The Conservationist

Conservation Update: Bill Would Allow Timbering of Old-Growth Trees in Tongass National Forest

Sarah Smith — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:25:05 -0500

by Bob Marshall

Conservationists are fighting a bill working its way through Congress that would needlessly give away priceless public fish and wildlife habitat to a native Alaskan corporation. The Sealaska Bill (S 881) basically amends previous settlements between the U.S. and Alaskan natives to allow Sealaska Corp. to pick and choose among some of the most pristine remaining acres in the Tongass National Forest for logging.

Few would claim the U.S. has a proud track record in honoring treaty commitments to Native Americans, but this looks more like a sweetheart deal from Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to constituents. This report in the Anchorage Daily News gives a balanced overview. As noted by a report from Audubon Society, the bill would allow the Native corporation "unprecedented ability" to pick and choose tracts of public lands throughout the 16.8 million-acre temperate rain forest in Southeast Alaska.

President's budget held good news for Fish and Wildlife Service

As outlined here previously, President Obama's budget holds some serious bad news for fish and wildlife in the area of Farm Bill conservation programs. But it also holds some good news for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The administration has proposed to increase that agency's budget by $72 million over the 2012 level, with some of that going to restoring the Florida Everglades. But sportsmen need to remember this is just the president's proposal. Congress has yet to weigh in, and if it's keeps the same focus it had last year, the bottom-line will be considerably smaller for fish, wildlife, and sportsmen.

Stay tuned.

Conservation Update: 10% of Bluefin Spawning Habitat in Gulf Hit by BP Spill

Sarah Smith — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:15:48 -0500

by Bob Marshall

A recent news release reports that about 10 percent of the bluefin tuna spawning habitat in the northern Gulf was covered with BP's oil in the spring of 2010, an area estimated to have contained 12 percent of that season's larval bluefin tuna. The reason for the lower-than-feared numbers seems to be that most of the oil drifted to the eastern side of the region, while most of the spawning activity was taking place west of that flow.

The authors of the report, however, put the adjectives "less than" in front of both the 10-percent and 12-percent figures.

Many anglers and other conservationists feared the damage could have been much higher. But when you take a 12-percent whack out of the spawning class of a long-lived species, already fighting to maintain its viability against unrelenting international fishing pressure, that's not good news. It's kind of like celebrating that the carriers were not at Pearl Harbor. We're still talking about a heavy hit and significant damage on a vital resource that will take some time to replace.

And, what if the currents and winds had taken that oil to the west? Or, what if the blowout had occurred at one of the thousands of wells in that western area?

Bluefin tuna may have dodged an oily bullet, but the close call should stand as a very scary warning.

The release says the nine researchers from industry, academia and government worked together to produce the paper, "Overlap between Atlantic bluefin tuna spawning grounds and observed Deepwater Horizon surface oil in the Northern Gulf of Mexico."

Funding came from NASA, NOAA, Florida Institute of Oceanography, University of Miami Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, and Roffers Oceans Fishing Forecast Service.

Conservation Update: President Obama's Budget Needlessly Hits Vital Programs

Online Editors — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:09:06 -0500

by Bob Marshall

A first look at the impacts President Obama's budget could have on fish, wildlife and sportsmen leaves me with this impression: It’s not as bad as it could have been, but much worse than it should be.

Here's a quick evaluation from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership on some of our key programs:

-Environmental Quality Incentive Programs (EQIP) 2013: $1.403 billion, a slight increase from 2012 enacted, but a slight cut from 2012 request. This funding helps property owners management in ways that benefit fish and wildlife habitat.

-Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) -- Capped at 30 million acres in 2013, a cut of 2 million acres, estimated to save Uncle Sam $977 million over ten years.

-Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP), which provides financial assistance to non-federal landowners and Tribes to develop, restore, and enhance fish and wildlife habitats: $73 million, an increase of $23 million over FY12 enacted.

-Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP), a competitive grants program only available to states and tribal governments that encourages private landowners to make that land available for access by the public for wildlife-dependent recreation, including hunting or fishing: $5 million, an increase of $5 million over FY12 when the program was not funded.

-Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP), a voluntary program to help landowners and land managers protect, restore and enhance rangeland, pastureland, shrubland and other grasslands: No funding.

-Wetlands Reserve Program, (WRP), voluntary program helping landowners restore and protect wetlands and provides cost-share payments for wetlands rehabilitation practices: No funding.

So, given those cuts -- especially the zero-funding for GRP and WRP -- how did I get "not as bad as it could be?"

Well, this is an election year in which cutting the nation's deficit has been made the No. 1 issue by the president's challengers, and with poll results showing the public generally agrees, he has no choice. And it's not surprising the knife is cutting ducks and bunnies rather than veterans and grandmothers (yet).

Also, these cuts are not as deep or as sweeping as those being called for much of last year by the GOP House majority. So, one could argue the prez isn't caving completely.

Now, let's get to the "worse than it should be" part of the evaluation.

It comes down to this: There are sound economic and moral arguments against these cuts.

Studies have shown conservation programs like these actually help reduce the nation's debt problems by creating jobs and helping to support outdoors industries which contribute more than $9 billion to the economy each year. So if the goal is to reduce the debt, it makes no sense to trim or eliminate programs that adds to the bottom line, not subtract from it. In fact, you could argue it's counter-productive.

The moral issue is just as compelling, at least to me.

During this election season you've heard many of the budget hawks say they're swinging the axe because it would be immoral for them to kick our debts down the road to our children and grandchildren. I'm saying it would be just as immoral to bequeath our children a country whose fish, wildlife, public land, air and water has been shredded.

Zeroing-out WRP and GRP are especially egregious. If this passes, it means the programs would not be reauthorized, ultimately leading to their demise when current contracts expire.

All of which means sportsmen are now in a very scary place for some of these programs. The administration has been far friendlier to our issues over the last 18 months than its opposition. So, if this is the best we'll get from our friends, we know what the other side will be serving up.

Get those phone calls and emails ready.

'If Climate Change Isn’t Real, I’ll Give You My Beretta'

Online Editors — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:57:27 -0500

by Hal Herring

The Conservation Hawks is a new group dedicated to harnessing the power of sportsmen to address climate change. Stop. Before you give in to anger, or to the “conservation fatigue” that can fall upon us like a giant wet carpet whenever climate change is mentioned, consider this: If you can convince Conservation Hawks chairman Todd Tanner that he’s wasting his time, that he does not have to worry about climate change, he will present to you his most prized possession: A Beretta Silver Pigeon 12 gauge over/under that was a gift from his wife, and has been a faithful companion on many a Montana bird hunt. I know the gun, and I’ve hunted and fished with Todd for years. He’s not kidding. You convince him, he’ll give you the gun.

Conservation Hawks has an all-star board of directors, including my friends Bill Geer and Katie McKalip, who both work for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and have a deep understanding of the issues we face as sportsmen. I talked with Todd Tanner recently about what the Conservation Hawks hope to accomplish.

Hal Herring: First, are you serious about the Beretta?

Todd Tanner: I am serious. If somebody can convince me that I don’t have to worry about climate change, I’ll give it them. Or I’ll auction it off and donate the proceeds to the charity of their choice. But it will have to be a real argument, with real facts. I don’t think that argument exists, but I’m willing to be surprised.

HH: Why the Conservation Hawks?

TT: Let’s say you are walking down a trail in the wilderness with your wife and kids, and you come upon a grizzly sow, standing on a carcass. She charges, flat out. You’re in front of your family. What do you do? Just give up? Pretend it’s not happening? Let her maul you and everything your care about? Of course you don’t. You take action. That is how I see climate change. It’s real, it’s threatening everything we love. Not taking action is not an option.

HH: Why now?

TT: This is the point where we can still stand up and have an effect. Maybe it’s the last point. I want that freedom we’ve enjoyed to fish and hunt to continue. Maybe most important, I have a son. I cannot be complicit in surrendering all this that I’ve had and loved for my whole life—just say, sorry, I gave up and let it be taken from him. When I knew the science, and the facts.

HH: What percentage of sportsmen do you think really care anything about this issue?

TT: I’d say maybe 50 percent. But that’s a tricky question. Bill Geer spent a lot of time giving presentations about the effects of climate change to sportsmen’s groups around Montana. He was in Eureka, talking to a group of guys that really didn’t believe the conventional take on climate change. Bill just said, “No problem, what I’m more interested in anyway is what changes have you guys witnessed, firsthand, in your lifetimes.” Well, that set off the conversation, then. Everybody had a story about that. And everybody I know does, too. Because these days, it’s fishermen and hunters who are the ones who notice these things. It used to be that so many more people were outdoors, nowadays it is just us. And it seems like we should be the ones to take the lead on this. We have the most at stake.

