1 Spring 2012 Fowl Talk – South Dakota Ducks Unlimited

Fowl Talk

DU Using Revolving Land Strategy Dollars to Protect More Prairie Habitatby Becky Jones Mahlum, Manager Conservation Programs Communication and Outreach, GPRO Dollars from the sale of part of Ducks Unlimited’s South Dakota Goebel Ranch are being reinvested in conserving more native prairie nesting ground. DU recently sold the parcels, totaling 7,300 acres, to five ranchers who had been leasing the property for grazing. Although land in South Dakota is prohibitively high-priced right now, DU has purchased one Montana property through DU’s revolving land strategy program and is working on five more purchases of grassland and wetlands in that state. “We want to purchase remnant tracks of the best-of-the-best Montana habitat that are right now at high risk of being converted to cropland,” said Bob Sanders, DU Manager of Conservation Programs in Montana. “Short-grass prairie with seasonal wetlands, like we have in Montana, is one of the most important nesting habitats for pintails, which are a species of concern for DU. Protecting this land and water will make a significant difference in pintail numbers in this area.” Under the revolving land strategy, DU purchases land, protects it with conservation easements and then sells it to a local rancher or other conservation buyer. DU then invests the proceeds of the sale into protecting more land. “By placing the lands we purchase under conservation easements with agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, we typically can re-sell these parcels at a lower than what was originally paid,” explains Sanders. “This allows ranchers to be able to make things pencil out better financially when grazing livestock. It’s a benefit for both waterfowl and the local community.” Sanders says many of the parcels under consideration for purchase include both native prairie and Conservation Reserve Program land, where the owner has not been able to renew their expiring CRP. “That land is especially at risk for conversion because the soil has been previously plowed and cleared of rocks,” he said. DU will still own approximately 2,200 acres of the Goebel ranch in McPherson County to maintain access to sites dedicated to DU sponsors. DU will also allow public access and hunting on this parcel while in DU ownership. “We continue to look for land opportunities in South Dakota,” said Steve Adair, DU Director of Operations for the Great Plains, “but most land is being sold at auction and going above appraised value which is limiting our success in purchasing at-risk grassland.”

District Chairman Scott Schutz with his nephew

Breckon Wier releasing a blue-winged teal they

just banded at Goebel Ranch during Volunteer

Day 2011.

Revolving Land Dollars Protect

Habitat Page 1

Heidelbauer Award Page 2

We All Live Downstream Page 3

Chairman’s Corner Page 6

Make a Difference for Waterfowl

Page 7

DU Turns 75 Page 8

Major Donor Campaign Page 9

Spring 2012 Inside Fowl Talk Newsletter of South Dakota

Ducks Unlimited

2 Spring 2012 Fowl Talk – South Dakota Ducks Unlimited

Heidelbauer Award On January 28, 2012, the eleventh presentation of the Heidelbauer Award was conducted at the 23nd Annual South Dakota State Ducks Unlimited Convention in Watertown. The Frankie Heidelbauer award was created to recognize an individual or individuals who have exemplified themselves with a long history of devoted volunteer work for the Ducks Unlimited cause in South Dakota. This year’s recipients were Don and Maynard Isaacson. Twins Don and Maynard, born in 1939, grew up in Centerville and both moved to Sioux Falls early in their adult life. It was Frankie Heidelbauer who took Don “under his wing” and introduced him to Ducks Unlimited. When Maynard returned from his tour in the U.S. Navy, Don gave him that important “nudge” toward DU and introduced him to Frankie, who became a very close personal friend to both. From that point on, the twin brothers became very involved with Ducks Unlimited. Starting at the local committee level, they moved up in the organization as DU continued its tremendous growth during the ‘70s and ‘80s. Don followed Frankie’s tenure as South Dakota State Chairman in 1975 and Maynard held a 3-year reign as State Chairman from 1983-1985. Both Don and Maynard served as Regional Vice Presidents on the national level and Don also served as National Assistant Treasurer for 15 years. Both currently serve on the Sioux Falls DU Sponsor committee. The love they both have for Ducks Unlimited (and the many DU friendships they’ve developed over all those years) will be with them forever!

