HABITAT PROGRAMS

It has been a banner year for Ducks Unlimited Canada in terms of habitat enhancement. A total of 180,000 acres of new habitat were secured and 213,000 acres enhanced. These results are the best in DU Canada history. I

Most ducks nest on private land, usually farmland. Clearly the key to a heathy sustainable waterfowl population is a long-term partnership between Ducks Unlimited Canada and landowners. With the outstanding achievement in 1994-1995, it is obvious that more and more landowners are beginning to see the benefits of working with DU.

One of our new partnerships, the Parklands Agricultural Research Initiative (PARI), has put one full-scale demonstration farm in each prairie province, bringing landowners the latest conservation technology. PARI includes dozens of conservation, farm and industry organizations.

Prairie CARE (Conservation of Agriculture, Resources and the Enviromnent) remains the largest waterfowl habitat program ever launched in Canada. The program promotes the restoration of upland cover through land use treatments such as zero-tillage, planned grazing systems and the use of native prairie plants for revegetation. Last year, 81,448 acres of upland and small wetlands in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta were secured and 111,776 acres were enhanced as nesting and breeding habitat under Prairie CARE. A similar program, Ontario Land CARE (OLC) was launched in 1993 and smaller scale agricultural programs are also carried out in British Columbia, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

The Beaver Pond Management Program is new to Ontario and has resulted in 88,800 secured acres and an additional 92,000 enhanced acres. The program uses a natural partner, the beaver, to create waterfowl habitat.

DU's wildlife-friendly landowner programs are carried out with financial support from Canadian and United States agencies under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.