Passing on the Legacy of our Waterfowl Heritage
A Message from SCWA Executive Director David Wielicki

Fall is in the air and waterfowl season is upon us. The excitement of the coming season has been building for my family since the youth waterfowl day of last season. My wife, Joette, thirteen year old daughter Gracie and ten year old son Tony have been busy working with me on both habitat and gear in anticipation of spending time together in the blind this season enjoying God’s creation of waterfowl and wetlands. Gracie and Tony are Camp Woodie veterans who love to fish and hunt. Both have a clear understanding of the meaning of wildlife conservation. They are blessed with a mother who loves the outdoors and enjoys seeing her children participate in hunting and fishing activities.

Last year, three days before duck season, my son and I paddled through our 80-acre hunt club impoundment to finish last minute touches on a few duck blinds. We slipped quietly through the flooded timber and corn viewing hundreds of wood ducks, teal, mallards and ring-necks. We enjoyed spectacular flushes of ducks weaving their way skyward through the flooded timber into a crisp blue sky. We enjoyed watching high flocks of ring-necks rip through the air with incredible speed as they descended upon our flooded chufa field.

After three hours of duck watching with a little blind work thrown in, we pulled the duck skiff onto the shore and my son exclaimed “Dad that was as good as any hunt I’ve been on, all that work we did at the hunt club this summer was worth it.” At that moment, I was as proud as any Dad could ever be. At 9 years of age my son understood what it means to be a waterfowl hunter and conservationist.

It’s not about how many ducks you shoot. It’s about enjoying the beauty of God’s creation; its about putting back more than you take; it’s about respecting the resource; it’s about sharing quality time in the great outdoors with family and friends. It’s about leaving a legacy.

Your Association and its Camp Woodie program exists to pass on the legacy of our waterfowl heritage. Some people might say that spending money on habitat conservation is more important than supporting education programs like Camp Woodie. We all know that preserving and restoring habitat is the key to abundant waterfowl populations and that funding for habitat conservation programs must be maintained and expanded. However, the key to long-term habitat conservation will rely on developing and maintaining a critical mass of people with a passion for waterfowl and waterfowl hunting. We are losing critical mass. Since 1971 duck stamp sales in the United States have declined from 2.45 million to 1.69 million – a 31% decline. In Canada, waterfowl hunters have declined from 524,946 in 1979 to 173,555 in 2002 – a 67% decline.

The expansion of the Camp Woodie program is essential to the future of waterfowl populations and habitat. Hunters fund over 75% of state and federal wildlife and waterfowl conservation programs. Approximately 95% of all money spent on wildlife conservation has come directly or indirectly from hunting and hunters. Passionate waterfowl hunters, who own and manage habitat, provide the bulk of wintering waterfowl habitat in North America.

Without a critical mass of passionate waterfowl hunters, who will foot the bill to maintain habitat and expand future waterfowl conservation programs? Without a critical mass of waterfowl hunters, who will support funding for state and federal waterfowl programs? Who will support important provisions of the Farm Bill such as the Conservation Reserve Program, Wetlands Reserve Program, Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act that are extremely important to developing waterfowl habitat?

You can be proud of the fact that your Association’s Camp Woodie program has helped to pass on our waterfowl legacy to thousands of youth. This past summer over 430 children attended summer camp. For next summer, Wachovia Bank, N.A. is providing 20 scholarships to children of active duty military personnel. Chapters and other members will add another 40 scholarships. With your help we are working toward increasing summer camp attendance in South Carolina to 600 youth while also developing a 5 year plan to create a new Camp Woodie location in North Carolina that will reach another 600 youth annually. Our Camp Director, Chris Cusack is also developing a waterfowl curriculum for use by chapters and waterfowlers across the country to get children involved in waterfowl conservation. We are expanding our youth waterfowl hunting programs to reach over 300 youth annually.

As a member you can do your part by supporting Camp Woodie and by taking your children and other children waterfowl hunting. Together we can pass on the legacy to the next generation and ensure a bright future for our waterfowl and wetlands.