Twin brothers Don and Maynard Isaacson are the

recipients of the 2012 Heidelbauer Award.

Photos from SD DU Activities

The Custer Committee held its sixth banquet at the Crazy

Horse Memorial in March. It was the best banquet to date!

DU Volunteers from Minnesota and South Dakota

participated in the September 2011 Volunteer day at Goebel Ranch.

Plan to attend the 2012 Volunteer day at Goebel Ranch on

August 25 and help Breckon band more ducks!

3 Spring 2012 Fowl Talk – South Dakota Ducks Unlimited

Reprinted with permission from South Dakota Conservation Digest

We all live downstream. It’s a phrase we have all heard and it applies to most of us, save for the few that live in the proverbial big house on the hill. A few weeks ago a colleague of mine who I have known for over two decades lamented that he hadn’t heard the phrase used in the media lately. It did seem odd given last summer’s record flooding on the Missouri River, widespread flooding within the James River watershed and flooded conditions around many of the natural lakes and marshes on the Prairie Coteau in the northeast part of the state. It’s also striking when you think about the increasingly intensive agricultural practices we see on the landscape, including the now popular practice of installing plastic drainage tile to drain excess water from eastern South Dakota’s agricultural fields. My colleague reminded me of how the late Tony Dean, South Dakota’s own outdoor media host and conservation advocate, occasionally used the phrase “we all live downstream” to engage and educate hunters, anglers, and maybe even a few soccer moms, about issues related to river and lake management, the federal Farm Bill, wetland conservation, water quality and loss of native grasslands. Whether it was to better understand how to sustain one of their favorite pastimes, or ensure the well-being of their family or community, Tony felt these folks needed to be concerned about such things. If they weren’t, they were missing the boat and I firmly believe that was a real concern of Tony’s. He knew, and wanted others to better understand, that what’s happening on the landscape most certainly affects waters, land and people downstream in a watershed. At times, Tony took on controversial issues, and maybe even strained a few professional or personal

relationships in the process, but he did it because he cared deeply about the people and natural resources of the Dakotas. He wanted to help folks understand that getting involved in a healthy discourse about how natural resources are managed was paramount to preserving the quality of life in South Dakota. Federal Farm Bill Reauthorization and Conservation Programs If you are an angler, hunter, birder or someone who cares about the less tangible values of the diverse habitat and landscapes of South Dakota, now would be a good time to follow Tony’s lead, get informed and participate in the discussion related to the reauthorization of the federal Farm Bill. Below, I highlight a few priority issues of particular interest here in the Dakotas. No doubt many of you are aware that every five years Congress needs to reauthorize the Farm Bill. They are once again amidst the process of considering changes to the law that can strongly influence how things look across South Dakota’s landscape. Over the last year or so, driven in part by the need to address the realities of the federal budget deficit, there has been considerable discussion of paring down, or eliminating certain conservation programs in the bill such the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) Wetland Reserve Program (WRP), and the Grassland Reserve Program (GRP). The wildlife conservation and agricultural communities have long supported these voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs, but cost savings, the desire by

4 Spring 2012 Fowl Talk – South Dakota Ducks Unlimited

some to increase cropland acres, as well as justifiable program streamlining have fueled the discussion. When the current (2008) Farm Bill was enacted, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that total conservation program spending would comprise about 8% (24.1billion $) of total farm bill budget for years 2008-2012. CRP, which has been particularly important in maintaining South Dakota’s enviable wildlife populations, was projected to make up about 38% of the total conservation budget. Actual conservation spending has been lower than estimated, and future cuts to such relatively small programs could equate to noticeably less opportunity for producers to enroll marginal croplands, as well as less quality habitat on the landscape. Economic pressures stemming from rapidly rising land values and high crop prices are very likely to lead to less producer interest in re-enrolling existing CRP, or enrolling new acres. Nevertheless, keeping the option on the table for long term risk management, and for the broad environmental benefits provided should make sense to producers, wildlife managers and tax payers alike. If you agree, take the time to engage our congressional delegation and let them know that a suite of strong, common sense Farm Bill conservation programs that help restore or maintain South Dakota’s soil, water and wildlife resources are important to South Dakotans. The current recommendation from the wildlife community in the northern Great Plains is to maintain CRP at 32 million acres nationwide and to carefully consider establishing a “working lands” CRP option that would allow grazing or other uses compatible with program goals in exchange for reduced rental rates. Federal Farm Bill Reauthorization, Direct Payments and Crop Insurance If you have paid attention to recent agriculture media coverage related to Farm Bill reauthorization you may be aware of the considerable discussion about the future of the direct payment program and subsidized crop insurance. With strong commodity prices over the last several years, direct payments, which are not crop price-based, have made up the bulk of farm commodity support spending, far outweighing price related subsidy payments such as marketing loans, countercyclical payments and average crop revenue election payments. Due to deficit spending and a very a strong farm economy, a budget cutting Congress, agricultural and conservation groups, and scrutinizing tax payers have all called for the elimination of direct payments. In exchange, nearly all agricultural groups are urging a move to even more robust crop insurance programs that will provide a safety net for the ag community. The key will be to develop insurance programs truly designed to protect producers during the worst of times, as well as discourage

risky land management decisions such as converting marginal native rangeland or wetlands into cropland. Last year, the federal government spent $7.4 billion of tax payers’ dollars to subsidize crop insurance premiums nationwide. The government also pays the private insurers delivering the program an additional $1.3 billion annually. The government premium subsidy rate averages about 60%, but rates in parts of South Dakota are over 70%. A North Dakota producer recently interviewed by the Dakota Farmer indicated the government paid about 67% of his premiums. In the end he paid $41,000 in premiums and collected $257,000 in losses. According to the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute more typical average ratios of indemnities (payments for losses) to producer paid premiums are +/- 200% in the Dakotas. No matter how you look at it, that is a healthy return on an investment. It’s the reason participation in the insurance program has risen steeply in recent years with about 75% of the insurance subsidies going to what’s called revenue insurance. Crop insurance subsidies now outpace more traditional commodity program payments to producers and this has led agricultural groups to support elimination of direct payments. But there is a big potential downside for soil, water and wildlife conservation by going that route without also making important changes to the conservation compliance provisions in the Farm Bill. Re-coupling of crop insurance to conservation compliance and the need for “Sodsaver” In 1996 Congress eliminated the eligibility requirements for crop insurance program participants to comply with the wetland, grassland and highly erodible land (HEL) conservation provisions in the law. These provisions, commonly called “Swampbuster”, “Sodbuster” and HEL management, were originally intended to provide reasonable environmental protection and public benefits in exchange for tax payer supported commodity and incentive-based conservation programs. Congress’ intent was to increase participation in the crop insurance programs and phase out some farm subsidies. Failure of that approach resulted in the 2002 Farm Bill restoring price supports, loans and other subsidies. However, the goal of increased participation in crop insurance programs has been achieved with about 80% of planted acres being covered by subsidized insurance. So what’s the downside? In February, using 2010 data, the USDA Economic Research Service estimated that 40% of the cropland acres in the U.S. would not be subject to any conservation compliance if direct payments are eliminated and eligibility for subsidized crop insurance is not re-coupled to conservation compliance in the 2012 Farm Bill. In other words, on those acres, producers could still buy highly subsidized crop insurance without having to meet reasonable wetland and soil conservation standards.

5 Spring 2012 Fowl Talk – South Dakota Ducks Unlimited

Many wildlife, agricultural and conservation organizations including the South Dakota Chapter of the Wildlife Society, the South Dakota Grassland Coalition, the South Dakota Association of Conservation Districts, the National Farmers Union, and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition are supporting efforts to convince Congress to once again couple crop insurance subsidy programs with conservation compliance. Some of these same groups, as well as the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association, and the South Dakota Stock Growers Association are also calling for enactment of a nationwide “Sodsaver” provision in 2012. Such a provision would make native grassland without a cropping history that is newly converted to cropland ineligible for any crop insurance subsidy, commodity or conservation program benefits. The above two amendments to the Farm Bill would eliminate unintended incentives for producers to convert more marginal grasslands and wetlands to cropland. Ultimately, protecting fragile soil resources, native grasslands and wetlands through meaningful Farm Bill conservation provisions can save tax payer dollars by maintaining water quality, reducing downstream flooding and providing valuable fish and wildlife habitat. Whether you are an angler, hunter, farmer, or all three and feel these are reasonable additions to the contract between the nation’s agricultural producers and taxpayers, now is the time to share your thoughts with our congressional delegation. Trends in Agricultural Drainage Anyone driving across eastern South Dakota over the last several years has probably noticed the huge increase in installation of agricultural drainage systems in cultivated fields. Fields are being ditched, or plastic drainage tile is being installed in herringbone patterns on entire fields to drain “excess” water from fields, many of which contain numerous small wetlands. Those of us in the wildlife management business are often asked “why is this happening?” or “isn’t Swampbuster supposed to protect wetlands on ag land?” or “what has changed to allow so much drainage?”. The easy part of the answer is that record commodity prices and double digit annual increases in land values are fueling big investments in drainage infrastructure to improve crop production. One can hardly fault a producer from wanting to maximize production, but are wetlands intended to be protected by Swampbuster being affected by what’s become an alarming trend in drainage on the landscape? In a perfect world, producers follow USDA guidance and provisions on where and how drainage can occur without affecting wetlands subject to the conservation provisions of Swampbuster. Unfortunately, USDA’s Natural Resources

Conservation Service (NRCS) offices have been swamped with thousands of producer requests for wetland determinations on fields where producers might want to install drainage tile. The NRCS has stepped up its’ effort to respond to this demand and is mandated to provide protection of wetlands identified through their wetland determination procedures. Nevertheless, trends observed out in the field do make one wonder if things are slipping through the cracks in a system overwhelmed by demand. It is our hope that future reviews of the procedures and annual checks on the system tell us that is not the case. The conservation community needs to be vigilant in making sure that such follow-up monitoring does occur and that the Swampbuster provisions are being administered in a fashion consistent with the original spirit and intent of Congress. Another trend that has been documented in eastern South Dakota is that some producers have chosen to opt out of participation in federal commodity (e.g. direct payments) and conservation programs that require compliance with the various conservation provisions. By doing so, they no longer have to comply with Swampbuster wetland protection provisions and can drain wetlands without being subject to program constraints. Furthermore, since subsidized crop insurance is not currently linked to conservation compliance, they are still eligible to purchase program supported insurance on those lands. With the current strong farm economy, wildlife and other conservation groups are very concerned that this trend may be on the upswing to the detriment of high value wetlands here in the heart of the prairie pothole region – an area of international importance in sustaining healthy populations of numerous species of wetland dependent migratory birds. Restoring reasonable protection of wetlands by re-coupling federally supported crop insurance with wetland and other conservation compliance provisions would ensure that the many environmental benefits these prairie wetlands provide are maintained. Protection of our wetlands is vital to maintain or restore water quality in our lakes, rivers and streams, to protect downstream areas from flooding, and to maintain healthy and economically important fish and wildlife resources. As Tony Dean liked to remind us, we all live downstream. Protection of soil, grassland, wetland, and water resources through publicly supported farm programs seems like a reasonable expectation for the tax payers’ investment in agriculture. If you agree, and care about sustainable natural resource management, and how our quality of life in South Dakota is closely linked to those resources, take Tony’s lead and make your voice heard on these issues as the Farm Bill debate unfolds.

