Wetlands for Tomorrow

Delivering Continental Conservation

DU Launches $1.7 Billion Conservation Campaign

On May 27, 2006, at the 69th annual convention, Ducks Unlimited announced a campaign of continental proportions. With Jim Kennedy—chairman and CEO of Cox Enterprises Inc. and president of DU’s Wetlands America Trust—at the helm, Ducks Unlimited unveiled a $1.7 billion plan to save crucial habitats stretching from Canada to Mexico through the Wetlands for Tomorrow campaign.

Over the last 24 months, key volunteers and staff members have gathered commitments from some of the most generous conservation philanthropists in support of Wetlands for Tomorrow. During this initial phase, more than $500 million has been earmarked for conservation priorities within the campaign. Another $1.2 billion will ensure that key areas of the continent are conserved for future generations of waterfowl and people.

Since the campaign is comprehensive as well as continental, the theme for the launch focused on “making a stand.” In his remarks during the convention’s business session, Kennedy encouraged each member of the Ducks Unlimited family to make a stand by making a commitment to the campaign both financially and as a volunteer. Kennedy showcased the successful collaborations with DU partners by inviting key donor representatives to join him on stage.

In its first two years, this campaign has seen a number of philanthropic milestones:

• The Wetlands for Tomorrow goal of $1.7 billion is the largest conservation campaign in history.
  
  
• Ducks Unlimited received its largest foundation gift ever from the Pew Charitable Trusts.
  
  
• DU received its largest individual gift ever from a prominent member of the Wetlands America Trust.
  
  
• DU and MBNA/Bank of America have signed the largest corporate collaborative gift in DU history through the bank’s affinity card program.
  
  
• The largest grassroots fund-raising event in DU history was conducted by the Atlanta Ducks Unlimited Chapter, and raised more than $265,000.

Even with each of these successes, we have much more to accomplish. Over the next four years, Ducks Unlimited—through the nine key initiatives of the Wetlands for Tomorrow campaign—will provide opportunities for each segment of DU’s population to make a stand for wetlands and waterfowl. Hunters and other conservation-minded individuals will be able to find an opportunity that speaks to their passion through Ducks Unlimited.

This is where we make our stand. Will you stand with us?

Save Our Wetlands for Tomorrow through these Nine Initiatives

Ducks Unlimited is the world’s leader in waterfowl and wetlands conservation. Wetlands for Tomorrow is your opportunity to play an integral role in the protection and restoration of millions of acres of critical wetland habitat from Canada to Mexico. 

THE NORTH AMERICAN GRASSLANDS CONSERVATION INITIATIVE
Stretching east across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba in Canada and south into North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana in the United States, the grasslands of North America are notably the world’s best waterfowl breeding habitat. This mix of small shallow ponds surrounded by native grasses is under imminent threat of destruction through plowing and conversion to cropland.  Protecting and restoring the grasslands is paramount to ensuring healthy populations of waterfowl such as mallards, blue-winged teal, and gadwalls and other species including shorebirds, wading birds, and raptors. 

THE WESTERN BOREAL FOREST CONSERVATION INITIATIVE
The boreal forest is water-rich and contains a quarter of the world’s remaining intact forests. Its lakes, streams, and wetlands hold more freshwater than any other place on Earth. Home to 12 to 14 million breeding ducks annually, this unique habitat is also vital to more than 100 million shorebirds, 3 billion land birds, wolves, bears, woodland caribou, and moose. Increasing pressure from resource extraction activities threatens this vast forest and its inhabitants.

THE LOUISIANA COASTAL CONSERVATION INITIATIVE
Louisiana coastal marshlands are critical wintering grounds for at least 20 percent of the nation’s waterfowl. Millions of ducks, geese, and other birds make their way down the Mississippi and Central flyways to spend the winter resting and feeding along the Louisiana coast. These vanishing wetlands also support an important commercial fishery and provide extraordinary outdoor recreation. Since the 1930s, more than 1,900 square miles of this vital marshland have disappeared. Every 30 minutes another football field-sized piece of Louisiana’s coast disappears into the ocean. 

NORTH AMERICA’S THREATENED WETLANDS CONSERVATION INITIATIVE
Wetlands are among the richest and most valuable ecosystems in the world. They are the lifeblood of our continent, maintaining water availability and quality, controlling floods, providing a home to more than 900 wildlife species, and giving people a place to enjoy the outdoors. North America has lost more than half its wetlands, and every year we lose at least 80,000 more acres.  Restoring lost wetlands and protecting those that remain are the only ways to stop this continuing loss.

THE MALLARD CONSERVATION INITIATIVE
The mallard, North America’s most popular duck, is found in 49  states. Throughout the course of their migration, concentrations of this species can be found in and around the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay, Mississippi River watershed, Columbia Basin, and California. If mallard populations are to stay at high levels, a concerted effort must be made to conserve and protect these critical habitats across the continent. Mallards need healthy habitat to breed, rest, migrate, and winter.

THE PINTAIL CONSERVATION INITIATIVE
Nicknamed the “greyhound of the air” for its slender body and long, narrow wings, the pintail was once one of the most abundant ducks in North America. Areas particularly important to pintails include California’s Central Valley, the Klamath Basin, the prairie grasslands, the Gulf Coast, and Mexico. Since the 1950s, biologists have seen a steady decline in pintail populations. Not only are the birds’ wintering grounds in places like California shrinking, but their grassland nesting habitat in the Prairie Pothole Region is slowing disappearing due to cropland conversion.

Ensuring the Future of Ducks Unlimited

Since 1937, Ducks Unlimited has helped restore and protect more than 11.6 million acres of waterfowl habitat across North America.  Now more than ever, it is our responsibility to ensure this commitment to waterfowl and wetland habitat continues to benefit future generations. To accomplish this, the Wetlands for Tomorrow campaign will address three areas focusing on the future of Ducks Unlimited.

• Educating Youth About Wetlands Initiative
  
  Ducks Unlimited strives to educate youth about the importance of wetlands to waterfowl, other wildlife, and people. This increased awareness will be made possible through a variety of programs including a curriculum focused on wetlands and water education, DU’s adopt-a-classroom program called Project Webfoot, and the Greenwing membership program for children 17 and younger.
  
  
• Strategic Conservation Initiative Fund
  
  
Opportunities to save vital habitat from the auction block or development often go unmet due to a lack of funds for quick action. Through the Strategic Conservation Initiative Fund, Ducks Unlimited will build a reserve account that will enable us to take advantage of critical, unanticipated conservation opportunities and to ensure our long-term ability to meet urgent conservation needs. 

• Securing the Future – Endowment Initiative
  
  Gifts to Ducks Unlimited’s endowment provide a sustained, reliable base of income essential to our conservation mission and research needs. Gifts designated to this fund will provide the foundation with a steady stream of interest income to provide crucial program support. Planned and estate gifts through DU’s Feather Society are excellent vehicles for building the endowment.

The challenges that lie ahead for waterfowl and wetlands conservation are daunting, but Ducks Unlimited has never been better prepared or more motivated to meet them. Through Wetlands for Tomorrow, Ducks Unlimited seeks individuals and organizations that share our commitment to conserve and restore crucial North American habitat as well as our passion to leave a conservation legacy for future generations.