Rainwater Basin Initiative JAMES K. RINGELMAN
Rainwater Basin Initiative
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Millions of ducks and geese descend upon this landscape
each spring, stopping to rest and feed during their annual
migration to the prairie pothole breeding areas. The
incredible concentration of birds that occurs here is indeed
awe inspiring, creating bird watching opportunities that are
truly rare in North America. Anyone who has witnessed
this spectacle will begin to understand, and appreciate, how
important the Rainwater Basin is to migratory birds.
However, timing is everything. This point was driven
home to me during a conversation with one of our neighbors.
While Tim Horst and I were inspecting some work on
DU’s Verona Tract, one of our neighbor farmers stopped
by to visit. I explained to him the Rainwater Basin provides
important spring migration habitat to millions of waterfowl.
He replied, “You will never have any birds here because you
will never have water in those areas.”
As he drove away, I was confused how this long-time
resident would not know about the millions of birds that
travel through the area each spring and fall. Tim provided the
answer. Our neighbor spends the winter in more favorable
climates and does not witness the migration spectacle
that occurs during the first two weeks in March. Also, like
many people, he associates waterfowl habitat with large,
permanent wetlands and lakes, not the shallow, temporarily
flooded wetlands that provide critical food resources during
migration periods. By the time Rainwater Basin farmers
return to the fields in the spring, many of these shallow
wetlands are already dry and their value to waterfowl is
largely unappreciated.
The abundant food like bugs, freshwater shrimp and seeds
from native vegetation that emerge in temporary wetlands
here are the reason millions of waterfowl stop here each
spring. The food resources help maintain and improve body
condition during the strenuous migration period, allowing
birds to arrive in the northern breeding habitats ready to lay
eggs and reproduce. It is upon this biological fact that DU has
built the Rainwater Basin Initiative. The program continues to
grow each year, restoring and protecting important waterfowl
habitat. I hope you enjoy reading our 2009 Annual Report.
steve donovan nebraskaMgr., conservation Programs
The rainwaTer Basin is a specTacular place
Rainwater Basin Initiative Accomplishments
To date
$ 2,713,291FY 09
AcresProtected
560
7,798
EnhancedRestored/Created
1,940
17,830
TechnicalAssistance
1,200
8,716 $10,215,808
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BioenergeTic model shows area haBiTaT lacking - A new scientific model has been developed to measure whether the bird habitat available in
Nebraska’s Rainwater Basin provides enough food to meet the needs of migrating waterfowl. The Rainwater Basin Joint Venture, of which Ducks Unlimited is a
member, has created a bioenergetic model that shows the area does not have enough habitat to feed the more than 12 million migratory waterfowl that use this
region each fall and spring. The high density of waterfowl and limited wetlands create intense competition for food resources.
Results of the model show the RWB needs to provide 24.1 billion kcals (kilo calories) of energy to meet the needs of migratory waterfowl. The abundant
waste grain in this region does provide some of this energy, but does not by itself satisfy the nutritional requirements of waterfowl because it lacks some
essential amino acids, inorganic elements, and vitamins. The RWBJV calculated that 39 percent
of the energy demands of waterfowl need to be provided by natural foods found in properly
functioning wetland habitats.
Migrating waterfowl traveling through the RWB acquire significant lipid and nutrient reserves.
These reserves not only provide fuel for the northward migration, but also significantly impact
reproductive success on the prairie breeding grounds. Research has shown hens arriving on the
breeding grounds in better condition nest earlier, produce larger clutches, and have a higher
propensity to re-nest. All of these behaviors have been tied to increased duck populations, which,
to duck hunters, means more ducks heading south in the fall.
The RWBJV estimates that properly feeding these birds during spring migration would take
37,000 acres of high quality wetland foraging habitat that is flooded on an annual basis. Only a
few more than 30,000 acres of wetlands remain in the RWB today, and many of these wetlands
are in poor condition. The model helps the Joint Venture partners develop habitat goals to make
up the difference. DU is working with the other partners in the RWBJV to implement a variety
of programs designed to meet this goal and ensure that the skies will be filled with ducks today,
tomorrow and forever.
sound science is Behind haBiTaT goals in The rainwaTer Basin
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chicago man’s children invesT in dad’s favoriTe hunTing spoT
Daniel Bryan Sr. would have been pleased that Ducks Unlimited shared his
vision. The long-time Chicago police officer and avid duck hunter traveled
twice a year to hunt Hanson Waterfowl Production Area and Mallard Haven
in Nebraska’s Rainwater Basin. Bryan and his sons had permission to hunt
from the Carey dike that ran east and west along the south border of the
Hanson Marsh. Dan often said, “It would be nice if one of the fish and game
departments came in and bought this other 320 acres (the Carey place) and
opened it up public hunting.”
