Ducks Unlimited Project

[jseds]

Hello everyone,  I help run a chapter of Ducks Unlimited and today I received an email requesting photos of wetlands on the Hudson River or near it.  They are trying to get show we need more help to the big wigs that make the decisions of where the money is spent.  Send me a pm with a photo and town, I don't need a GPS coordinate.  This doesn't have to be your spot, just a spot that D.U. may be able to help preserve.  This could be a great opportunity to see some efforts put locally and see some results from your donations.

[bandhunter31]

i dont hunt their but an obvious answer would be the Malden, Glasco and Esopus Flats...... gotta get ride of the water chestnuts........ its a simple project, the towns themselves used to do it years back from what i have been told...... i believe their is a machine called a water chestnut harvester that cleans them out of the river...... i have brought this to DU's attention for years as i used to run the Ulster County Ducks Unlimited Chapter...... the answer i always recieved was DU focuses on breeding areas (winter grounds like new jersey coast) and nesting areas (summer grounds in Canada)...... although i understand the reasoning and science behind it, DU needs to understand that a little money spent in between (and in between is where all the hunters live!) goes a LONG way for PR purposes.......

[blklabsrule]

I agree 100% it's the water chestnuts that are ruining the river. use to hunt it exclusively when I was a kid. Have work with DU for 15 years or more now and I understand their use of science. It all makes sense to me but bandhunter is right a little help would go a long way for PR. I suggest people try to contact Brandy Neveldine bneveldine@ducks.org the biologist for our area from DU and see if there is anything we can do. I would be very interested in helping out on a local project that would benefit us directly.

[Bruce T]

I am very please that DU is considering a project on the river.  I have been lobbying for just such a project for many years.  Duck hunting on the river has been in decline since the 1980's when we had vast rafts (10's of thousands) of Cans, bluebills and red heads on the middle grounds between Rhinecliff and Kingston.  The river is the main channel for migrating ducks in the Eastern side on New York.

There are many big wetlands on the river Tivoli Bay's, Stockport Flats, North Bay (Hudson NY) ,Rogers Island and on the West shore many miles of river front North of Athens. These are all NYS Wildlife Management Areas and can be found on the NYSDEC website.   There are also the middleground islands which are managed by the NYS Parks and open for Duck Hunting.   All are in serious trouble from invasive plants including waterchestnut, pharagmites and purple loosestrife.  As a long time member of DU I would be more than happy to help promote a project.