The NWCA program, established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) in 1990, honors individuals and groups or corporations for significant contributions to the restoration, enhancement and protection of wetlands in the United States. The awards are presented on the national level and within the Services geographic regions.
David Brakhage, a biologist with Ducks Unlimiteds Great Lakes-Atlantic Region Office in Ann Arbor, Mich., is the regional group winner for the Services Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region. He was nominated by the Michigan Private Lands Office in East Lansing.
The national award winners will be recognized Tuesday, July 1, during the federal duck stamps First Day of Sale event in Washington, D.C. Steve Williams, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will present the awards during the event, which recognizes the newest federal duck stamp design artists. National and regional winners of the NWCA program receive a framed and matted certificate, and a framed and matted 2003-2004 federal duck stamp print by Ron Louque, a Virginia wildlife artist.
"The national ceremonies are one way to recognize the winners of this vital program and to show how appreciative the Service is of their collective conservation efforts," explained Robyn Thorson, regional director of the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region. "We are proud of the winners from our region and from throughout our country. Their passion for wetland conservation has influence far beyond the local areas where they are committed to stewardship of Americas natural resources."
The Services Morris Wetland Management District (WMD) nominated Kirkeby and his students for the award. The students enthusiasm and creative methods of raising funds to restore local wetlands and associated native grasslands on private lands and public lands set them apart from this years national runner-up in the group category: the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Md.
Kirkeby and his students earned the award through their Trojans Adopt-a-Wetland Restoration program. Since 1995, students in Kirkebys fourth-grade classes have raised approximately $8,450 through a variety of creative fund-raising programs, such as selling passes to chew gum in school, or cookie dough. These modest funds generated more than $55,000 in matching funds from conservation partners. The funds have been responsible for restoring more than 540 acres of wetlands in Big Stone County in cooperation with the Morris WMD. These restored resources provide water-quality and flood-control benefits to Big Stone Lake, and the Minnesota River Watershed. Through their involvement, the fourth-grade students have emphasized the importance of restoring habitats for waterfowl, migratory birds and resident wildlife. The students latest project involved the restoration of the 596-acre Centennial Waterfowl Production Area near Clinton, Minn. Dedicated May 2, this project, was done in partnership with Citizens for Big Stone Lake, Upper Minnesota River Watershed District, Big Stone County, Ducks Unlimited, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Duck Unlimited Biologist David Brakhage has been instrumental in developing and administering North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grants to ensure more acres of wetlands and grasslands are restored on private lands in southern Michigan.
The restored sites have provided additional nesting, brood-rearing and migration habitats for waterfowl and other wetland-dependent wildlife. They also have contributed to improved water quality in the heavily-populated Great Lakes Watershed by providing habitat buffers to reduce runoff in agricultural counties.
Through his leadership, Brakhage has brought partners together to develop grant programs for watershed restorations on private and public lands. Specifically, Brakhages leadership has resulted in partners spending more than $1 million on habitat construction to restore at least 4,000 acres of wetlands and associated uplands. These acres have been restored on private lands through the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 540 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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