Posted on 02/23/2023 12:06:46 PM PST by nickcarraway
Ducks, geese and shorebirds need water. When wetlands dry up or disappear altogether, that’s bad news for most wildlife and certainly for waterfowl.
It is the goal of members of Ducks Unlimited to enhance and create wetlands. Their efforts include projects throughout North America, including Wyoming and even within the Laramie region.
Laramie resident Lonny Vohland serves as state chairman for Wyoming Ducks Unlimited. He is especially busy this time of year traveling the state to attend fundraising banquets. That list of events includes the upcoming one in Laramie. Considered the Ducks Unlimited Premier Banquet in Wyoming, the Laramie DU event is March 4 at the University of Wyoming's Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center.
Vohland said the event garners “premier” status because mostly to the location in the rather posh setting of the gateway center. The evening typically attracts 300-350 patrons for dinner, awards, a raffle and a live auction.
The goal of the banquet is to raise funds for upcoming and ongoing projects. It also honors those who volunteer their time and efforts to further the organization’s focus on enhancing wetlands and waterways.
One such project is on the city-owned Monolith Ranch. Ducks Unlimited is a key partner involved with enhancing wetlands associated with the dilapidated Goforth Reservoir and the associated meadows.
Harney Creek flows into Goforth Reservoir, but that reservoir was partially breached in 1983 and then fully breached just a year later. Water once held in the reservoir flowed, unimpeded, on to the Laramie River. To keep the water rights intact, agricultural use of the water needed to be restored.
Because of budget constraints the project was put on hold year after year. Then Ducks Unlimited came into the picture to secure additional funding to make the project happen.
“We joined with the city of Laramie, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and numerous other collaborators to restore and enhance wetlands surrounding the reservoir,” Vohland said. “This spring the project continues into the next phase to enhance wetlands on the site.”
The wetlands in this area are especially valuable to migrating waterfowl looking for a resting spot on their way north in the spring. It is not a nesting area, but where ducks stop for a short stay, like a traveler pulling into a rest stop on Interstate 80. They refuel, rest up and then continue on their trek.
Other Wyoming Ducks Unlimited projects include wetland enhancements associated with Saratoga Lake, north of the town of Saratoga. The organization also helped conserve wetlands adjacent to the Spring-Bump Sullivan Wildlife Habitat Management Area near Torrington. The list goes on. Representative projects are highlighted on the Wyoming Interactive DU Project Map on the Ducks Unlimited website (ducks.org).
“A portion of the funds raised at the banquet supports projects in Albany County; a portion supports projects in Wyoming, and a portion helps with national projects,” Vohland said. “They support wetland conservation across North America.”
The Laramie Chapter also has the distinction of earning the DU President’s Elite award for the second year in a row. The award recognizes the fundraising efforts by the chapter.
To contribute to wetland conservation at this year’s banquet purchase a ticket to this popular event either online or in person at the West Laramie Fly Store. Single tickets are $60, couples are $100 and youth tickets are $35. Sponsor tables are also available.
For those who are unable to attend, but would like to make a donation, that opportunity is also available on the ticket website (ducks.org/events). The plentiful auction items range from artwork to camping gear and firearms; there’s a little something for everyone as well as a nice dinner.
Is that a blue-footed booby?
Mosquito sanctuaries?
Those aren’t ducks!
In fairness, there is no way to keep other waterfowl out of a duck sanctuary.
Tear this down antifa facists.
Ducks Unlimited has spend billions (yes, billions) over the years to protect existing wetlands and to create new wetlands. They are the real environmentalists.
They should finish up in time for the later arriving black bellied whistling ducks to use the nest box this summer. Those look like this:
I also have many mottled ducks that nest in the weeds near shore so I watch the mowing near the lake during nesting season. They look like this:
Whuch the federal government will quickly nationalize.
Your cute duck collection....!
Very impressive, MtnClimber! Are you in north or central FL by any chance?
I grew up on the Detroit River where just about every waterfowl native to North America came through at one time or another. Canvasbacks, redheads, and others massed in the open water between the ice, looking like someone sprinkled a heavy coat of pepper on the water. Tens of thousands at least within view at one time very often.
I think God was in his greatest mood ever when he created ducks, espceially ducklings. And when I sing my nighttime prayer to my domestic ducks when I cage them every night, I tell them that.
I am in central Florida.
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