FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Contact:
Kelli Alfano,
Public Affairs Coordinator,
Ducks Unlimited
734-623-2000
or kalfano@ducks.org

Ducks Unlimited Deems Delaware Volunteer Jack Dukes,
Conservationist of the Year

Townsend, DE—March 14, 2006 – On March 11, during a Ducks Unlimited annual event in Dover, DE, Ducks Unlimited volunteer, Jack Dukes was honored as Delaware’s Conservationist of the Year. Each year the award is presented by the Ducks Unlimited (DU) Great Lakes/Atlantic Regional Office to recognize and show appreciation for exceptional conservation and fund-raising efforts on the part of a DU Delaware volunteer, chosen by DU conservation staff.

John Woodkeeper Dukes, family man, farmer, trapper and one of Delaware’s leading conservationist. John W. Dukes referred to as “Jack” was born April 4, 1927, in the house in which he now resides. The Dukes Farm, as it is referred to, has been in the family since the 1600’s. Jack is the eighth generation to till the home farm. Jack took over management of the home farm in 1956 upon the sudden death of his father. Jack met his bride Louise “Wezzie” and they were married in 1951. Wezzie and Jack raised two children on the farm, Michelle and Neal. The Dukes became the “Farming Family” of Taylor’s Bridge and their farm was named bicentennial farm in 1987 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Jack is an avid hunter; ducks, geese, deer and doves are his passion. The Delaware River in and around Taylor’s Bridge would have a completely different look if it weren’t for conservationists like Jack Dukes. Jack and a number of influential Delawareans worked very hard to derail Shell Oil’s plan of acquiring farms for the development of a deep-water refinery. Ducks Unlimited became Jacks tool for waterfowl and wetland conservation. He was one of the founding fathers of Delaware Ducks Unlimited Kent County Chapter. Jack also hosts the Delaware Ducks Unlimited fall state meeting. This is regarded as the “highlight” meeting of the year, as Jack serves doves cooked on the grill and

provides the State DU Committee a world class dove hunt. Jack and Wezzie are the most recognized Delaware Ducks members at the Ducks Unlimited National Convention. Since 1972, the Dukes team has missed only two conventions. Everyone knows Wezzie “The Pin Lady”.

DU‘s success is based upon a strong tradition of people who were dedicated to the cause of conservation. Jacks leadership and commitment to the “Ducks” laid the foundation for the success of Delaware DU. Thank you Jack, for DU would not be where we are today without your help. “Ducks Unlimited is honored to present Jack with the first annual Ducks Unlimited Delaware Conservationist of the Year Award and would like to thank him for his devotion to conservation, states Grace Bottitta, Ducks Unlimited’s Manager of Conservation Programs in the Mid Atlantic.

For more information, please contact the Mid Atlantic Field Office at 410/224-6620.

With more than one million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest wetland and waterfowl conservation organization. Since its founding in 1937, DU has conserved nearly 11 million acres of critical wildlife habitat across North America. Wetlands are nature’s most productive ecosystems, but the United States has lost more than half of its original wetlands and continues to lose more than 80,000 wetland acres every year.

xxx