Abstracts

Presented by John Devney - Email: jdevney@deltawaterfowl.org

Working Wetlands-A Novel Approach to Small Wetlands Conservation Breeding duck carrying capacity within the Prairie Pothole Region is limited by the available amount of wetland habitat available on the landscape. The loss of small wetlands negatively impacts carrying capacity, and as such, activities targeted to conserving small temporary and seasonal wetlands has long been a focus for the regions waterfowl managers. Yet, pressures on the remaining wetland resources continue and managers are seeking new approaches to address the pressing need of small wetland conservation. Delta undertook a comprehensive effort of working with the agricultural community in North Dakota, engaging key conservation partners in advancing a new approach to small wetland conservation. This effort catalyzed a North Dakota pilot project, inclusion in the 2018 Farm Bill and is in the process of being implemented by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The presentation will detail the background and approaches used to advance the program from a mere concept through to its current status on the verge of being implemented as NRCS programming across the U.S. Prairie Pothole Region. The use of new scientific literature documenting the public benefits of wetlands, employing a real time feedback mechanism through research and surveys in collaboration with the University of North Dakota, and how that feedback played a role in both policy development and political support for the concept as well as survey results will be presented. The experience with Working Wetlands can yield important information on addressing contentious policy and conservation delivery challenges and may yield insight to managers and conservation planners about a useful approach in utilizing collaboration and the best available science as a means to achieve on the ground conservation outcomes for the benefit of breeding ducks.