STATE CONSERVATION REPORT 2014 SOUTH DAKOTA CONSERVATION UPDATE With ongoing threats to waterfowl habitat in South Dakota, Ducks Unlimited remains focused on protecting wetlands and grasslands with conservation easements and restoring waterfowl production habitat. DU works closely with key partners including the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks (GF&P), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to protect, restore, enhance and develop waterfowl habitat. In 2013, DU and FWS spent $20,740,020 to protect 29,138 acres of grassland and 4,784 acres of wetland habitat in South Dakota. DU expended $1.7 million to protect 3,019 acres of grassland. FWS paid for wetland easements associated with these protected grasslands. DU restored 28 wetlands totaling 121 acres in the state last year. These included wetlands enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). Some of the restored wetlands were on lands protected perpetually by conservation easements and some were on lands with long-term FWS conservation agreements. The wetland restorations focused on providing breeding pair and brood-rearing habitat for waterfowl. DU, NRCS and GF&P cooperatively fund the Northern Plains Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative (NPMBHI) Conservation Specialist and WRP Farm Bill Biologist positions in South Dakota. In 2013, the NPMBHI Conservation Specialist assisted in the protection of 1,805 wetland acres and 861 upland acres in Brown, Marshall and Day Counties. These two positions provided conservation technical assistance to hundreds of South Dakota landowners totaling 30,580 acres in 2013. Many of these acres will be protected, restored and enhanced by future habitat conservation projects. DU continues to promote the Winter Cereals Sustainability in Action Program in the Dakotas cooperatively with Bayer CropScience. DU provides technical assistance to agriculture producers to help them be successful in the production of winter wheat. Research in the development of winter wheat varieties adapted to the climate and conditions on the Northern Great Plains is supported at South Dakota State University and North Dakota State University by DU and Bayer CropScience. In the fall of 2013, 1.2 million acres of cropland were seeded to winter wheat in South Dakota. Winter wheat fields have been shown to produce 24 times more hatched ducks than spring wheat fields. Winter wheat provides positive, alternative cover for nesting ducks and pheasants. WETLAND RESERVE PROGRAM SUMMARY The Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) is a voluntary program that offers South Dakota landowners an alternative to farming wetland soils that are prone to flooding. This program has huge benefits to waterfowl by restoring and protecting important breeding habitat. Ducks Unlimited and the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service enjoy a unique and beneficial partnership in South Dakota. Two DU employees, Josh Kiesow and Dan Limmer, continued on page 4 Legacy Greenwing dedication in June at Todd Cowan Tract in Hyde County. The Cowan Tract is part of June Harter Waterfowl Production Area and represents the essence of the North American “Duck Factory.” P A R T O F T H E P R E S E R V E O U R P R A I R I E S I N I T I AT I V E 2 CONSERVATION FOR GENER ATIONS NEW RESEARCH GUIDES FUTURE GRASSLAND CONSERVATION PRIORITIES IN THE PRAIRIE POTHOLE REGION Researchers from Ducks Unlimited, Montana State University, The US Fish and Wildlife Service and University of Alaska Fairbanks have developed a new adaptive conservation strategy that uses Geographic Information System technology to identify the most valuable and most at-risk grassland nesting habitat for ducks in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North and South Dakota. The system will be used to prioritize where DU’s work with landowners in the PPR will have the greatest positive impact for waterfowl. “We are eager to put this new system into practice,” said Johann Walker, DU director of conservation programs. “It will help us focus our efforts in a time when conservation incentive dollars need to be spent as efficiently and productively as possible.” In the past, habitat protection efforts focused on areas in the PPR with the potential to support the highest number of breed- ing duck pairs. Current economic conditions have proved the existing rates of funding are insufficient for this broad-brush approach to conservation. The objective of the new approach is to use conservation programs that work with farmers and ranchers on private land and to maximize the area of protected high-benefit at-risk grassland. Principal threats to the PPR landscape, including increased cropland value and cropland expansion, are incorporated into the new system. “This refinement of our conservation easement strategy was necessary in the face of diminishing buying power in an appreciating land market,” Walker said. “We must now integrate benefits, risk and cost to improve grassland conservation success and efficiently approach our goals to support North America’s waterfowl population.” Walker is the lead author of a research paper that introduces the new strategy and was published in “The Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management.” REVOLVING HABITAT STRATEGY IN SOUTH DAKOTA In 2013 DU acquired six properties under its Revolving Habitat Strategy. As part of this initiative, DU identifies and purchases high priority properties with significant habitat restoration and protection value. While under DU ownership, important waterfowl habitat is restored and protected through perpetual conservation easements. Ultimately, DU sells the properties to conservationminded buyers, and the revenue raised is reinvested in additional projects. While under DU ownership, the properties are typically open to public hunting and other recreational activities. In Hyde County, DU acquired 475 acres with a mix of native and tame grasslands and 40 acres of former cropland. DU installed a cross-fence and improved livestock watering stations to facilitate a rotational grazing system and better manage grassland on the property. The former cropland will be replanted to native prairie grasses. DU also purchased a 319-acre property in Hughes County primarily consisting of cropland and containing a significant number of temporary and seasonal wetlands. Various options exist for this parcel, including the possibility of trading the cropland for tracts of valuable native grasslands that are at risk of being converted to cropland. In May, DU purchased a 316-acre property in Brown County. This tract is located a few miles west of the Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge and comprises 260 