Ducks Unlimited's Annual Report 2001
By Matt Young, Senior Writer
For the year ending February 29, 2001
By virtually any measure, the past fiscal year was the most successful in the history of Ducks Unlimited. The organization not only raised a record $175 million for conservation, but it also achieved a record membership of 757,000 men and women nationwide. Thanks to this growth in support, DU was able to protect, restore, and enhance 515,000 acres of wildlife habitat throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico-another new record. This remarkable achievement brings DU's cumulative habitat conservation total to nearly 10 million acres across the continent.
The past year marked another milestone for DU: the conclusion of Habitat 2000: Campaign for a Continent, the most ambitious conservation campaign in DU history. Through this effort, DU's dedicated members, volunteers, and staff raised more than $900 million for conservation-more than $300 million above the goal. This record-breaking level of support has enabled DU to exceed its most important objective of putting more habitat on the ground for the benefit of waterfowl, other wildlife, and people.
For more than six decades, DU has remained steadfastly committed to its mission of restoring the habitats of North America's waterfowl. By staying true to this singleness of purpose, DU has become the largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization in the world. But, just as DU has grown and flourished through the years, so have the challenges facing the continent's wildlife habitat. The U.S. alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands, and, each year, continues to lose more than 109,000 acres of the vegetated wetlands most important to wildlife.
During the past year, DU continued to make great strides in the conservation of wetlands and wildlife habitats delivered by its regional offices located in major waterfowl habitat areas across the U.S. DU's Western Regional Office serves 10 states in the Pacific Flyway, ensuring that the region's waterfowl have sufficient habitat throughout their migratory journey. During the past fiscal year, DU protected 630 acres and restored or enhanced 95,637 acres in the region. Technical assistance was provided to private landowners on an additional 245,484 acres.
Evidence of DU's work can be found throughout the West, from breeding grounds in Alaska to the heart of the flyway's wintering grounds in the legendary Central Valley of California, an area that has lost 96 percent of its original wetlands. DU's conservation programs are in a race against time in the Pacific Flyway, where habitats are challenged daily by a lack of water in some places, and rapidly expanding human population in others. In response to these threats, large conservation initiatives are under way in the Central Valley and coastal bay areas of California, the Pacific Northwest, and the Intermountain West's Great Basin states. In addition, DU is continuing its large landcover habitat inventory program in the state of Alaska. In Hawaii, important efforts are underway to restore habitat for six endangered waterbird species that depend upon wetlands in our 50th state.
The Great Plains of the north central U.S. represent some of the most important waterfowl habitat in North America. In the heart of the Great Plains is the Prairie Pothole Region, where a significant percentage of the continent's ducks get their start. These lush prairies dotted with pothole wetlands once formed one of the largest grassland ecosystems in the world. Today, however, the U.S. has lost more than three-fourths of its original grasslands.
Recent DU research conducted in the Great Plains has proven that when it comes to waterfowl production, the more grassland cover, the better. In light of these findings, and, in addition to ongoing restoration efforts, DU is focusing on protecting native grasslands from cultivation. Where large tracts of native grasslands remain intact, DU works with landowners and other partners to restore wetlands and protect existing habitat through conservation easements. DU also protects critical prairie habitats by directly acquiring properties crucial to waterfowl and other wildlife. Toward this end, DU's Great Plains Regional Office protected 30,655 acres and restored or enhanced 76,020 acres during the past fiscal year. Technical assistance was provided to private landowners on an additional 77,952 acres.
DU's Southern Regional Office (SRO) operates within the lower third of the Mississippi, Central, and Atlantic flyways, encompassing the largest expanse of waterfowl wintering habitat in North America. This area supports more than two-thirds of the continent's wintering waterfowl and provides critical breeding, migrating, and wintering habitat for countless shorebirds, songbirds, marine and freshwater fish, and many other wildlife species. During the past fiscal year, the SRO protected 65,354 acres and restored or enhanced 93,323 acres. Technical assistance was provided to private landowners on an additional 455,278 acres.
Working with many public and private sector partners, DU conserves a wide variety of this region's wetland and wildlife habitats. For example, the Restoring the Delta initiative focuses on the restoration of critical bottomland hardwoods and other forested wetlands throughout the Lower Mississippi River Valley, while the new Texas CARE program is dedicated to conserving the great diversity of wetlands that support waterfowl in the Lone Star state.
Located amid the most densely populated area of the U.S., DU's Great Lakes/Atlantic Regional Office (GLARO) conserves critical wetlands and waterfowl habitats within several vast watersheds of critical importance to breeding, migrating, and wintering waterfowl in the Atlantic and Mississippi flyways. During the past fiscal year, GLARO protected 2,933 acres and restored or enahanced 31,447 acres. Technical assistance was provided to private landowners on an additional 13,865 acres.
Critical support for these regional conservation efforts was provided by the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, which committed $750,000 to help DU implement conservation strategies utilizing state-of-the-art geographic information systems technology, which will allow DU to track the status of the region's wetlands. The project will also target habitat restoration efforts, provide research information to maximize the effectiveness of these efforts, and provide assistance to communities in planning habitat-friendly municipal growth. In addition, the Growing Greener Program, a conservation directive in Pennsylvania, has earmarked $1.15 million for DU habitat conservation work, allowing DU to expand its restoration efforts on private lands in the state.