By Bruce Ross, Executive Director [email]bross@wisducks.org[/email]

This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s July, 2023 Newsletter edition.

I recently spent some time reviewing the draft 2024 Conservation Calendar which will go on sale next month.  The theme of our 15th Anniversary Edition is the WWA conservation story over its 40-year history.  The calendar celebrates that history by looking at the impact we have on wetlands and the waterfowl populations that use them.  I hope you will be impressed when you buy and review those month-by-month stories.

You may ask: “But what have you done for us lately?”

• Hot off the press: WWA has just been selected by the Natural Resource Conservation Service to conduct wetland- and upland-related survey services on their behalf. As this comes to fruition in the fall, WWA will grow its professional habitat team to four ecologists (!), allowing us to cover more of the state with both our public- and private-land wetland programs.

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  WWA’s new Public Lands Program team is rapidly surveying DNR properties for suitable wetland restoration candidates and finding funding to conduct those restorations.

  • Here’s a quick look at the current state of the effort put together by PLE Anthony Hatcher.
  • This WWA partnership with the DNR is also attracting substantial financial support:
    • State duck stamp funding commitment: $150,000
    • The James E. Dutton Foundation: $7,000
    • The Wisconsin Bird Fund – A Legacy Fund of the Society of the of Tympanuchus Cupido Pinnatus: $3000
    • The Fund for Lake Michigan: $30,000
    • And when the grant window opens for federal funding, expect those numbers to double, meaning we’ll have more than a third of a million dollars focused on making state wetlands more productive.
  • Our long-standing Private Lands Program is on the move as well, potential projects are being identified, with $50,000 of state duck stamp funds just allocated to conduct those restorations over the next few years. And those dollars will be leveraged by both landowner and federal dollars, also.
  • Our wood duck program is exploring a new sawyering partnership with McNaughton Correctional Facility (who constructed over 150 boxes for us last year, but now may be the tree-to-lumber-to-box complete provider!)
  • And our AWA (adopt-a-wildlife area) program continues to attract new participants – and may lead to a new chapter in the near future.
  • Our wild rice program will be expanding late summer and into the fall under an agreement with the DNR. There may be roles for interested volunteers.  Check out Anthony’s article here.

So things are looking bright for WWA’s future habitat efforts to build on its rich history.