Delta Waterfowl Among Collaborating Partners on Wildlife for the 21^st Century Publication

This guiding document details recommendations for critical conservation issues, including waterfowl habitat, waterfowl hunting, and more

The American Wildlife Conservation Partners (AWCP), a coalition of the country’s 52 leading sporting-conservation organizations representing hunter-conservationists, wildlife professionals, outdoor enthusiasts, conservation educators, and scientists, recently unveiled Wildlife for the 21st Century, Volume VII (W-21). This detailed publication addresses key strategies to conserve wildlife and habitat nationwide, enhance public access, and safeguard our outdoor traditions. Delta Waterfowl was a proud representative of ducks and duck hunters in the collaborative efforts.

“Our partners that make up AWCP should be proud of their ability to coalesce around a shared set of policy priorities which, should they be adopted, would produce real and meaningful benefits for hunters, habitat, and wildlife across the United States,” said John Devney, AWCP vice-chair and chief policy officer for Delta Waterfowl. “It is a comprehensive suite of recommendations that can serve as a blueprint for conservation and hunting policy in the future.”

Recommendations in W-21 will aid policy makers in the next administration and the next two Congresses. While W-21 outlines many priorities important to sportsmen and women, the following recommendations are of most significance for waterfowl, waterfowl habitat, and waterfowl hunters:

• Recommendation One: Funding for Conservation seeks to protect and secure permanent and dedicated conservation funding, detailing the immense economic contributions of hunters and outdoorsmen and women.
• Recommendation Two: Access is focused on ensuring there are places to hunt, shoot, and recreate on federal lands.
• Recommendation Five: Private Land Conservation is focused on incentivizing private landowners to conserve wildlife and habitat.

The specific recommendations made by the AWCP are featured in nine distinct sections of the publication. We encourage you to explore W-21, its comprehensive breakdown, and detailed descriptions here.

“W-21 is being shared with elected officials and those running for office now and in the days leading up to Election Day,” said Devney. “This will serve as a means to demonstrate to policy makers that the conservation and hunting community is unified going into the next Administration and Congress toward policies that benefit sportsmen and women and wildlife throughout the country. This work today can translate into significant policy outcomes for ducks, duck habitat, and duck hunters in the coming years.”

For more information, contact John Devney at jdevney@deltawaterfowl.org.