HILLSDALE, Mich. — Ducks Unlimited supporters from Michigan and across the country gathered Aug. 28 at Hillsdale College’s John Anthony Halter Sports Education Center for the 2026 Michigan Ducks Unlimited President’s Council Shoot.
The annual event brought together DU major donors, volunteers, staff, and guests for an afternoon of sporting clays while providing an opportunity to learn more about the science and partnerships behind DU’s conservation mission.
Charlie DeVries, DU Director of Development in Michigan, welcomed attendees before lunch, continuing a tradition that has made the President’s Council Shoot as much about relationships as competition. Guests traveled from several states to participate, joining Michigan supporters and DU staff from across the Great Lakes/Atlantic Region and beyond.
Following lunch and a safety briefing from Hillsdale College staff, shooters divided into teams and headed onto the Halter Center’s sporting clays course for a 100-target competition.
Conservation and education come together at Hillsdale
Before the competition, attendees heard from Al Stewart, director of the Nimrod Education Center at Hillsdale College.
Stewart reflected on a career in natural resources spanning roughly five decades and his eventual arrival at Hillsdale after retiring from his previous work. He highlighted the role partnerships play in conservation and outdoor education and introduced attendees to the college’s efforts to connect students with shooting sports, hunting, natural resources, and the principles of conservation.
Those themes made the Halter Center a fitting setting for the DU gathering, where an afternoon centered on shooting sports was also an opportunity to connect participants with the conservation work those traditions help support.
Putting science behind conservation
John Coluccy, DU Director of Conservation Science and Planning for the Great Lakes/Atlantic Region, provided another connection to that mission during a lunchtime presentation on DU’s science program.
Coluccy explained that science has guided DU’s conservation efforts since the organization was founded in 1937. Research helps DU determine where conservation investments can have the greatest impact while providing information that can guide habitat programs and natural-resource policy.
He also highlighted the broader reach of DU’s scientific work. In 2025, DU partnered with dozens of universities across North America, supported graduate students and other researchers, and contributed to peer-reviewed research. In addition to answering conservation questions today, those partnerships help develop the next generation of wetland and waterfowl scientists.
Coluccy then offered attendees a closer look at one example: ongoing research into game-farm mallard genetics within North America’s wild mallard population.
The project uses genetic samples contributed in part by hunters to examine the prevalence of game-farm mallard ancestry and what that ancestry could mean for wild birds. Related research is examining potential effects on movement, migration, habitat use, and other behaviors.
The work illustrates both the value of citizen science and the larger role research plays in DU conservation: giving biologists better information to understand waterfowl populations and make informed decisions about their habitat.
A day built around conservation
After the presentations, participants took to the course for the afternoon competition. Teams rotated through the sporting clays stations, with safety emphasized throughout the pre-shoot briefing.
But the President’s Council Shoot offered more than a day on the course. It provided an opportunity for people who invest in Ducks Unlimited’s mission to spend time together, meet DU conservation and development staff, and hear directly about the work their support makes possible.
From university research and conservation science to habitat work across Michigan and the Great Lakes region, the gathering offered a look at the many pieces that come together to advance DU’s mission.
And at Hillsdale, those conversations took place alongside another tradition closely connected to North American conservation: an afternoon spent together in the shooting sports.
