By Bruce Ross, Executive Director
This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s September, 2020 Newsletter edition.
Senator Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) carved out some time to join reps from WWA, the DNR, Conservation Congress, DU, Delta, Pheasants Forever, WI Society for Ornithology, and local waterfowlers for a look at recent project work at Killsnake Wildlife Management Area north of Chilton. This 7,000 acre state-owned property is a remarkable example of how public/private partnerships can protect and restore wetlands that support all wildlife (including waterfowl) and provide community services (flood control, water filtration and recreational opportunities).
Meeting attendees
Senator LeMahieu joined us to learn specifically how Duck Stamp funding has been used to build ponding and ephemeral (seasonal) wetlands that are important to duck and goose populations. Reps provided an overview of how their organization is involved with the project work, how they funded the initiatives, and how they and their community benefit from such projects.
As a reminder, by law, all WI duck stamp funds must be used on waterfowl habitat-related purposes (2/3 in Wisconsin and 1/3 in Canada). WWA sits on the project advisory committee to prioritize where the funds will provide the greatest benefit to Wisconsin’s waterfowlers. We run out of money halfway down the list. Good projects simply aren’t getting funded – and we suffer for that in the fall.
The duck stamp dollar is leveraged against federal monies and other funding sources (like a local PF chapter, even the Wisconsin Society of Ornithology), so one duck stamp dollar turns into $3 or $4 by the time the project is done. As one example, the latest Killsnake project, WWA was able to leverage $19,000 of duck stamp money (with other projects, too) to help bring $90,000 of federal North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA) money to the state for wetland projects in 2019!
Informed waterfowlers understand how important this “seed money” is. That’s why over 85% of you support increasing the stamp fee $5 to account for the inflation that has occurred in the twenty-three years since it was last increased. But that increase requires legislative approval, and that’s where it has been stuck for the past ten years.
So we appreciated the opportunity to share with Senator LeMahieu the impact duck stamp funding makes not only for waterfowlers and other hunters, but for the local community and the construction workers who actually make these projects a reality.
Over the next few weeks we will also be meeting with the governor’s office to make sure they understand this critical need as well, and we’ll be continuing to meet with legislators as part of this effort. Legislators respond better to actual constituents, so if you want to play a role in such meetings or want to reach out to your legislator, let us know (bruceross@wi.rr.com) – we can certainly use your help!