Ducks Unlimited article

Tradition. Legacy. Heritage. Memories.

Whether you identify with one word or all four, it’s likely a value you cling to.

It’s something Ducks Unlimited (DU) as an organization clings to as well. Guided by these principles, their members, volunteers, supporters, and partners have shared the same philosophies with other conservationists for over 85 years.

Founded during the Dust Bowl in 1937 by a group of conservation-minded outdoor enthusiasts concerned about the effects of drought on dwindling waterfowl populations, Ducks Unlimited spent the first 47 years working on conservation projects in the Canadian prairies. It was a good model, but it overlooked opportunities in the north-central United States. It wasn’t until 1984, when DU opened its first office in Bismarck, North Dakota, that they began working in the prairies of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana with one mission in mind—to conserve, restore, and manage wetlands and associated habitats for North America’s waterfowl.

Since its inception, DU’s approach to wetland conservation has been rooted in science. Though over the next four decades, DU’s programs rapidly expanded and adapted to goals brought on thanks to diverse partnerships and comprehensive waterfowl management plans. DU’s team of expert engineers and biologists quickly became involved in numerous projects across North America, primarily on public lands owned by state and federal agencies. Today, DU is the world’s largest and most effective waterfowl and wetlands conservation organization, boasting nearly 630,000 adult members and over a million supporters across the continent.

But their work doesn’t end with wetlands. As new opportunities arose, DU began partnering with diverse privately owned working

lands programs and even created a unique revolving habitat strategy to target habitats outside of public ownership. Engineers designed projects to both protect critically important intact wetland and grassland landscapes and to restore and enhance previously degraded habitats—undertakings that ranged from large dam construction projects to small wetland restorations, grassland restorations, grazing system enhancements, public land acquisitions, voluntary private conservation easements, and regenerative cropland systems that improve soil health.

“Really, the strength of our organization lies in our diverse partnerships,” notes Bruce Toay, Manager of Conservation Programs in South Dakota. “DU can bring the passion and support of our volunteers and donors to the table, and leverage that with additional support from so many public and private partners by focusing on common objectives.”

DU’s rate of delivery grew exponentially in recent years. In 2021, the organization announced it has enhanced, protected or conserved over 15 million wetland acres in North America. More recently, it celebrated additional milestones by conserving one million acres in both North and South Dakota—two states in the heart of North America’s Prairie Pothole Region with extremely high concentrations of breeding waterfowl.

That said, waterfowl are not the only beneficiaries of DU’s habitat work. Wetlands improve the overall health of our environment by recharging and purifying groundwater, moderating floods and reducing soil erosion. Wetlands are also North America’s most productive ecosystems, providing critical habitat to more than 900 wildlife species and invaluable recreation opportunities for people to enjoy.

Photos Courtesy of Chuck Smith

Today, DU is the world’s largest and most effective waterfowl and wetlands conservation organization, boasting nearly 630,000 adult members and over a million supporters across the continent.

photo by Aaron James

Unfortunately, the United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands, and tens of thousands of wetland acres continue to be lost at an accelerating rate each year, which is underscores the importance of DU’s work.

To this day, DU remains a grassroots, volunteer-based organization that proudly spends more than 80 percent of its revenue directly on habitat-conservation missions, and DU’s supporting community continues to promote a unique lifestyle that revolves around a passion for waterfowl hunting and other outdoor activities.

But DU also recognizes the success or failure of its work rests in the hands of the future, and it's one reason why it works so hard to engage young men and women in all aspects of conservation. From their Greenwing program, shooting teams, or annual college scholarships, DU’s initiatives not only present their mission to fresh, young minds, they open the door for one-on-one relationships with family, friends, and mentors that can help fuel a lifelong passion for wildlife and the outdoors.

As an organization, DU leans on the importance of enhancing and protecting the landscape and passing on the lessons they’ve learned to the next generation—lessons in honesty, integrity, and hard work. Lessons that show the beauty of the world around us, our duty to protect and conserve it, and learning to act today, for the benefit of those tomorrow. Lessons that are never forgotten, learned in settings that are unforgettable.

This July, Ducks Unlimited elected new volunteer leadership at their national convention in New Orleans, Louisiana. Porch + Prairie sat down with DU’s new president, Chuck Smith, to talk about his vision for the organization, the importance of volunteers to their conservation mission, and what it means to be a DU member.

P+P: What does it mean to you to be a part of an organization like Ducks Unlimited?

CS: DU is a very special organization thanks primarily to the fine work volunteers have done before me. It’s very humbling to lead an organization of the size and scope and with the conservation reputation we enjoy.

P+P: You’ve pretty much done it at all DU – describe your journey as a volunteer with the organization, and what would you say are the biggest lessons you’ve learned along the way?