6 Spring 2012 Fowl Talk – South Dakota Ducks Unlimited

Do It for the Ducks and Friends by Jeff Heidelbauer SDDU State Chairman My experience as State Chairman continues to be a very enjoyable ride. It was a great fall in South Dakota. As I wrote my piece for last fall’s final hard copy version of “Fowl Talk,” I was very concerned about the high water in South Dakota and specifically about not being able to get into our hunting camp between lakes Thompson and Henry. Well, due to the dry weather we had the later part of the summer and fall, the high water went down, and by mid-September we were able to drive into our camp. We were lucky compared to many other folks on lakes around eastern SD; we did not have any structural damage, only considerable erosion damage to our lot. After several days of clean-up work, we were able to use our camp for the fall hunting season. And what a great season it was! The early ducks were plentiful and, when the later migrants finally showed, they provided great cornfield hunting. We were even able to keep our camp open for a couple of weeks after Thanksgiving for the first time, due to the mild weather pattern. I was able to attend many of our fall DU banquets and continue to meet more of our hard-working volunteers. The performance of the fall events was up slightly over 2010, even though the attendance was about the same. Our attendance was good compared to several other states in our region, however, where they experienced as much as 15-20% declines. I am happy to report that this has all changed for the better with events since the beginning of 2012. In South Dakota, our event attendance has increased significantly, as has our income. This same trend is also showing in the other states in our region. This can be attributed to signs of improvement in the economy and particularly the farm economy in the Midwest, plus the big push in Ducks Unlimited to take advantage of celebrating the 75

th Anniversary. As you read the article on

the State Convention, you will see that this event kicked off a great year of celebration for SDDU. On the National scale the big 75

th Anniversary

Celebration will be the Ducks Unlimited Convention in Nashville, TN, May 30-June 2, 2012. We have a good contingent from South Dakota planning to attend, but have plenty of room for more. It will be a very big event and a lot of fun. If you have never attended a DU National Convention before, this will be a good one for your first. You can find all of the information about the event and how to register at www.ducks.org/nationalconvention. Please let me know if you plan to attend so you can be included in our “evening out with friends” on Friday. At the State Convention, we concluded our two special campaigns for 2011. These were the Legacy membership

campaign and the “Rescue the Duck Factory” print campaign. The Legacy campaign resulted in approximately 50 new Legacy members. As a result, we are planning to have the next Greenwing Legacy project dedication this summer. The “Rescue the Duck Factory” print campaign resulted in approximately 50 prints raising an average of $250 each at the 2011 banquets across the state. A big ‘Thank You’ goes out to Jeremy and Melissa Thury, our State Greenwing Chairmen and Dennis Tilly, Western District Chairman, for the great jobs they did coordinating these campaigns. A couple of new things that are in the works for SDDU in 2012 are the Major Donor campaign and a Gun Calendar project. My biggest new experience for 2012 has been in the public policy arena. John Cooper nominated me to be an advocate for conservation from South Dakota to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Coalition (www.lwcfcoalition.org). They invited me to a “fly in” to Washington, D.C., to meet with South Dakota’s Congressional representatives to lobby for funding of the LWCF for 2012. Both the preparation for this trip and the trip experience itself were very big horizon-expanding experiences for me. It opened my eyes to many things that we, as South Dakotans who care about the quality of the outdoors, need to be much more aware of. When I returned to South Dakota from my Washington, D.C. trip, I spent a couple of days in the eastern part of the state just as the first big push of ducks and geese were returning. What a spectacular sight! I spent parts of two days sitting on a bucket by a couple of lakes watching thousands of ducks and geese all around me. The goose talk was a continuous roar and the courtship flights of ducks and geese offered continual entertainment. The spring migration in South Dakota is much more dramatic than the fall migration, and it is a treat to behold. We must never lose sight of how lucky we are to live in this great state. We must also remember that the destiny of what makes it so great is our responsibility.

State Chairman Jeff Heidelbauer with SD

Senator Tim Johnson in Washington,

D.C. Jeff met with Sen. Johnson to

discuss LWCF, NAWCA and increasing

the price of the Duck Stamp.

