Ducks Unlimited recognizes the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC) for 50 years of supporting waterfowl habitat on the Canadian breeding grounds. LWFC has contributed more than $10 million through the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ (AFWA) State Contribution Program to enhance and protect habitat where many of Louisiana’s ducks are produced. Louisiana has been participating in the program since its inception in 1964, longer than any other state.
“Ducks Unlimited commends the Commission’s long and storied history of making wise investments in waterfowl habitat important to the birds that wing their way to Louisiana each year,” said DU Manager of Conservation Programs Mike Carloss. “As approximately 35 percent of the ducks harvested in Louisiana come from Saskatchewan, investing Louisiana’s dollars in this region provides a great return for the state’s waterfowl hunters.”
The AFWA State Contributions Program is funded by 36 states that understand investments in the breeding grounds pay dividends during the fall flight. Individual state contributions are combined with other state contributions, matched dollar for dollar by DU Inc. and DU Canada, and then are used as match for North American Wetlands Conservation Act grants. These collective investments in Canadian habitat conservation recognize that waterfowl are a continentally shared resource.
“The importance of state contributions to Canadian habitat conservation and restoration projects cannot be overstated,” said DU Canada’s Director of International Partnerships Pat Kehoe. “Breeding ground habitat work is critical for the health of continental populations of waterfowl, and Louisiana’s waterfowl hunters understand that.”
Ducks Unlimited’s programs in the U.S. and Canada are consistent with the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, and their prairie programs are structured to protect native, highly productive habitat while also improving waterfowl production in working agricultural landscapes.
Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 13 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. Connect with us on our Facebook page at facebook.com/DucksUnlimited, follow our tweets at twitter.com/DucksUnlimited and watch DU videos at youtube.com/DucksUnlimitedInc.