DU last year bought the Carey tract, is restoring it now and plans to turn it
over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Having heard about the purchase,
Dan’s son, Jerry, contacted DU Nebraska Manager of Conservation Programs
Steve Donovan to congratulate him on the purchase and tell Steve about his
dad. Now, the Bryan family has made a major gift to DU in memory of their
father, who died in 2000, and to contribute to the restoration of the property.
“Our wives don’t quite understand why some of us will drive 10 hours,
then get up at 4 a.m. and go sit in a cold, wet marsh just to hunt ducks, but
there’s just something about being out there when the sun first kisses the sky.”
He says on opening day, he and his brothers are sometimes sitting in
blinds in different states waiting for the sun to come up, texting each other,
“Are you ready?”
“My older brother will let the morning’s first group of ducks fly through his
decoys in honor of my dad,” Jerry said.
The property was purchased with gifts from Major Sponsors of the
Rainwater Basin Initiative and a grant from the Nebraska Environmental
Trust. Restoration will include removing the levee that separates the two
properties, plugging drainage ditches to restore water flow to wetlands and
replanting the uplands to native grasses.
“Because the property lies adjacent to the Hansen WPA, this is one of
the most important wetland acquisition projects in the Rainwater Basin,”
Donovan said.
Dan’s son, Cliff, has fond memories of the two of them traveling for the 12-
hour drive to Nebraska. “My dad was always trying to catch the height of the
fall migration into the Rainwater Basin,” Cliff said. “We didn’t always hit it,
but we knew at least we were going to see ducks.”
Jerry says his father lived for duck season but was a realist. “If the ducks
had passed through or the basin froze up while we were there, he would pack
up and travel 12 hours back home,” he said. “It didn’t matter that we traveled
across the country to hunt with him.”
Dan hunted up until a year before cancer took him at 76. “The cairn at the
property that will carry his name seems so appropriate,” Jerry said.
“this gift is to honor the legacy my dad left us in his
passion for duck hunting. My brothers and i still try to
make the trip to nebraska each year to hunt some of my
dad’s old stomping grounds,” Jerry said.
www.ducks.org/rainwaterbasin
Wagon wheel ruts from the Oregon Trail and buffalo wallows are still visible on a tract of Nebraska
land purchased by Ducks Unlimited. DU and Nebraska Game and Parks Commission restored the
115-acre Rainwater Basin property to the native grassland and wetland it had when settlers and
buffalo traveled there.
Using North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant dollars, DU split the purchase costs
with NGPC. DU restored a 35-acre wetland on the land with substantial contributions from DU
major sponsors, U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service Wetlands Reserve Program and
the Nebraska Environmental Trust. The property was transferred to NGPC, which restored the
grassland and made the land part of the Bluewing Wildlife Management Area.
“None of this would have been possible without the enthusiastic participation of the landowners,”
said Steve Donovan, manager of conservation programs for DU.
DU purchased the tract from Rose Mary and LaVern Shaw. The Shaws originally acquired the land
from long-time residents Mick and Millie Hoyt, Rose Mary’s parents.
“We really liked the proposal Ducks Unlimited presented to us,” Rose Mary Shaw said. “Knowing that the property would be
restored to wildlife habitat and protected forever was very appealing.”
Rose Mary and LaVern’s daughter, Lisa Hannah, has special memories of the property. “As a child, my grandfather used to take
me for walks on the property, showing me the old wagon wheel ruts from the Oregon Trail and buffalo wallows, which can still be
seen today,” Lisa said.
NGPC District Manager Bob Meduna says the parcel is a valuable addition to the WMA. “This property and its restored
wetlands and grasslands will provide excellent habitat for ducks, pheasants, quail and many other species of wildlife,” Meduna said.
The property will be open to a variety of public uses, including bird watching, hiking, hunting, and wildlife photography,
another aspect of the project that was appealing to the Shaw family. “It was important to us to know that we could continue to visit
the property, walk through the prairie and enjoy the wildflowers and wildlife,” Rose Mary Shaw said.
du and ngpc acquisiTion and resToraTion now open To migraTory waTerfowl – and hikers, hunTers and Bird-waTchers
Omaha World Herald Outdoors visits with
DU’s Steve Moran at the Bluewing WMA.
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Ducks Unlimited has completed habitat restoration work on the Dedrickson
property in Clay County. According to DU Engineering Technician David
Hoferer, DU restored a total of 65 acres of wetland habitat, providing
significant benefits to migrating waterfowl.
