Ducks Unlimited youth honored for WMA contribution

Plaque includes names of Legacy members that helped fund restoration project at Howard Miller

Today it stands as a symbol of a new generation of waterfowl conservationists, and the new monument at the Howard Miller Wildlife Management Area could mean more wintering ducks for decades to come.

A plaque includes the names of more than 100 youths whose support provided partial funding for a recently completed $750,000 habitat restoration project at the WMA near Rolling Fork.

All are members of the Ducks Unlimited Legacy Greenwing program.

“These kids are the future of conservation,” said DU Senior Vice President for Youth and Education Ronal Roberson. “It’s critical that we get today’s youth outside to experience what we all love so much, and this project provides an excellent place, open to the public, to do so.”

The Legacy Greenwing program is a bridge between Ducks Unlimited’s habitat conservation and youth programs. It is open to youths up to age 17 for a one-time contribution of $200. For that contribution, they become members of Ducks Unlimited until they turn 21.

Legacy Greenwing contributions are used to support a specific waterfowl habitat project, and the names of the Legacy Greenwings who supported it are listed on a cairn placed at the project site.

At Howard Miller WMA, the $750,000-project restored water management capabilities on 2,160 acres of wetland impoundments. This project was completed as part of Ducks Unlimited’s America’s River Initiative.

Funding partners include the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, Ducks Unlimited, Wetlands America Trust, the North American Wetlands Conservation Council, and the Mississippi Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation.