Delta Waterfowl Foundation

Delta Waterfowl Foundation is a non-profit organization operating in both Canada and in the United States, whose mission is to secure the future of waterfowl and waterfowl hunting. Charity Navigator has ranked it among the top 10 conservation groups promoting the protection of wildlife and game lands for hunters and fishermen.

History

In the 1930s, James Ford Bell, sportsman and founder of General Mills, purchased 5,000 acres (20 km²) of the Delta Marsh in Manitoba, Canada. For several years, Bell hunted waterfowl on the marsh in the fall and raised and released birds in the spring and summer from a privately owned hatchery.

In 1938, Bell approached Aldo Leopold, an early figure in modern Western wildlife management in the United States, about establishing a research station dedicated to waterfowl research at the Delta Marsh. Leopold agreed with Bell's idea and brought in his graduate student, Hans Albert Hochbaum, from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They were early contributors to the study of breeding duck ecology and habitat research.

Today

Delta Waterfowl Foundation has four mission pillars: duck production, habitat conservation, research, and hunteR3 (an initiative to encourage duck hunting).

Delta Waterfowl supports graduate research on waterfowl and other programs that impact waterfowl populations and waterfowl hunting in North America. They engage in campus outreach to promote the roles that hunters play in environmental sciences, wildlife management, and conservation.