DU Canada
By Melodie Richard
Defining the Flyways--DU Canada's conservation programs are tailored to the habitat needs of waterfowl in each flyway
The majority of North America's waterfowl follow four north-south lanes known as flyways. Because most waterfowl breed, migrate, and winter within the same flyway, Ducks Unlimited Canada is structured to deliver conservation programs within these four distinct regions.
In Canada, the Pacific Flyway region encompasses the western provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. Across the prairie pothole country of southern Alberta, where a vast irrigation network has been constructed across 10 million acres of native prairie, DU Canada is working to conserve wetlands and surrounding uplands in cooperation with landowners and many government partners.
In the north, DU Canada's new Western Boreal Forest Initiative is working to protect this pristine, yet seriously threatened region that supports from 12 million to 14 million breeding ducks and many more molting and migrating waterfowl.
With DU Canada's national headquarters located in Manitoba, and Saskatchewan being the largest producer of ducks on the continent, the Central Flyway region is truly duck central. Habitat, naturally, sits at the forefront. Nearly 2 million acres-over half of all land secured by DU Canada-is located here.
The long-standing Prairie CARE (Conservation of Agriculture, Resources, and the Environment) program, which provides technical and financial assistance to landowners to conserve soil and water, continues to be the largest and most successful effort in the region.
DU Canada's Mississippi Flyway region spans much of the province of Ontario, an important region to both breeding and staging waterfowl. An international program, the Great Lakes Initiative, is being developed in partnership with DU, Inc. Several habitat projects in the region have received international recognition, including work on the Lake St. Clair National Wildlife Area and at Matchedash Bay.
Solving the Migration Mystery
The flyways concept has been the cornerstone of waterfowl management for more than 50 years. The recovery of several million banded waterfowl throughout the Western Hemisphere has enabled biologists to piece together the routes waterfowl follow during migration.
Band recoveries have affirmed the importance of the Prairie Pothole Region as North America's duck factory. Waterfowl banded on DU projects on the prairies have been recovered in nearly every U.S. state and province of Mexico. |
The eastern provinces of Quebec, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island make up DU Canada's Atlantic Flyway region. As Canada's first region of settlement, this area has suffered severe losses of coastal marshes and the majority of wetlands on agricultural landscapes have been altered or are under threat. DU is leading cooperative efforts to restore and protect wetlands in this region.
Clearly, DU Canada's conservation programs have never been stronger. Through this biologically based flyways approach structured around the migration habits of the birds, DU Canada is able to efficiently conserve habitat in the areas that waterfowl and other wildlife need the most.
