Ducks Unlimited (DU) is an American

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

dedicated to the conservation of

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife, and people.

History and profile

In 1927, an offshoot of the

Boone and Crockett Club The Boone and Crockett Club is an American nonprofit organization that advocates fair chase hunting in support of habitat conservation. The club is North America's oldest wildlife and habitat conservation organization, founded in the United S ...

was created specifically for sport bird management and operated until 1930 as the American Wild Fowlers. Membership included such people as Arthur Bartley and Nash Buckingham, who would later be involved in the conservation movement. In 1930, Joseph P. Knapp, a publishing tycoon who successfully obtained such notable publications as ''The Associated Sunday Magazine'', Crowell Publishing Company, ''Collier’s Weekly'', ''Farm and Fireside,'' and the book publisher P.F. Collier & Sons, founded More Game Birds in America and American Wild Fowlers was quickly absorbed into the new organization. In 1937, Knapp, Robert Winthrop, E.H.Low and a small group of conservation philanthropists decided to focus on the decreasing waterfowl populations, and the habitat necessary to sustain them in Canada. Ducks Unlimited was incorporated on January 29, 1937. Local Winnipeg artist Ernie Wilson created the original Ducks Unlimited logo. More Game Birds in America was then absorbed by the new waterfowl organization. Ducks Unlimited Canada was incorporated in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, on March 10, 1937. As of 2020, Ducks Unlimited Canada has a conservation community of 111,025 people. Ducks Unlimited also works in Mexico through their sister organization, Ducks Unlimited de Mexico. Other chapters have since begun operation in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Ducks Unlimited has conserved at least 15 million acres of waterfowl habitat in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. DU partners with a wide range of corporations, governments, other

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

s, landowners, and private citizens to restore and manage areas that have been degraded and to prevent further degradation of existing wetlands. DU is also active in working with others to recommend government policies that will influence wetlands and the environment. DU generated more than $201 million in revenues during their 2019 fiscal year; a minimum of 80 percent of that revenue goes directly toward

habitat conservation Habitat conservation is a management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore habitats and prevent species extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range. It is a priority of many groups that cannot be easily characterized in ter ...

. Their sources of revenue include federal and state habitat reimbursements, conservation easements, sponsors, members, major gifts, donations, royalties, and advertisement. The majority of DU's financial contributors and 90 percent of its members are hunters. Its ''DU Magazine'' contains many historical and practical articles on waterfowl hunting. It obtains revenue from advertisements of waterfowling equipment such as shotguns, ammunition, decoys, and bird calls. Additional revenue is raised by commissioning artists to create duck artwork, with a portion going to the artist and the majority share of revenue going to Ducks Unlimited. Eric Thorsen is one wildlife artist who has contributed artwork for fundraising. In 2019, Ducks Unlimited Canada and the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

partnered to establish the "Ducks Unlimited Canada Endowed Chair in Wetland and Waterfowl Conservation". The position will aid the university faculty and students with environmental education, research, and outreach. In March 2019, Ducks Unlimited named former Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam the new Chief Executive Officer.

Conservation

Traditionally, most Ducks Unlimited

wetland conservation Wetland conservation is aimed at protecting and preserving areas of land including marshes, swamps, bogs, anfensthat are covered by water seasonally or permanently due to a variety of threats from both natural and Anthropogenic hazard, anthropoge ...

projects were conducted on waterfowl breeding areas in the Canadian prairies by its sister organization, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC). DUC has since expanded its operations to include projects in every Canadian province and territory, not just in the prairies. Ducks Unlimited has also expanded its operations to include conservation projects in every state of the United States and Mexico. It retains a primary focus on habitats most important to waterfowl, including the restoration of duck breeding habitats in Canada and the northern central states and ducks overwintering habitat, mainly in the coastal and southern states and in Mexico.

Coastal cleanup

Following the 2010

Deepwater Horizon oil spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill was an environmental disaster off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico, on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. It is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum in ...

in the Gulf of Mexico, Ducks Unlimited became involved with multiple clean-up efforts in Gulf states. The organization worked with the

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is an American foundation that was chartered by the United States Congress in 1984 to increase the resources available for the conservation of the nation's fish, wildlife, plants, and habitats. A ...

and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to protect approximately 79,000 acres of waterfowl and other waterbird habitats. In 2015, Ducks Unlimited partnered with

The Trust for Public Land The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...

to build an online database that tracked conservation and cleanup efforts following the Deepwater Horizon spill. On August 16, 2018, the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...

(NOAA) announced a $1.8 million cooperative agreement with Ducks Unlimited to clean up oil spills and

hazardous waste Hazardous waste is waste that must be handled properly to avoid damaging human health or the environment. Waste can be hazardous because it is Toxicity, toxic, Chemical reaction, reacts violently with other chemicals, or is Corrosion, corrosive, ...

in the State of Texas from releases originating from the Gulf of Mexico.

Regions of special interest

Prairie Pothole Region The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is an expansive area of the northern Great Plains that contains thousands of shallow wetlands known as potholes. These potholes are the result of glacier activity in the Wisconsin glaciation The Wisconsin gl ...

* Western

Boreal Forest of Canada Canada's boreal forest is a vast region comprising about one third of the circumpolar boreal forest that rings the Northern Hemisphere, mostly north of the 50th parallel. Other countries with boreal forest include Russia, which contains the majo ...

* Mississippi Alluvial Valley * Central Valley and

Coastal California Coastal California, also known as the California Coastline and the Golden Coast, refers to the coastal regions of the U.S. state of California. The term is not primarily geographical as it also describes an area distinguished by cultural, economic ...

* Gulf Coastal Prairie

Ducks Unlimited TV

Ducks Unlimited produces a television show, ''Ducks Unlimited TV'' a.k.a. ''DUTV''. This show is hosted by Field Hudnall, Wade Bourne, and Ainsley Beeman. The show highlights conservation and waterfowl hunting across the United States.

References

External links

Ducks Unlimited

Ducks Unlimited Canada

Ducks Unlimited Louisiana

Official Ducks Unlimited TV CarbonTV Channel
{{authority control Hunting in the United States Water organizations in the United States Hunting in Canada Nature conservation organizations based in Canada Ornithological organizations Wetlands organizations Organizations established in 1937 Wetland conservation in the United States Organizations based in Memphis, Tennessee Environmental organizations based in Tennessee Nature conservation organizations based in the United States 501(c)(3) organizations