Conservation Planning is a process by which Ducks Unlimited staff assist with development of strategic and operation plans that provide biological and scientific basis for conservation programs in the Southern Region.
Planning and evaluation efforts determine the effects of Ducks Unlimited conservation programs on waterfowl, other wetland dependent wildlife, wetland functions and values, and assess socioeconomic effects related to agriculture and people. Information gained via research and evaluation efforts will be used to assess the validity of assumptions made during the planning process and serve as the feedback loop for conservation programs in the southern region. Information obtained through the evaluation process is essential to make informed adjustments to conservation programs and assure that DU continues to maximize the conservation benefits for each dollar invested.
The Development and Delivery of Ducks Unlimited Conservation
Programs in Priority Mid-Continent Waterfowl Migration and Winter Habitat
Regions
The mission of Ducks Unlimited is to fulfill the annual
life cycle needs of North American waterfowl by protecting, enhancing,
restoring, and managing important wetlands and associated uplands. Ducks Unlimited has been conserving
waterfowl breeding habitat since the Dust Bowl days of the mid-1930s and
remains the only private conservation organization that contributes
approximately $20 million US (which is leveraged via the USFWS and DU Canada to
garner $4 additional dollars for every $1 US) to DU Canada for habitat
conservation work on important breeding habitat.
During the 1970s and 1980s, waterfowl managers began to pose
questions regarding the relationship of migration and winter habitat to the
overall health of waterfowl populations.
Such questions stemmed from that fact that most key winter and migration
areas had lost significant habitat as a result of land use changes related to
flood control, river navigation, agriculture, urban development, and other
factors. Examples of such losses on the
most important migration and winter habitats include the following...
Full Story
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Conservation Planning FAQs
 How can DU blame only the weather for "our" poor season when it also spends big money on winter projects that are, by definition, designed to provide habitat for migrating ducks in flyway states?
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DU claims it does not artificially feed ducks, yet I have heard that DU private lands conservation programs provide incentives to farmers to allow portions of grain crops to go unharvested to benefit migrating waterfowl. Is this true?
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Exactly what do DU's private lands conservation programs allow and why?
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What is the exact purpose of winter habitat projects?
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Do the projects in the MAV and Gulf Coast conservation regions get used by ducks every year?
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I heard that DU and the USFWS were dumping corn or other grain on refuges to hold birds north after the northern states closed their seasons to keep southern hunters from getting to kill too many birds. Is this true?
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What percentage of the money raised by DU in a given state remains in the state, and how much is spent in "other states"?
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