Duck Unlimited purchased the final properties adjacent
to two Nebraska waterfowl production areas (WPA). The “roundouts”, next to the
Cottonwood WPA in Phelps County and Smith WPA in Clay County, have been
transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The purchase and
transfer mean the FWS employees can now better control WPA wetland levels,
without concerns about flooding neighboring crop fields.
At Smith WPA, Ducks Unlimited has purchased three
roundouts over the past decade, fulfilling DU’s goal to benefit this important
wetland habitat.
These properties will now be open to the public.