DU bought the property two years ago as part of its Revolving Habitat
Program. Under this program, DU acquires properties in the Rainwater
Basin that offer a significant opportunity to restore waterfowl habitat. DU
then restores the property, places a permanent conservation easement on
the tract, and ultimately sells the property to a conservation buyer. Proceeds
from the sale of the tract are then used to acquire additional habitat and
repeat the process.
The Dedrickson tract is located about three miles southeast of DU’s Verona
Complex. Restoration work included filling a large, excavated pit that had
originally been dug to drain a 45-acre marsh. Filling the pit with compacted
soil restores natural water flow to the former marsh. Additional sediment was
removed from the wetland and placed on an upland site.
Small levees were constructed to restore two additional wetlands. A
pipeline was installed to connect a well on the site to the two largest wetlands,
providing an additional source of water during dry periods.
DU Lands Manager Tim Horst has been using DU’s tractor, Big Red
(see photo), to disk the restored wetlands in order to manage the plant
community and promote a diverse mix of native and annual species that
produce the vast quantities of seed waterfowl need during migration. Tim
also disked the adjoining Green Acres Waterfowl Production Area to improve
its wetland plant community. Grass was planted on the former cropland areas
to restore native prairie.
DU is selling a
conservation easement on
the Dedrickson property to
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, providing additional
revenue to the revolving
program and ensuring the
property will be protected in
perpetuity. During the time
DU owns the site, it will be
open to public hunting for
hunting seasons.
du gives migraTing ducks Three more rwB weTlands full of food
DU’s new tractor, Big Red, surrounded by its fans
www.ducks.org/rainwaterbasin
Jim and Patty Donelan from Leshara, Nebraska are benefactor level
sponsors who found an opportunity to give to Ducks Unlimited in a way they
never could before, by using their IRA.
“It’s not complicated; the DU staff made this type of gift simple and easy
for us. I encourage people to talk to their tax advisors and explore their
giving options, and do it right away,” Jim said.
The Donelan’s gift was tax free and made possible by the Pension
Protection Act of 2006, which was extended through 2009. The Donelans
hold Nebraska’s wildlife and wildlife habitat in high esteem. The property
they now live on was owned by Jim’s parents when he was young. “I grew up
hunting on this property and would spend my summers and weekends here,”
he said.
The couple is now diligently working to restore the property’s wetlands
and grasslands on their own and with some guidance from DU staff. They
are taking special care of the land because they know that places like theirs
are disappearing in Nebraska. They want to make sure local wildlife and
migrating ducks and birds are provided for now and into the future.
When their two sons were young, Patty would watch as Jim took them on
adventures into the wetlands for early morning hunts. She became passionate
about waterfowl conservation and founded the DUGals ladies DU chapter
in Omaha. She served as chairwoman of the chapter for two years which
cemented her dedication to the ducks.
Today, Jim and Patty have five grandchildren with whom they now share
their love of the outdoors. Their gift to DU will infuse their legacy into
Nebraska’s wetlands and grasslands and ensure their great-grandchildren will
have places to hunt, fish and watch wildlife just as they have done throughout
their lives.
neBraska donors find an easy way To give To du and encourage oThers To do The same
(L to R): Jim Donelan, Patty Donelan and Clay Rogers.
DU board member
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american wigeon
www.ducks.org/rainwaterbasin
The families and friends of Nebraska’s fallen heroes have a new place to remember their loved
ones through enjoying the habitat so important to many of these service men and women. The
Fallen Heroes Marsh memorial stands on DU’s Verona complex, a natural area that attracts
thousands of ducks each year as they migrate between wintering and breeding grounds.
The memorial honors Nebraska’s veterans who were killed or wounded in the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan. Volunteers on the Fallen Heroes Marsh committee raised nearly $400,000
for this effort. These funds will be directed toward waterfowl and wetland conservation efforts
throughout Nebraska.
“The inspiration to memorialize the legacy of our fallen heroes and their individual
contributions to our country through wetlands conservation will serve generations of
Nebraskans just as the sacrifices that our heroes made will continue for generations. It seems
extremely fitting to honor their sacrifice this way,” said Kyle Hildebrand, DU volunteer and Iraq
War veteran.
The family of U.S. Army soldier Adam Herold inspired the marsh memorial efforts. They
wanted to honor his memory and the memory of all of Nebraska’s military killed or wounded
in the two wars. Adam was an avid waterfowl hunter and ardent DU supporter as are other
members of his family. Adam’s family felt strongly that conserving waterfowl habitat in
Nebraska would be the perfect way to honor his sacrifice for his country.
“The Herold family, along with many supporters and volunteers, have made this dream a
reality,” said Steve Wilson, regional director for DU. “We are honored that Adam’s family came
to us with this request.”