HH: What about those sportsmen who will say that this is just not a problem, or not a problem that we can do anything about?

TT: That’s okay. The facts are out there, and we’ll present them as best we can. But I’m not asking anybody to take my word for anything. Just observe, and believe your own eyes and observations. If you are older, think about what’s changed in your lifetime. If you’re younger, ask the old timers, and they’ll tell you. I’ve been a fisherman since 1965, and a hunter since 1974, the first year it was legal for me to carry a gun in the woods. You can’t fit a piece of paper between what I’ve seen in my life outdoors and what I know of the science of climate change. It’s not about politics, or who votes for who. It’s about what is real.

HH: And what about those who say this is just another excuse for more government intrusion and power?

TT: I don’t think they’ve really thought it through. You want to talk about government intrusion, think about what it means if we don’t address this now while we have the time and resources. We will lose the freedoms that we have because somebody—and it will be government—will be in an all out effort to try and address the effects. To try and address the effects of our neglect. We’ll face the worst thing of all- losing our freedom. And we’ll already have lost most of hunting and fishing. That’s how serious I believe this is.

HH: And if somebody can convince you differently?

TT: They get my Berretta. And I’ll be certainly be happier. I’ll spend more time fishing and hunting with my son and a lot less time worrying about this.

Conservation Update: NOAA Finds a Better Way to Count What You Catch

Sarah Smith — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:48:35 -0500

by Bob Marshall

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration moved a step closer to satisfying anglers management complaints with the announcement of a new method for estimating recreational catches of marine fish.

Catch data is a primary tool in establishing the overall health of a species, as well as setting catch limits for various fishing groups. Yet the method long-used by NOAA (called the Marine Recreational Fishing Statistical Survey, MRESS) had huge holes in accuracy and promptness, causing a lack of confidence in management decisions -- especially the closing of recreational fishing seasons as well as establishing the economic impact of that industry.

The system was declared "fatally flawed" by the National Research Council in 2006. And the problem reached critical mass when the latest edition of the Magnuson Acts set deadlines for NOAA to establish annual catch limits for 500 species -- a giant chore for any agency, but impossible for one with suspect data collection and funding issues.

This new model, called the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) is up for review at www.countmyfish.noaa.gov.

Wetlands Draw Ducks and Dollars to Mississippi Delta

Stopping Louisiana's coastal crisis isn't just about protecting the nation's largest and most critical wintering waterfowl habitat. It's also about plugging a hole in the nation's economy, as this report from the Environmental Defense Fund shows.

Louisiana has lost nearly 2000 square miles of coastal wetlands in the last 70 years due to levees, canals dredging for oil and gas development, and transmission and sea-level rise. It is still losing that habitat at the rate of 16 square miles per year. If nothing is done, most of the Mississippi River delta outside hurricane levees today will be under water by the end of the century.

Since those wetlands are used by 70 percent of the continent's migratory waterfowl, and 85 percent of all fish in the Gulf, stopping that decline is critical to sportsmen's interests.

"Conservation Hawks" Group Takes Wing

The threat of climate change to hunters and anglers has spawned the birth of "Conservation Hawks", a new sportsmen's conservation group. The hunters and anglers who founded the group say it is "dedicated to educating hunters and anglers on the most important threats to our natural resources and outdoors traditions" -- which they consider to be climate change. “It’s time to stand up and show we give a damn about our kids and our grandkids -- and about our hunting and fishing,” said CH Founder and Chair Todd Tanner. “If we don’t get a handle on climate change, we’re putting everything we care about at risk.”

Hatcheries, Frankenbucks, Disease: When Will We Learn?

Online Editors — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:33:34 -0500

by Hal Herring

Over a decade ago, I was hired to write a chapter for a book called Return of the Wild: the Future of our Natural Lands (if you’ve never heard of it, you are not alone). My chapter of the book was called “Marketing the Image of the Wild,” and it was about game farming and about the (then) new boom in salmon aquaculture.

In short, the chapter was about the complications that arise when we try to manufacture and sell a replica of an animal or food that has its real value based in the fact that it lives a wild, free, and presumably healthy life in a natural environment. This was in the early years of the troubles with Chronic Wasting disease in the game farm industry, not long after the bovine tuberculosis epidemic on elk farms in Canada, and just before the shipment of the live, CWD infected domestic elk to South Korea crashed the Asian velvet antler trade. For a writer, interesting times indeed.

