In March 1991, Ducks Unlimited (DU) scientists had realized that the organization needed to expand its capability to study factors affecting waterfowl populations on a much broader scale, and IWWR was born.

“From the beginning, IWWR focused on engaging graduate students,” says Dave Howerter, IWWR national manager. “By partnering with universities to support graduate research, DU ensured that the next generation of conservation scientists would receive the training required to help fulfill DU’s mission, while focusing the intellectual resources housed at universities on topics important to our conservation companies.”

In its 20 years, IWWR has led or participated in nearly 300 studies throughout North America, while helping to train graduate students from over 40 universities, and collaborating with more than 45 external research agencies.

In addition, IWWR-sponsored research has resulted in more than 540 graduate theses, book chapters and peer-reviewed technical journal articles. Today, IWWR is comprised of a core team of 15 staff. It has come a long ways since 1991.

Throughout the year, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) conducts regular assessments of waterfowl habitats across Canada. While not a substitute for systemic surveys or scientific studies, these assessments do provide a valuable snapshot of wetlands and waterway conditions across Canada.

Most recently released was the “Early Summer Habitat Conditions in Canada” report which contained almost entirely favourable news. For example, much of the Prairies are rated as “good”, “very good” or “excellent”, thanks to above average levels of precipitation which refilled basins and allowed for localized flooding. In these regions, duck breeding populations have increased by 41 to 66 percent over last year’s estimates and show an increase compared to the long term average as well. Similarly, observed populations of beaver, geese and ducks in Ontario are the same or better compared to 2010.

The only exception is in certain areas of British Columbia such as the Interior. While conditions are generally improved compared to previous years, the cold spring has delayed flooding in some basins. Possibly as a result of these spring weather patterns, sightings of waterfowl breeding pairs are down. The Boreal forest areas of British Columbia and Alberta also experienced a decline in total duck populations as compared to previous years. DUC speculates that many birds are taking advantage of more favourable conditions elsewhere in the region.

While the DUC reports focus mainly on waterfowl breeding habitats and easily observed mammals such as beavers, the observation of healthy wetlands and waterways certainly benefits other species of animals and plants as well.

Wetlands are an important habitat for birds and other wildlife. Each year, almost 28 million waterfowl and shorebirds use BC’s wetlands to nest and over-winter. In addition, wetlands are home to species such as salmon and play an important role in maintaining the balance and purity of surface waters.

But in the face of increased human growth, agriculture and industry, wetlands have been in decline. In some places, 85 percent of floodplains and marshes have been lost.

Ducks Unlimited Canada, an organization which partners with government, non-government, industry and private sources to conserve BC’s wetlands and other associated habitats, worked with the city of Kelowna to develop a new strategy for wetland conservation.

With the help of Ducks Unlimited, which provided funds and assistance in the development of a Wetland Inventory, Classification and Mapping report, the City Council of Kelowna and Mayor Sharon Shepherd recently unveiled the Kelowna 2030 Official Community Plan (OCP). Under the new OCP, individuals and organizations are required to obtain permits prior to conducting any development within wetlands in Kelowna. The actions of city council were praised by Les Bogdan, Ducks Unlimited’s provincial manager in BC, as showing “tremendous environmental leadership”.

A total of 278 wetlands and waterways were identified by the report and will be protected under the new plan. All concerned parties are encouraged to contact staff from the City of Kelowna before beginning work near watercourses.

The Prairie Pothole Region, which extends from the Canadian prairies of Saskatchewan and Alberta down into South Dakota and parts of Iowa, is an area of highly productive land used by wildlife, ranchers and farmers alike. The “potholes” are literal depressions in the land – a relic of retreating glaciers from the distant past – which have since filled with water. These seasonal wetlands are important habitats for migratory waterfowl, with some research suggesting that the lands are used by over 50% of all North American migratory birds. In addition to being important waterfowl habitats, the prairie potholes are also home to a diverse set of plant and aquatic life.

The Dakota Grassland Conservation Area proposal seeks to preserve habitat by purchasing easements from willing sellers on approximately 2 million acres of prairie habitat. Easements are legal agreements in which a private owner agrees to limit use or development of an area of land. Under the proposed initiative, easements would allow farmers to use the land for grazing or haying, but would prevent more destructive activities such as plowing or draining.

During his visit, Salazar met with Ducks Unlimited, whom he applauded for supporting the proposed program. Ducks Unlimited estimates that almost 194,000 acres of prairie have been lost or degraded since 1984 and have committed to invest $50 million over ten years towards the project. The remaining funds for the project would come from previously committed government conservation dollars.

