Audubon’s Conservation Ranching (ACR) program is the cornerstone of its Working Lands Initiative. It functions as market-based conservation, offering incentives for good grassland stewardship and “bird-friendly” management practices through a certification label on beef products. The program has evolved through a collaborative effort between beef producers, state and federal agency partners, industry experts, and other … Read more
The Wolsey Important Bird Area (IBA) in eastern South Dakota provides critical resting, refueling and staging habitat for over 150,000 Sandhill Cranes each spring including nearly 40% of all Greater Sandhill Cranes and over 23% of the global population of all six subspecies of Sandhill Cranes (Krapu et al. 2014). These majestic birds soar into … Read more
Multidimensional Conservation I think most successful partnerships, particularly those within the joint venture community, adapt and change over time. In such a dynamic, partners work together with incredible ingenuity and commitment to accomplish something greater than themselves or any one organization. They think beyond today, next month, or even 10 years from now since the … Read more
Opening day of duck season is an exciting occasion, especially for youngsters hunting for the first time. During the 2017 North Dakota youth waterfowl hunting season, Ducks Unlimited volunteers took a group of kids hunting at the Coteau Ranch. The ranch, which is open to public hunting, is owned by Ducks Unlimited and located in … Read more
DU and NRCS grant helps landowners improve productivity and profitability of private lands Agricultural producers in eastern South Dakota can get financial assistance for a variety of conservation practices focusing on improving soil health. Ducks Unlimited, the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and several other partners developed the project under the Regional Conservation Partnership … Read more
The South Dakota Grassland Coalition and its partners (listed below) collaborated to produce and release a short video story each month during 2018 to promote healthy soils, grasslands, and ecosystems. The videos are beautifully filmed, depict real ranching families, and are well worth three minutes of your time. Click here to enjoy the Our Amazing … Read more
The North Dakota Natural Resources Trust (Trust), along with their partners on the Outdoor Heritage Fund grant, are offering producers access to resources to keep their expired and expiring CRP acres in grass through the Working Grasslands Partnership Phase II (WGP II). The inaugural grant engaged more than 40 landowners to keep over 17,000 acres … Read more
The North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) steering committee convened the Future of Waterfowl Workshop September 25-27 at the USFWS National Conservation and Training Center as a catalyst for the next iteration of the Plan. The PPJV was well represented with a large number of management board members and technical committee members in attendance. The … Read more
Looking back over a generation of accomplishments, one thing is certain: our strength lies in the diversity of partners who have come together around our common goals. The impressive numbers of grassland and wetland habitats that our joint efforts have protected are testament to this fact. These fruitful partnerships have inspired confidence with residents of … Read more
Every year since 1987, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) personnel across the U.S. Prairie Pothole Region have visited approximately 6,000 wetlands to count waterfowl as part of the Four-Square-Mile Breeding Waterfowl Survey. Since the early days of the USFWS, it has been widely recognized that this region is extremely important in sustaining duck populations. … Read more
ND Outdoor Heritage Fund grant will help farms integrate livestock, cover crops North Dakota agricultural producers can get help diversifying their operations and improving soil health. Ducks Unlimited and its partners worked with producers in southeastern North Dakota to build a simple, useful program called Cover Crop and Livestock Integration Project (CCLIP), which provides financial … Read more
Deuel County, South Dakota, is home to some of the most productive breeding waterfowl habitat in the Prairie Pothole Region – reason enough for several partners to work with the Even family to restore 32.5 acres of wetlands on their farm. Add upland nesting bird habitat to the mix, and the project was a winner … Read more