WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 23, 2020 - The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced the rollout of the Prairie Pothole Water Quality and Wildlife Program, which will invest millions into voluntary protection of wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region.

According to NRCS, farmers and producers in North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota and Montana will be eiligible to receive payment for wetlands less than two acres in size on privately owned working cropland. Ducks Unlimited - working in conjunction with Delta Waterfowl, Delta Wildlife, California Waterfowl Association and other partners - was instrumental in developing this program and including authorizing language into the 2018 Farm Bill. This new program will be carried out through our continued partnership with producers and NRCS to get the most value out of each acre for farmers and ranchers while also conserving waterfowl habitat.

"By providing habitat for up to three-quarters of North America's breeding ducks, the Prairie Pothole Region is referred to as America's duck factory for good reason," said DU Director of Public Policy Kellis Moss. "This new program provides the right incentives for farmers to voluntarily protect important waterfowl habitat while simultaneously getting the most out of the ecological services their lands offer. We're proud DU was able to play a role in getting this innovative program off the ground, and we look forward to helping facilitate the conservation of important breeding habitat across the entire Prairie Pothole region."

For more information, visit www.ducks.org, and be sure to follow DU's newest Twitter feed - @DUNews1937 - to get the most up-to-date news from 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 14.5 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:
Parker Williams
(202) 621-1646
pwilliams@ducks.org