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Originally Posted by Lake Chuck Duck
^^This is a legitimate question for anyone that wants to answer it.
As far as all these "Louisiana" projects are concerned, the only thing that can help Louisiana hunters is to start growing rice again, and thats out of any ones hands except the farmers.
And yes, the majority of Delta Funds are spent up north in the breeding grounds of the Dakotas and Canada. Without healthy hatchery you have less ducks. The only difference is Delta figured out how to do it effectively and efficiently. Why would you "purchase" or lease a whole plot of land when all you really need is the potholes? Lease the potholes and trap them, set up hen nests, the farmer gets to make money off his crops and makes money off the low lying unusable land all while reducing costs to the organization. The ALUS program in Canada is redefining conservationist/farmer relations and actually producing measurable results by making the farmer a major part of the process.
DU busy trying to bribe people with fleece jackets and making sure they keep Academy stocked with seat covers, steering wheel covers, stickers, wrapping paper, trinkets, etc......lmao
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They don't always buy the land. Easements are used in some cases. The land they do own has varying levels of management placed upon it. I've heard of some areas not being as intensively managed as others (water control being a primary tool). The main thing is the preservation of the breeding grounds.
As far as buying the whole vs only the pothole.....you can't just manage the potholes. If all of the land around is converted or farmed, the pothole is degraded as well. It's the same principle as protecting marshes and prairies along the gulf coast for mottled ducks--the mottled duck doesn't just need the marsh, it needs the prairie as well. Same for the ducks that use the prairie potholes.
The ALUS is a great program. NRCS has similar programs here that DU has backed. The Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative was one of those.
Delta is a great organization, but they do not put the emphasis on the entire flyway like DU does. Like you said, Delta's focus is the breeding grounds. What good does more ducks do if you have no wintering habitat? Is that not one of our biggest issues? We've lost over 90% of the prairie in Louisiana. We are coastal wetlands at alarming rates, something that no one can seem to erase and no one seems to have a quick answer to.
I love that Delta is so big on predator control, but again, that goes back to the habitat. If we weren't losing the potholes at such high rates, the predator densities would not be so high. When you concentrate the prey, it concentrates the predator. Rebuild the habitat, expand the habitat, and it reduces the pressure from predators.
What I don't understand is why it seems the two don't work together. Maybe they do. Both have a common goal.
And I'm not even going to touch the "trinkets" comments. If your basis for why DU is bad is because someone else is selling a product with their logo on it, then I've got nothing for you. Especially when Delta has a--albeit, limited--store on their website.