MAJOR GIFTS
ConocoPhillips Continues Support of the Playa Lakes Joint Venture
Earlier this year, ConocoPhillips generously donated $75,000 to Ducks Unlimited in support of habitat conservation, research, and education activities in the five-state Playa Lakes Joint Venture (PLJV) region of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. ConocoPhillips, formed through the 2002 merger of Conoco and Phillips Petroleum Company, continues its support of Ducks Unlimited and the PLJV, following a tradition established by Phillips Petroleum Company back in 1990. Phillips Petroleum Company, a founding member of the PLJV, has contributed financial resources and served as a member of the management board for each of the last 13 years. To date, ConocoPhillips’ contributions in support of the PLJV exceed $1,237,500, an amount that has been leveraged many times over through matching contributions from the other 13 board member agencies and organizations.
“ConocoPhillips is proud of its long and involved history with Ducks Unlimited and the PLJV,” said Bob Ridge, vice president of Health, Safety and Environment and ConocoPhillips’ representative on the PLJV Board. “We are especially pleased that our contributions have been used so effectively by the PLJV partners for the benefit of people and wildlife in the Playa Lakes region.”
ConocoPhillips is one of only a handful of corporate partners active in joint venture activities in the United States. Jim Mulva, CEO of ConocoPhillips, was also the chairman and CEO of Phillips Petroleum Company in 2001 when Ducks Unlimited presented Phillips with its Diamond Legacy award in recognition of achieving the $1 million mark. ConocoPhillips is an integrated petroleum company with interests around the world. Headquartered in Houston, the company had approximately 56,600 employees and $80 billion of assets as of March 31, 2003.
Dedication at Anahuac, Texas, Celebrates the Oyster Bayou Restoration and Refuge Anniversaries
In 1999, DU and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff recognized the potential for turning a fallow field on the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge into a thriving wetland. Work began in 2000; from that time on, every hurricane and tropical storm that visited the Texas coast brought more and more rain. Last year alone the refuge registered more than 100 inches of rain. Oyster Bayou’s original completion date was forecast for fall 2000, but the actual date was this spring.
This March was truly a time for celebration: The 450-acre project was filled with more than 15,000 ducks, it was the 100th anniversary of the National Wildlife Refuge System, and it was the 40th anniversary of the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. The abundance of wildlife on the Anahuac refuge attracts more than 70,000 visitors annually from all 50 states and 35 countries.
Representing Ducks Unlimited and its partners at the dedication were Dan Syphrett, district manager, Entergy-Gulf States; David L. Nelson, vice president and grant director, Houston Endowment Inc.; William B. Baker, consulting biologist—Environmental Department, Reliant Resources; Walter G. Riedel III, chairman, Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation; Lisa Harris, DU senior vice president and state chair; and Jim Stelly, DU major donor and president, Sabine Chapter.
Dedicated DU Volunteer Bob Ackles Remembered in Nebraska
The Robert D. “Bob” Ackles Marsh in Nebraska’s Rainwater Basin was dedicated on March 15, 2003, in memory of a longtime DU volunteer. Bob Ackles was instrumental in organizing the Hastings area DU chapter more than 30 years ago and spent countless hours as a DU volunteer before he died in 1996. Bob passed his love of DU down to the younger generations of the Ackles family. One of his grandchildren, Jason Ackles, is an active member of the Hastings-area DU chapter and has served as the Hastings-area sponsor chairman for the past three years.
Protecting and restoring wetlands in the Rainwater Basin is critical to DU’s mission. The basin serves as a major spring staging area for millions of waterfowl and other migratory birds on their journey to northern breeding grounds in the Prairie Pothole Region and beyond. Joining forces to make this important project a reality were Hastings area DU major sponsors, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and the Nebraska Environmental Trust.
Ducks Unlimited extends special thanks to the following Hastings major sponsors for their contributions: Jeff S. and Lori A. Anderson; the Tom and Russ Bramble family; Walt and Cindy Bussey; Donald R. Cox; Brian C. Exstrum; Dr. David and Lizabeth Halsted; Dr. Raymond and Deborah Smith; and William A. Williams.
Harold C. and Frances Langford Stuart Pledge Gold Legacy
Acting upon their wish “to do something significant now,” Harold C. and Frances Langford Stuart, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Jensen Beach, Florida, recently pledged to become Ducks Unlimited Gold Legacy Sponsors. The Stuarts have been supporters of Ducks Unlimited for more than four decades. Their gift will be used for a 700-acre enhancement project located in McIntosh and Okmulgee counties in Oklahoma. In honor of their exceptional support of Ducks Unlimited’s conservation mission, this green-tree wetland complex will be named The Harold C. and Frances Langford Stuart Wetlands.
Rich and Joyce Johnson Pledge $1 Million to DU’s Feather Society
DU Benefactors Rich and Joyce Johnson of Richmond, Virginia, chose the DU annual convention held this past May in Salt Lake City to announce their $1 million pledge to the Feather Society. This gift, in the form of a life insurance policy, is another example of their long-term philanthropic support of DU. Rich has been an exemplary volunteer, serving DU in many capacities. He is a member of the DU Canada Board of Directors, a member of the DU Inc. Finance Committee, chairman of the Great Outdoors Festival in Virginia, a member of the Council of State Trustees and National Delegates, and a former member of the DU Inc. Board of Directors. Here Rich and Joyce (second and third from left) accept their Diamond Feather Society pins from John Tomke, DU president (left), and Don Young, DU executive vice president (right) during the convention.
Wetlands for Kids Day Made Possible Again This Year by The Monsanto Fund
A Missouri Department of Conservation staff member explains amphibians to Sarah and Emily Patterson and their mother, Deborah Patterson, president of the Monsanto Fund, at this year’s Wetlands for Kids Day. The Monsanto Fund sponsors this popular day of outdoor activities each April in St. Charles County, Missouri. In addition, the Monsanto Fund recently expanded its generous support of Ducks Unlimited’s science education programs by underwriting the new activity inserts in Puddler magazine, which is sent to all Greenwings 12 and under.