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Record Year of Conservation for Ducks Unlimited Canada 
OAK HAMMOCK MARSH, MB, Sept. 22 - Ducks Unlimited Canada has just completed its most successful year on record, reaching new levels of habitat conservation and surpassing fund-raising goals. Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 1998, the organization is poised for another impressive year.
"For 60 years, we have been Canada's leading conservation organization,'' said Don Young, executive vice-president for Ducks Unlimited Canada. "We have repeatedly and effectively shown people the difference that conservation can make in Canada's landscape.''
Ducks Unlimited Canada has spent $857 million on conservation in Canada since its inception in 1938. Across the country, over 7 million hectares (18 million acres) of habitat have been conserved. This number was bolstered by a record 71,400 hectares (176,500 acres) secured solely during fiscal year 1998. These habitat protection accomplishments have been achieved primarily through agreements with private landowners.
The efforts extended by Ducks Unlimited's 7,000 volunteers were also exceptional. Through fund-raising events held across Canada during the past year, $14 million was raised for conservation. "We are proud that almost 90 per cent of every dollar raised for Ducks Unlimited Canada goes directly towards habitat conservation,'' Young said. "Canadians trust us because they see how effective we are. This effectiveness is the result of experience combined with a pragmatic, solution-oriented approach toward conservation.''
Despite Ducks Unlimited's conservation gains, wetlands are still being lost at an alarming rate across Canada. "The conservation of Canada's wetlands is even more critical today than it was when we first identified the need for wetland conservation 60 years ago,'' Young said.
New Ducks Unlimited habitat projects underway this year include the Amherst Island Marsh in Ontario where critical habitat along the Great Lakes has been secured. Wetland conservation on the Prairies is still one of Ducks Unlimited's priorities. Recently, a project with agricultural and wildlife benefits was undertaken at Reflex Lake on the Saskatchewan/Alberta border. Through partnerships with government and conservation organizations, cattle with access to the lakeshore were provided with an alternate water source. The quality of habitat increased for waterfowl and the shoreline was protected for nesting endangered piping plovers. On the West Coast, Ducks Unlimited has become involved in projects to manage important wintering habitat for waterfowl including 10 per cent of the world's trumpeter swans.
Through its research arm, the Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research, Ducks Unlimited has begun the second half of one of the world's largest waterfowl studies. Started in 1993, the Prairie Habitat Joint Venture Assessment Study is designed to analyze the effects of Ducks Unlimited's habitat programs on nesting waterfowl. Additional research includes the Western Boreal Forest Initiative that will aid Ducks Unlimited in evaluating wetland habitat in the boreal forest. This region of forested land ranks third in North America's most important and threatened waterfowl habitat.
Ducks Unlimited is a private, nonprofit, charitable organization dedicated to conservation of wetlands for the benefit of North America's waterfowl, wildlife and people.
