Vickery, OH Landowner Receives National Recognition In Washington, D.C.
Vickery, OH – Sept. 15, 2006 – Ed Moxley of Vickery, Ohio received national recognition at a ceremony celebrating the 20th Anniversaries of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) and the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) of the Farm Bill. Ed accepted the award on behalf of he and his wife, Susan, who couldn't attend the event. The 20/20 Vision ceremony, sponsored by the U.S. Departments of Interior and Agriculture, Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever, was held Wednesday September 13th on Capitol Hill. The Moxleys received a special recognition certificate from the federal agencies, and Ed attended several meetings with Congressional members and staff and administration officials during his two-day visit.
Ed Moxley has owned much of what is now the marsh on his property in Erie County, Ohio, for 35 years. However, it was not until 1988 that he and his wife were able to take advantage of the land’s potential by beginning to convert it into wetlands.
“We had this area of suitable land that could be converted to marsh, but the out of pocket expenses to do so were beyond our reach. The Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) provided us an opportunity to protect our wetlands in perpetuity and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) and other partnership funds allowed us to fulfill all the wetland potential on the property,” stated Moxley, reminiscing on the evolution of his property from marginal agricultural land to a sustaining wetland. Earlier this year, Moxley completed the enhancement of 224 acres and restoration of 25 acres through funding from NAWCA, Ohio EPA 319 program, Ohio Division of Wildlife and Ducks Unlimited. “The WRP and NAWCA programs have given us the opportunity to fully develop, enhance and manage our properties’ wetlands. Ducks Unlimited provided essential engineering and restoration services to ensure everything went smoothly.”
Ed and his family are also very pleased that their work will not be in vain once their stewardship of the land ends. “It gives us great satisfaction to know that after our stewardship ends, our marsh will be forever protected,” Moxley added.
“Ed and Sue Moxley deserve great accolades for the conservation work they have done on their property. They are a testament to what can be accomplished when federal, state and private organizations and individuals partner with one another,” said Gildo Tori, DU’s director of public policy who attended the ceremony with Ed Moxley. “The Moxley’s are very deserving of this award, and we appreciate the conservation legacy they have established on their property for future generations of waterfowl and people along western Lake Erie.”
For 20 years, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan has been used to conserve and restore waterfowl and wildlife habitat all across the United States. Through grants and incentive, landowners have improved upon their existing property to make it more viable habitat and improve water quality on more than 24 million acres.
The open spaces and wetland areas provided by grants through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, the authorizing vehicle of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, support thousands of species of waterfowl and wildlife through conservation easements and public-private partnerships. The plant and aquatic vegetation that live in the wetlands also improve water quality by filtering out pollutants such as arsenic and mercury.
Ducks Unlimited is working with Congress to ensure the North American Waterfowl Management Plan and the Farm Bill’s Conservation Reserve and Wetland Reserve programs can conserve land and habitat for another 20 years.
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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