The North American Waterfowl Management Plan Gulf Coast Joint Venture has a goal to winter more than 15 million waterfowl. This region is identified in DU's International Conservation Plan as one of our highest conservation priorities. Many of the waterfowl that winter along the Gulf Coast spend more of their annual life-cycle on these verdant wintering grounds than they do on the breeding grounds to the north.

Gulf Coast wetlands impact hunters across the continent, because many of the ducks winging over hunters' blinds each year depend on Gulf Coast wetlands in the winter. For many hunters, it's a lesson much closer to "home" as the Gulf Coast provides impressive numbers of hunters with some of the most successful hunting opportunities anywhere in the country.

To learn more on the importance of migration habitats, click here.