Senior Ducks Unlimited volunteers go to Capitol Hill to promote waterfowl habitat priorities

WASHIINGTON – February 21, 2008 - Minnetonka resident and senior Ducks Unlimited volunteer Mel Bois traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with representatives, senators and other policymakers to discuss the organization’s conservation priorities. Bois met with staff members from the offices of Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Norm Coleman and Reps. Tim Walz and Jim Ramstad.

Bois is an active volunteer with the Ducks Unlimited Conservation Program Committee, a volunteer group that helps to guide the conservation organization’s direction in achieving its mission of skies full of waterfowl.

He encouraged Congress to support strong conservation measures in the Farm Bill and appropriations for the North American Wetlands Conservation Act.

CPC members were also joined by members of the House and Senate at a Capitol Hill reception to celebrate the beginning of the waterfowl nesting season. The reception also gave Members of Congress from around the country a chance to interact with the volunteers.

“I made this trip to Capitol Hill so our members of Congress could hear firsthand about the importance of wetlands conservation in my area,” Bois said. “Many Minnesotans are passionate about waterfowl and wetlands conservation, and I want to share that passion with my Members of Congress.”

“Letting our representatives in Washington know that their constituents are informed and concerned about the future of the Farm Bill is one of the best ways to ensure its reauthorization,” said Joseph Satrom, director of public policy for Ducks Unlimited’s Great Plains Regional Office.

In addition to his work with the Conservation Programs Committee, Bois is a 15-year Ducks Unlimited Life Sponsor member and works tirelessly on behalf of the DU organization.

The Farm Bill, which is being debated in conference, has several conservation provisions that are farmer-friendly and needed for waterfowl and wetlands habitat. CPC members reminded their Senators and Representatives that Farm Bill programs are critical to protecting millions of acres of breeding and wintering habitat for waterfowl.

CPC members also talked to their Members of Congress about appropriations for the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA), a popular matching grants program that has conserved more than 23 million acres of habitat across North America. One of the most const-effective conservation programs in history, NAWCA projects usually leverage $2-3 in partner contributions for every $1 from the federal government.

With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization with almost 12 million acres conserved. 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.

For more information, please www.ducks.org/farmbill and www.ducks.org/nawca