Hunters and anglers generate almost $80 billion in the U.S. economy each year, Scott Sutherland, Director of the Governmental Affairs Office for Ducks Unlimited, told the officials. He then suggested that the government remember how important waterfowl-related issues are to their constituents when scaling back budgets.

In more than 30 meetings, the Ducks Unlimited volunteers outlined how waterfowl-related initiatives, such as the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, positively impact the economies of local communities across the nation.

Several participants of the fly-in also met with Ken Salazar, U.S. Secretary of the Interior. They discussed the importance of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed Dakota Grassland Conservation Area, designed to protect endangered grasslands in America’s Prairie Pothole Region.

Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 12 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. These Washington DC meetings will hopefully help preserve even more land birds.

The State/Provincial award was given to James Sutherlin of Port Arthur, Texas, for his work with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. He is an example of a conservation manager who applies a large, landscape-level approach to restore and enhance wetlands. In particular, he has achieved conservation within the Chenier Plain marshes in southeast Texas. He has also attracted $3 million in grants to work on habitat conditions and management along the Texas coast.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels also won an award, for conserving thousands of acres of state land along the Muscatatuck River in southern Indiana and along the Wabash River in the western part of the state, reports the Chicago Tribune. 

A Special Award was given to Dave White, who was the driving force behind the establishment of the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative after the Gulf Coast oil spill. He is chief of the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Science, and used his resources to maximize habitat and available food resources for the wintering wildfowl that could have been harmed by the oil spill. He launched an evaluation project to measure his success. The NRCS achieved a single year enrollment record in which farmers and ranchers joined the Wetlands Reserve Program.

If you’d like to learn more, The Outdoor Wire has the complete list with the Award winner’s bios on their website.

Along with the Muscatatuck Bottoms plan, the state announced the Wabash project, the largest conservation initiative ever undertaken by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.  The Nature Conservancy explains that the state will acquire 43,000 acres in the floodplain of the Wabash River and Sugar Creek from willing sellers, which will benefit wildlife, public recreation and the environment.  The area involved spans 94 miles along the river, and according to Governor Mitch Daniels it will be one of the largest continuous wildlife and waterfowl habitats in the eastern United States.

The Tribstar reports that the state will use $21.5 million from the Lifetime License Trust Fund, a state trust fund dedicated to conservation purposes, and $10 million from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, to begin the necessary land acquisitions.  Additional funding will come from Ducks Unlimited, the Nature Conservancy, and the U.S. Dept of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The Wabash is biologically diverse and increased protection means that migratory birds such as ducks and geese will be able to find vital resting areas in Indiana while on their way to Mexico for the winter.  Although the ultimate goal of the initiative is to protect habitats and threatened species, the project will also bring significant flood control advantages to the area, according to Governor Daniels in the Tribstar.  Sounds like a win/win situation for all species!

Canada (with 37 Ramsar sites) and the United States (with 26 Ramsar sites) are among the many countries who have signed the agreement.  Canada has more sites than the U.S. partly because Canada is home to 25% of the world’s wetlands.

Wetlands, according to the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), include swamps, ponds, marshes, and peat bogs.  They function similarly to giant sponges, soaking up rain and snow melt water, and slowly releasing it during drier seasons while filtering it to help reduce pollution and soil erosion.

Wetlands are the exclusive home to plants, fish and birds that use them for breeding, nesting and feeding.  Sadly, wetlands are disappearing. In Canada, organizations such as the Nature Conservancy of Canada and Ducks Unlimited work together to try to preserve wetlands.

Much of this work is part of the Nature Conservancy’s partnership with the Government of Canada.  The Natural Areas Conservation Program is a $225 million grant given to the NCC by the government in 2007, which the organization is responsible for managing.  The grant assists NGOs in securing ecologically-sensitive lands, and involves the government matching funds raised by the NGOs.  As of September 2009, the program has saved over 302,880 acres, protecting habitat for over 79 species at risk.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada determines which natural areas are significant based on an area’s level of biodiversity and the threats it faces.  Much of this information is gathered through the eight Conservation Data Centres established by the organization across Canada since 1988.

Once priorities are set, the NCC works with private landowners to secure ecologically-significant land identified as conservation priorities.  NCC acquires and protects land through land purchase, donation, conservation agreement or relinquishment of mining or timber rights.

NCC’s work doesn’t end when the land is acquired.  Ongoing land management is needed to ensure the continued health of ecosystems and the plants and animals that live within them.

The program is certainly a positive one for a government that didn’t do much good in Copenhagen.  Let’s hope that by recognizing the good that they’re doing here, we can encourage the government to care for the climate – the very climate that provides the rain and snow that make wetlands possible.