by: Fred Payne
December 1979
Since highways, houses, industrial developments and shopping centres are continually reducing the habitats available to wildlife, we must produce more per unit of area if we are to sustain present wild animal populations. Habitat management is the key to sustained wildlife numbers.
Furthermore, as Roger Tory Peterson, author of "A Field Guide to the Birds", said, "I predict that hunters, photographers, artists and just plain people who love to watch and love the sound of wings are going to have to stand up and be counted. "There is a place for wilderness, a place for management, a place for contemplative use, a place for utilization, a place for cooperation with other resource managers and users, but as suggested by Peterson, people interested in the conservation of wildlife resources are going to have to get together, agree on common objectives, make their voices heard and be willing to pay. Bickering serves only to obscure the sincere and common goal of all conservationists, and that is the maintenance and wise use of our wildlife resources. If we can appreciate the other's perspective, we and our wildlife resources will gain. If we don't and are divided we all lose. Wildlife has been taken for granted while land development has been taking away habitat. If we want wildlife we will have to pay for it. One non-government agency managing significant areas of land specifically and intentionally for wildlife is Ducks Unlimited.
Ducks Unlimited (Canada) is a non-profit conservation organization that does not own land in Canada. It operates in Nova Scotia at the invitation of those groups and agencies interested in the conservation of wildlife resources in this province. D.U. manages wetlands only with the agreement of the land owners whether they be private individuals, private industries, commercial farmers, nature groups or government agencies. They receive funds for marsh management from donations made by United States' fish and game departments (from hunting license sales), private industries, hunters, bird watchers and naturalists. To date they have spent about $l,844,000 in Nova Scotia. Their budget next year for Nova Scotia is 4400,000.00. Since these investments did not come from Nova Scotia or Canadian taxpayers, they add significantly to the tax base of both governments.
Wetlands are, acre for acre, the most productive wildlife habitats that we have and they are the most intensively used by people who are hunting, in one way or another, for wildlife. These areas offer a wide variety of animals -- marsh birds, furbearing animals, ducks, fish, amphibians and reptiles, that attract naturalists, hunters, fishermen, trappers and canoeists. They provide diversity and stability in many wildlife producing environments. Just as importantly, wetlands function as natural water filters purifying water. They also retard erosion, reduce flooding and maintain high water tables. They even provide firebreaks and water for fighting forest fires.
In 1965 Ducks Unlimited (Canada) was invited by the province of Nova Scotia to assist in developing the Missiquash Marsh Wildlife Management Area, in Cumberland County. Since then Ducks Unlimited has developed more than 50 marshes of varying sizes in Nova Scotia for private land owners, companies and both the provincial and the federal governments.
What have we gained from these D.U. conservation projects?
- additional bird species now nest in Nova Scotia
- numbers of pintails, widgeon, blue-winged teal and some other marsh birds have been increased.
- we have the first and best opportunity to see the thousands of ducks and other marsh birds produced annually from D.U. impoundments and to harvest from the waterfowl flocks.
- our trappers harvest about $30,000 annually in raw fur from D.U. managed marshes in Cumberland County alone
- we are provided with an alternate and productive use for land that is really too expensive to drain or fill
- we benefit from the overall wildlife management research conducted by Ducks Unlimited
- we gain some assurance and satisfaction that the wide variety of marsh dependent mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles will have a place to live now and in the future.
If you are one of the 96% of Nova Scotians who enjoy watching wildlife or one of the 86% who would like to see more wildlife in the province, or one of Nova Scotia's 100,000 hunters, you will have to agree that Ducks Unlimited benefits the majority of Nova Scotians.
Wetlands are multiple use areas that everyone who enjoys the outdoors should take advantage of.