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Fall 2010-2011 Ducks Unlimited Hunting & Outdoor Guide
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2010/2011 Hunting Guide Volume 1 / Number 1 Managing Editor Art Director Assistant Art Director
Kenny Darnell Justin B. Kimbro Kyle Smith
Layout & Design By K-Squared Designs, LLC Printed in the USA By The Murray Ledger & Times
2010/2011 Murray-Calloway County Ducks Unlimited Sponsors Murray-Calloway County Hospital Murray State University SBG Realty Campbell Realty Murray Life Magazine Murray Convention & Visitor’s Bureau JH Churchill Murray-Calloway County Chamber of commerce Hinton Archery Westside Vetinanary Clinic Murray Banquet Center Ledger & Times Young dentistry Murray Lumber Company CDM Construction BB&T Bank Heritage Bank Massey BP Ellis Popcorn The Murray Bank Insurance Center of Murray Rockhouse Creek Photography Brian Earnstberger, attorney Rolling Hills Nursery Tap-logic C.A. Jones Management Group Jim Tate Auction Vulcan Industries
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Ducks Unlimited GreenWing Trailer receives a Facelift hanks to Charlie McKenney of CDM Construction and Justin Kimbro of K-Squared Designs, LLC, the Ducks Unlimited GreenWing Special Events Trailer received a hefty face-lift for 2009.
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Pictured is the new GreenWing Events Trailer and graphic design crew during the graphic installation and photos of the trailer in action at the Hooked On Fishing Not On Drugs event in Murray on June 13, 2009. Hooked On Fishing Not On Drugs is a community sponsored catch and release fishing event for children ages preschool through age 15.
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Fall 2010-2011 Ducks Unlimited Hunting & Outdoor Guide
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Ducks Unlimited: More Than Just Ducks nytime Ducks Unlimited members get together it’s understood that there will be a great deal of discussion about duck hunting – or anything pertaining to ducks or hunting for that matter. The general idea among hunters is the more a person is involved in a cause like DU, the more likely that person will have a wealth of duck-hunting knowledge and experience to share. That’s typically a true assumption until the conversation falls on long-time DU supporter and Life Member, Terry Hart of Murray, KY.
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Being a Life Member makes Terry a major supporter of DU’s mission for conservation – a fact that confounds his fellow DU enthusiasts when they discover that Terry doesn’t hunt ducks or even own a shotgun. “I just like birds and nature,” Terry says, “but mainly, it’s about the kids. Ducks Unlimited does the best job of protecting and preserving wildlife and habitat so that the youngsters of today and for years to come will be able to enjoy the same things that I enjoyed as a kid.”
Regional DU Director Ben Burnley congratulates the Murray/Calloway County Chapters Life Members at a recent banquet. Pictured are Burton Young, Bill Wilson, Charlie McKenney, Burnley, Terry Hart, and Kenny Darnell (Chuck Jones not pictured)
You won’t see a bunch of duck hunters go completely silent unless they’re waiting for a flock of mallards to drop in front of their blind, but as Terry explains why he believes in Ducks Unlimited, they stand in quiet reverence, eyes wide, hanging onto every word.
true for a cypress swamp in the Mississippi Delta, or a delicate estuary along the coasts. In addition to animal life, preserving these environmentally fragile areas also protects many wild and native plants – plants that thrived long before large scale agriculture or development transformed the land.
“That’s amazing,” one guy said after listening to Terry’s story. “We belong to DU because we want to keep on hunting ducks, but this guy – he does more than all of us together, and he doesn’t even hunt!” But that’s what Ducks Unlimited is really about. It’s not about the hunting or the decoys, it’s not about shotguns or limits of mallards; it’s all about giving something very important back to future generations. It has taken years upon years of neglect and indifference to shrink our once vast resources of habitat and wildlife to the fraction that it is today, and it will take diligence and commitment for many years to come just to hold the line on what is left. Those of us who believe in and support the mission of DU today know that the reward is not for ourselves, but for our children and our children’s children. While the focus of DU is primarily on waterfowl habitat, the areas we seek to protect are not exclusive to one species over another. Protecting the pot-hole region of the north-central plains provides a stable environment for all creatures – great and small – in that area. The same holds www.murrayducks.org
But why is it so important to raise millions of dollars to save our natural heritage? Because as individuals, we can only have an effect on the land for time that we are blessed to live on that land. Banding together as a group, however, establishes a mechanism whereby the land will be protected and preserved for generations to come – as long as there are people out there like Terry Hart and the nearly 800 thousand members of Ducks Unlimited.
