![]() ![]() After Katrina, the conservation message was that wetlands protect levees, and the levees protect human lives in the Gulf region. Where could we flood fields and manage rice stubble to offer birds alternatives to oiled areas? What arrangements could we make with private and public landowners to hold birds and prevent them from wasting precious energy trying to find clean habitat?ĭoes the spill provide a platform for raising the level of conservation dialogue in the South?Ībsolutely. The region affected by the oil spill typically winters thirteen to fourteen million ducks and geese, and within days of the spill we had staff on the ground identifying places and ways to provide “safe havens” for waterfowl this winter. This tragedy put the South in the spotlight when it comes to waterfowl conservation. The BP spill has served as a crash course in wetlands issues for every American. This winter, DU will be marshaling its resources, including a $2.5 million grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, to protect waterfowl on the Gulf Coast. Newly minted as CEO of the Memphis-based conservation powerhouse Ducks Unlimited, Hall takes over at a time when images of the South-and of Southern wetlands-have captured the world. His first job as a wildlife biologist was managing catfish farms in the Mississippi Delta. Fish and Wildlife Service cut his teeth in Southern swamps and wetlands. The Kentucky native and former director of the U.S. Dale Hall loves nothing more than to take a stand in a flooded hardwood bottom and watch the sky darken with ducks. ![]()
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