[Lake Chuck Duck]

Originally Posted by Smalls

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.

I wish they would work together since they both seem to attack different root issues. Delta leadership in LA has attended every meeting of the wildlife commission pleading that they split the 2015 (or 2016, not sure how that works) grant money 50/50 between Du and Dw. DU is steady politicing for 100%. They've gotten the the grant 100% every year except I believe once Delta got half.