ALUS in Alberta: Good News for American Duck Hunters
‘Farmers Conservation Plan’ Launches on Breeding Grounds
Bismarck, N.D.—During the 1990s wet cycle, duck production on the U.S. side of the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) increased dramatically, setting the stage for some epic modern-day fall flights.
The reason: a voluntary federal initiative called the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) that compensated farmers and ranchers for idling environmentally fragile lands and planting them to grass.
“What we’ve learned with CRP on the prairies is that a landscape-level policy solution that farmers can buy into is the best approach for securing the long-term habitat needs of ducks,” said Delta President Rob Olson. “We don’t have that right now in prairie Canada, but we’re hoping to change that with ALUS. Today’s announcement in Alberta is another step forward to achieving our goals for duck hunters.”
The announcement, at an event at Cattlemen’s Corral in Lloydminster, launches the first Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) pilot program in Alberta, specifically in the County of Vermilion River, historically a duck-producing stronghold.
Illinois Prairie Chapter ‘Reinvests’ Field & Stream Award
Know this about the committee members of the Illinois Prairie Chapter of Delta Waterfowl: They don’t waste time when it comes to raising more ducks for duck hunters.
Late last year, Field & Stream magazine named the chapter a “Hero of Conservation” for its grassroots conservation work and other activities on waterfowler’s behalf. The honor also came with a stipend: a $1,000 check, which the chapter is already busy “reinvesting.”
Indeed, committee members recently built 19 wood duck boxes, artificial nesting structures that will be erected on state and federal lands by the chapter in February before the spring nesting season.
CRP: Is the Cadillac of Conservation Programs on Life Support?
It’s easy to get lost in the alphabet soup of federal conservation programs, but if you’re a duck hunter and care about the future of our heritage, there’s one acronym you simply cannot forget—CRP.
CRP is the Conservation Reserve Program, arguably the most sweepingly beneficial, voluntary private lands conservation initiative ever hatched by the federal government. But the Cadillac of Conservation programs, it seems, is loosing its luster and support. The political class in Washington D.C., among others, is debating its importance and usefulness in this age of bio-fuels and alternative energy. Translation: The scalpel has been unsheathed and cuts are likely on the horizon.
Buckle up: CRP as we hunters know it is likely going to change, and perhaps radically so.
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