Southern Region E-Newsletter
January 2019
Keep up with DU’s Southern Region. Connect with us on Facebook (@sroducks), Twitter (@DUSouthernNews), Flickr and Instagram (@ducksunlimitedsouth).
Hello DU Supporter,
A Message From the Regional Leadership Team
We find ourselves at the beginning of a new year and the end of another waterfowl season. The cycle of a hunter conservationist is sacred to us. We restore our own spirits in pursuit of the waterfowl we serve, and now begins another year of working for them. The core of the majesty of DU lies in wild things and wild places. It lies in glorious sunsets and sunrises pregnant with the promise of the coming day. It is alive in the way prairie grasses dance in the wind and solitary geese plaintively call. The magic in DU is partially in the bonds of camaraderie we form as we fight for something bigger than ourselves, something that will last longer than our last sunset and mean something to succeeding generations.
 
This is a time of year for endings and beginnings. 2018 is behind us, and another season of harvesting the fruits of our labor will soon draw to a close. It is also a time of beginnings. It is a time for waterfowl and waterfowlers alike to rest and build some reserves for the long hard task of building a better year. We all have a part to play in the great machine that is North American waterfowl conservation. Each of us is a cog in this singular conservation machine.
 
We are engaged in a process that delivers habitat for waterfowl, but those same habitats benefit people greatly, even those who don’t engage in hunting. DU’s habitat work benefits butterflies, songbirds, and turtles, and in doing so benefits people. We provide cleaner air and water, better soil, quiet places, and even the food we eat. Increasingly, these things that we’ve taken for granted for generations are being shown to dramatically impact the quality of our lives.
 
All people benefit from DU’s work, even if they don’t know it. If you are reading this, then you already know the secret. Words may fail in describing your connection to the marshes, fields, hills and forests, but your actions demonstrate your love of these things. Thank you in advance for the hard work that lies ahead in 2019. The things that we do matter in ways we cannot yet understand.
 
DU demonstrates in many ways every day that we can do the impossible, acre by acre and year by year. Despite the tremendous amount of time, energy, and money we put into Ducks Unlimited, each of us gains far more than we expend in doing the great work that we do. We matter to every North American citizen, waterfowler or not, so, please remember to bring everyone along on this journey.
News From Around the Region
Maddox Fund Supports Work at Cross Creeks NWR
DU and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are enhancing 263 acres of moist soil wetlands on Cross Creeks National Wildlife Refuge in Stewart County, Tennessee. Funding comes from the Dan and Margaret Maddox Charitable Fund, a small NAWCA grant and match provided by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.   Read More
Mahannah WMA Enhanced
Ducks Unlimited and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks each secured a North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant to enhance more than 1,100 acres of moist soil wetlands on Mahannah WMA.  Read More
Texas Playa Conservation Initiative Recognized as a Conservation Wrangler
The Texas Playa Conservation Initiative was recognized by Texan by Nature as one of the 2018 Conservation Wranglers. The program highlights the very best Texan-led conservation projects in the state. Texan by Nature supports select innovative and transformative projects in the field of conservation with tailored aid, resources and visibility. Read More
North Carolina Public Land Expansion
A DU project to expand public lands in coastal North Carolina was awarded $1.2 million from the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF) program. The grant supports the fee title acquisition of 6,300 acres on the North River in Camden County. The property is geographically, hydrologically and ecologically connected to several other conservation properties and projects in the region. The property will be dedicated as part of the publicly-accessible North River Game Lands Read More
Ducks Unlimited, DGIF Celebrate Coastal Restoration
Ducks Unlimited partners and supporters gathered in November to celebrate two projects that enhanced wetland habitat on the Princess Anne Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in southeastern Virginia. (photo by: Meghan Marchetti, DGIF) Read More
Resiliency Funding for Louisiana Restoration Work
Ducks Unlimited recently received funding for coastal restoration work through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s (NFWF) new National Coastal Resiliency Fund. Established in 2018, the fund restores and enhances natural resource infrastructure to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities to storms, floods and other detrimental natural events. NFWF, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Shell Oil Company and TransRe announced 35 grants in the inaugural round of funding totaling $28.93 million, leveraging $38.29 million in match from grantees, and generating a total conservation impact of more than $67.22 million. Read More
Multi-project Dedication in Coastal Louisiana
In October, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and Ducks Unlimited dedicated five coastal restoration projects that benefit thousands of acres on state-managed public lands. Pictured: Dedication attendees visited the recently completed Unit 4 Water Control Structure at Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge , where members of the public were crabbing and fishing. Read More  or see the photo album .
The People of DU
Brown Foundation Latest Rice Stewardship Supporter

The Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation recently became the newest financial supporter of the USA Rice-Ducks Unlimited Rice Stewardship Partnership with a commitment of $50,000. Read More
Christiaan Pond
VADU 2019 State Chair

“I was the kid that grew up in DU,” he said. Watching his dad serve as area and district chairman, Christiaan learned the value of volunteering and took up the charge for DU in 2000.   Read More
Public Policy
Engaging Elected Officials
It was an interesting election night across the Southern Region, and the results have many implications for DU’s conservation mission. However, regardless of which party or elected official is now in political power in your state capitol or in Washington, DC, DU’s pure mission of standing up for waterfowl and wetland conservation allows us to thoughtfully and forcefully engage on our policy priorities.

One of the most effective ways to do this is to engage our powerful network of grassroots members to advocate for our policy priorities. To this end, President Rogers Hoyt has once again called all state chairs and other volunteer leaders to come to Washington, DC on January 29-31. Attendees will learn about how DU does its policy work and will have the opportunity to ask their members of Congress to support our important federal priorities like the Farm Bill and North American Wetlands Conservation Act. As you know, these vital programs support waterfowl and wetlands on private and public lands across the country. For more information, please contact your state policy chair or Director of Public Policy, Ed Penny.

As the next Congress begins in January and state legislative sessions “gavel in,” please stay on the alert for issues that positively or negatively affect our conservation mission. Example issues would include bills that affect our unique fundraising methods like raffles, firearm licensing issues, and funding programs that support wetland and habitat conservation.
North Carolina Right to Hunt and Fish Amendment
In North Carolina, voters passed the Right to Hunt and Fish Constitutional Amendment. The ballot measure established a state constitutional right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife for the people of North Carolina. The amendment subjects this right to statutes and regulations that promote wildlife conservation and management and preserve the future of hunting and fishing. The measure also declares that hunting and fishing are the preferred means of managing and controlling wildlife in North Carolina. This amendment was supported by NC DU, and State Chair Henry Kidd submitted letters to the editor outlining DU’s position.
Georgia Conservation Funding
Another election night victory occurred in Georgia where voters overwhelmingly passed the Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund ballot measure. The measure will dedicate tax revenue from certain outdoor equipment to conservation. While DU took no formal position on the measure, it will benefit Georgia by bringing more funding to land, water and wildlife conservation. Now that it has passed, DU will work with legislators and the Georgia DNR to ensure that funds are spent wisely, and that some funding is focused on habitat conservation.
Research Update
Coypu Foundation Supports Mottled Duck Research
The Coypu Foundation recently committed $26,000 to Ducks Unlimited to support mottled duck research in Louisiana. The western Gulf Coast population of mottled ducks have been declining over the past 40 years and biologists believe this is related to factors during the breeding season. Ducks Unlimited and partners, including Louisiana State University, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and the Gulf Coast Joint Venture, collaborated on a research study to better understand the breeding ecology of mottled ducks in southwestern Louisiana’s coastal marshes.  Read More
Staff Changes
Our newest Engineer-In-Training is Daniel Stanbery. He is an engineering graduate of Texas A&M University and was an active committee member of the DU student chapter. Daniel began his work with us on Oct. 15 and is stationed at our Richmond, Texas, field office. He will be a great addition to the Texas engineering team of Carter, Keith & Jacob. 
Other Regions

See what's going on around the country in the other Ducks Unlimited regions. Check out their e-newsletters.
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