Farming, ranching, hunting, and wildlife management go hand-in-hand at Daybreak Ranch in central South Dakota. Located north of Highmore, family-owned and operated Daybreak Ranch comprises 8,000 acres of private land consisting of native grassland, cropland, wetlands, food plots, and tree belt plantings. These diverse habitats support wildlife in abundance, especially ring-necked pheasants, white-tailed deer, pronghorn, … Read more
Soil health practices have become increasingly popular among producers across North and South Dakota, and Ducks Unlimited (DU) is seeking opportunities to develop associated wildlife benefit and provide financial assistance to interested farmers. By incorporating more diversified crop rotations, reducing tillage, and incorporating cover crops, producers can improve soil structure, improve water infiltration and storage, … Read more
With so many distractions confronting the people of this country, it seems gaining attention for land conservation – and ultimately wildlife conservation – is a tall order indeed. We have all viewed efforts to promote the conservation of oceans, wetlands, and even forests. However, we hear little about “grasslands,” yet, from a global perspective, temperate … Read more
In the fall of 2016, South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (SDGFP) Private Lands Habitat Program, along with Pheasants Forever, and private landowners completed 30 wetland restorations working across 3 project areas on public and private lands in northeastern South Dakota. These areas provide important habitat for waterfowl and other wetland and grassland dependent wildlife. … Read more
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) of the 1985 Food Security Act (a.k.a. Farm Bill) provides substantial benefits to grassland birds. Populations of grassland birds are declining at a steeper rate than any other group of North American birds and the Northern Great Plains has the highest diversity of grassland bird species on the continent, therefore … Read more
Grassland bird populations have shown the most widespread and significant declines of any avifaunal group in North America. The Prairie Pothole Region supports the core breeding populations for four of the most rapidly declining species, specifically Sprague’s pipit (Anthus spragueii), chestnut-collared (Calcarius ornatus) and McCown’s longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii), and Baird’s sparrow (Ammodramus bairdii). These four … Read more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Small Wetlands Acquisition Program (SWAP) provides a solid foundation for conservation delivery and contributes to fulfilling the goals of the 2005 PPJV Implementation Plan (Plan). The Plan calls for perpetually protecting through easement acquisition an additional 1.4 million acres of wetlands and over 10 million acres of grassland. The … Read more
Diverse habitat is a fundamental building block for healthy wildlife populations. That’s an axiom we all learned in Biology 101 and one that serves as the foundation for the new Honey Bee & Monarch Butterfly Partnership. Like all good ideas, the concept started with a seed. More exactly, a diverse mix of seeds. Last year, … Read more
As the South Dakota Prairie Butterfly Garden enters its fourth growing season, the perennial plants are spreading out of their original plots, making the garden appear like a South Dakota prairie. The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (SDGFP) worked together to create this outdoor learning area for … Read more
Ducks Unlimited (DU) has a vision to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. DU is regarded among the scientific and conservation community as the world’s leader in wetlands and waterfowl conservation. DU is dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 13.6 … Read more
Much of the Bakken Formation of Montana and North Dakota overlaps with important breeding waterfowl, shorebird, and waterbird habitat in the U.S. Prairie Pothole Region. In 2014, PPJV partners initiated a collaborative effort to investigate the potential impact of oil development and extraction in this area on breeding ducks. This collaboration included the USFWS HAPET … Read more
At various times, a person reflects on their life, year, or simply day. Often, it’s as we reach the New Year that we contemplate our year. With the New Year around the corner, I hope each of you will have more positive reflections than negative about the year 2015. Not only do individuals reflect on … Read more