The Fallen Heroes Marsh will be a place where friends and families can come to hunt,
watch, photograph or simply listen to ducks and remember loved ones who dedicated their
lives to the United States.
Colonel Kevin Neumann, chief of staff for the Nebraska National Guard, (left) spoke at the
marsh dedication. He is an avid duck hunter and recently returned from Afghanistan.
DU Volunteer Kyle Hildebrand (middle) and DU Regional Director Steve Wilson
du volunTeers come TogeTher To honor neBraska’s fallen heroes
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major sponsors
Born and raised in Platte, South Dakota, Adam DeHaan appreciates life on the prairie. He grew up fishing for walleye, chasing pheasants
and waterfowl hunting. DeHaan has a biology degree and a masters in sport administration. He coached at four universities in the Great
Plains region, culminating in a four-year stint as the head basketball coach at Valley City State University in North Dakota.
A former regional director in eastern Nebraska, DeHaan moved to Memphis in 2007 to work as the manager of volunteer services. He
is excited to be back on the plains as a director of development for IA, MN and NE.
“Through major gifts and the Rainwater Basin Initiative, Nebraskans have a great opportunity to conserve traditional shallow water
lakes,” DeHaan said. “Not only do we have an opportunity to show future generations what this region historically looked like, restoring
and protecting habitat is important for waterfowl by providing critical nutritional needs during spring migration. I am excited to be a part
of such a great opportunity to work with motivated, caring people.”
Adam lives with wife Rebecca, children Jacob and Isabella, and dog Max in Lakeville, Minnesota.
dehaan joins rainwaTer Basin developmenT Team
parTners
diamond legacy sponsor($1 Million - $4.9 Million)
Neal C. HansenBruce R. LauritzenGeorge B. Storer Foundation Inc.
gold legacy sponsor($500,000 - $749,999)
Anonymous - Goldeneye
BenefacTor($100,000 - $249,999)
Howard & Rhonda HawksJames Stuart, Jr. & Susan Stuart Foundation
heriTage sponsor($50,000 - $74,999)
Dave Ellingson
diamond life sponsor($20,000 - $29,999)
Anonymous - WigeonLarry BakerThomas & Patricia Hastings
life sponsor($10,000 - $19,999)
Gale & Paula BeirowDennis & Lois BeranJohn H. Bergmeyer
donors
Clay Center Spring Wing DingFriends of the Rainwater BasinLittle Blue Natural Resources DistrictNebraska Environmental TrustNebraska Game and Parks CommissionNorth American Wetlands Conservation CouncilPheasants Forever, IncRainwater Basin Joint VentureThe Nature ConservancyTri-Basin Natural Resources District U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyU.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceU.S. Natural Resources Conservation ServiceUpper Big Blue Natural Resources District
Mike & Susan BlahaThomas L. BowenIn Memory Of Daniel E. Bryan, Sr.Jason & Sandra ChristiansenJoseph C. DowdingT. K. & Janel FooteDaniel J. Herold, M.D.James & Patty HillJohn HoggattTim & Rita HughesGeorge Landgren, M.D.Don & Stephanie LeedingChuck G. OlsenMichael & Diane SchroederGregg A. SilverbergFarm Land Irrigation, Inc.
We wish to recognize the following donors for their commitments and contributions to the Rainwater Basin Initiative during 2008 and 2009.
www.ducks.org/rainwaterbasin
great Plains regional office
2525 RiveR Road • bismaRck, nd • 58503-9011
701.355.3500
www.ducks.org/rainwaterbasin rwb0109
This is a time of recovery. The economy is beginning to recover and so is Nebraska’s Rainwater Basin. Ducks Unlimited is
working tirelessly to restore some of the thousands of wetlands that once dotted this landscape. Also, we’re protecting this
new habitat so it doesn’t go away again.
Your support for DU’s Rainwater Basin Initiative is what keeps us getting up each day and working to provide the
waterfowl habitat we know is needed to feed the millions of birds going through the basins each spring and fall.
As you have read in this publication, we have a long way to go to meet the needs of waterfowl and other birds that depend
on this area for resting and refueling. We know you’ll be there walking the walk and talking the talk and supporting DU
along the way to recovery.
Major Supporters make the difference in DU meeting its goals in Nebraska. Your gifts are the glue that keeps the
Rainwater Basin Initiative together and working for the continent’s waterfowl. To discuss your opportunities to help, please
contact Ron Stromstad or Adam DeHaan.
recovery
ron stromstad (mn/ia/ne )
sr. director of development
952-236-0638
adam dehaan (mn/ia/ne)
director of development
763-688-0519