Ducks Unlimited Canada’s efforts to restore wetlands and attract more ducks to the Prairies have been going swimmingly, says a DUC official.
Mother Nature was a big help last year, delivering record or near-record rainfall over much of the West. Potholes are full, duck numbers are plentiful and wetland areas that were once under cultivation are now filled with water and cattails.
However, Pat Kehoe, DUC’s director of international partnerships, said habitat gains made in the past year can be lost just as quickly.
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Kehoe said long-term success requires Ducks Unlimited to continue developing programs that recognize the economic needs of farmers and the key role that agriculture plays in prairie land management.
“When it’s wet like this … waterfowl production is very good,” said Kehoe during a recent tour of the Allan Hills, an area recognized as one of the most important duck breeding habitats in North America.
“But that creates some challenges as well. Certainly, some ag producers are experiencing a fair amount of grief this year with the amount of water that’s on the landscape.
“The challenge (for DUC) is how do we blend successful conservation programs over the long term with the need for sustainable agriculture, while recognizing that most of the land on the Prairies is under private ownership and people are trying to make a living off that land base?”
Kehoe conceded that Ducks Unlimited’s relationship with farmers has not always been cozy.
However, it is working to strengthen the relationship, primarily through programs and policies that are more palatable to farmers.
Farmland acquisition used to be a key component of DUC’s overall strategy in Western Canada.
The organization owns more than 150,000 acres of farmland in Saskatchewan, but it acknowledges that there are other ways to influence land use, such as farmland leases, producer incentives and conservation easements.
“Certainly, 15 years ago, or 20 years ago, when we started buying land, there were a lot of concerns in the ag community that we were snapping up good agricultural land and just putting it aside for ducks,” said Kehoe.
“I think our relationship with farmers has improved. That’s not to say that there aren’t still people out there that don’t fully understand what we’re up to on the landscape, but I think our relationship has certainly changed over the past 15 or 20 years.”
In the Allan Hills, DUC typically pays $18 to $22 per acre to lease farmland and convert it to hay or pasture.
In most cases, the land is leased for at least 10 years. Once established, the pasture is stocked with cattle about one year in every four or five.
The rest of the time it is used for waterfowl production.
DUC once held leases on 100,000 acres of privately owned farmland in Saskatchewan. It has since fallen to 20,000 acres, but the organization expects it to increase over the next few years.
Producer incentive programs are another important tool.
Ducks Unlimited works primarily with beef and forage producers, offering financial incentives aimed at retaining wetlands, increasing perennial forage production and converting cultivated farmland to hay or pasture.
Farmers who qualify for the program and convert farmland to grass or forage may qualify for incentives worth $10 per acre or more.
The conservation easement program, which DUC introduced 10 years ago, offers landowners a onetime, per-acre payment in exchange for a contract prohibiting drainage, cultivation and other land management practices considered harmful to waterfowl habitat.
The organization has signed perpetual easements on 80,000 acres of land in Saskatchewan.
Brian Hepworth, head of habitat retention for DUC, said the organization’s programs have helped fortify relations with beef and forage producers.
The organization has also made inroads with grain farmers, but Hepworth said there is still work to be done.
DUC also works with federal and provincial governments developing on a system that would pay landowners for the ecological goods and services.
A grain farmer in east-central Saskatchewan who restores a wetland area or keeps it out cultivation is not only foregoing potential income, but also providing valuable habitat for wildlife, sequestering carbon, reducing soil erosion and limiting the potential for downstream flooding.
