Ducks Unlimited quacks

[Oliver88]

On the CKOM website this is an actual news article!

http://ckom.com/article/1176381/canadian-prairie-grasslands-shrinking-faster-rainforest

Canadian prairie grasslands shrinking faster than rainforest
By JT Marshall December 16, 2016 - 4:55pm

We've all heard about the disappearance of arctic ice or the shrinking of the Amazonian rainforest – but one group of conservationists says it's time to look in our own backyard.
Nature Conservancy Canada said prairie grasslands are shrinking, with more than 70 per cent now being used for agriculture or industry.
They say, by comparison, just 20 per cent of the Amazon has been converted for other uses.
According to Scott Stephens with Ducks Unlimited, people don't get outraged close to home because they aren't seeing the bigger picture of change.
"When you go from forest to a canola field the next year, not a lot of people notice," Stephens said.
"Once people start to notice and care that's when I think it will change," he said.

– With files from The Canadian Press
Email jmarshall@rawlco.com
https://twitter.com/JTMarshallCKOM

[wmoebis]

Seems a little weird or maybe even counter productive. Save wetlands and increase habitat so they can kill the ducks?

[oneoff]

Nothing quicker to get a "heritage sensitive" designation than to donate an artifact (even one called "unknown") and the home quarter will be subject to official scrutiny from then on every time someone wants to "disturb" the topsoil.

Same can apply to anyone (even a tenant??) conceding to let someone count the ducks on a quarter section that has been 100% cropped. Watch out for an "environmentally sensitive" sticker to get permanently attached

What can anyone actually do on private land without others thinking they have over riding interests.

[farmaholic]

DU built some trenches connecting these "lakes"(better description would be marshes). The largest one, called "Dry Lake" on the bottom right was only ever a large flat with a dribble of water in the lowest part. After the last several years of excess moisture that one filled beyond it's usual boundaries flooding the more than adequate municipal road running past the south west corner of it. Across this road is a steel quonset now surrounded by water. The road has since been built up with rip-rap along the ditches to prevent the waves from eroding the road. It is a bit unnerving seeing it the way it is today... dead trees around it's perimeter and more water than I've ever seen in it. We used to pasture cattle in the community pasture bordering it and there was only ever a wee bit of water in it.

Besides the excess water that would normally run into this basin people are blaming farmland drainage as also contributing. There is supposedly ditch blocks in the trenches as well but people are pulling(or lifting) the planks in the control structures. Water probably would have got there by itself but not as much and not without the two marshes upstream flooding first...

"Rumor" has it DU has been approached for financial help for building up the road. I can't verify if they ante'd up.

[tmyrfield]

Hey farma so that is where you park your private jet!

[farming101]

As you read the article note what is given as reasons for the exploding snow goose population

[URL="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/exploding-arctic-snow-geese-numbers-stabilizing-but-still-high-1.3095247"]http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/exploding-arctic-snow-geese-numbers-stabilizing-but-still-high-1.3095247[/URL]

Funny the scientist quoted says they need to study more so as to get a better understanding of what's going on.
They should just phone DU. They know best....

[farmaholic]

Not quite... our farm is about ten miles south west of those marshes... But I will keep that in mind when I buy my first Learjet, some where to park it. That is a "gliding" club.... around here we only walk with turkeys not soar with eagles...


on topic... we have no easements or caveats with DU.

[tmyrfield]

Its really cool how google earth caught a picture of a jet flying over top the glider strip.

We have also had dealing with DU. they built a dam then the beavers made it better. lol. DU finally tore out their dam but the beavers have kept the water at a high level. As far as I know DU didn't put any caveats on our land but perhaps I better check.

[bucket]

I can say without any reservations that ducks unlimited and their cousins are the worst example of conservation that I have seen.

If the money funding these dumbass organizations were given to the landowners .....there would be much better results.

[Oliver88]

This whole story initiated by Ducks Unlimited sounds very sketchy.

Did they go to CKOM and get them to smear farmland owners?
With the low skills and salaries in our media, of course they never questioned the validity of the story or verified with a farm group such as SARM, WCWGA, etc.

It appears the goal of DU is to convert land that produces crops into sloughs so their members can shoot a few ducks.