July 2018
Wisconsin
Upper Mississippi wetlands enhanced and protected
Migratory birds and outdoors enthusiasts will see enhanced habitat from two Ducks Unlimited projects kicking off this year.

New York
New ground for ducks, hunters
Ducks Unlimited is helping restore 140 acres of Northern Montezuma Wildlife Management Area, to improve migrating waterfowl habitat and public recreational opportunities.

Michigan
NAWCA expands Great Lakes nature preserve

Thanks to the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, Sand Point Nature Preserve is a home for outdoor recreation and an important mechanism for improving water quality.

Iowa
Restored wetlands improve popular lakes
Two new wetlands will improve northern Iowa’s Great Lakes region, an important economic area that attracts more than one million vacationers annually.

Connecticut
Quinnicpiac River hunting ban enacted
After an effort by the state Senate President to legislatively ban hunting on a section of the Quinnipiac River was defeated, politicians in the New Haven area worked with local police to orchestrate a request to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to place a one-year moratorium on hunting in that area of river. The hunting ban request is in response to local homeowner complaints about noise. The department abided and hunting is now banned on a section of river that was previously open. Lawmakers have been public that they plan to use this time to generate additional legislative support for passing a more permanent ban once the legislature returns to session next year. Ducks Unlimited is extremely disappointed in the department’s decision to succumb to political forces and plan to question the department thoroughly and build a strategy to defeat future hunting ban legislation.
Indiana
Permanent conservation funding discussed
Ducks Unlimited discussed with Indiana DNR leadership and conservation partners about establishing sustainable conservation funding in the state. Efforts are underway to communicate the importance of conservation to the governor who will have the opportunity in January 2019 to make conservation one of his policy pillars.
Michigan
Congressman tours wetlands area
DU and the Michigan DNR took Congressman Paul Mitchell on an aerial tour of the St. Clair Flats region of southeast Michigan. DU and partners have been highly involved in this coastal wetland area and the tour showcased the scale and extent of conservation work to the freshman congressman. The event also gave an opportunity to highlight the importance of NAWCA and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

Wetland restoration bills move forward
Michigan House Bills 5854 and 5855, clarifying state wetland definitions and creating a new voluntary wetland restoration permit process, passed the House recently. These bills, developed and championed by Ducks Unlimited, now head to the Senate where DU plans to have them amended to integrate feedback from the state Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
81st National Convention
See photos from the Ducks Unlimited 81st National Convention in Indianapolis.

Indiana
New wildlife area dedicated by Ducks Unlimited supporters
More than 100 present and future Ducks Unlimited supporters gathered June 9 to celebrate the dedication of Wabashiki Fish and Wildlife Area near Terre Haute.
Pennsylvania
French Creek watershed protected, celebrated

The French Creek Watershed Partnership Celebration and Project Tour on May 19 in Crawford County showed 50 people the up-close impacts of partner and volunteer support uniting for a common conservation goal.
Lancaster DU chapter hosts biggest event

Congratulations to the Lancaster County chapter, which this spring hosted its largest banquet dinner. The event drew nearly 500 people and raised $105,000 thanks to the support of 45 committee members.
Ohio
Energy Transfer Partners to help create two new wetlands
With financial support from Energy Transfer Partners, Ducks Unlimited will restore two former farmlands back to wetlands and upland habitat, directly improving bird habitat and Great Lakes water quality.

Two people, one goal
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Nature’s Good Neighbor s is a series of stories highlighting people who depend on the land as much as the land depends on them. Two Ducks Unlimited's projects and partners were featured in this story, an organic farmer in Michigan and an avid waterfowler in Ohio.

Preserving The “Atlantic Flyway”
"Starting this spring, more than $3.3 million will be invested in a project being spearheaded by the nonprofit Ducks Unlimited organization to preserve and restore vital wetlands throughout the north country."

Honk, honk, ribbit, ribbit in protected wetlands
"What’s good for the goose – and the duck and the swan – is good for the frog. That’s the lesson from a new study that found wetlands conservation projects designed to benefit waterfowl also provide a boost other critters."

Groups unite to reduce
Lake Erie algae blooms
"The large algae blooms we see in Lake Erie could be hugely reduced if we had more wetlands. We don’t have those safeguards anymore — those buffer zones — that keep nutrients and impurities out of Lake Erie."

U.S. Interior Secretary addresses DU members at National Convention
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke talked public lands, conservation and the importance of Ducks Unlimited's mission on June 1 in Indianapolis.
Cody Sargen
Engineer
(734) 623-2000

Cody hails from Greenfield Center, NY and is a recent civil engineering graduate of Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY. Cody will assist with project designs in Michigan and Ohio.
Maddie Saylor
Engineer
(701) 355-3519

Maddie is back with the Great Lakes/Atlantic Region as an engineer assisting on Minnesota design projects. She began her DU career as an intern in the Michigan office, eventually accepting a full-time position and later transferring to the Great Plains Region.
Brad Karel
Manager of Conservation Services – Construction
(701) 355-3555

Brad is a 33-year DU employee who has extensive construction management experience on complex projects in several states including Minnesota and Iowa. Brad will assist us on construction management and topographic surveys in Minnesota and other areas.
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