BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Oct.7, 2022 Alabama Ducks Unlimited (DU) volunteers and donors gathered on Oct. 6 to honor long-time member Doug Schoenrock.

Hundreds of people congregated at the Birmingham Zoo for an Evening of Conservation, where they learned about various projects Ducks Unlimited and its partners have worked on across the state and the upcoming Big Coon Creek Special Opportunity Area DU will dedicate in honor of Schoenrock in 2023.

Doug is a shining light for conservation, said Adam Putnam, DU Chief Executive Officer. The first DU president from Alabama, Doug has volunteered with DU for more than 20 years and has led the organization to record success for acres of wetlands conserved. His gift for building partnerships has brought new opportunities to DU across North America and, closer to home, throughout Alabama. Future generations will be the beneficiaries of his passionate leadership.

In 2002 Schoenrock joined the DU board of directors, where he went on to serve as first vice president, an at-large member, senior vice president for corporate relations, senior vice president for marketing and communications and senior vice president for youth and education. In 2020 he was elected board president, a role which he filled for two years. Schoenrock now serves as Chairman of the Board for Ducks Unlimited.

What an honor it is to be here tonight. Having Gov. Ivey here as part of the event to talk about all the impressive conservation work being done in Alabama is truly humbling, Schoenrock said. Thanks to support from our donors and volunteers, DU and our partners have worked to conserve nearly 19,000 acres across the state, but there is more work to be done. We need to ensure there are outdoor spaces for our children and generations to come to enjoy.

As part of the Southeast Wetlands Initiative, conservation work in Alabama focuses on restoring and enhancing public lands containing critical wintering waterfowl habitats, coastal wetlands, bottomland hardwood forests and freshwater marshes. The event raised money in support of conservation efforts across Alabama.

For more information, visit www.ducks.org, and be sure to follow DUs Twitter feed @DucksUnlimited and @DUConserve 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 15 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.