acres of grasslands and wetlands and 56 acres of cropland. A large seasonal/semi-permanent wetland is located on this tract. A few months after purchasing the property, the owner of the neighboring 316 acres contacted DU about purchasing his parcel. The adjacent property is a mix of grasslands and wetlands with a significant portion of the wetland acres being contiguous with the large seasonal/semi-permanent wetland that exists on the initial property. The final two properties are 159 acres in Roberts County and 65 acres in Douglas County. The Roberts County tract contains more than 30 individual wetland basins that will be restored and permanently protected. The former cropland on the property will be restored to native grassland. The Douglas County tract is located near the Broken Arrow Waterfowl Production Area, near Platte. The property consists of a mix of wetlands and CRP grassland that will all be protected with a perpetual conservation easement. P A R T O F T H E P R E S E R V E O U R P R A I R I E S I N I T I AT I V E 3 CONSERVATION FOR GENER ATIONS SOUTH DAKOTA PROJECTS: 1984-2013 ACCOMPLISHMENTS 1984 - 2013 640 projects completed (23 in 2013) • 500,546 acres conserved (11,215 in 2013) $36,950,170 invested ($2,869,539 in 2013) COMPLETED PROJECT BANNER YEAR FOR CONSERVATION EASEMENTS IN THE DAKOTAS The Ducks Unlimited partnership with FWS to acquire wetland and grassland easements in North Dakota and South Dakota had a tremendous year in 2013. The partnership spent over $43 million to protect 68,554 acres of grassland and wetland habitat in the Dakotas. That is the most acres protected since 2005. Over half of the $43 million came from the re-allocation of Migratory Bird Conservation Funding (Duck Stamp money) to the Prairie Pothole Region that was championed by Dan Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The rest of the funding was provided by DU donors, the North American Wetland Conservation Act and the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Due to the rise in commodity prices and improved ability to grow corn and soybeans with technological advances in seed varieties, land prices in South Dakota have risen significantly since 2005. This rise in land prices has had a huge impact on the buying power of the partnership. It is essential to keep growing the financial resources to keep the momentum going. The launch of DU’s Preserve our Prairies initiative is a major step towards growing this effort. The initiative began in 2012 and has contributed over $73 million to protect 105,590 acres of grassland and 30,670 acres of wetland habitat for breeding waterfowl and other migratory birds. The partnership has faced many challenges over the years but remains successful. Since 1997 the partnership has protected 1,065,591 acres of waterfowl habitat in priority areas of the Dakotas and Montana. P A R T O F T H E P R E S E R V E O U R P R A I R I E S I N I T I AT I V E 4 CONSERVATION FOR GENER ATIONS MEET YOUR SD CONSERVATION STAFF Steve Donovan is DU’s new Manager of Conservation for South Dakota. Donovan brings eight years of experience working for DU in Nebraska and eight years with DU on the West Coast. Donovan also spent eight years with FWS in North Dakota, Texas and California. “I am thrilled to be assuming this position in my home state,” said Donovan. “It took 26 years to finally make it back to South Dakota, and I’m looking forward to working with our volunteers, donors, partners and landowners to accomplish DU’s mission in the most important waterfowl landscape in North America, the Prairie Pothole Region.” During his time in Nebraska, Donovan worked extensively with partner organizations such as the Nebraska Environmental Trust (NET), a conservation granting organization, and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. He has secured many North American Wetland Conservation Act grants for conservation projects along the Platte River and Rainwater Basin. He has also overseen land protection efforts through DU’s revolving habitat Dr. Johann Walker, director of conservation programs for North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana fund and fought to protect funding for the NET when it was threatened by the Nebraska legislature. Rick Warhurst, DU’s former Manager of Conservation in the state, will be taking on the responsibilities of primarily managing programs in North Dakota. Warhurst has been an asset to DU’s work in South Dakota for more than 28 years. Donovan is married to Yvette Steve Donovan, New Manager of and has three daughters: Elizabeth, Conservation for South Dakota Victoria and Catherine. Donovan will relocate to South Dakota immediately while the rest of the family will likely wait until his oldest daughter finishes high school. Ducks Unlimited has named Dr. Johann Walker its director of conservation programs for North and South Dakota and Montana. Walker is recognized as one of the premier waterfowl population ecologists in the country. For the past three years, he has led the science and planning efforts for DU’s Great Plains Region by designing, collecting and analyzing the latest scientific research on waterfowl breeding ecology. Walker’s results have been used to develop cutting-edge conservation models. “Johann has a deep commitment to the prairies and he views the next decade as critical to establishing the habitat base we will have to work with in this vital landscape,” said Steve Adair, Director of the Great Plains Region. Walker received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana and his master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He grew up in Minnesota and Montana and is an avid outdoorsman. continued from page 1 work with NRCS staff and private landowners to enroll important wetlands in WRP. With DU’s assistance, WRP is highly successful in the state, restoring and protecting thousands of acres of important waterfowl habitats. During 2013, DU and NRCS completed 54 contracts that protected over 4,800 acres of wetlands and associated upland habitats. The total cost of this program was $10,488,000. More than 2,800 acres are protected through 30-year conservation easements, and more than 2,000 acres are protected perpetually. DU is working with Congress to ensure that the next Farm Bill includes an extension of and funding for WRP. Also acceptable would be an equivalent program that offers landowners viable alternatives to draining and farming wetland habitats important to waterfowl and many other wildlife species. 2525 River Road • Bismarck, ND 58503 • 701-355-3500 www.ducks.org/south-dakota Ducks Unlimited conserves, restores and manages wetlands and associated habitats for North America’s waterfowl. These habitats also benefit other wildlife and people.