ducks unlimited question?

[yelladog]

all right guys dont get mad,just got to ask a question.
down here where im from there is a local landowner who owns a lot of land.this land is right on the river i hunt.this guy has a duck club that is very high dollar.if i have my facts right all his members are from another state that pay a major amount of money to hunt.heres my deal.DU has done a great job of turning his land into a duck magnet.there is a pumping station on the river that is freakin huge.my question is this.is it fair for DU to do all this work with du money and it only be for this club.i know they hunt it ive seen em.My gripe is it right for this to be happening it seems that unless you have a great deal of money or land they will do this for you.but what about all of the guys who dont?i know what they are doing up north helps us all but the further south to my knowledge its all private.does this help my hunting not really ive seen those ducks stay there all season long.not bashing DU just wondering what yall think

[GreenTimber]

I used to get mad about this same thing, but either way you look at it their still creating duck habitat.

I agree though with what your saying I think they need to create alot more habitat that the public as a whole as access too, the problem down here is that DU projects that are in place here on public land are pointless, they just dont attract ducks.

I think they need to convert the money their spending on private land into saving more of our wetlands and save the breeding grounds i think this will create more ducks, just my personal opinion

[Alex Hilburn]

well, DU is a nonprofit organization, you don't necessarily pay them to do the work to your land. They do all the work thats necessary, but the owner of the land pays for water.

DU sends most of its profits up north to the breeding grounds for creating habitat up there. Also, Ducks Unlimited does a lot of work with public grounds. If you see a public piece of duck hunting property, most likely DU has in some form or fasion done some it of work.

If you have land that you want DU to work on, just call them up in your state and have somebody come out and check it out. They will give you their honest opinion and will work with you in order to satisfy you!

[Jason Pollack]

Seems like there are a couple of private places around here that they have done the same to. They have also done some work on some of our local WMAs but those spots just don't seem to ever have ducks. I agree, there needs to be some time and money spent on the places everyone can enjoy.

[Alex Hilburn]

ducks unlimited has the WMA's built, but they are not the ones that manage it. In AR its the Arkansas game and fish that keep up with WMAs....An example that some of you might know is Ed Gordon/Point Remove. DU has done a lot to make that place what it is, but the AGFC commission does not know what they have. If they would let all the things be done that needs to be done, you would see more ducks on the property. Another thing is hunter pressure. There were a lot of ducks in the state opening weekend. Afterwards, ducks go into hiding on rest areas and don't come out until 12:05.

[PEI Duck Guy]

It can be upsetting... however no habitat no ducks.

[yelladog]

i give great thanks to the arkansas game and fish.living in a border city i have both texas and arkansas to hunt.texas parks and wildlife dosent have much for ducks around here.the game and fishdo all for the birds around here if D.U does i have not yet seen it.on private land is another story.i am glad to see the game and fish cut out hunting on rest areas the last 3 days i have hunted one here in the past and it was a complete circus 500 people on 5 acres.....i just wish there was more emphasis put on duck hunting land on a local scale.i love hunting ducks but i also love killing ducks.it just seems that all the stuff done isnt for hunting but for conservation wich i know we need but if these areas arenot avaliable to hunt how does this benifit the hunter?well we will have more ducks to hunt next year but what about hunting them this year.it just seems like a cycle that the birds are following.rest area to rest area and not getting in the flyways of those who cant afford the high leases or dont have acess to private D.U projects. just my 2 cents thats all

[GreenTimber]

Greenheadslayer, I disagree that the AGFC is the reason that ED Gordon is not filled with ducks. First the Remmel Marsh wasnt that great of a location to begin, it definately could have been cleaned up after they bought, and third i think that DU should at least put some funds in every year to help maintain the project they started.

If they dont thats like buying someone a new car, paying the first payment and letting them take over from there, it just usually doesnt work.

Another fine DU project is at Slaty crossing, exactly never has had ducks, y? because its in a horrible location, I would rather DU spend money up north to create habitat than to waste money on pointless "projects".

I think instead of spending money on everyones private land, DU needs to put more money into maintaiing public land and doing more research on where to make better "Projects". I mean lets face it, usually if you have money to buy private land you have money to fix up your land, and your going to fix it up for duck hunting whether DU helps you or not. Thats my thoughts on this issue.

[Jason Pollack]

Well said GreenTimber, well said.

[Dirt_Bag]

here in wa. the state gets together with land owners to plant crops for birds the deal is that if they post it no one can hunt it. but it turns out that it becomes a private gun club. but the state also plants for hunting on public land.

[yelladog]

thats right greentimber.....


i think alot of duck hunters feel this way.if u own the land u should be able to fix it up .i know a group of guys who paid alot of money last year and this year to hunt a small slough.this is the only hunting on this property.but the land owner who doesnt duck hunt has told this group that DU is going to turn it into a project so when they do the rent is going to go up.now how does this money spent on this benifit us? its just frustrating to see this kind of land managment being funded by an orginization that is funded by the public but no public allowed to hunt

[Alex Hilburn]

what do you mean by saying no public allowed to hunt? no public is allowed because its PRIVATE PROPERTY, and as long as there isn't a sign that says WMA you arn't allowed to step foot onto unless you have permisson.. are you saying DU should stop the work they do on private grounds and commit 100% of their dollars to public grounds work?

lets go ahead and consider that theory for a moment. According to the fish and wildlife service, 3/4 of the nations wetlands are privately owned. that leaves a quarter for us, the poor man. Now say that DU, Delta, or any conservation org. for that matter, worked day in and day out on nothing but that 1 quarter of the nation, and not at all on the majority of the land. What would happen? duck hunting and duck numbers wouldn't be so hot anymore.

now the thing about the rent going up sounds like a decision the farmer decided....it may be based on the fact that the work ducks unlimited is doing is making the land worth more to hunters. it isn't in order to pay ducks unlimited, you don't pay them to do their work.

heres a list of all the work that DU does on public grounds in arkansas, and it explains whats going on. You can each go to your respective states and see the same thing.

http://www.ducks.org/Arkansas/ArkansasConservation/1767/ConservationinArkansas.html

They way I have read these and come to understand, and maybe i'm wrong, is that you guys do not like the way DU has spent money. It is conservation that DU works with. If you don't like conservation, then i understand the meaning of this thread completely.

http://www.fws.gov/southeast/pubs/facts/arpacon.pdf

[Kyle Williams]

Not always does someone get the work done for free on their private property. DU, Delta, and other conservation organizations can't put their money into a piece of property without getting some return. I have never looked into getting assistance to develop my property into a "Duck Hunting Heaven" so I don't have absolute information, but I have heard that there are some clauses to free development, ie the land developed is placed into estate and ownership transfered to whatever organization after the owner is deceased. I would love to have DU come in and develop my property for habitat and pay for it, but it's more important for me to pass on the property I've put my blood, sweat, and tears into (and dollars) to my family.

My 2 cents.