Ducks Unlimited Turns 70
In 2007, Ducks Unlimited celebrates seven decades of conserving North America’s wetlands and waterfowl
By Bill Nichol
This is a big year for DU. On top of its usual conservation work, field research, and fund-raising events, Ducks Unlimited commemorates its 70th anniversary in 2007. For DU and its supporters—especially its incredibly dedicated and hardworking volunteers—reaching this milestone is a source of pride and cause for celebration. This is especially true considering that war, recession, and periods of continental drought did not always make the road to 70 a smooth one. Yet, through good times and bad, Ducks Unlimited has endured and remains focused on a single mission: to conserve North America’s waterfowl populations and the habitats they depend on.
In addition to being long-lived, this mission has become widespread. During the past seven decades, DU has expanded its conservation work from Canada into the United States and Mexico and grown its membership to a current total of 800,000 throughout North America. As member numbers have increased over the years so have the number of acres conserved. On the eve of 2007, DU has conserved, enhanced, or restored more than 11.6 million acres of critical waterfowl habitat in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
In light of these long-term successes, this 70th anniversary is an appropriate occasion to recognize DU’s people and partners and recount the organization’s history and benchmark achievements.
The Birth of Ducks Unlimited
At the time of Ducks Unlimited’s founding, North America’s wate
rfowl were in desperate need of help. In the 1930s, several years of inadequate rainfall parched the potholes of the Great Plains states and Prairie Canada. Such an extended drought reduced these key breeding habitats to dusty basins and depressed duck and goose populations to new lows.
During the same period, printing magnate and avid waterfowler Joseph P. Knapp started the More Game Birds in America Foundation. This organization sought to conserve struggling game bird populations by using science-based game management. In 1935, the foundation initiated the International Wild Duck Census. The first of its kind, the 1935 census was an extensive survey of waterfowl breeding grounds in Canada and the United States. The survey yielded information about the status of waterfowl populations and what geographic areas were most critical for the birds’ survival.
Based on this research, the foundation determined that the majority of North America’s waterfowl are produced in Canada. Foundation members then announced their plans to conserve waterfowl and waterfowl habitat: “There is no escaping the logical conclusion that unless prompt action is taken to preserve Canadian breeding grounds the future of wildfowling in the United States hangs in precarious balance. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, the foundation during the past year has begun work on development of a plan for preservation and restoration of Canadian breeding grounds. Ducks Unlimited will be the name of the new foundation.”
Ducks Unlimited was incorporated in Washington, D.C., on January 29, 1937, and More Game Birds founders John A. Hartwell and Arthur M. Bartley became its first president and executive officer, respectively.
Despite its fledgling status, DU soon began significant conservation work. In the spring of 1938, DU engineers broke ground on the first DU habitat project. Using horses, mules, and steam engines, the engineers worked late into the fall to construct two gated dams to impound and regulate water on Big Grass Marsh near Winnipeg, Manitoba. That year DU also completed five other projects on Canadian breeding grounds that encompassed more than 150,000 acres.
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DU Takes Flight: 1940s through 1970s
The momentum DU gained during its early years was jeopardized when Canada, and later the United States, entered World War II. Yet, despite wartime shortages on manpower, machinery, and materials, DU Canada completed 103 projects by 1943, conserving more than 1 million acres of wetlands and nesting habitat.
The end of the war ushered in an extended era of prosperity and growth for the United States, Ducks Unlimited, and waterfowl. In 1948, the prairies had the wettest spring in 50 years. This rejuvenation was the beginning of a decade-long trend of wet weather that propelled waterfowl populations to levels not seen since the 1920s. With this duck population boom came a heightened interest in waterfowling and conservation. This new interest became clear in 1956 when the sale of federal duck stamps reached an all-time high of 2,369,940 and when DU for the first time raised more than $500,000 in one year.
The 1960s and 1970s were a time of transition and growth at DU. In 1965, DU relocated its national headquarters from New York City to Chicago, and Dale E. Whitesell began his 18-year tenure as Ducks Unlimited’s executive vice president. The same year, DU also held its first membership banquets. In 1974, DU established Ducks Unlimited de Mexico in the interest of conserving important wintering habitat for a variety of waterfowl.
