North Carolina National Wildlife Refuge Receives Water Control Structures
FAIRFIELD, N.C., January 21, 2008 – Ducks Unlimited completed a two-year project to improve water control capabilities on Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge in Hyde County, North Carolina. Ducks Unlimited partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to implement the project. Additional funding came from a North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant and from the North Carolina Attorney General’s Environmental Enhancement Grants program. 
“This area is a major wintering site for waterfowl including northern pintail, green-wing teal, Canada geese and tundra swans,” said Ducks Unlimited Regional Engineer Billy Webster. “New pumps and water control structures will improve management of 1,447 acres of wetland habitat.”
Lake Mattamuskeet, the largest natural lake in North Carolina, stretches 18 miles in length and is seven miles wide. This shallow coastal lake is the location of the 50,180-acre Mattamuskeet NWR.
Ducks Unlimited installed four relift pumps with control gates and refurbished a dike and canal to improve hydrologic conditions within six management units on the refuge. Ducks Unlimited completed the two-phase project, begun in March 2006, in November 2007.
"It was a pleasure to work with Ducks Unlimited on this project. Their experience with wetlands restoration projects and contacts with area contractors were tremendous assets," said Bruce Freske, Mattamuskeet NWR refuge manager.
"Waterfowl response just from the improvements conducted by Ducks Unlimited last year was tremendous, with all of the affected wetlands having 2-3 times larger peaks in waterfowl numbers than in past years,” Freske said. “These increases were particularly notable for pintails which prefer impoundment over lake habitats. The refuge peak of 45,773 pintail was the largest peak population since 1978, and that peak was actually for the entire state of North Carolina!” 
North Carolina’s Environmental Enhancement Grants program provided partial funding for the project. The EEG program fulfills the objectives of an agreement between the North Carolina Attorney General and Smithfield Foods, Inc. designed to provide funds that promote environmental programs in North Carolina. The EEG improves the environmental quality of North Carolina by providing incentives to develop and implement projects that protect its environment. Ducks Unlimited submitted the grant proposal to the EEG and received $326,224 for the project.
“Clean water is important for all of us,” said North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper. “We’re pleased to support projects like this one to clean up our water and protect wildlife habitat.”
A NAWCA grant provided $163,899 for phase II of the project which included the installation of a new pump, generator, associated bulkhead, riprap, pipe and canal gate. These structures will improve water level manipulation abilities within a 272-acre managed impoundment.
In Washington, D.C., Ducks Unlimited’s governmental affairs staff works with Congress to raise support for annual funding of NAWCA. To date, NAWCA has helped fund more than 1,800 wetland projects on 23 million acres in all 50 states, every province of Canada and areas in Mexico. Thousands of partners, including private landowners, corporations and state governments have worked together to conserve wildlife habitat through NAWCA grants.
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 – natures’ most productive ecosystem – and continues to lose more than 80,000 wetland acres each year.
Contact: Craig LeSchack
cleschack@ducks.org
For more on Ducks Unlimited habitat projects in North Carolina visit:
http://www.ducks.org/North_Carolina/NorthCarolinaConservation/1735/ConservationinNorthCarolina.html
For more on what Ducks Unlimited does for North Carolina go to:
http://www.ducks.org/states/50/index.html