State Chairman Jeff Heidelbauer with SD

Representative Kristi Noem at her office

in Washington, D.C. Jeff shared

information with Rep. Noem about the

history of LWCF and NAWCA in SD.

7 Spring 2012 Fowl Talk – South Dakota Ducks Unlimited

You Dan Make a Difference for Waterfowl Now by John Cooper, DU Life Sponsor Across South Dakota, DU members are talking about the increase in wetland drainage, the loss of CRP and the conversion of grasslands to row crop production. Many of us have started to worry about our state “looking more like Iowa and western Minnesota,” and we are alarmed and becoming more alarmed just about every day when we pass by burned-out and tile-drained wetlands that used to raise ducks and even hosted us in a hunt or two in past years. It seems we are engulfed in a “perfect storm” of high commodity prices, rising land values, breakthroughs in bio-crop engineering, a seemingly feverish desire by some eastern South Dakota farmers and their bankers to drain their potholes of water and relatively paltry federal farm bill conservation incentives to combat erosion and degraded water quality from intense farming practices. It’s a pretty helpless feeling to watch something you love and work for begin to lose its traditional places to reproduce and thrive. Duck hunting and wildlife watching is a way of life for DU folks and our families, and we love our state for the opportunities it brings to enjoy our outdoor quality of life. We hate to see it wounded in the way it seems to be going. So, the next logical question seems to be – what can I do as a DU member and as a person who cares about our special wetlands and grasslands to help address these increasing losses on the landscape? There is an answer, and it’s an answer that has a direct impact on the resources that are in peril: “Double Up” on your Federal Duck Stamp purchase this year – purchase at least two stamps! The Federal Duck Stamp has been a critical tool in providing waterfowl habitat for 77 years. The Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act of 1934 – creating the duck stamp – was arguably the most effective and efficient conservation program of all time. The law required the funds raised from the sale of the stamps to be used for the “purchase, development, and maintenance” of waterfowl refuges and refuge programs (like easements and WPAs). Approximately 98 cents of each of the more than $500 million collected since 1934 has gone to purchase 5 million acres of wetlands and related wildlife habitat, where it benefits all wildlife, not just ducks. Directly related to your purchase of TWO duck stamps is

the advent of the newly proposed Dakota Grasslands

Conservation Area (DGCA) project here in the Dakotas.

This is a project aimed at working with willing landowners

to accelerate the conservation of wetland and grassland

habitats within the Prairie Pothole Region through the use

of conservation easements. The easements will be used to

create the DGCA in relation to U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (USFWS) refuge programs for grasslands and

wetlands on private land.

The USFWS will work directly with private landowners by developing conservation easements, voluntary legal agreements between those landowners and the USFWS. The easements protect wetlands and grasslands from being converted to other uses, but they also allow the continuation of traditional activities such as farming wetlands when dry from natural conditions, and livestock grazing and haying in grasslands. They specifically prohibit the draining, burning and filling of wetlands. The USFWS has a current backlog of approximately 500 landowners who are interested in executing these types of easements in South Dakota. DU has pledged $50 million in funds raised from its major nationwide initiatives for grasslands and wetlands conservation for base funding of the DGCA project, and the USFWS is currently taking steps to move significant Federal Duck Stamp funds into the DGCA project area to help with the needed budget. In addition, DU and many other national conservation organizations are working with Congress to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to help provide matching grants for working lands and wildlife habitat protection. LWCF gets its funding from Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas royalties and is dedicated to conservation. It will be a major player to support continuing work in the Prairie Pothole Region as the DGCA progresses. BOTTOM LINE: So you want to help our current situation and support the DGCA that will do habitat work in our backyard of South Dakota – BUY TWO OR MORE DUCK STAMPS THIS YEAR!! It will bring critical revenues to our DU cost-sharing efforts. The current cost of a duck stamp is $15 (in my opinion WAY too cheap for what it provides). If you buy two instead of the required one to hunt it will cost $30 and your money goes DIRECTLY into the efforts to protect wetlands, grasslands and refuge habitats. Recent studies indicate that at the current conversion rates, half of the most critical prairie pothole wetland complexes that we have left – the engines that drive most duck production – will be gone in 34 years. A meal for four at McDonalds will cost you about $30, so skip one trip to Mickey Dee’s and buy TWO duck stamps this year. You will have fewer “personal pounds” to pack in with those decoys and be able to get to a wetland that you directly helped to protect.