DU’s grassroots events system experienced exponential growth during the 1970s. At the beginning of the decade, DU had 50,000 members. By 1979, DU membership had reached 250,000—representing a fivefold increase in a span of 10 years. Such phenomenal growth would not have been possible without the hard work of DU’s dedicated volunteers, who remain the backbone of the organization’s leadership and fund-raising efforts.
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Expanding Conservation: 1980s to the Present
During the 1980s, drought once again depressed waterfowl populations to historic lows. In response to this recurring threat, Ducks Unlimited joined a consortium of private organizations and government agencies to draft the North American Waterfowl Management Plan in 1986.
The plan calls for the partners to pool resources in order to restore waterfowl numbers to the benchmark levels of the 1970s. Another positive development for waterfowl was the introduction 
of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in the 1986 Farm Bill. CRP—which provides financial incentives to farmers to retire marginal cropland for 10 or more years—has proved to be one of the most beneficial federal programs in history.
Amid this policy work, DU founded its first regional office in Bismarck, North Dakota, in 1984. Three years later, DU’s board members selected Matthew B. Connolly Jr. to succeed Dale Whitesell as executive vice president. During this period, DU’s growing impact on regional and national conservation programs led to the establishment of the Western Regional Office in Sacramento, California, in 1987 and a Government Affairs Office in Washington, D.C., in 1989.
DU ended the decade with a pair of major accomplishments. First, the organization’s cumulative fund-raising surpassed the $500 million mark. On a broader note, DU helped pass the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) through Congress. To date, NAWCA has supplied federal matching grants for nearly 1,600 projects on wetlands and associated uplands throughout North America.
During the 1990s, DU and the ducks climbed to new heights. This progress started in 1990 with the establishment of the Southern Regional Office in Jackson, Mississippi, and continued two years later when DU relocated its national headquarters to Memphis. In 1991, DU introduced a new way to secure waterfowl habitats through its conservation easement program. The program allows landowners to maintain ownership of their property while placing its habitat under permanent protection from development. This innovation was followed in 1994 by the announcement of DU’s first Intercontinental Conservation Plan. Based on scientific research and sound policy, the plan broadened and integrated local and regional conservation goals into a more comprehensive vision for the whole continent.
Beginning in 1995, duck numbers made substantial leaps, peaking in the fall of 1999 when an estimated 105 million ducks migrated south. DU was also on the move in the late 1990s. During these years, DU’s Great Lakes/Atlantic Regional Office was established in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the Habitat 2000 campaign strived to reach new levels in cumulative dollars raised, members recruited, and acres conserved. At the end of the decade, Matt Connolly retired and was succeeded by current Executive Vice President D.A. (Don) Young.
DU entered the new millennium on several high notes. In 2001, the Habitat 2000 campaign exceeded each of its goals by surpassing $900 million in funds raised, reaching 757,000 in membership, and conserving more than 9.6 million total acres. Only a year later, Ducks Unlimited conserved its 10 millionth acre.
After passing this milestone, DU confronted the damage Hurricanes Katrina and Rita inflicted on Gulf Coast wetlands in 2005. In response to this unprecedented disaster, Ducks Unlimited pledged $15 million to wetlands restoration efforts in Louisiana.
Most recently, DU launched the Wetlands For Tomorrow campaign in May 2006. This comprehensive campaign seeks to raise $1.7 billion over seven years and focuses on strategic initiatives to save today’s most vulnerable and valuable waterfowl habitats.
In spirit, these goals hark back to those established by Joseph Knapp and his DU cofounders more than 70 years ago. DU Chief Biologist Dr. Bruce Batt agrees, explaining that DU’s perspective, not its mission, has changed over the years. “When DU started out, we were essentially an engineering organization,” Batt says. “We were very localized and focused on wetlands alone. Today, science and research have guided us to take a more comprehensive approach to waterfowl conservation that focuses on whole landscapes. The new approach includes working with farmers on agricultural practices and with lawmakers on forming public policies.”
This combination of tradition and innovation makes DU’s 70th anniversary a good time to look forward as well as back. “Ducks Unlimited’s history is something all DU supporters can take pride in,” notes DU Executive Vice President Don Young. “DU people should not only draw strength and inspiration from our 70 years of extraordinary conservation work, but also stay committed to take on the conservation challenges of today and tomorrow.”
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