An avid waterfowler and renowned scientist, Dr. Scott Petrie, 57, has been the Chief Executive Officer of Delta Waterfowl since 2015. He came to The Duck Hunters Organization as an accomplished and respected leader in the waterfowl conservation community, having served as executive director at Long Point Waterfowl in Ontario for 18 years. Petrie was also an adjunct professor at Western University where he supervised graduate students and taught Wildlife Ecology and Management.

Relying on his experience, desire for organizational growth and strong connections in both the waterfowl management and hunting communities, Petrie’s notable achievements include leading Delta’s development and events staff through a period of rapid growth; overseeing the organization’s expanded conservation and leadership roles in all four flyways; placing renewed emphasis on and raising public awareness of Delta’s waterfowl research legacy; and advancing Delta’s hunter recruitment/retention efforts and conservation programs.

As a young man, Petrie worked on a family dairy farm in Atwood, Ontario, where he also began hunting ducks and geese. His passion for waterfowl grew out of research as a “Delta student” in 1986 and 1987, when he worked on the Marsh Ecology Research Program and Minnedosa Canvasback Project. He completed an undergraduate degree in wildlife biology at the University of Guelph in Ontario in 1990, and earned his PhD at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa in 1997, where he studied the wintering and breeding ecology of the white-faced whistling duck. Petrie also completed a masters of business administration at the University of Mary, North Dakota, in 2022.

“It has been very exciting to return to the organization I started with as a student,” Petrie said. “It’s been a pleasure leading and growing an excellent team that’s increasing the impact and delivery of Delta’s conservation programs. Delta is now recognized as a key contributor to waterfowl conservation and as the premier organization supporting duck hunters across North America.”

When he’s not in the office, you’ll find Petrie hunting waterfowl with his English springer spaniel, Boone. Petrie is also an avid big game hunter, and enjoys mountain biking, kayaking and playing tennis with his wife, Val.