Spring Break
Group unites to save wetlands for ducks
DREW HALL For The Red & Black
Issue date: 3/28/07 Section: News
Students interested in duck hunting and wetland conservation now have their collective niche - UGA Ducks Unlimited.
UGA DU is a recognized chapter of the national Ducks Unlimited organization, whose mission is simply to conserve, restore and manage wetlands and associated habitats for North America's waterfowl. The chapter has been around campus since 2000, but the first official banquet wasn't held until 2002.
The main fundraiser each year is the banquet, which takes place in late January or early February. A committee meets every other Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Buffalo's on Alps to plan the banquet. Charlie Plush, a junior wildlife major from Woodstock, and Caleb Warrington, a crop and soil sciences grad student from Milford, co-chair the committee. Last year UGA DU had 101 members who raised about $5,000, which went directly to the national chapter to fund wetland conservation.
Plush said if you really want to get involved and are willing to commit a lot of time and energy, you should go to the committee meetings. If a student doesn't want to spend as much time but still would like to be involved, attending the banquet each year automatically will enroll you as a UGA DU member and a member of the national DU. Members will receive all the benefits any other DU member does, including a subscription to the monthly magazine.
This club isn't just for hunters. DU is the single largest wetland and waterfowl conservation effort in the world. UGA DU currently isn't participating in any conservation projects but is planning to get one started this fall. Plush said it is one of the things they'd like to accomplish this year.
Some students might not understand how hunters also could be conservationists. "Hunting is about returning to our place in the natural world and participating in something that we as humans have done since the beginning of our existence...It is essentially this love for the fascinating and thrilling intricate designs of the natural world that motivate hunters to conserve what little wild lands and animals we have left. And in conserving these wild places, we as hunters still have the option and ability to enter into our place in the natural world," Plush said.
When asked what he thought other students would get by becoming involved in DU Plush said, "If you're somebody who likes to hunt then you know your time and money is going to these efforts. If you aren't a hunter, you'll know you're helping wetland conservation."
Plush said what he likes best about DU is it feels good to be part of a great cause. He gets to be around great guys and have a good time.
"I'm helping conserve something that I love, and DU can do that effectively," said Plush.
UGA DU is a recognized chapter of the national Ducks Unlimited organization, whose mission is simply to conserve, restore and manage wetlands and associated habitats for North America's waterfowl. The chapter has been around campus since 2000, but the first official banquet wasn't held until 2002.
The main fundraiser each year is the banquet, which takes place in late January or early February. A committee meets every other Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Buffalo's on Alps to plan the banquet. Charlie Plush, a junior wildlife major from Woodstock, and Caleb Warrington, a crop and soil sciences grad student from Milford, co-chair the committee. Last year UGA DU had 101 members who raised about $5,000, which went directly to the national chapter to fund wetland conservation.
Plush said if you really want to get involved and are willing to commit a lot of time and energy, you should go to the committee meetings. If a student doesn't want to spend as much time but still would like to be involved, attending the banquet each year automatically will enroll you as a UGA DU member and a member of the national DU. Members will receive all the benefits any other DU member does, including a subscription to the monthly magazine.
This club isn't just for hunters. DU is the single largest wetland and waterfowl conservation effort in the world. UGA DU currently isn't participating in any conservation projects but is planning to get one started this fall. Plush said it is one of the things they'd like to accomplish this year.
Some students might not understand how hunters also could be conservationists. "Hunting is about returning to our place in the natural world and participating in something that we as humans have done since the beginning of our existence...It is essentially this love for the fascinating and thrilling intricate designs of the natural world that motivate hunters to conserve what little wild lands and animals we have left. And in conserving these wild places, we as hunters still have the option and ability to enter into our place in the natural world," Plush said.
When asked what he thought other students would get by becoming involved in DU Plush said, "If you're somebody who likes to hunt then you know your time and money is going to these efforts. If you aren't a hunter, you'll know you're helping wetland conservation."
Plush said what he likes best about DU is it feels good to be part of a great cause. He gets to be around great guys and have a good time.
"I'm helping conserve something that I love, and DU can do that effectively," said Plush.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Fred Maidment
posted 3/28/07 @ 11:56 AM EST
As long as they're not pushing for government action to prevent using the wetlands. If they want to use private funds and organizations to buy the wetlands and protect them that way, fine. (Continued…)
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