Conservation in Missouri
Missouri is part of the Mississippi Flyway and provides important migration and winter habitat for waterfowl that are produced in the Prairie Pothole Region of Canada and the northern United States. In most years, Missouri winters significant numbers of mallards across the state. Southeastern Missouri comprises an important portion of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, known regionally as the Delta, which provides reliable, high quality waterfowl habitat including bottomland hardwoods, moist-soil wetlands and flooded agricultural fields. DU has worked to conserve over 86,000 acres of waterfowl habitat throughout Missouri including two recent conservation easements along the Mississippi River. Our goal is to perpetually secure habitat and the future of Missouri as a key migration area for migratory waterfowl in North America. Your support of DU will help us achieve that goal.
Missouri Habitat Projects
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Mississippi Alluvial Valley
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Truman Lake Wetlands Restoration Complete
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., May 16, 2006 – Ducks Unlimited (DU) and partners completed restoring 1,008 acres of wetlands and native wet prairie in Henry and St. Clair Counties, Missouri. This restoration project was made possible by a North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) small grant and generous contributions from 13 partners.
“Historically, this region of west-central Missouri contained extensive wetlands associated with the upper Osage River drainage basin,” said DU Lands Specialist George Seek. “This restoration project has reestablished a portion of the lost wetlands and will benefit waterfowl by providing reliable food resources.”
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Missouri Bootheel Partners Program
Assisting Landowners in Managing Waterfowl Habitat
The objective of the Missouri Bootheel Partners Program is to return waterfowl to the breeding grounds physically conditioned for maximum reproductive success. Managing off-season agricultural fields as waterfowl habitat offers good food resources for migrating and wintering birds with direct benefits to landowners.
Landowners hold the key to the future for waterfowl and other wetland-dependent wildlife. More than 70% of the remaining wetlands in North America are privately owned. Technical assistance and financial incentives are available to landowners interested in improving the status of waterfowl and the quality of wetlands on their property. Project sponsors include: Ducks Unlimited, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Missouri Department of Conservation, and Private Landowners.
Accomplishments
The Missouri Bootheel Partners Program was initiated in 1997 to provide wetland managment assistance to private landowners. The program has enhanced almost 25,000 acres of waterfowl habitat to date and has helped fulfill waterfowl habitat objectives on private lands. In 2005, partners further allocated funds to other worthy wetland projects in Missouri. Partner biologists are available to assist landowners with technical assistance for waterfowl habitat on their property.
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