DU volunteers, staff and partners meet with members of Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Feb. 28, 2020 – This week, more than 75 members of team DU, including state chairs, state policy chairs, senior volunteers and members of the Ducks Unlimited Board of Directors gathered in our nation’s capital to meet with members of Congress and advocate for legislation to protect and restore wetlands and migratory bird habitat.
Meetings focused on passage of the bi-partisan America’s Conservation Enhancement (ACE) Act, which affects many important wetland habitat and wildlife conservation programs including the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA). This critical legislation unanimously passed the Senate in January and now awaits further action in the House of Representatives.
DU volunteers highlighted how NAWCA partnership grants play an important role in accomplishing Ducks Unlimited’s mission, from restoring altered wetlands and enhancing water quality to reducing soil erosion and mitigating the damaging effects of floods. Conservation projects also provide outstanding recreational opportunities like hunting, fishing and bird watching.
“At Ducks Unlimited, we have a mission and a message that resonates with people on both sides of the aisle,” said DU CEO Adam Putnam. “Our state chair fly-in is a tremendous opportunity for DU volunteers from all across the country to advocate for important conservation priorities face-to-face with legislators who want to help us achieve our habitat restoration goals.”
NAWCA is a voluntary matching grant program that leverages non-federal and federal funds for wetlands restoration. Since enactment in 1989, NAWCA has conserved more than 30 million acres and created an average of 7,500 new jobs annually. Every dollar spent by the federal government, on average, receives a $3 match from program partners like Ducks Unlimited. NAWCA is the nation’s most successful wetlands conservation program. The ACE Act reauthorizes NAWCA at $60 million a year through 2025.
For more information, visit www.ducks.org/NAWCA, and be sure to Follow DU’s Twitter feed – @DUNews1937 – to get the most up-to-date news from Ducks Unlimited.
Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 14.5 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. For more information on our work, visit www.ducks.org.
