Ducks Unlimited Receives NFWF Grant to Restore Grasslands and Strengthen Working Lands
MEMPHIS, TENN. – Sept.10, 2026 – Ducks Unlimited, Inc. (DU) was awarded a $5.79 million grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) for grassland restoration and enhancement projects in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, and Iowa through the Grassland Resilience and Conservation Initiative. The effort will create additional habitat for wildlife while improving soil health, water resources, and long-term productivity of working lands.
The initiative is led by NFWF, supported by funding from McDonald’s USA, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and several key McDonald’s USA beef and beverage suppliers, and focuses on voluntary conservation to help strengthen the long-term resilience of U.S. grasslands that support beef production and other expected co-benefits. This grant will help replant more than 10,500 acres back to native grass and enhance an additional 4,000 acres of existing grazing land. DU and partners will leverage their staff capacity and proven conservation framework, offering voluntary program options to interested ranchers seeking technical and financial assistance on components such as seeding, fence, water, and grazing management planning.
“The first round of grants from the Grassland Resilience and Conservation Initiative shows what can happen when corporations, federal agencies, conservation organizations, and private landowners join forces to support both wildlife conservation and economic prosperity," said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. "This initiative is just getting started. We are confident it will play a leading role in grasslands conservation across the nation for years to come.”
Over the next seven years, the initiative aims to improve the health and resilience of 4 million acres of grasslands, work that comes as the U.S. cattle herd, the foundation of the nation’s beef production, sits at a 75-year low, making the long-term health of the nation's forage base more critical than ever. Through this partnership, DU will work with agricultural producers to restore marginal cropland to native grasslands and incorporate conservation-minded grazing practices.
“Protecting, restoring, and enhancing working grasslands in the northern Great Plains and upper Midwest is one of DU’s top conservation priorities,” says Billy Gascoigne, DU’s Senior Director of Agriculture & Strategic Partnerships. “Grasslands used for grazing provide critical habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife while supporting productive beef operations. We’re proud to build on our longstanding partnership with NFWF and the ranching community to put more acres back into grass, creating habitat, improving landscape health, and equipping beef producers with tools for growth and increased resilience.”
DU’s role in this partnership builds on its decades of experience delivering voluntary incentive programs across working landscapes. By restoring and strengthening grasslands, this effort helps secure a resilient forage base for beef production while creating lasting habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife. The program will begin rolling out later this year, and interested landowners can visit www.ag.ducks.org in the coming months for more information.
About the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) works with partners to foster sustainable and impactful conservation solutions so that people and nature thrive together. Chartered by Congress in 1984, NFWF has grown to become the nation’s conservation foundation. NFWF works with the public and private sectors to sustain, restore and enhance the nation’s fish, wildlife, plants, and habitats for current and future generations. Since its founding, NFWF has supported more than 7,200 grantee organizations and funded more than 23,900 projects that have generated a total conservation impact of more than $12 billion. Learn more at nfwf.org.
Media Contact
KayLeigh Mitchell
Sustainability Communications Coordinator
Memphis, TN
Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving North America's continually disappearing wetlands, grasslands and other waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has restored or protected more than 20 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science, DU’s projects benefit waterfowl, wildlife and people in all 50 states. Learn more at www.ducks.org.