Partly because of all that was happening in the game farm industry, my work on salmon aquaculture did not make it into the final cut of the chapter--there just wasn’t enough room. But the research for that story was one of the high points of my life as a writer. I spent a week or so traveling the coast northwest of Seattle, visiting a couple of the aquaculture operations, and talking with employees and managers--all of whom were top-notch, hospitable and hard-working people. I liked being there, and seeing the operations, and I would have probably enjoyed working there myself, out there on the cold saltwater, working with all those fish, it was kind of like the commercial fishing that I once loved.

Almost a month on the telephone (this was the year 2000, with dial-up internet: type in web-address, hit Enter, take nap) and a few hundred pages of studies and reports, changed my mind. The net pens that held the non-native Atlantic salmon produced the fecal load of a small city of humans, and the antibiotics used in the feed to prevent disease in the crowded conditions came out with the effluent, and entered the food chain. Each one-ton “plug” of fish meal pellets that fed the thousands of Atlantic salmon in each of the net pens was made of 4-5 tons of anchovies taken from the cold waters of southern Peru, where big steel-hulled bottom draggers mined away the foundation-fish of the oceans’ food pyramid in one of the poorest parts of the world. In storms the net pens broke, and one farm employee told me a story of crowds of local people coming down to dip up the disoriented, newly freed Atlantics as they thrashed along the rocky shoreline.

Dr. John Volpe, a fisheries researcher from the University of Alberta who spent his days studying Pacific salmon by rocketing down freezing whitewater streams in a wetsuit, was finding the big escaped Atlantics on the spawning gravels of major watersheds like the Amor de Cosmos Creek. These fish were supposed to be sterile, but what would they do? Nobody seemed to know then. They still don’t, even as the new genetically engineered super salmon (critics call it the “Frankenfish”) awaits FDA approval, and, if approved, introduction into the net pens, and then the ecosystem. The diseases and parasites predicted to come from the net pens to infect the native fish stocks did come. Millions have been spent trying to address the challenges to native fisheries.

But I am telling this story of a long-ago writing job not to warn readers of the dangers of game farming and salmon aquaculture but to share a kind of revelation that I had, after all those months of research: Those who want to put in jeopardy the gifts of the natural world--too many to list, and each hunter and fisherman will have their own--always promise us that what they plan to take, or have already taken, can be replaced. Hatchery fish (paid for by license money and tax money) to replace the natives that once spawned on clean gravels there in the now-ruined headwaters, disease- and pest-vulnerable monoculture pine forests to replace the magnificently diverse hardwoods of the Southeast.

Farmed trophies, sold to the highest bidder, and fenced in on land that was once the range of healthy deer and elk herds that belonged to us all, animals that came and went as they pleased, lived and died according to their own wits, replaced by lumbering genetic freaks that are little more than glorified Holsteins. The feds will use taxpayer money to haul water to the community whose wells have been poisoned. The mine owner promises to pay for construction of a hatchery, at least at first. Plans will be made to feed the mule deer that once wintered in the gasfield. The Norwegian government will pay 300 million kronen to poison the iconic salmon fishing rivers where the flesh-eating parasites spread by aquaculture and hatchery fish have been found, and plant more hatchery fish to replace the lost native Atlantics.

Public money spent endlessly to try and fix or create a façade where once was a natural wonderland, taken for an all too fleeting profit. It’s an equation so common, so ever-present in our existence that I missed it for decades. I had to revisit the aquaculture story from so long ago, to see what is still happening, all around us. In essence: we trade or allow others to trade, our birthright--in the case of salmon aquaculture; clean, mighty rivers, and salmon, living unimaginably wild lives in the open ocean, and returning to spawn in feeder creeks so small that we can step across them, for huge pens, anchored, polluting, protected, filled with facsimile-fish so weak, so pale compared to the real thing, that their very flesh must be dyed orange with harvested krill before anyone will purchase or eat it. The diseases and parasites that flow out from these operations imperil the very survival of the native species, and the economy and ecology that they support. When all we would have to do is protect the rivers and the fishery in the first place, and reap the treasure for all time. How many similar examples, from every nation on the planet, from our own local creeks and hunting grounds and communities, can we list?

Conservation Update: Pres. Announces CRP Open Enrollment but High Crop Prices Have Farmers Opting Out

Sarah Smith — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:22:24 -0500

by Bob Marshall

The Obama Administration's decision last week to hold open enrollment for the Conservation Reserve Program, which pays landowners not to farm marginal croplands, has earned cheers from sportsmen's groups.

The impact of the program's 30 million acres over several decades on everything from waterfowl to upland birds, deer, fish and water quality has earned it the title as the most successful conservation program in U.S. history.

However the program has been stressed in recent years. The sky-rocketing value of corn and other farm commodities has many farmers opting out when their 10- to 15-year contracts expired, while some others have campaigned the legislators to give them early exits. Meanwhile, some in Congress have proposed cutting funding for CRP.

But even with those forces at work, many states had backlogs of landowners wanting to join the program--but enrollment was closed. The open enrollment will help prevent those waiting acres from going to crops as well as address the need to hold on to more than two million acres in contracts set to expire this year.

The importance of the open enrollment could be seen in headlines from Minnesota a few weeks ago, which highlighted the steady drift of farm acres out of CRP.

Sportsmen still need to lobby by their congressional delegations to keep hands off CRP in budget fights that continue to target this program which pays for itself. You can find out how to contact your reps at www.contactingthecongress.org.

National Forests Get Some Relief

A new management policy plan for national forests issued by the Obama Administration this week is also getting praise--but with some cautions attached.

The new rule replaces one pushed through by the Bush Administration that drew protests from conservationists. Those concerns ultimately led to court rulings forcing the policy to be re-written to pay more attention to impacts of management decisions on plants and wildlife—an important consideration for sportsmen, especially backcountry hunters and anglers.

Got a Question For Interior Secretary Salazar? Ask It Today at 1 p.m. EDT

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:00:22 -0500

by Hal Herring

Over the past fifteen years, more and more of my bird and antelope hunting has been done on Bureau of Land Management public lands. Every year, I buy a pass to Glacier National Park, and our family hikes and rambles there are some of the finest experiences of my life so far. For me, and for millions of other American outdoorspeople, no public agency has as much potential or actual effect on hunting, fishing and just the plain freedom to roam and camp and shoot as does the US Department of Interior.

Watch live streaming video from interior at livestream.com

On February 7th at 1 pm EDT, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will be taking questions and discussing conservation and the economy in a live webchat that should be both interesting and informative. The sportsmen and women of the US need to have their voices heard on issues that range from wolves and energy development to the restoration of the Mississippi Delta- this is a chance to make that happen. Please don’t miss it. Click here to watch it on the Department of Interior site.

Here’s a quick list of agencies under the Department of the Interior, which should inspire participation--because every one of us has a stake in here somewhere:

-Bureau of Indian Affairs
-Bureau of Land Management
-Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
-Bureau of Reclamation
-Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
-National Park Service
-Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement
-U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
-U.S. Geological Survey

Conservation Update: Poll Finds Western Voters Conservative and Pro-Environment

Sarah Smith — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:37:10 -0500

by Bob Marshall

Readers of this blog are familiar with my claim that there's no inconsistency with being pro-gun, pro-life, pro-freedom and pro environment--and, in fact, most sportsmen are conservative and pro-environment. Now there's proof...

A poll released Monday by the Colorado College found "western voters across the political spectrum--from Tea Party supporters to those who identify with the Occupy Wall Street movement and voters in between--view parks and public lands as essential to their state’s economy, and support upholding and strengthening protections for clean air, clean water, natural areas and wildlife."

The 2012 Conservation in the West Poll, part of the college's State of the Rockies Project, questioned voters of all political spectrums in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. It found "two-thirds of Western voters say America’s energy policy should prioritize expanding use of clean renewable energy and reducing our need for more coal, oil and gas. Even in states like Wyoming and Montana, which are more often associated with fossil fuels, voters view renewable energy as a local job creator."

Significantly for sportsmen, the poll found that:

* 69% of anglers and 66% of hunters describe themselves as a conservationist--one of the highest proportions of any sub-group analyzed in the survey.

• 51% of sportsmen consider themselves to be conservative politically; 38% identify as supporters of the Tea Party movement. They are twice as likely to be Republicans (45%) as Democrats (21%), with the remainder Independents (32%).,

This is not election-year propaganda cooked up by one side. The research was conducted by two pollsters form opposite sides of the political fence: Lori Weigel of Public Opinion Strategies (a Republican firm) and Dave Metz of Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (a Democratic firm).

