WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 24, 2017 - Today the United States Senate confirmed former Governor Sonny Perdue of Georgia to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. With a bipartisan vote of 87 to 11, Perdue will become the 31st Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which works across the country on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition programs.

"Ducks Unlimited congratulates Mr. Perdue on his confirmation as the Secretary of Agriculture," said Ducks Unlimited CEO Dale Hall. "The USDA is a strong partner in delivering important conservation programs on private lands, including the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), which are all vital to Ducks Unlimited's mission. We look forward to working with Secretary Perdue and his staff to help advance these and other conservation priorities that conserve soil, water, wetlands and grasslands that people and wildlife depend on."

Ducks Unlimited has a long history of working with ranchers, farmers and other private landowners across the country to enhance and restore millions of acres of critical waterfowl and other wildlife habitat. As Congress and the Trump Administration look to pass a new Farm Bill in 2018, Ducks Unlimited remains committed to:

* Maintaining and effectively implementing wetland conservation compliance

* Increasing the acreage cap and improving CRP

* Advancing agricultural partnerships to improve habitat in priority landscapes

* Supporting reauthorization and robust funding levels for voluntary conservation programs such as, ACEP, RCPP, EQIP and CSP

* Maintaining and strengthening Sodsaver.

With a doctorate in veterinary medicine and having been raised on a farm in Georgia, Perdue has strong agriculture ties. Prior to being governor from 2003 to 2011, Perdue served in the U.S. Air Force and as a state senator in the Georgia General Assembly. For more information, visit ducks.org/farm-bill.

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 13.8 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.

Media Contact:
Tucker Nelson
(202) 347-1530
tnelson@ducks.org