Waterfowl Habitat Partnerships between Ducks Unlimited and the State of South Carolina

Courtesy of Ducks Unlimited

hen you look to the skies in late fall and see waterfowl flying overhead, or when you settle into your favorite marsh, do you ever wonder where all the birds come from? You might be surprised to know the distance they have traveled, and the habitats visited along the way! Good portions of the birds wintering in South Carolina arrive from Ontario, Canada. Since 1965, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) has contributed over $2.1 million to projects on the breeding grounds. For the past 5 years, the SCDNR, Ducks Unlimited Inc. (DUI) and Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) have nurtured this connection by partnering on habitat projects to secure and restore waterfowl habitat in both the state of South Carolina and the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence region of Ontario.

The Nature of the Partnership Banding programs across Canada and the United States have provided waterfowl biologists with an excellent understanding of where ducks and geese breed, forage, migrate, and winter. The paths that waterfowl take between the breeding and wintering grounds, known as migratory routes, are also well documented. For example, recent band recovery data indicates that approximately 25% of the mallards harvested in South Carolina were produced in Ontario. Further, Ontario has extensive amounts of breeding habitat that waterfowl in other parts of the continent, such as the sub-arctic region, use during spring and fall migration.

In South Carolina, a portion of each dollar from the sale of Migratory Waterfowl prints and non-resident hunting licenses is directed toward habitat projects in Ontario. These funds are matched by Ducks Unlimited, Inc. dollars, and then matched again with U.S. federal funds from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA). These U.S. matching funds, combined with a 25% match from Canadian partners, results in a total leveraging of at least 4:1 and as much as 11:1 for Ontario habitat efforts. Since 2000, funds from South Carolina for Ontario projects total more than $244,126 resulting in the conservation of 33,108 acres and management assistance on 628,546 acres of waterfowl habitat.

As part of the partnership, Ducks Unlimited Inc. has committed to ensuring that waterfowl habitat in South Carolina is abundant and of high quality. Since 1985, DUI has contributed approximately $3.8 million to protect, restore, and enhance over 103,000 acres in South Carolina.

The Future of the Partnership Ducks Unlimited and the SCDNR have worked together for nearly four decades on waterfowl habitat projects in Canada. The last 5 years of partnering in Ontario has produced some of the best wetland habitat in the province. Despite the significant effort and tremendous results achieved to date, much remains to be done in the province. Remaining wetlands in southern Ontario continue to be threatened by human activities such as agriculture, urban expansion and recreational development, while waterfowl habitat in northern Ontario is under threat from forest management practices, agricultural expansion and hydroelectric development. The need for a continued effective partnership that focuses on wetland securement and restoration in key Ontario waterfowl breeding landscapes, as well as, habitat conservation efforts for wintering waterfowl in South Carolina is more important than ever.

Lowcountry Initiative Conservation Easements Ducks Unlimited’s Lowcountry Initiative is a nationally important wetlands conservation and long-term management effort undertaken in Coastal South Carolina in cooperation with the goals of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. The “Initiative” contains five major focus areas – Cooper River, Santee River, ACE Basin, Winyah Bay, and Savannah Basin. These focus areas were selected for conservation first and foremost because of their outstanding ecological value. Of nearly equal importance, however, is the feasibility of protecting large acreage in its natural state.

Large privately owned plantations ranging in size from 2,000 to 52,000 acres (some dating to the 16 th century) are the primary landholdings in the focus areas. This unique situation coupled with expressions of interest form many of the landowners creates an unparalleled opportunity to achieve significant land and water protection. Nearly one million acres already are under protection. The “Initiative” seeks to conserve an additional 700,000 or more wetlands and upland primarily through agreements with private landowners.

Through the “Initiative” Ducks Unlimited has a unique opportunity to protect wetland and upland habitats using conservation easements on private lands. Ducks Unlimited’s conservation easement program accepts easements in perpetuity through its Wetlands America Trust. Such long-term protection will conserve large, undeveloped upland and wetland ecosystems for the benefit of waterbirds, other wildlife, and the threatened and endangered species that occur in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

Major Habitats include salt, brackish, and tidal freshwater marshes, old rice fields, sea and barrier islands, tidal freshwater swamp forests, alluvial and blackwater rivers, bald cypress-tupelo gum swamp forest, bottomland hardwood forest, pocosin swamps, pine savannas, and upland pine-hard-wood forests. Migratory shorebirds, raptors and neotropical landbirds use this area in great numbers and up to 50 percent of all dabbling ducks in the Atlantic Flyway winter here.

U.S. CONSERVATION PROGRAMS
• Total acres conserved in South Carolina: 103,061
• Total technical assistance acres in South Carolina: 89,880
• Amount spent to date on projects in South Carolina: $3,898,974
• Primary waterfowl species that benefit from DU’s efforts include: Wood Duck; Mallard; Gadwall; Green-Winged Teal; Northern Pintail; Ring-Necked Duck; American Wigeon; Canvasback; and Bufflehead.

BLUFFTON / HILTON HEAD CHAPTER DUCKS UNLIMITED
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Date:   November 11 2006
Time: 5:30 PM -12:00 PM
Location:   Rose Dhu Creek
Contact:   Jackie Woodard
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Email: pgpa@hargray.com
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