The Duck Stamp Story (1984)

[Music] just 50 years ago the ponds and marshes of the Midwest that had once carried huge flocks of geese and ducks with a parched wasteland years of relentless land punishing farming years of ditching and draining for yet more acres to platteville that sucked the land rock when the drought came in the 30s it wasn't anything left to hold the soil together and it just blew away it was tragic for the farmer for the nation but for the wildlife it was disaster among those concerned about the staggering loss of wildlife habitat was a Midwestern J Norwood garlic best known is Dane a conservationist and a sportsman ding fondly remembered the duck films of his youth as the influential political cartoonist for the Des Moines Register being used his cartoons to focus public attention on what was happening to his beloved Iowa countryside dings conservation cartoons lobbied hard for a federal program that would buy and restore the lives that had once been waterfowl habitat his efforts were successful in 1934 the migratory bird hunting Stamp Act was passed which required every waterfowl hunter to buy a federal duck spent the money from the stance was to be used to conserve waterfowl habitat the first duck stamp of two mounted was made from one of dings drawings today the duck stamp program is alive and well in the annual open competition to select a design for the stamp now called the migratory bird hunting and conservation staff is intense entries by the hundreds pour in from across the country from fledgling artists the season wildlife illustrators the judges art professionals and wildlife experts carefully examine the entries not only for Biological accuracy but also to gauge the feeling that the design evokes tension slowly builds during the final round as each judge assigns a point value to the entry the design with the highest total will be next year's Duck Stamp bill morris is from Mobile Alabama and he got that number one with a Widgeon beautiful pair widgets to some the new Duck Stamp will mean a handsome valuable addition to their collection but to America's wildlife the stamp will mean much more as autumn chills the Northland the great flocks set out on their long migration south down from the Arctic north out from the nesting prairies by the tens of millions they fly south along the Pacific through the Central States down the Mississippi down the Atlantic coast along these four major flyways lie nearly 200 national wildlife refuges and hundreds of smaller waterfowl nesting artists that have been bought with Duck Stamp dollars our National Wildlife Refuge System embraces a variety of wet environments wetlands each crucial in its own way to the needs of different species of migratory water bottle in the prairie pothole country of the Upper Midwest seven million duck's nest around sloughs and ponds coastal marshes shelter geese by the millions during the winters the bottomland hardwood swamps in the Lower Mississippi Valley are wintering grounds for mallards and wood ducks ducks tain't monies are used to purchase this waterfowl habitat the decision on which wetlands to buy is made by the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission composed of cabinet officials congressional and state representatives since the program began more than three-and-a-half million acres have been bought for wildlife [Music] once purchased these lands are managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to provide the particular nesting and feeding requirements that waterfowl need water the most essential habitat ingredient for all species of ducks and geese hundreds of water impoundments have been constructed on refuges to restore water to once drained lakes and marshes water levels are carefully controlled so that nourishing food plants will grow and safe nesting areas created on some refuges farming ensures that grain will be left standing for food there are many ways to manipulate habitat to benefit wildlife here fire is used as a management technique to rid the marsh of dead matted dresses from the ashes wildlife food plants will grow and flourish managing refuge lands effectively requires sound biological information spring and fall surveys monitor waterfowl population levels oh and Laura Chesapeake Bay we've got 8,000 snow gauge thousand dollars 500 black done thousands of geese and ducks are briefly captured and banded each year to provide information about migration and survival rates a lightweight radio transmitter will reveal vital information on this mallards daily movement data from all these activities adds a wealth of information on waterfowl migrations populations and help but the National Wildlife Refuge System is for people too there's no better place where we can experience and appreciate wildlife on its own turn this outdoor classroom allows teachers and students to explore nature firsthand for many it's the first time they'll see wildlife outside of the zoo or away from the TV set white head neck and the great value there yeah we have one building I guess we have about 500 or so now we have a fuse box here the rescue this is dancing power although business sit on the side there all day hello mr. pictures the business could be happier you know they come back to the better all excited and visitors come to the refuge's by the menu to see and enjoy the magnificence of wildlife in its natural scent [Music] Oh [Music] Oh [Music] on some refuges hunting is permitted and is carefully controlled to provide a safe high quality outdoor experience and the fishing can be great too [Music] wildlife and people are thriving on America's refuges but the refuge is encompassed only a small fraction of the wetlands that waterfowl use in need and therein lies a major problem half of the wetlands that existed when the Pilgrims landed have been lost an area larger than the state of California and the destruction continues at the rate of nearly half a million acres a year land for farming is still being wrung out of weapons by the hundreds of square miles each year wildlife is still being forced from the few remaining coastal marshes to make room for roads and houses migratory waterfowl are an international resource the responsibility for their conservation is shared by nations states provinces private organizations such as Ducks Unlimited and also by individuals through their purchase of ducks ten haken in selected by at some place okay anything else to the vin eight long and confirmed by by refuge manager Denny Holland fish and wildlife service just bought this 500 acres of marshland through proceeds from the duck stamp and we bought it for the black duck the black duck is a species of special concern to the fish and wildlife service due to loss of habitat development occurring along the edge of their range their nesting range we are losing the population slowly we think that through habitat purchases nesting areas such as this Marsh that we can reverse the downward trend but of course Black Ducks are not the only thing here we have snow geese and a number of other species that use these particular marshes while the money from Duck Stamp sales is used to buy wetlands for migratory waterfowl hundreds of other wildlife species benefit those that are plentiful and those that are endangered like the whooping crane [Music] everyone who enjoys wildlife birdwatchers fishermen photographers refuse visitors together with sportsman can ensure a future for America's wildlife by buying a duck's tank it's the most direct way you can help wildlife I can't hurt pinky pumpkin just afraid timber sky I can see the darkling session by the thousands as they plastered the Westland wings of swans in flight watch themselves turn as one and each call I stand in London and the journey is gone your flight they are long stretch and thousands of miles oh stop in your refuge and rest for a while then on the southern wetlands where winters are wall where fly petal dead Jill Springs on the dog okay fenokee the Chincoteague to eat refuse the lifeless to help one spring morning in the cat pills I saw my lord return on that bright blue day to snow geese a wrapped in thousand strong knock down all the flyways there right wing's be back the Sun and each spring us stand in Wonder and do you live far to come the Northland we're testing is done you're quoting and we're in we go and lay greg meadows bomb to Union he granted Mike river Sacramento the free black see your wetlands are lifeless Oh [Music] Oh