MANHATTAN, Kan., Feb. 26, 2007 – The Kansas Wildlife Federation (KWF) recognized Ducks Unlimited (DU) as the 2006 Conservation Organization of the Year. Throughout 2006, DU was involved in three major wetland projects and this award honored those accomplishments.
Larry Schweiger, President and CRO of the National Wildlife
Federation (Left), Bob Saathoff, Kansas
DU State Chairman.
DU Kansas State Chairman Bob Saathoff accepted the award on behalf of DU at the annual KWF banquet in Manhattan, Kansas on Feb. 10. President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation Larry Schweiger presented Saathoff with the award.
The KWF recognized DU’s conservation achievements on Jamestown Wildlife Management Area, Marais des Cygnes Wildlife Area and McPherson Valley Wetland Area. DU credits their partnerships with state and federal agencies, other conservation organizations and private individuals with enabling the restoration on these wetland areas that are critical to waterfowl in Kansas.
DU’s primary partner on these conservation projects is the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP). The KDWP manage the three wildlife areas and allow public use and hunting.
NAWCA grants and matching partner funds helped restore 2,500 acres of emergent marsh on Jamestown Wildlife Area and 1,100 acres of wetlands on McPherson Valley Wetlands area. These projects also involved acquisition of adjacent properties that will increase the wetland acres on these public lands. DU’s partnership with the KDWP also enabled restoration of 485 acres of emergent marsh on Marais des Cygnes Wildlife Area.
DU’s estimated expenditures on these three major conservation projects in Kansas exceed total expenditures during the previous 19 years. Over all DU has positively impacted nearly 19,000 acres of wetlands and associated waterfowl habitats.
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.
Click here to read the press release from the Kansas Wildlife Federation
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