8 Spring 2012 Fowl Talk – South Dakota Ducks Unlimited

75th Anniversary South Dakota State Convention South Dakota’s 2012 State Convention was a great start to the yearlong celebration of Ducks Unlimited 75

th

Anniversary. Attendance was up, with over 200 people participating in the birthday celebration the weekend of January 27-29 at the Watertown Convention Center. Highlights of Friday night included a dice toss for a fully rigged Lund boat provided by Weiland Marine and the State Chairman’s Raffle, featuring a beautiful fire ring created by Jarod Meyerink of Platte. The silent auction featured new Ducks Unlimited 75

th Anniversary

merchandise.. Saturday morning started off with a training session for Area and Zone Chairmen, plus a committee meeting for the newly formed Major Donor Campaign Committee. The Saturday morning brunch featured guest speakers Lloyd Jones of the Fish and Wildlife Service, Jim Ringelman from DU’s Great Plains Regional Office, Pascal Badou from DU Canada’s headquarters at Oak Hammock Marsh just north of Winnipeg and South Dakota GF&P Commissioner John Cooper. Following the speakers was the presentation of chapter performance awards. Saturday afternoon started with a State Council meeting where the delegates for the National Convention were elected and Dennis Tilly reported on the success of 2011 “Rescue the Duck Factory” print campaign. Dennis also reported on a new Gun Calendar program, which will be kicked off later in 2012. Following the Council meeting was a relaxing and fun wine and cheese tasting, plus a trivia contest. Saturday night was the big 75

th Anniversary Celebration

banquet. One of the biggest hits of the evening was auctioning off a dozen DU Jack Daniel’s whiskey sets, with each buyer entered in a raffle to win a very special DU gun custom painted by Terry Boxdorfer of Sioux Falls. Everyone wanted in on this gun raffle. As a result, the ducks did very well financially and everyone had fun. Original paintings by John Green, Mark Anderson and Nichol Heitzman also were very popular at the live auction. Friends of the Ducks awards were presented to Mike and Barbara Bergh and Randy and Chris Owen of Bergh/Owen Auction Service of Watertown for their many years of donated auction service to the State Convention, plus many other DU banquets around the area. The Heidelbauer Award was presented to Don and Maynard Isaacson of Sioux Falls for their many years of service to Ducks Unlimited.

A special highlight of the evening was the presentation of Major Donor pins to the following people: Don Kallenberger – Sponsor in Perpetuity Kevin Fuerst – Life Sponsor Rick and Pam Berg – Sponsor in Perpetuity Randy Meidinger – Life Sponsor Joe and Andrea Kern – Life Sponsor Greg and Anne Hunsaker – Diamond Life Sponsor Todd Heidelbauer – Sponsor in Perpetuity A very special thank-you goes out to these folks for their generous financial support of the ducks, and to Adam DeHaan, DU Director of Development, for coordinating their pledge activity. It has been many years since we have had this many Major Donor pledges at our State Convention. Sunday morning concluded the weekend-long event with another great Minerva’s Brunch. This year’s Convention was a great success, with a bigger crowd and many first-time attendees. Everyone had fun. Thank you to the hard-working committee for the success of the weekend, and to the many people who stepped-up to help during the weekend. It was truly a great kickoff for the 75

th Anniversary celebration year in South Dakota.

Please mark your calendar now for the 2013 convention which will be January 25-27, 2013, at the Convention Center in Watertown. At the 2013 Convention we will be celebrating 75 years of SDSU, as DU in South Dakota started one year after the organization was founded. We will have a lot of fun sharing as much history as we can dig up.

