marked improvements in nesting success, according to DU.
