ARKANSAS SPORTSMAN

DU-Rice Federation partnership will benefit ducks

— Ducks and rice go together like pecans and chocolate, so it’s fitting that Ducks Unlimited and the USA Rice Federation have formed a partnership to promote their mutual interests.

Private land accounts for most wildlife habitat, and DU has long understood that rice production is critical for sustaining duck populations in key states like Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and California.

The rice industry understands the importance of having a conservation-centered partner to help represent its interests before Congress and state legislatures. Against that backdrop, the USA Rice-DU Stewardship Partnership will address rice production, waterfowl and water conservation projects, programs and policies that are mutually beneficial.

George Dunklin of Stuttgart inhabits both sides of that spectrum. A national board member for Ducks Unlimited and former member of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, he is a top candidate to be the next president of DU. He owns and operates a world renowned duck hunting service, Five Oaks Lodge, but he also grows rice. He said that rice fields are vitally important for ducks that spend winters in rice country.

“Rice acres are really new wetlands, and rice is such an important part of the wintering grounds,” Dunklin said. “Ducks Unlimited and rice,we have so much in common. We can go to Washington together and discuss issues in commonality.”

Without rice fields, Dunklin said wild duck populations would not exist as we know them. He added that decreased rice production in key areas has resulted in rapid and dramatic losses for some species.

“If we lose rice, the mortality rates could go up 90 percent,” Dunklin said. “The loss of rice acres in south Texas is directly related to pintail mortality. That’s why we want to have this partnership.”

Dow Brantley of England is chairman of the Arkansas Rice Federation, itself a member of the USA Rice Federation. He said the partnership will involve all sectors of the rice industry, including growers, millers and merchants. As a rice farmer, he said he basically manages large wetlands. That encompasses a lot of things, including water management, and that rice growers have vested interests in regulations governed by the Clean Water Act.

“We’re providing habitat for ducks annually throughout the winter,” Brantley said. “As we look at ways to expand or improve our working lands or conserve our water, it’s good to have a partner to work with you on conservation programs and things of that nature.”

In addition to providing waterfowl habitat, wetlands are vital filtering agents for surface water. Rice fields have a significant role in that regard, Dunklin said, adding that DU can help explain that aspect of rice production to lawmakers from a wildlife conservation perspective.

“The benefits that rice fields do for clean water is something that will come out of this,” Dunklin said. “The regulations that the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] could impose on the rice industry could be detrimental to waterfowl and to the rice industry.”

Effective advocacy requires solid science to support one’s position, Dunklin said. His tenure on the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission exposed him to the most current waterfowl and wetland management science available and gave him a solid working relationship with some of the nation’s most respected waterfowl and wetland managers.

DU can also serve an advisory role to rice producers for getting funding from federal programs to conserve wildlife habitat. Dunklin said rice farmers will not be asked to leave a portion of their crop in the field for waterfowl, but land management practices can improve.

“There are ways we can help with funding similar to what we did with Halowell Reservoir and the Wrape Project [restoration projects at Bayou Meto WMA],” Dunklin said. “The state has some key properties that are essential to wintering waterfowl. If DU can help with the funding process, that goes a long way to building that partnership.”

As the main stop for wintering waterfowl, Arkansas is naturally a top duck hunting state. Hunting is a huge industry here, and Brantley said it revolves around the rice industry.

“Hunting is a business opportunity, as we look to wetlands for additional income, for hunters to come in and hunt,” Brantley said. “I couldn’t begin to guess how much it’s worth, but it’s substantial. In Arkansas, I would say that just as many business deals get done in a duck blind as on a golf course.”

Sports, Pages 26 on 02/10/2013

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