Conservation in Kentucky

Kentucky is part of the Mississippi Flyway and provides important winter habitat for waterfowl that are produced in the Prairie Pothole Region and Great Lakes states.  In some years, Kentucky has the potential to winter large numbers of mallards, black ducks, and wood ducks.  The Delta portion of western Kentucky provides important wintering waterfowl habitat including bottomland hardwoods, cypress / tupelo brakes, moist-soil wetlands and flooded agricultural crops.  DU has worked to conserve over 8,800 acres of waterfowl habitat throughout Kentucky including two recent habitat projects on Barren River WMA and Duck Island on Lake Barkley.  Our goal is to perpetually secure habitat and the future of Kentucky as a key wintering area for migratory waterfowl in North America.  Your support of DU will help us achieve that goal.

Kentucky Habitat Projects

Mississippi Alluvial Valley  Ballard WMA  Boatwright WMA Westvaco WMA  Obion Creek WMA  Latourneau Woods

Southeastern Coastal Plain  Taylorsville Lake WMA  Kentucky River WMA  West Kentucky WMA  Barkley Lake WMA  Ohio River Island WMA Sloughs WMA  Yellowbank WMA  Blue Grass Army Depot  Lake Cumberland WMA  Yatesville WMA  Daniel Boone National Forest Upper Mississippi River  Barren River WMA

Duck Island Interior Levees Project Completed

RIDGELAND, Miss., Feb. 14, 2006 – Ducks Unlimited, Inc., the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) and Vulcan Materials Company completed habitat enhancement on Duck Island last summer. A dedication ceremony will be held this spring to honor major monetary contributions made by Foster V. Jones, Jr. (deceased), Foster V. Jones III, Allen and Sandra Gailor, Andrew Gailor, Robert Evans and Donald R. Jaggers. The newly developed wetlands will benefit migrating and wintering waterfowl in western Kentucky.

Duck Island is a 439-acre wetland located in Trigg County, Ky. This wetland is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and was developed to mitigate loss of waterfowl habitat that resulted when Lake Barkley was impounded in 1966...

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SCOTTSVILLE, Ky., Mar. 14, 2006 – Ducks Unlimited (DU) and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) partnered to restore 45 acres of spring-fed emergent marsh along Barren River Lake. The Calvert Springs Wetlands Restoration Project was completed on the Barren River Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Allen County, Ky., which is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

The USACE assisted with construction permitting and the KDFWR contributed funding and will manage the property to provide quality wetlands for migrating and wintering waterfowl. DU also contributed funds for this project using grassroots monies raised in Kentucky.

“Calvert Springs is a unique area that supports waterfowl during winter when other open water areas are frozen,” said DU Regional Biologist Tim Willis. “The water in this restored wetland is less susceptible to freezing, because the springs supply water at a consistent 58 degrees Fahrenheit..."  

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