{"id":55110,"date":"2024-05-30T14:27:20","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T19:27:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisducks.org\/?page_id=55110"},"modified":"2024-05-30T14:27:20","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T19:27:20","slug":"making-a-difference","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/atomiccoffee.com\/WWA\/making-a-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Making A Difference"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Bruce Ross, Executive Director [email]bross@wisducks.org[\/email]<\/strong><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association\u2019s June, 2024 Newsletter<\/a>\u00a0edition.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you are a regular reader of this newsletter, you already know WWA is ascendant.\u00a0 There\u2019s no question WWA has grown its impact on state waterfowling over the past few years.\u00a0 The WI Wildlife Federation just recognized this by naming WWA as its Conservation Affiliate of 2024<\/a>.\u00a0 There are even more (national) recognitions ahead (but I can\u2019t get ahead of their announcements).\u00a0 So what will limit even greater WWA results in the future?<\/p>\n

Summary: <\/em><\/strong>Despite having greater impact than ever, WWA funding and volunteer energy is maxed out right now.\u00a0 We need your help.<\/em><\/p>\n

Why it matters: <\/em><\/strong>There is more meaningful work that will benefit state waterfowlers to improve hunting, enhance needed wetlands and advance hunter issues.\u00a0 But it will be left undone if more people don\u2019t step forward.<\/em><\/p>\n

Three reasons WWA is producing greater results:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Participants in a 2023 Waterfowlers Academy LTH\/R3 program<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
    \n
  • State-level volunteers have used their volunteer time effectively to move the needle in WWA\u2019s missions (advocacy, habitat, Learn to Hunt\/R3).<\/strong> Examples include:\n
      \n
    • Advocacy<\/u>: Sandhill Crane legislative efforts, Waterfowl stamp increase, Open Water zone \u2026<\/li>\n
    • Habitat<\/u>: Wood duck box program growth, Wild rice harvesting\u2026<\/li>\n
    • Education<\/u>: Middle School science curriculum, Waterfowlers Academy, Research initiatives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
    • Grassroot volunteers (i.e. chapter-level) upped their game in local habitat work, fundraising, waterfowling introduction efforts.<\/strong> Programs like:\n
        \n
      • Habitat<\/u>: Abrams property NRCS-fueled restoration, Black tern nesting program, Adopt-a-wildlife program, Wood duck box expansion\u2026<\/li>\n
      • Fundraising: Current chapters are raising more funds than ever before; Our successful Class A battle with the state opens the door to more, bigger raffles that chapters are embracing…<\/li>\n
      • More R3 initiatives last year than ever.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
      • Partners (DNR, federal, private, and corporate) have increasingly recognized that WWA delivers results, and have thrown their weight into supporting WWA\u2019s meaningful initiatives<\/strong>. A non-exclusive list includes:\n
          \n
        • DNR\u2019s Public Lands Program<\/em> with support from Fund for Lake Michigan, the Tympannuchus Cupido Pinnatus<\/em> foundation, and onX.<\/li>\n
        • NRCS Private Lands initiative<\/em> with grant support from state and federal levels and our long-running private wetlands work.<\/li>\n
        • US Fish and Wildlife Service partnership<\/em> on private lands brings $100K+ each years to restoring state wetlands.<\/li>\n
        • Vortex presents the Waterfowlers Academy<\/em> with Legacy Sports International and Pittman-Robertson\/DNR support.<\/li>\n
        • The Waterfowl Hunters EXPO<\/em> \u2013 bigger and better than ever in its 4th<\/sup> year; national and regional corporate sponsors and foundations are partnering with WWA like never before.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          With our recent Strategic Planning effort, the Board of Directors has identified even more high value initiatives.\u00a0 But\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

          There is one thing standing in the way: WWA is resource-constrained.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 WWA\u2019s small staff and committed volunteers are maxed out right now.\u00a0 As my military buddies would say, \u201cIn a target-rich environment, you need more bullets.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>More volunteers and more funding would allow us to exploit fleeting opportunities.\u00a0 Even organizing a raffle could make a significant difference, or getting involved in a local habitat effort.<\/p>\n

          Are you interested in meaningful volunteer activities? Are you in a position to help WWA\u2019s funding limitations?\u00a0\u00a0 Let\u2019s figure it out together at [email]bross@wisducks.org[\/email].<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          By Bruce Ross, Executive Director [email]bross@wisducks.org[\/email] This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association\u2019s June, 2024 Newsletter\u00a0edition. If you are a regular reader of this newsletter, you already know WWA is ascendant.\u00a0 There\u2019s no question WWA has grown its impact on state waterfowling over the past few years.\u00a0 The WI Wildlife Federation just recognized this…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-55110","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomiccoffee.com\/WWA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomiccoffee.com\/WWA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomiccoffee.com\/WWA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomiccoffee.com\/WWA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomiccoffee.com\/WWA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atomiccoffee.com\/WWA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55110\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomiccoffee.com\/WWA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}