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Delaware Duck Stamp Funds Habitat Conservation
Dover, DE – July 19, 2006 – As most duck hunters know, many of the ducks and geese harvested in Delaware come from outside the state. To ensure conservation takes on this continental perspective Ducks Unlimited (DU) has worked with individual states and the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies to establish the State Grant Program. The State Grant Program utilizes a partnership among the state wildlife agencies, Ducks Unlimited, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited Canada and other Canadian partners.
In Delaware, the Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) contributes $40,000 annually of duck stamp revenue to DU. Ducks Unlimited matches the DFW dollar for dollar utilizing funds raised at local Ducks Unlimited events. This money is then matched by the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA), yielding $4 for every state dollar. Funds are then sent to Canada, where it receives an additional match from DU Canada and other Canadian partners, plus an exchange rate multiplier. The end result is at least 5:1 match for state duck stamp dollars, yielding habitat conservation directed on the breeding grounds. State money is directed to the province(s) where the majority of its waterfowl are produced. For example Delaware’s money is directed to the Maritime Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
“Ducks Unlimited and Delaware just signed a five year agreement to fund the Wetland Restoration Program for the Agricultural Areas of the Maritimes Provinces which will restore approximately 600 acres of wetlands and associated grasslands for nesting waterfowl,” states Ducks Unlimited Regional Biologist, Kirk Mantay. “Waterfowl from this area have been directly tied to Delaware, therefore benefiting Delaware sportsman and women, as well as the non-hunting public.”
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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