Phoenix, AZ – April 2, 2008 – Ducks Unlimited awarded California’s Department of Fish and Game with DU’s 2008 Diamond State Grant Award. DU presented the award to Dan Yparraguirre waterfowl coordinator for the Department, at the 73rd Annual North American Wildlife & Natural Resources Conference in Phoenix, AZ.
“No other state agency has done as much for protecting North America’s
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Dan Yparraguirre, waterfowl coordinator for CA Dept. of Fish and Game, accepts DU’s 2008 Diamond State Grant Award.
Photo courtesy of George Andrejko, Arizona Game & Fish Dept. |
wetlands as California’s Department of Fish and Game. The department’s contributions have produced significant, far-reaching results in the Canadian waterfowl breeding areas,” said Dr. Alan Wentz, DU’s Senior Group Manager of Conservation Programs and Communications. “We are proud to recognize the department for their amazing contribution to conservation efforts.”
The State Grant Awards are given to those states that have passed significant milestones in their financial contributions to protecting waterfowl habitat. The California Department of Fish and Game began its partnership with DU in 1973, and has since made a cumulative contribution of $10 million to DU’s conservation efforts, and is the first state agency to contribute enough to reach the Diamond Award level. The money is matched by Ducks Unlimited and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA), and is used to protect breeding grounds for waterfowl that migrate and winter in California.
With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization with more than 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.
Look for Ducks Unlimited on the World Wide Web at www.ducks.org. Tune into “The World of Ducks Unlimited” Radio Network and watch “Ducks Unlimited Television” and “Ducks Unlimited WaterDog” on the Versus network.
Contact:
Laura Houseal
(901) 758-3764
lhouseal@ducks.org