CS: The biggest takeaway is what a great organization DU is in regard to its volunteers. It’s a group of dedicated individuals who take on a job and don’t care who gets credit – it’s a fantastic organization for that reason. I started as a volunteer at a DU dinner in my hometown of Memphis and was asked to serve on our committee. I kept being asked to do more, which I readily accepted, and eventually, I rose through the ranks to become dinner chairman, area chairman, sponsors chairman, then Tennessee state chairman. Before I knew it I was elected to the Board of Directors as Vice President covering Tennessee and Kentucky. At that time, DU was relocating its headquarters from Chicago to Memphis – and many years later I was elected secretary, then first Vice President, and now President!

P+P: A two-year term is not a very long period of time to lead an organization of this size, so what is the plan of action? Are you wanting to plant your own flag with new initiatives, or do you feel you are carrying the torch forward for a lot of the items already in motion under past leaders?

CS: It’s a great time to be a volunteer for DU. Thanks to the efforts of all of the officers who came before me, the momentum is definitely there, not only in terms of fundraising but also in terms of acres conserved for waterfowl. I’m happy for this machine to keep running as it has been in the past.

P+P: Volunteers are at the core of the Ducks Unlimited organization and mobilizing volunteers to act is a daunting task at this magnitude. What do you feel about your leadership style that gets those volunteers to be so invested in the mission?

CS: The most important thing about the presidency is volunteers. Like other organizations, we’ve suffered attrition in our overall number of volunteers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we were unable to host more than 4,000 events that we typically have in the past. I’ve learned through my experience as a volunteer – if you approach it as how can we work together to solve a problem rather than telling folks what to do, it works a lot better.

P+P: Ducks Unlimited is a very large organization, nearly $300mm annually. What do you draw from your time at the helm of National Guard Products that translates to your work with DU?

CS: As with any organization, cash flow is the lifeblood. Unrestricted cash has enabled us to continue on with the conservation work that we do. I’m very proud that 84 cents of every dollar DU raises are spent directly on the mission. That speaks very highly of the leadership and talents of our staff, and that starts with our CEO, Adam Putnam.

P+P: We know wetlands are important habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife – what other benefits do they provide?

CS: Most people know wetlands provide great habitat for waterfowl, but they are also home to thousands of other species of wildlife, plants, and other organisms. And it’s not just habitat.

Wetlands provide what we refer to as “ecosystem services” to our communities. This ranges from sequestering carbon from the atmosphere to mitigating flooding during storms, recharging groundwater, improving water quality, providing countless opportunities for outdoor recreation, and so much more.

P+P: With current times, there are a lot of companies who are afraid to show their allegiance to the outdoors and the hunting community given some perceived blowback one might take on, but you have prominently celebrated your love for ducks in your business, yes?

CS: Many years ago, our company (National Guard Products) had the obligation to publish a catalog featuring products for the architectural hardware industry. Every year, I struggled to find an appropriate cover for our catalog that illustrated our product. As I was sitting at my desk one day, I looked up and saw an original by Allen Hughes, and thought “that’s it!” I wasn’t sure how it would be received at first, but ultimately it was a resounding success. Every year since that first cover 40 years ago, we’ve featured wildlife on our cover. When you’re in the business we’re in, it’s important to differentiate your company from others, and this was a great way for us to do that. Other companies sell hardware, but no one else has waterfowl!

P+P: There are certainly a great deal of political headwinds in the outdoor space right now and even with much of DU’s work being centered on ethical hunting and conservation practices, you still have the naysayers. How do you advance your mission in spite of the red tape?

CS: Everyone likes clean water and that’s a primary product of ours. It’s true we were founded by hunters, and we will never shy away from that fact. But DU’s voluntary and incentive-based approach to conservation policy makes us an appealing and unique potential partner in terms of groups that focus on habitat, the environment, and conservation delivery.

P+P: The sales pitch--- with many people short on time to contribute meaningfully to a lot of organizations, what would you say to someone teetering on the edge of working together with Ducks Unlimited as to why they should come on board?

CS: The main thing in any business is to understand and cater to your customers. My approach is to target people that I know share the love of waterfowl. The battle is halfway won in terms of what DU has done in the past with our science-based approach and what we‘ve done for waterfowling. Combine that with the ecosystem services our wetland conservation work provides to people and communities and, believe it or not, it’s actually a pretty easy sell.

P+P: Whether someone wants to donate, volunteer, or become a member, what’s the best way for someone interested in DU’s mission to get involved?

CS: First of all, go to ducks.org and click on “my state.” From there, you can find a calendar of upcoming DU events in your area and decide what you might want to attend. You can become a DU member for as little as $35 per year, and membership is also included when you purchase a ticket to one of our events. If you want to get more involved, a great way to get started is by doing exactly what I did – attend an event, volunteer to serve on your local committee – maybe start out by selling raffle tickets, but you start as a volunteer and, who knows, sometimes you end up becoming president! P+P