On September 1, 2006, Ducks Unlimited (DU) acquired 138 acres of wetlands, forest, and agricultural land from a private landowner in Jackson County and donated the property to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) as Michigan’s fourth waterfowl production area (WPA). DU used more than $581,000 from the Grand River Watershed NAWCA grant, Washtenaw Land Trust, and other private sources to purchase the Malan Unit, the first new WPA in Michigan since the early 1980s. DU and the FWS are finalizing plans to restore and enhance 36 acres of wetlands and plant 74 acres of the previously farmed uplands to native warm season nesting grasses.

Once restoration is complete in 2007, the FWS and Michigan Department of Natural Resources will manage this property to provide production habitat for waterfowl, including a variety of wetland types used for brood-rearing and adjacent upland nestingcover. These habitats, along with the hardwood forest, provide habitat for a diversity of other wildlife species, including neotropical migrant songbirds, white-tailed deer, and wild turkey. These habitats also offer many benefits important to society such as water quality protection and areas for outdoor recreation. The restoration work is a cooperative effort between DU, FWS, North American Wetlands Conservation Council, Michigan DNR, and Pheasants Forever.