Richmond, Texas, November 16, 2006 – A proposed 14,500 acres of Texas Gulf Coast wetlands and associated uplands will be positively impacted with help from the Meadows Foundation. Ducks Unlimited (DU) received a $225,000 contribution from the Foundation and will use this money toward the Texas Prairie Wetlands Project. DU will also combine these funds with other partner funds to help earn a federal North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant.
“Texas is a major wintering area for waterfowl in the Central Flyway,” said Ed Ritter, DU director of conservation programs for Texas. “The contribution from the Meadows Foundation will help us enhance wetlands and uplands along the Texas Gulf Coast and conserve habitat used by wintering blue-winged teal, northern pintails, gadwall, redheads, and white-fronted geese.”
Conservation of habitats used by northern pintails that winter in Texas is of significant concern to biologists in the U.S. and Canada.
“Recent research shows that over-winter survival of northern pintails is less than expected and pintails are staying on the wintering grounds in Texas in March and early April, when they should be traveling to the breeding grounds and initiating nests,” said DU Director of Conservation Planning Dr. Tom Moorman. “Restoring wetland habitats and keeping water on them through February in coastal Texas is essential to providing for the winter needs of these birds and improving their health. When healthy birds reach the breeding grounds they will have a greater probability of successfully nesting and raising ducklings.”
The Meadows Foundation partnership with DU on the NAWCA grant application gives the proposal significant leverage and increased potential for being awarded. Additional partners on the application are the Texas Parks & Wildlife, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas RICE, Sabine Ranch & Cattle Co., Entergy, BP Amoco, Chevron, and other private landowners.
Ritter said, “We will know in early 2007 if we will receive this NAWCA grant. The outlook is good because we have strong partnerships and a significant need for conservation of Texas Gulf Coast wetlands.”
In Washington, D.C., DU governmental affairs staff works with Congress in support of annual funding for NAWCA. To date, NAWCA has helped fund 38 wetland projects on more than 99,000 acres in Texas. Since 1990, NAWCA funding of $17.1 million stimulated partners including private landowners, corporations and Texas governments to contribute more than $36.2 million to conserve wildlife habitat in the state.
For more information on NAWCA, go to www.ducks.org/nawca
The Meadows Foundation is a private philanthropic institution established in 1948 by Algur H. and Virginia Meadows to benefit the people of Texas. The Foundation's mission is to assist the people and institutions of Texas and help them improve their quality of life for themselves and future generations.
Visit The Meadows Foundation on the web at www.mfi.org
Read more about the Texas Prairie Wetlands Project
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.