They found "swing voters across the west--who will be key to deciding the outcome of a number of U.S. Senate and governors’ races, and possibly the presidential race--nearly unanimously agree that public lands such as national parks, forests, monuments, and wildlife areas are “an essential part” of the economies of these states. Four in five western voters view having a strong economy and protecting land and water as compatible."

This is important material for sportsmen to show politicians who have been voting to slash conservation spending and curb environmental regulations--especially those who claim to represent our interests.

It's especially important for Republican sportsmen, because it's been the GOP--particularly in the House--using the economy as a sledgehammer to batter fish, wildlife and habitat protections that sportsmen support.

More Specks and Reds for Florida Anglers

Management apparently is working for speckled trout and redfish in Florida. New regulations going into effect in February feature a move to regional management zones for each species and generally liberalize bag limits. Each species will have four management zones--northeast, southeast, northwest and southwest--but the boundaries for each of those are different for the different species.

Happy 75th Anniversary Ducks Unlimited!

Sarah Smith — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:33:58 -0500

by Chad Love

This past weekend marked the 75th anniversary of that most venerable (and venerated) of sportsman-based conservation groups, Ducks Unlimited. What began as a small group of Depression-era hunters trying desperately to save our dwindling waterfowl populations in the depths of the Dust Bowl has grown into one the largest, most recognizable and respected conservation brands in North America.

From a DU press release:

"DU's 75th anniversary is a monumental moment in conservation history," said Dale Hall, CEO of Ducks Unlimited. "This anniversary˜and the last 75 years of science-based, on-the-ground conservation work across North America˜would not be possible without the dedication of our volunteers and supporters, as well as the partners who time and time again helped us succeed in our mission. This celebration is as much theirs as it is ours."

Ducks Unlimited's 75th anniversary celebration will continue throughout the year with special events in each state, merchandise, projects and promotions across the continent. The kickoff anniversary event will be held in New York City, home to DU's first headquarters. The gala event will be held Feb. 2 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, in conjunction with the international World Wetlands Day celebration.

A new section of the DU website, located at www.ducks.org/75, provides a comprehensive chronicling of the organization's conservation legacy. The site features an interactive timeline, a listing of all the anniversary events in 2012, special video messages from DU's partners and supporters and exciting stories and little-known facts from throughout DU's history. DU's 75th anniversary book, "The Ducks Unlimited Story," was released in December. This 208-page coffee-table book by Michael Furtman covers DU's first 75 years and features never-before-seen photos and documents from the DU archives. This book is available online now and a special edition will be offered at DU events throughout 2012.

Also highlighted online and in print this year will be 50 state projects lauded as DU's best of the best. Conservation staff chose a project from each state for stand-out impact and the project's representation of DU's 75 years of conservation work. These project profiles are featured on the DU website and will be displayed at DU state conventions and 75th anniversary events nationwide. "Conservation for Generations" is the theme of the 75th anniversary celebration, with an emphasis on conserving wetlands and waterfowl for future generations, as well as getting those future generations involved with DU today, by bringing a new hunter to the duck blind or purchasing a Greenwing youth membership for a child.

I had the privilege of recently attending a DU media camp, and while the hunting was great fun, the highlight of the trip, truly, was meeting all the DU folks--from biologists to policy experts to DU's communications staff--and getting a unique perspective on the DU mission, not only in terms of its many and varied conservation projects, but also DU's incredibly important public policy efforts. You can wish for all the ducks and wetland restoration you want, but unless you have someone in Washington trying (often in vain, unfortunately) to educate and influence the people who make the rules and control the purse strings, it's simply not going to happen.

If you don't believe that, then just try to imagine what the conservation landscape would look like today if we didn't have groups like DU looking out for our interests? And I can personally attest that, unlike many hired-gun Washington lobbyists, DU's guys aren't just suits, they're hunters, too. It's pretty cool sharing a pit blind with a guy who can schmooz a DC power cocktail party and blow a mean duck call with equal aplomb. And with the political battles for conservation funding promising to get even harder in the coming years, we're going to need a lot more of that.

So Happy Anniversary, DU. Keep it up... (and for more info on DU's 75th anniversary, check out their special 75th anniversary website)