RIVERTON, Wyoming Sept. 10, 2019 Conservation supporters gathered recently to celebrate newly restored habitat on Ocean Lake Wildlife Habitat Management Area (WHMA). A cairn and bronze plaque at the Wyoming Rescue Our Wetlands (ROW) site recognizes those who made a formal commitment to Ducks Unlimited (DU) in Wyoming during the ROW campaign.

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Ocean Lake is one of the most important Wyoming migratory waterfowl stopovers for the Central Flyway. The WHMA is owned and managed by Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) and open to the public. The 60-acre restoration project adds resting and foraging habitat for spring and fall migrating waterfowl. WGFD managers can now better control water levels in the renovated wetlands to promote plants most useful to migrating birds and control cattails and other invasive plants.

The restored wetland will benefit waterfowl and people, especially recreationists, such as wildlife watchers and hunters, says Noelle Smith, project biologist for Ducks Unlimited.

Ducks Unlimited also recognized WHMA managers Brian Parker, WGFD habitat and access supervisor, and Justin Rhine, habitat and access biologist, who worked with DU on this project and on others in Wyomings Lander Region. Partners and funders on this project include: Ducks Unlimited, WGFD, Wyoming Wildlife Natural Resources Trust Fund, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Water for Wildlife Foundation, Lower Wind River Conservation District, private contributions, and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act.

The ROW campaign raised more than $2.34 billion and conserved more than 2.2 million acres of habitat over a seven-year period, ending in December 2018.

For more information, visit www.ducks.org, and be sure to Follow DUs newest Twitter feed @DUNews1937 to get the most up-to-date news from Ducks Unlimited.

About Ducks Unlimited

Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving North America's continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 14.5 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. For more information on our work, visit www.ducks.org.

About Wyoming Game and Fish Department

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department manages many large clusters of natural and man-made wetlands, as well as smaller meadows and the areas along streams and rivers, on our Wildlife Habitat Management Areas. In addition, our new Wyoming Wetland webpage has many valuable resources, a story map, and lesson plans.

Media Contact:

Becky Jones Mahlum

701-355-3507