GOAL: Conserve vital breeding, migration and wintering habitat in the Great Lakes region, Chesapeake Bay, the Mississippi River watershed, the Columbia Basin and key areas of California.
Found in all 50 states, the majestic mallard is North America’s most popular duck. Mallards breed and migrate in all four flyways, but across the continent their habitats are under siege.
Ducks Unlimited’s Mallard Conservation Initiative is a comprehensive plan to conserve the vast landscapes that mallards call home. Research indicates that breeding success for mallards is limited by different factors in different areas. For example, nest success is important on the prairies, while brood survival is key in the Great Lakes, and water availability is crucial in California. DU’s work is targeted to fit the conservation needs in each of these critical areas.
Mallards are cosmopolitan ducks, so Ducks Unlimited is securing healthy habitat throughout all four flyways across the continent. Each year, millions of mallards gather in the bottomland forests of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Research by DU scientists enables us to know where in the valley mallards flock both day and night. Armed with this information, we’re conserving the mallard’s favorite winter haunts.
In the Columbia Basin of the Pacific Northwest and the Central Valley of California, water quality and availability are the greatest challenges. Ducks Unlimited is working with partners there to find affordable, clean water for migrating mallards and other waterfowl to enjoy. In the Atlantic flyway, flocks of mallards annually visit the Chesapeake Bay to rest in mid-migration. Ducks Unlimited is conserving critical habitats and thereby restoring water quality in the bay.
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