FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kelli Alfano,
Public Affairs Coordinator,
Ducks Unlimited
734-623-2000
or kalfano@ducks.org
Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife Takes the Gold
Ducks Unlimited Presents the Award in Appreciation
Dover, Delaware—March 24, 2006 – During the 71st North American Wildlife and Natural Resource Conference in Columbus Ohio, Ducks Unlimited presented the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife with the Gold State Grant Award for surpassing the $1 million contribution level toward waterfowl habitat in Canada. Pat Emory, director of the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife, accepted the award for the agency.
Each year, Ducks Unlimited takes the opportunity to recognize state agency partners who reach significant milestones in their contributions to conserve critical waterfowl breeding habitat in important landscapes in Canada. These states’ contributions are first matched by Ducks Unlimited, then matched again with North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) funds. They are finally put on the ground, together with Canadian funds, ultimately leveraging the state dollars to a more than 6:1 ratio - a great deal for everyone, especially for the ducks and other wildlife that benefit from these conservation projects! Through this program, states provide the fiscal foundation for the long-term partnerships that are working together to conserve and restore the breeding habitats that produce the waterfowl that migrate through or winter in the states.
“Thanks to partners like the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife, Ducks Unlimited has conserved thousands of acres of waterfowl habitat in the breeding grounds of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. These projects produce waterfowl and other
wildlife that migrate to and through Delaware during spring and fall migration. Delaware's consistent partnership has helped fulfill the objectives of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan in a big way, and we are very grateful to them,” said Bob Hoffman, director of the Great Lakes/Atlantic Regional Office in Ann Arbor, Mich.
For more information on how you can support Ducks Unlimited, please contact the regional office in Ann Arbor, Mich. at 734-623-2000.
With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization. The United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands—nature’s most productive ecosystem—and continues to lose more than 80,000 wetland acres each year.
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