MONROE, La., April 2, 2007 – Ducks Unlimited (DU) was recently awarded a
North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant to conserve waterfowl habitat in central Louisiana. Project partners will conserve 2,147 acres
on Grand Cote National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and on private land in Avoyelles and Concordia parishes. Approximately $1.6 million in matching partner funds will be combined with more than $650,000 in NAWCA grant funds for the project.
“This project is a continuation of our long-term efforts to protect and enhance important wetland habitats in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley,” said Quin Durbin, DU regional engineer and project liaison. “This grant highlights the importance of state and local partnerships. Without those funds, these projects would simply not be possible.”
DU’s partners include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, Red River-Atchafalaya Bayou Boeuf Levee Board, and Wetlands America Trust.
The project will provide winter and migration habitat for a variety of waterfowl including mallards, wood ducks, gadwall, and green-winged teal. Other wetland-dependent migratory birds, including wood storks, little blue herons and great egrets will also benefit.
Durbin says the project will take two years to complete.
The DU Governmental Affairs staff in Washington, D.C., works with representatives and senators on in Congress to support annual funding for NAWCA to continue the Act’s waterfowl conservation success. Congressman Rodney Alexander represents Louisiana’s fifth district where this restoration project will occur.
"Conserving the wetlands is an investment into our state's future, and this grant will give Avoyelles and Concordia parishes the means to begin protecting this valuable land and wildlife," Alexander said.
This project will protect 319 wetland acres and associated uplands on private land by establishing a permanent conservation easement on the property. Additionally, partners will enhance 1,828 acres of forested and seasonally flooded wetlands by installing new water control structures, levees and a pump system on portions of Grand Cote NWR.
NAWCA stimulates public-private partnerships in support of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. NAWCA is a non-regulatory, incentive-based, voluntary and competitive habitat conservation grant program. NAWCA provides federal cost-share funding to protect, restore, and manage wetland habitats for wildlife and many projects provide outstanding recreational opportunities for people, from bird watching to hunting.
For more information on NAWCA, go to www.ducks.org/nawca
Contact: Jennifer Kross
601.206.5449
jkross@ducks.org
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.