Insights

By Don Young, Executive Vice President

A Season of Promise

One of the most intriguing aspects of waterfowling is that each new season begins full of hope and promise. Here at the outset of the 2005 season, the prospects for waterfowlers are a little brighter than they were last year. In the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR), where 70 percent of North America 's ducks are produced, late-spring rains filled potholes and provided lush nesting cover for breeding ducks. As a result, even though the number of breeding pairs biologists counted earlier in the spring declined for many species, production appears to have been generally good. With the breeding ground survey data in hand, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service selected the liberal hunting-season framework this year.

During trips to the PPR this spring and summer, I witnessed firsthand the dramatic impact spring rains can have on the prairie breeding grounds. Some prairie regions are as wet as I have seen them in a decade. This is great news for the ducks and will likely bode well for breeding efforts next spring, provided there is a good frost seal and adequate winter snows.

But as wet as the northern prairies might have been this summer, they have never been more at risk. Large blocks of grassland are also a vital part of the duck-production equation. But these grasslands are under siege right now as they are being cultivated and converted to row crops. This has the potential to keep the duck factory from ever bouncing back to full production in wet years. Ducks Unlimited is fighting for every acre of prairie waterfowl habitat. On the landscape, we're employing every tool in our arsenal—among them, partnerships with private landowners that include purchases and easements, and the best of research to guide our work. And in both Washington and Ottawa , we're on the front lines to protect and expand public policy initiatives and programs that are important to waterfowl and wetlands.

In August, Congress approved $40 million in appropriations for the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA)—an increase of $2 million over previous funding levels. NAWCA funding provides an immediate match for the dollars DU volunteers raise at DU events across the country—the same dollars you contribute every time you buy an auction item or raffle ticket. With this wonderful matching-dollar opportunity, we hope you will give generously because your dollar becomes two—and I guarantee we'll deploy those dollars to protect more habitat for the ducks.

Also this summer, Ducks Unlimited testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee on behalf of the most significant of this country's wildlife groups regarding the benefits of the Conservation Reserve Program to waterfowl and other wildlife. The future of CRP on the principal breeding grounds for waterfowl is in jeopardy, and we want to ensure that Congress is aware of this. In the months ahead, DU will be working with a broad array of interested parties to reauthorize the crucial conservation components in the 2007 Farm Bill.

DU also testified on the importance of keeping the Federal Duck Stamp program focused on maximizing habitat conservation for waterfowl and of making duck stamps more accessible to waterfowl hunters.

This fall, as you enjoy the fruits of our collective conservation efforts, please know that DU is working harder than ever to safeguard the waterfowl resources and hunting traditions that are such a meaningful part of your life. But we will not win this battle for habitat without the support of every duck and goose hunter across the continent. The need for your help has never been greater.

In the coming weeks, most of us will begin an exciting new waterfowl season. What makes waterfowling so fascinating and challenging is that each season is unique and extraordinary in its own way. But each is also part of a continuum that includes the seasons of our fathers and their fathers before them. For me, adding another chapter to that timeless story—carrying on the tradition and sharing it with my sons, no matter what the season brings—is a privilege I deeply cherish.

Here's wishing each of you a truly memorable season filled with cupped-up mallards, elegant pintails, Canadas low over the decoys, sharp cold fronts, good dog work, and enduring friendships.