Jeff Heidelbauer, The Goose Whisperer

9 Spring 2012 Fowl Talk – South Dakota Ducks Unlimited

Major Donor Campaign Last fall we started organizing for a big push to recruit Major Donors in South Dakota. A Major Donor is anyone who steps up to pledge $10,000 or more payable to Ducks Unlimited over a period of up to five years. Additionally, previous Major Donors can pledge to upgrade their previous gifts to another level in increments of $10,000 or more. We do have a significant number of Major Donors in South Dakota. These are folks who have the financial ability and recognize the importance of enhancing and preserving the great wetland and wildlife heritage we have in the Prairie Pothole Region of the upper Midwest. Major donor contributions have grown to become a very significant part of the money raised to support the conservation mission of DU. Gary Peterson (Sioux Falls), the State Major Donor Chairman, and Jeff Heidelbauer, State Chairman, began recruiting members for a Major Donor Campaign Committee from all across the state last fall. We will soon be receiving some training from DU professionals. We have also been developing a Major Donor candidate list. The campaign committee members will focus on the candidate list for recruitment of Major Donors. One guiding principle of our campaign is that people who have a history of involvement in South Dakota Ducks Unlimited may not be a Major Donor simply because they have never been asked. A little-known fact is that if you have been giving to DU for many years, you may have built up a significant amount of “cumulative giving,” which can be credited toward a Major Donor pledge. Our Major Donor committee will have the ability to identify an individual’s “cumulative giving” amount for them, on a confidential basis, as they are evaluating the decision to pledge as a major donor. We will also have several very fun Major Donor events during 2012 and 2013, which will be intended to stimulate interest in the event. The first will be the Life Sponsor Rendezvous on Lake Oahe July 18 and 19, 2012. This event was great fun last year, with many fish caught providing a great fish feed the final evening. Our second event will be the Major Donor Pheasant Hunt on Darrel Reinke’s farm east of Pierre. This inaugural hunt will be held the weekend of November 3, 2012. The big finale of this Major Donor campaign will be the dedication of the South Dakota Ducks Unlimited 75

th Anniversary Project at the Goebel Ranch

north of Ipswich in August 2013. Every new Major Donor or upgrade will be invited to the dedication and will have their name inscribed on the stone cairn at the project site. If we have piqued your interest and you’d like to join the Major Donor Campaign Committee or become a Major Donor, please contact Gary Peterson (605.366.4411) or Jeff Heidelbauer (605.440.0772).

South Dakota Ducks Unlimited State Officers State Chairman – Jeff Heidelbauer

jeff.heidelbauer@heidelbauer.com State Council Chairman – Don Aarstad

dona@iw.net State Council Secretary – Connie Girard

cfaltinson@hotmail.com State Treasurer – Terry Schutz tschutz@valleytel.net State Feather Society Chairman – Don Kallenberger kaldon@valleytel.net Fowl Talk Coordinator – Rebecca McGee rjmcgee@wsu.edu State Webmaster – Pam Berg 21berg@wat.midco.net State Marsh Coordinator – Gary W. Peterson

gwp43@abe.midco.net State Public Policy Chairman – Kara Schuster

kpalmer300@yahoo.com State Greenwing Chairman – Jeremy & Melissa Thury

jeremy.thury@sd.usda.gov melissa.thury@gmail.com

State Major Gifts Chairman – Gary L. Peterson gpinsfsd@aol.com

Heidelbauer Award Coordinator – Todd Heidelbauer todd@heidelbauer.com

State Recruitment Chairman – Jeremy Killsahundred bpkah216@hotmail.com

Northeast District Chairman – Jim Girard damdiver@mchsi.com Southeast District Chairman - Scott Schutz sschutz@grahamtire.com Central District Chairman - Gary Hoscheid hoscheid@pie.midco.net Black Hills District Chairman - Dennis Tilly dtilly1@live.com

Rudy Duck, photo courtesy of Don Thorpe

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