NO MORE DUCKS UNLIMITED

Du sux has got it right. I have done research in that department and you don't have to get into it very far to get that fact. DU at one time posted all the duck stop areas on their web site, so I personally called to find out how many were on the Mississippi Flyway. Upon my request, I was told that I would have to call the Federal Wildlife agency in Virginia to get the answer to my question. I did, several times, but was never contacted back with any info. Go figure? If you have been to these areas, there is about a 90% chance you would have seen birds and plenty of them. I have watched them leave in the morning, fly to a protected feeding area during the day, then fly right back to a protected area to roost. Then you have insurance crops,(which are outlawed for hunting by the Feds I might add), that cannot be hunted or disturbed for that matter, even though they are on a very expensive hunting leases with blinds in these fields. This incorporated with the weather all adds up.

I sure would hate to see where we would be at for habitat/biology knowledge if it were not for DU over the last 70 years

That being said, I too have seen a shift in who they are targetting to solicite funds from. Basically it used to be all hunters supporting DU, but they are targetting non hunters now. The problem is that the hunters who have been the back bone of DU are ticked as some of the projects DU is doing is off limits to hunting. The hunters are a minority now in the US, and the non hunters the vast majority, and the antihunters a small minority. So DU is targetting the non hunters to substanially raise more $ each year-a good and bad kind of thing. Good because wetland and grasslands are being saved/restored; bad because now the nonhunters have a voice in how the $ should be spent which irratates some of the DU hunters.

Am I a member of DU? Yes and a DU CA member too. And am a MWA member as well as a DW member. I have served on 3 of the 4 orgs banquet committees over the years (not on DU CA-for logistical reasons-like they are 400 miles away... hhehehhee) Seems to me they all are basically good Orgs and that you should be a member too. Basic memberships for the 4 run $125 a year. Some say that is a lot of $, is it? If you make $25,000 a year that is only 1/2 of 1% of your wages, are not these Orgs worth that much to ensure continued duck flights and hunter rights to continue you being able to hunt as well as future generations? I think so, that is why I give them 3 to 4% of my income each year. And I'm a working stiff and drive an old S-10, but I feel it is important to give financially as well give of my time to them. Surely some of you can do the same? Heck many churches say you should give 10% to the church of your choosing, is not the above Orgs worth at least 1% of your income? And they are all nonprofits, so what you give is tax deductable too on your taxes.

BTW, their website addys are listed on the Conservation forum here at DHC. :thumbsup: