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Flightline reaches Major Sponsors and partners in an effort to highlight Ducks Unlimited priority conservation efforts.

FLIGHTLINE A Special Communication to Major Sponsors

In thIs Issue:

2 What is WAT?

3 Rescue the Duck Factory Update

3 Jim Kennedy Named

Conservationist of the Year

4 Meet the WAT Trustees

6 Conservation Easements

6 Bear Bayou Hunting Club

7 Easement Works for

North Dakota Ranchers

8 Donor Profile:

Saf and Betty Peacock

Spring 2010Greetings, In this issue of Flightline, we highlight the efforts of Wetlands America Trust.

In Of Men and Marshes, Paul L. Errington wrote, “Greater familiarity with marshes on the part of more people could give man a truer and more wholesome view of himself in relation to Nature. Marshes comprise their own form of wilderness... and reflect forces that are much older, much more permanent, and much mightier than man.” And then, more importantly, there are the ducks.

Conserving the marshes, grasslands and other wild places important to waterfowl is the driving force behind Wetlands America Trust (WAT). Established in 1985, the Trust is a nonprofit organization that operates exclusively for the benefit of Ducks Unlimited Inc. The mission of WAT is to complement the conservation mission of DU to ensure the future viability of waterfowl and their habitats.

In this issue of Flightline, we highlight the purpose, activities and people of Wetlands America Trust. Like many of you, most of us found our way to DU because of our passion for waterfowl hunting, our commitment to habitat conservation and because someone asked us to become involved.

As Ducks Unlimited Major Sponsors, our ongoing investment in wetland and grassland conservation has never been more important. Many thanks for your continued belief and commitment to the waterfowl of North America.

For the ducks,

John W. Childs President Wetlands America Trust

P.S. As this newsletter was going to print, Ducks Unlimited announced the selection of Dale Hall as the new Chief Executive Officer to Ducks Unlimited. We will have more information in the next issue of Flightline.

2 • Ducks Unlimited

Since its inception, the goal of Wetlands America Trust has been to provide specialized financial and philanthropic

support to Ducks Unlimited. WAT’s principal role is the fiduciary responsibility for Ducks Unlimited’s endowment and land holdings, including conservation easements. To date, WAT holds more than 400 easements encompassing nearly 358,000 acres and manages several endowment funds totaling approximately $21 million. Not only has WAT been successful with its primary charge, the 27 trustees have individually taken up the mantle to introduce Ducks Unlimited and our conservation programs to their friends, family and colleagues. Under the volunteer leadership of President John Childs, the trustees are currently focused on three key activities: providing and securing philanthropic support, engaging in public policy, and strategic planning. Since the beginning of the Wetlands for Tomorrow campaign, WAT members have given or solicited more than $80 million to support DU’s highest priority landscape conservation programs. With the goal of bringing a more strategic approach to the Trust's fundraising efforts, President Childs recently appointed several trustees to serve on a Development Committee to undertake highly individualized and directed fundraising for DU. Led by Deke Welles, the eight-member committee is using the trustees’ vast personal and business networks to recruit new hunter-conservationists. Each year Congress and state legislatures make important decisions about wildlife habitat conservation programs that directly impact the long-term health of waterfowl populations. Recognizing the importance of strong relationship with policy makers, trustees work in concert with Ducks Unlimited staff to educate public officials on policy issues essential to DU’s conservation mission. President Childs recently appointed past DU President John Tomke as chair of the Government Affairs Committee to coordinate these activities. Implementing well thought out, science–based plans has been a hallmark of Ducks Unlimited since the beginning. One example of a complementary strategic effort is the Rescue the Duck Factory campaign (see update on page 3). This campaign is a joint effort between DU and WAT to raise awareness and to permanently protect the best waterfowl breeding habitat in the country. The WAT trustees look forward to working with DU Chief Executive Officer Dale Hall to renew a coordinated, synergistic strategic planning effort between the two organizations President Childs sums up the attitude and approach of all WAT members, “Working to secure waterfowl habitat in perpetuity and inviting others to join me in this quest are the primary ways that I give back to the sport I love and to the organization that helps make my sport possible, Ducks Unlimited.”

WHAT IS WAT?

Ducks Unlimited • 3

More than 75,000 acres of grassland and wetland easements have been purchased from landowners in the Prairie Pothole Region

since Ducks Unlimited launched its Rescue the Duck Factory (RDF) campaign. At a cost of almost $17 million, the acquisition of these easements was funded by private contributions through RDF, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, Duck Stamp Program and the Land and Water Conservation Fund. To date, private donors have committed more than $19 million to this important effort. RDF was launched in September 2008 to help accelerate DU’s easement work, with the goal of securing $40 million in private funds to leverage $120 million in matching funds to permanently protect 300,000 acres of wetland and grassland habitat. As part of a larger protection effort, DU has been partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on purchasing perpetual easements since 1997, when DU launched Grasslands for Tomorrow, an aggressive effort to protect 2 million acres of the best-of-the-best waterfowl breeding habitat in the U.S. Prairies. The FWS now holds almost 1.1 million acres of grassland easements and 1.4 million acres of wetland easements, of which 849,324 acres were purchased since DU launched Grasslands for Tomorrow.

UPDATE: RESCUE THE DUCK FACTORY

Jim Kennedy receives award from Pierre Howard

Jim Kennedy has received the Distinguished Conservationist of the Year Award from the Georgia Conservancy.“We

are honored to present Jim Kennedy with the Distinguished Conservationist of the Year award,” said Georgia Conservancy President and former Georgia Lt. Governor Pierre Howard. “As chairman of Cox Enterprises, Kennedy has inspired 66,000 employees, vendors and industry leaders through Cox Conserves, the company’s far reaching sustainability program. Moreover, Cox Enterprises has implemented state-of-the-art energy-saving measures, including efficient heating and cooling systems, green energy sources, hybrid fleet vehicles and water conservation, and has established a goal of further reducing the company-wide carbon footprint by 20 percent by 2017.” In 1993, Kennedy became the first president of Ducks Unlimited’s Wetlands America Trust, a position he held for 15 years. As president of WAT, Kennedy also served as chairman of DU’s Wetlands for Tomorrow campaign, the largest conservation campaign in history, with a goal to raise $1.7 billion for waterfowl and wetland habitat across the continent.

“I can’t think of a more deserving candidate for a conservation award,” said Dan Thiel, COO of Wetlands America Trust. “As a DU leader, philanthropist and volunteer for more than 30 years, Jim Kennedy’s passion for conservation is clear. You can see it on the prairies, where his gifts are conserving habitat for breeding waterfowl. You can see it in Colorado, Montana and Mississippi, where his conservation easements are protecting habitat in perpetuity. Jim Kennedy is the quintessential conservationist – conserving habitat, wildlife, energy – wherever and whenever he can.”

JIM KENNEDY NAMED CONSERvATIONIST OF THE YEAR

The good snowpack across the Dakotas should ensure the U.S. prairies once again experience very good wetland conditions, which should result in a solid breeding effort and strong production. However, every day we continue to see grasslands lost and wetlands drained or degraded. If we don’t reverse that trend, favorable environmental conditions will no longer be enough to increase duck populations. Time is running out.

– Dr. Scott Stephens, Director of Conservation Planning

4 • Ducks Unlimited

John W. Childs, PresidentWetlands America Trust

John W. Childs was recruited as President of Wetlands America

Trust in 2008. Following the example of Jim Kennedy and

other great leaders and philanthropists, Childs is working

diligently to ensure the success of the nation’s premier

wetlands and waterfowl conservation organization. Because

of Childs’ steadfast leadership and passion, Ducks Unlimited

launched the Rescue the Duck Factory campaign to save the

prairie grasslands. In addition to his personal commitments

as a Diamond Legacy Sponsor and a member of the Feather

Society, Childs has been instrumental in sharing his passion

for waterfowling and the work of DU with other like-minded

conservationists.

Childs is the founder of J.W. Childs and Associates, a private

equity firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in

leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations of middle-market growth

companies. He splits his time between homes in Boston and

Vero Beach, Florida. He is actively involved in politics on the

national level, is a collector of sporting and Western art, and

enjoys skiing and hunting. He is also a member of the Horn

Point Hunt Club in Virginia, owns a hunting lodge in Alaska, and

is a principal in the famous Los Ombues Lodge in Argentina.

Kevin Albert is Managing Director of Elevation Partners, a private equity firm specializing in investments in media, entertainment and consumer-related businesses. He enjoys hunting, motorcycling and ranching.

John W. Berry Jr. is the CEO of Berry Investments, Inc. in Dayton, Ohio, and President of the Berry Family Foundation. His interests include hunting, tennis, shooting and camping.

Paul R. Bonderson Jr. was the co-founder and Vice President of Engineering for Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. Paul is now retired. His interests include restoring and collecting antique cars and hot rods.

William F. (Bill) D’Alonzo is the CEO and CIO of Friess Associates, which manages the Brandywine family of mutual funds. His interests include hunting, golf and spending time with his family.

Skipper Dickson is President of Morris & Dickson Company, a pharmaceutical wholesale company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. In addition, he is President of Sports South, the oldest American distributor of firearms and ammunition. Skipper is a committed conservationist and an avid waterfowl enthusiast who enjoys sharing a duck blind with friends and family.

David F. (Dave) Grohne is President and Founder of Independence Tube Corporation in Chicago, Illinois. Dave’s interests include hunting, golf and fishing.

Robert S. (Bob) Hester Jr. is Managing Partner at Deloitte Service LP in Memphis, Tennessee. Bob’s interests include hunting, fishing and golf.

WAT TRUSTEESMEET THE

Ducks Unlimited • 5

James (Jim) Hulbert is an ophthalmologist in Longview, Washington. He is one of DU’s past presidents. Jim is an avid outdoorsman, enjoying everything from hunting and fishing to traveling.

Orrin H. Ingram II is President and CEO of Ingram Industries Inc., a Nashville-based privately held company with four operating divisions: Ingram Book Group, Ingram Barge Company, Ingram Digital Ventures, and Lightning Source. Orrin manages hunting properties in Tennessee, Kentucky and Florida.

James C. (Jim) Kennedy is a past member of the Ducks Unlimited Inc. Board of Directors and former president of Wetlands America Trust. He enjoys spending time and hunting on his many recreational properties, his favorites being York Woods in Mississippi and Trailsend Ranch in Montana.

Bruce Lauritzen is Chairman of 1st National Bank of Omaha, Nebraska. His family history with Ducks Unlimited goes back to the 1950s. He is an avid outdoorsman and world traveler.

W. Bruce Lewis is a practicing attorney and partner in the law firm Gwin, Lewis and Punches in Natchez, Mississippi. He is the current chairman and former president of the DU Board of Directors Inc. Bruce is an avid outdoorsman.

A. Kel Long III practices law in Atlanta, Georgia, and specializes in estate planning and taxation; business formation, reorganization and succession planning; and corporate law. Kel is an avid hunter and saltwater fisherman.

Steve Maritz is Chairman and CEO of Maritz LLC in St. Louis, Missouri. He is active in a variety of community and national boards. He is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys spending time with family.

David McLean is Chairman and CEO of the McLean Group in Canada. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of CN Railway Co. He enjoys waterfowl hunting.

John W. Newman is the CFO/Treasurer for LLOG Exploration Company in Louisiana and is the secretary/treasurer for the DU Inc. Board of Directors. John is an avid waterfowler and fisherman.

Douglas R. (Doug) Oberhelman is the Group President of Caterpillar, Inc. in Peoria, Illinois. He is responsible for the company’s human services, sustainable development functions and remanufacturing business. Doug enjoys hunting and fishing.

Mark Pine is retired from his role as Managing Director for Sigma Partners in San Ramon, California. He enjoys spending time outdoors and hunting at Behring Ranch Duck Club and recently purchased a club in Oregon.

