Flint Hills Resources and Ducks Unlimited Celebrate 40 Years of Partnership

This year, Flint Hills Resources and Ducks Unlimited (DU) are celebrating 40 years of partnership, a longevity landmark that makes Flint Hills one of DU’s longest-standing corporate partners. Working together over the past four decades, Flint Hills and DU have conserved more than 250,000 acres of wildlife habitat and natural areas in Minnesota and over 900,000 acres across North America.

“Ducks Unlimited is a special organization whose members wear their mission on their sleeve,” said Geoff Glasrud, vice president and manufacturing manager for Flint Hills Resources. “We are honored to be among Ducks Unlimited’s longest-standing partners and contributors to the meaningful work they do every day to conserve and restore natural habitats, as well as promote a love for waterfowl and all the other wonders of nature.”

Flint Hills operates refineries in Minnesota and Texas that produce transportation fuels and other products people need and use every day. In August, Flint Hills’ Pine Bend refinery in Minnesota, which supplies much of the Upper Midwest’s transportation fuels, celebrated its 70th anniversary. The refinery was the company’s first location to join DU 40 years ago.

Flint Hills and DU have partnered over the years to tackle restoration projects in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Texas. This includes significant support for the Living Lakes Initiative in Minnesota and Iowa. The initiative focuses on the restoration of shallow lakes and wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region of the states’ western regions, a priority 1 area for DU.

Partnership Highlight: Minnesota’s Indian Lake Wildlife Management Area

One example of how this sustained partnership produces meaningful results – such as improved wildlife habitat and expanded recreation opportunities on public land – can be seen in the wetland and grassland restoration efforts at Minnesota’s Indian Lake Wildlife Management Area (WMA), where Flint Hills and DU celebrated a decade of conservation work together last summer.

In the past, Indian Lake, a state-designated wildlife management lake, hosted many waterfowl, particularly diving ducks. Conditions deteriorated over time due to high water levels, watershed changes and undesirable fish, like carp. DU, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), private landowners, and many other organizations, like Flint Hills, worked together to restore Indian Lake WMA.

“Without the generosity from partners like Flint Hills Resources, we could never have gotten this project off the ground,” said Adam DeHaan, DU senior director of development. “Flint Hills has been a loyal DU partner for four decades and has always been dedicated to making a difference in the communities it serves. DU is grateful for their commitment to habitat conservation and the protection of wildlife, which depend on these places to survive.”

Flint Hills’ financial support for this project assisted with securing funding from Minnesota's Outdoor Heritage Fund and opened up matching federal funds from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. Those contributions supported the construction of a new water-control structure and outlet pipeline that MNDNR site managers use to perform temporary water level drawdowns of Indian Lake. Drawdowns allow sediments to consolidate and native plants to grow, which waterfowl use as a food source when the shallow lake and surrounding wetlands are restored to their full capacity. Drawdowns can also assist in eliminating invasive fish species.

In 2017, with Flint Hills’ ongoing support, the project grew, and DU began acquiring properties that have since been added to Indian Lake WMA, expanding the site to over 600 acres. Each tract was restored and enhanced, providing nesting habitat for waterfowl and other grassland-dependent birds. The restored wetlands are also critical for ducks during the migration, providing habitat in the fall and in spring, on their return flight to the breeding grounds.

“This critical conservation work could not have been done without our corporate partners, including Flint Hills,” said John Lindstrom, DU manager of conservation programs. “There are all kinds of wildlife using the lake and the restored properties. We have heard a lot of good things from hunters and birdwatchers about the current state of the WMA. This is just one example of our success working alongside Flint Hills in Minnesota to advance wetlands conservation.”