Partners

A Taste of the Tetons
by Jim Cole, Intermountain West Joint Venture

Have you ever seen conservation as a focal point for an entire community? Did you ever think conservation would be the vehicle which transported people from every walk of life into a common social setting? The Taste of the Tetons, the annual summer picnic and community gathering in Driggs, Idaho, was hosted by the Teton Regional Land Trust (Trust) in early August amid great food, soft jazz, and friendly conversation. The event, held at the Trust's Six Springs Ranch just south of Driggs, was punctuated by a spectacular sunset followed by an early-evening lightning storm as a grand finale to a great day.

As one enters Driggs from the north, the sign reads, "Driggs, Idaho, Population 846." Amazingly, some 500 people attended the celebration. Fourth generation farmers and ranchers were there. One landowner who had just purchased a ranch in the valley 2 weeks prior was there. Weathered faces and shiny faces, but all smiley faces, were there. Indeed, it was a celebration of conservation by an entire community. The rest of us can learn well how far-reaching conservation can be from the efforts of the Trust.

Executive Director Michael Whitfield presented awards to staff members and landowners who have made great contributions to the work of the Trust. He also presented the Ed Hill Conservation Award to the North American Wetlands Conservation Council. The Council, which administers the North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grants Program, really helped to jump start the conservation of wetland and upland habitats in the Teton Valley by awarding two significant grants to the Trust. In accepting the award on behalf of the Council, KiKu Hanes of The Conservation Fund said, "To my knowledge this is the first time the Council has been thanked in any way for their contribution to wetlands conservation, so I am deeply touched by this award."

Finally, I had the privilege of presenting Trust Board Chairman Lewis Mithun with the North American Waterfowl Management Plan Committee's National Great Blue Heron Award. Lew, though a humble and gentle man, has been a powerful force for conservation in the Teton Valley. He has personally contributed cash and in-kind donations that total more than $2.1 million for conservation of the valley's wetlands. Lew also continues to work with other potential benefactors to conserve even more habitat.

Good effort by good people doing good things made for a memorable day and a wonderful learning experience for me.

For more information, contact Jim Cole, Intermountain West Joint Venture Coordinator, 145 East 1300 South, Suite 404, Salt Lake City, Utah 84115, (801) 524-5110, iwjv@xmission.com.

The WRP: Helping Farmers Help Conservation
by Josh McDaniel, Ducks Unlimited, Inc.

In 1907, President Theordore Roosevelt traveled to the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley to hunt black bear along Tensas Bayou in Louisiana. Seeing the richness of the land that surrounded him, he predicted that the countryside would eventually be cultivated and densely populated. He was right, but what the President did not foresee was a non-governmental organization and a government agency working together nearly 90 years later to restore those lands to the very richness he marveled at that day.

In 1996, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., (DU) entered into a partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service to restore wetlands in Louisiana through the agency's Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). To date, the partnership has reforested 28,316 acres of bottomland hardwoods and has created more than 5,000 acres of moist-soil units on approximately 250 privately owned tracts.

One of these tracts belongs to Anon Trevillion, a retired Tensas Parish farmer. Anon enrolled 547 acres of his farmland in the WRP for conservation and economic purposes. Of the acreage enrolled, 378 acres have been reforested with bottomland hardwood seedlings, and 113 acres have been developed into 12 moist-soil units (MSUs). By converting marginal cropland to wetlands, he has improved the value of his property. A single newspaper ad resulted in more than 100 phone calls to Anon from people interested in leasing his land for a year for recreational uses. This translates into additional retirement income for Anon.

Anon's MSUs are located on low sites that had been difficult to farm due to poor drainage. Levees and/or water-control structures were installed to create shallow-water areas that now teem with wetland wildlife. Anon can manipulate water levels to allow seedbanks of native plants to flourish. These moist-soil plants are more nutritious for waterfowl and are more economical to manage than planted food plots. This past winter Anon reported, "The sky was literally painted with thousands of ducks. They really filled the sky like never before." In the spring and summer, black-necked stilts, great egrets, great blue herons, wood storks, purple martins by the hundreds, and northern harriers were observed using the MSUs that contained water.

What Anon likes best about the work that was done is the reappearance of quail on his property. "I hadn't heard a quail around here in 30 years. There were plenty when I was growing up, but they just disappeared over the years. Since my place was planted with trees last winter, we have been hearing quail whistle every day. It's really a great thing," said Anon.

The WRP has provided the needed catalyst for wetland restoration in Louisiana. In the past year, restoration work conducted by DU under this program was repeated on more than 50 farmland tracts. "Teddy," the ole bear hunter, would be proud.

For more information, contact Josh McDaniel, Louisiana Project Biologist, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Southern Regional Office, 1605 Arizona Street, Monroe, Louisiana 71202, (318) 387-8683 extension 17, jmcdaniel@ducks.org.