Delta Waterfowl Joins Alberta in Celebrating Proposed Investment in Wetland Conservation

The Duck Hunters Organization applauds a proposal by Alberta’s Minister of Environment and Protected Areas that promises to conserve, enhance, and restore wetlands—including those that make ducks.

Delta Waterfowl recently offered remarks at a press conference hosted by the Alberta government in which a major initiative to enhance wetlands and watersheds in the face of ongoing drought was announced. Demonstrating a commitment to conservation, Alberta’s Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas has proposed allocating more than $30 million of Budget 2024 toward modernizing watersheds and conserving, enhancing and restoring wetlands—including those valued by The Duck Hunters Organization for their benefits to nesting ducks.

While the ministry’s primary goals include boosting drought resilience, providing clean drinking water, sequestering carbon, and strengthening other societal benefits, Delta Waterfowl especially appreciates that the emphasis on wetlands is occurring within one of the continent’s foremost duck-producing provinces. Jim Fisher, vice president of Canadian policy for Delta Waterfowl, was invited to speak at the press conference on behalf of Delta.

“Delta Waterfowl was pleased to participate in the exciting announcement by Alberta’s Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas,” Fisher said, noting that millions of breeding ducks are supported by Alberta wetlands every spring. “Wetlands are a wise investment for society as a whole—as is particularly evident now, during this time of drought—but they’re also key to ensuring the long-term ability of Alberta to provide robust habitat for breeding ducks.”

However, efforts to better share, store, conserve, and manage water are prudent to allow wetlands to continue benefiting people, too. Alberta’s growing population has fueled increased demand for water. At the same time, parts of the province have experienced droughts or water shortages in recent years, and are at risk of a severe drought again in 2024.

Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, emphasized the necessity of innovative solutions to mitigate the impacts of droughts in the province.

“We must find new and better ways to reduce the impacts of droughts and make every drop of water count,” Schulz said. “That’s why we are taking action to improve wetlands and transform how water is managed in this province.”

Delta Waterfowl remains committed to collaborating with government agencies, farm communities, watershed groups and other partners to achieve its objective of conserving breeding duck habitat. Delta’s Habitat Conservation program is dedicated to addressing large-scale habitat challenges and finding innovative solutions for breeding ducks.

“Delta highly supports any efforts with potential to conserve, enhance and restore prairie potholes, and Minister Schulz’s conservation initiative checks all of these boxes,” Fisher said. “We applaud her continued commitment to wetlands and will continue advocating for wetland conservation in Alberta and throughout the prairie pothole region ‘duck factory.’”

For more information, contact Jim Fisher at (204) 791-2818 or jfisher@deltawaterfowl.org. —Kyle Wintersteen