This article appeared in the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s May 2025 Newsletter edition.
Wisconsin Waterfowl Association has a long history of habitat work in Wisconsin. For over 40 years, habitat has been one of three pillars within WWA’s structure: Habitat, Advocacy, and Education.
In those 40 years much of the habitat work occurred on private property for a variety of reasons; the majority of Wisconsin wetlands are privately owned (and therefore most Wisconsin ducks nest on private land), benefits of habitat work go beyond property lines, and interested landowners willing to cost share projects and maintain the completed project.
As a WWA supporter, we hope you’ve noticed a shift in WWA’s habitat work, which is driven by partnerships, grant money, access, and staffing. A shift from private property to public property. At this time, our capacity for restoration efforts has more than doubled, meaning more restorations are being done on more acres, many of which are accessible to you. In the past two years, 80% of the completed habitat acres occurred on public property. It’s worth noting that this is not due to a decrease in the number of private land projects we’re completing, but because the number of public land projects is increasing. While WWA has shifted towards public property work, we will continue to do historically similar amounts of habitat work on private property.
As hunters, we may think public land habitat work equates to an increase in public hunting locations, and that’s generally true. However, while one of the benefits of a public land project is increased public hunting, it isn’t the only metric of success.
The benefits of public lands projects are wide-ranging and site-dependent. These wetland restorations will improve water quality downstream and restore vegetation that offers better habitat value for wetland wildlife, including the habitat needed for nesting and migrating waterfowl.
Since making this shift in 2023, WWA has restored more than 650 acres of public lands, with many more slated for restoration in the next 3-5 years. More importantly, we’ve established processes, systems, knowledge, and experience that will grow the program into the future, with more projects having a greater impact on Wisconsin wetlands and waterfowl.
To stay informed about WWA Habitat Work 2.0, follow us through our social media sites – Facebook and Instagram – or sign up for the monthly WWA Newsletter:
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