Ducks Unlimited

Critical wetland acres for breeding and migratory waterfowl will be protected in Ohio, Wisconsin and New York. #DucksUnlimited #DUConserve

These women may have vastly different personal histories and professions, but their stories reflect a shared passion for conservation and a commitment to broadening DU’s message and base of support. #DucksUnlimited #TeamDU

Land of the free, home of the brave. We are proud to call this nation our home. Happy Independence Day from the Ducks Unlimited family to yours! 🇺🇸 . . . #DucksUnlimited #TeamDucksUnlimited #IndependenceDay #FourthOfJuly #America #USA Mallards: Michael Furtman

If you aren't thinking about water and nature, you need to be! Jeff Hanratty, managing director for national sustainability programs, represented Ducks Unlimited at the Dow Championship's Business Sustainability Summit alongside Dow's Andre Argenton, Chief Sustainability Office and Vice President of EH&S, and Carrie Houtman, Director of Circularity & Climate, and also Emilio Tenuta from Ecolab and Chris Keefer from BeAlive Inc. The panel focused on the challenges associated with water scarcity and biodiversity decline while addressing the importance of conservation, climate protection, and industry collaboration. Special thanks to Dow for the opportunity to share DU's mission and vision during this awesome event!

Last month I had the privilege of moderating a panel with University of Georgia students Maddie Carpenter, EIT and Stevens Charles E.I. and Professor Rhett Jackson, PhD at the 87th Ducks Unlimited National Convention. The panel session highlighted the Natural Infrastructure Graduate Fellowship, a collaborative program between UGA’s Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems (UGA-IRIS) and Ducks Unlimited. The program gives students experience conducting both practice-oriented and basic research on #naturalinfrastructure methods and engineering guidance, tool development, cost and economic analysis, monitoring and adaptive management, and social dimensions of climate resilient infrastructure with an emphasis on integration of natural and conventional systems.   Maddie and Stevens have been working with DU conservation staff on their research projects, and both students discussed their objectives at the convention. Maddie is investigating tradeoffs between wetland phosphorus retention and waterfowl habitat suitability, and Stevens is researching the impact of controlled overtopping of levees on wetland rehabilitation and flood control. The students did a fantastic job presenting on the main stage and engaging with DU volunteers. Thank you to UGA-IRIS for your dedication to the environment and advancing use of natural infrastructure! This fellowship program represents DU’s longstanding commitment to working with nature to achieve our mission of conserving #wetlands and waterfowl habitat across the continent.

We are proud to celebrate the Duck Stamp First Day of Sale with Bass Pro Shops, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, stamp artists, and fellow conservationists at the Bass Pro Shops in Hanover, Maryland. DU Senior Waterfowl Scientist Dr. Mike Brasher and DU Regional Vice President John Notarangelo spoke at Friday’s event. “Duck stamps are a great way for hunters, birders, photographers or anybody who loves the outdoors to invest in wetland and waterfowl conservation," said Brasher. “Whether you hunt or not, buy one or more duck stamps yearly to help conserve our wetlands. The First Day of Sale is a perfect opportunity to celebrate the season and say thank you to artists and everyone who supports and delivers wildlife conservation.” “Here in Maryland, historic refuges like Blackwater and Eastern Neck have greatly benefitted from duck stamp sales," said Notarangelo. "The Chesapeake has a long-standing heritage of waterfowling, which was nearly brought to its knees due to the dark days of market gunning. The stamp and the refuges it funds helped bring waterfowl back from the brink, and today, ducks and geese are thriving here.” It's Duck Stamp Day! Put your stamp on conservation! Learn more: https://lnkd.in/efNuTi47 Picture from left to right: Chuck Black, 2024-2025 Federal Duck Stamp Artist; Dr. Mike Brasher, Ducks Unlimited Senior Waterfowl Scientist; Suzanne Fellows, Chief of the Duck Stamp Program for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Migratory Bird Program; Jerome Ford, Assistant Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Migratory Bird Program; John Notarangelo, Ducks Unlimited Regional Vice President for Mid-Atlantic Region; Bob Ziehmer, Senior Director for Conservation, Bass Pro Shops; Martha Williams, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Emily Lian, 2024-2025 Junior Duck Stamp artist Photo: Valerie Fellows/USFWS