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Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department Honored for Wetlands Conserva
The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department has been singled out for its efforts to protect wetland areas important to migrating waterfowl.
The department picked up the 2008 Bronze State Grant Award from Ducks Unlimited at the 73rd North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference last month in Phoenix.
In presenting the award, the department was lauded for its share of conservation funding that has produced visible, on-the-ground results in the Canadian waterfowl breeding areas.
Since 1992, Fish & Wildlife has contributed more than $100,000 of state waterfowl stamp funds toward the conservation of more than 4,000 acres of wetlands in Quebec. A large portion of the waterfowl that migrate through Vermont nest in Quebec.
Birds don't pay attention to borders, and we know how valuable these wetlands are for their survival, said Commissioner Wayne Laroche. "Many of the black ducks, mallards, Canada geese and snow geese that nest in Quebec provide excellent hunting opportunities here in Vermont during migration."
Ducks Unlimited and the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department have a longstanding partnership to conserve wetlands. In addition to the Canadian projects, DU has provided funding for 20 different wetland conservation projects in Vermont, including the acquisition and restoration of 63 acres along the Barton River in Coventry, which is expected to be completed within the year.
The Vermont Waterfowl Stamp program has raised more than $3 million since it started in 1985. Most of the revenue was generated through the sale of collectible, artist-signed prints in a national market that evaporated by the mid-1990s. Only the interest on this fund is spent on wetland conservation projects. More than 8,000 acres of wetlands and adjacent upland habitat have been conserved, benefiting many species of wildlife.
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