Major Gifts and Gift Planning
Tuscany Research Institute Pledges $1 Million to Launch The Pintail Initiative: A Race Against Time
Anthony A. Marnell II, chairman, recently announced Tuscany Research Institute’s leadership gift of $1 million to launch The Pintail Initiative: A Race Against Time, DU’s five-year, $93 million international effort to restore pintails to North American skies. Tuscany Research Institute funded an earlier $1 million cutting-edge study that documented pintail migration patterns in the Pacific Flyway and serves as the foundation for this initiative.
During the 1990s, most North American waterfowl populations underwent dramatic recoveries and in most cases achieved historic high levels. Much of this was a result of the easing of the drought conditions on the breeding grounds. A notable exception to these amazing reversals was the pintail, whose numbers declined from 10.4 million in the mid-1950s to only 1.8 million in the spring of 2002.
To reverse this decline, Ducks Unlimited and its partners will work on 29 million acres of habitat critical to the pintail’s life cycle. Because few waterfowl species are as nomadic as the pintail, this habitat ranges across the North American continent from the breeding grounds in the Missouri Coteau and the western boreal forest to the key migration areas of the Klamath Basin in southern Oregon and the Rainwater Basin in Nebraska, to major wintering areas in California’s Central Valley and coastal Texas and Louisiana.
Past DU President Stirling Adams Honored
Sixty members and friends gathered together on April 5, 2003, to honor former DU president Stirling Adams and his wife, Rose, at a dinner in Vero Beach, Florida. The dinner, hosted by Tom Lockwood and honorary chairmen Hazard and Gina Campbell, raised funds for the Atocas Bay Project in eastern Canada. In 1935, Stirling Adams joined the More Game Birds for America Foundation, the predecessor of Ducks Unlimited. When DU was incorporated in 1937, Adams was there helping Arthur Barkley, the first executive vice president, and other founding members with fundraising. He served as dinner chairman of the New York State chapter for many years, became a national trustee in 1956, and served as president of DU from 1961-62. Three former DU presidents and the current DU president attended the dinner.
Pecatonica Wetland Restoration Dedicated in Illinois
On June 13, 2003, more than 75 people attended the dedication of the Pecatonica Wetland Restoration Project at the Pecatonica Wetland Forest Preserve in Winnebago County, Illinois, 15 miles west of Rockford. Working together since 1999, Ducks Unlimited and the Winnebago County Forest Preserve District restored approximately 123 acres of wetlands and 170 acres of native prairie. This important habitat plays host to nesting mallards, wood ducks, and Canada geese, as well as migrating canvasbacks and redheads.
This project was made possible by The Bruning Foundation, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources C-2000 Program, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the following DU Major Donors: Brian Anderson, Mario and Mary Bortoli, Ray and Joanie Brandt, Mike Brown, Jack and Kathy Carroll, William E. Dean, Eugene Engrav, Mike Flaningam, Gaffney Bolt Company, Mayo “Hook” Larson, Quality Metal Finishing Company, John Taylor, Dr. Mark Shiels, and the Robert H. Torstenson Charitable Trust.
John T. O’Brien Marsh Dedicated on September 6, 2003
More than 80 people honored longtime volunteer John T. O’Brien at the dedication of the John T. O’Brien Marsh at the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge in Basom, New York. Among those were DU Major Donors: (left to right) Mary Louise and Edgar Hollwedel; Betty O’Brien, John’s wife; John T. O’Brien; Lyle and Gail Johnson; Sherry Mosher; Hazard Campbell, Major Donor and representative of The Seymour H. Knox Foundation; Roger Mosher; and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Refuge Manager for the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Bob Lemoy.
Harley Hansen Recognized as Exemplary DU Volunteer
For the last 25 years, Harley Hansen has dedicated countless hours to Ducks Unlimited. In gratitude for this service, more than 60 friends, family, and fellow DU volunteers gathered on April 5, 2003, to pay tribute to Hansen in his hometown of Yakima, Washington.
From 1978 to 2000, Hansen served as an area chairman, zone chairman, district chairman, Washington state chairman, national trustee, member of the Conservation Programs Public Policy Subcommittee, and regional vice president for the Northwest Pacific Flyway. In May 2000, he was elected senior vice president of DU Corporate Relations. He is currently chairman of the Corporate Relations Committee and serves on the DU Management Committee. In addition, he has been a Major Donor for 21 years.
The 160-acre Scandia Ranch Project, located 20 miles southeast of Brooks, Alberta, will be dedicated in Hansen’s honor. This project is an oasis for all wildlife in the area and provides greatly needed breeding habitat for migratory waterfowl.
Playing an important role in the success of this tribute dinner were DU’s corporate partners that have worked with Hansen: MBNA America Bank, N.A.; Barton-Cotton; Cabela’s; Marshall’s Outdoor Products; and Primos Hunting Calls.
Ducks Unlimited Pays Tribute to David Kennedy for His 20 Years of Service
Friends, family, and DU volunteers met in Springfield, Illinois, on April 12, 2003, to honor David Kennedy, former Ducks Unlimited director of field operations.
Kennedy’s career in conservation began with the Indiana Department of Conservation, where he managed the Pigeon River Wildlife Area. From there, he moved to the Illinois Department of Conservation’s Division of Natural Resources, and finally to Ducks Unlimited. After 20 years with DU as a regional director for Illinois and Indiana, and group manager of field operations, Kennedy retired on August 31, 1996.
The Ganske Brothers Project, located one mile north of the Canada/USA border, southeast of Brandon, Manitoba, will be dedicated in honor of Kennedy’s service. Mallards, blue-winged teal, northern pintails, gadwalls, wigeon, and Canada geese thrive on this wetland and upland area.
Ducks Unlimited extends a special thanks to Jack Walker, event co-chairman; Dave Grohne, event co-chairman and Major Donor; Bob Burton, event treasurer and Major Donor; and Hylee Kemp, event Major Donor, who helped DU honor a true friend to waterfowl.