Murray/Calloway County Ducks Unlimited Banquet and Dinner Saturday, October 30, 2010 6PM Knights of Columbus Hall, 332 Squire Rd, Murray, KY 42071 Call Pam 753-8964 for ticket information. Brian Ernstberger/Mitch Ryan Banquet co-chairs. Prizes for best camo costume for children under 12.
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The Science of Ducks Unlimited
ucks Unlimited is committed to discovering and developing useful and reliable information in support of and actively integrated into wetland and waterfowl conservation policy and management decisions. This knowledge will be acquired in collaboration with our many partners and shared with public and private wetland and waterfowl managers.
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Expanding Ducks Unlimited’s commitment to science will involve more comprehensive and integrated linkages among waterfowl populations, the habitat they require, and people who enjoy these resources. Efforts to expand public interests in water- fowl and wetlands, and obtain the funding and political support necessary to sustain them will be science-based. Ducks Unlimited’s traditional waterfowl science activities include:
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Research that generates new or synthesizes existing information needed to understand waterfowl population and habitat relationships • Monitoring and estimating landscape change in key waterfowl habitats • Synthesis of information for legislative, regulatory, or other policy actions • Research on individual species for which key information is lacking The capacity and capability to enable ‘nontraditional’ DU science also will be addressed. The science beyond “duck biology” must be integrated into efforts to address climate change, water resource issues, land use policy, alternative energy (such as bio-fuels) and human dimensions.
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The Ducks Unlimited Vision ucks Unlimited will achieve its Vision through diverse public and private partnerships to address the full range of factors that continue to erode waterfowl habitat across North America. To achieve its Vision, Ducks Unlimited must:
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Focus and expand habitat conservation efforts in key areas important to waterfowl
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Increase work in public policy to influence decisions at local, regional and national levels so that they are waterfowl friendly and will conserve habitat at very large landscape scales •Increase scientific and analytical capacity and capability to support policy efforts and habitat conservation programs, thus ensuring most efficient and effective use of financial resources. To accomplish the Vision, Ducks Unlimited must grow by attracting and retaining more members and supporters, achieving greater financial strength, and significantly enhancing its influence at national and international levels. Further, cooperation and collaboration among volunteers and staff across all of Ducks Unlimited will be required.
Wetlands are vital to all of us, yet every 10 minutes another acre of wetlands is drained. That’s one less acre for ducks and geese to enjoy, one less acre for our children to stomp through, and one less acre to help filter our ever-dwindling water supplies.
Dream the vision be the vision ucks Unlimited is supported in large part by resources provided by people who believe in and share our vision. Garnering the necessary resources to fuel our Vision will be complex and challenging in light of issues beyond our control. Human populations will continue to increase and compete with waterfowl for limited habitat.World-wide demand for energy will continue to grow, increasing pressures on land for bio- fuel production, oil and gas exploration and production, and other demands such as wind power. Climate change already is negatively affecting important waterfowl habitat in places like the Western Boreal Forest. The Wetlands For Tomorrow campaign will assist Ducks Unlimited in achieving financial goals necessary to achieve the Vision.
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Waterfowl hunters will continue to provide the foundation for Ducks Unlimited’s membership base. We must improve our understanding of this core market and why Ducks Unlimited’s conservation work is important to them. Engaging our core stakeholders will be critical for energizing and increasing membership, volunteer and partner support. Success will require full understanding and integration across Ducks Unlimited. Just as collaboration and coordination are essential for geese flying in formation, so also are they critical for achieving Ducks Unlimited’s vision: a single, cohesive team is necessary to overcome the challenges and accomplish what likely will be the most important thing Ducks Unlimited has ever done-fulfill its Vision.
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Public Policy olicy efforts will be linked to our mission and guided by the best science available. Ducks Unlimited policy efforts are directed at federal, state/ provincial, and local issues that impact waterfowl and their habitats For example, Ducks Unlimited is the leader in seeking annual appropriations for the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA), resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars for waterfowl habitat conservation throughout North America.
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Ducks Unlimited’s policy efforts are designed to influence legislation, appropriations, and agency regulations that are important to waterfowl and
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people who value and enjoy these shared resources. Examples of policy actions include land and water use, national and state energy policy, climate change, and policies that ensure perpetuation of waterfowl hunting guided by professional wildlife management principles. Involvement from staff in all of Ducks Unlimited, in combination with our membership, will add significantly to the success of Ducks Unlimited’s policy efforts Effective communication and education will play key roles in the dissemination of policy positions and will inspire Ducks Unlimited supporters to take action.
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