John R. Pope is the president of Ducks Unlimited Inc. He is a financial advisor with Raymond James Financial Services in Jacksonville, Florida. He enjoys waterfowl hunting.

Dan Ray is a principal with Capmark Financial Group in its Single-Asset Project Finance Division in Denver, Colorado. He is an avid hunter and fisherman.

Richard (Ric) Rice is owner of Rice Enterprises and CEO of Journey Health Care LLC in Memphis, Tennessee. He enjoys hunting.

Theodore (Tod) Sedgwick is the CEO of Sedgwick Publishing Company in Washington, D.C. He recently was selected to become the new U.S. ambassador to Slovakia. He enjoys tennis, squash and bird hunting.

Tom A. Seeno is President of Nortom Corporation in Walnut Creek, California. Tom is an avid waterfowler and enjoys spending time outdoors.

John W. Thompson is Chairman and CEO of Symantec in Cupertino, California. He serves on a variety of national boards including Teach For America, UPS and Seagate Technology.

John A. Tomke is the president of Ducks Unlimited de Mexico. John is retired from his role as VP of Global Operations at Dow AgroSciences in Indianapolis, Indiana.

William E. (Will) Walker III is the President of Jackson Air Charter in Jackson, Mississippi and a Trustee of the Walker Foundation. His family history with wetlands conservation goes back many generations.

David K. (Deke) Welles Jr. is the former Chairman and CEO of Therma-Tru in Maumee, Ohio [founded in 1962 by his father, David K. Welles Sr.]. Deke enjoys hunting, fly fishing, skiing and sailing.

Dan Thiel is COO for Wetlands America Trust. He is also the group manager of development for Ducks Unlimited. He enjoys hunting, spending time with his family and collecting antiques.

6 • Ducks Unlimited

CONSERvATION EASEMENTS:PROTECTING HABITAT, WATER AND OUR WATERFOWLING HERITAGE

Ducks Unlimited has not conserved a single acre of wetland habitat alone. Every detail of our work

relies on a web of partners like you. From the foundation and corporate partners that pour financial resources into critical conservation priorities, to the individual who funds conservation work in their state or region, to the landowner who calls on us to restore wetlands on his property or to donate a conservation easement, Ducks Unlimited counts on solid alliances to facilitate our success in protecting land and waterfowl habitat. Land protection through conservation easements is one of the many ways Ducks Unlimited works to conserve wildlife habitat. Today, through extensive mapping and scientific data, we know that wetlands support millions of migrating birds, offer food sources and homes for more than 900 wildlife species, serve as the foundation for North America’s clean water supply, and protect us from floods and storm surges while helping prevent erosion. While conservation easements are a relatively recent creation in the arena of habitat protection, Ducks Unlmited and its partners played a leading role in the development of the early federal legislation and continue to advocate for landowner-friendly conservation law.

In 2008, owners of Bear Bayou Hunting Club, LLC signed a conservation easement with Ducks Unlimited that covers 640 acres of their hunting club near Humnoke, Arkansas. The easement protects the property’s waterfowl habitat and its scenic landscape on the lower Mississippi River into perpetuity. This easement created a long-term partnership between Bear Bayou Hunting Club and Ducks Unlimited. In addition to generously donating the easement, the owners of Bear Bayou are making a gift to the Conservation Easement Endowment Fund. Income from this fund allows DU to monitor the easement and ensure that the protected wetlands remain healthy for the benefit of waterfowl and other wildlife into perpetuity. “We wanted an arrangement that made sure future generations would be able to enjoy the beautiful habitat found in our great state of Arkansas,” said Walter Edge, one of nine partners of Bear Bayou Hunting Club.

Ducks Unlimited CFO Randy Graves and Director of Development Chris Cole present Walter Edge with a sculpture. In honor of their recent conservation easement, DU is proud to recognize Bear Bayou Hunting Club, LLC as a Diamond Legacy Sponsor.

BEAR BAYOU HUNTING CLUB, LLC — ARKANSAS

Ducks Unlimited • 7

For more than 20 years, Ducks Unlimited has been using conservation easements to protect important waterfowl habitat across the nation from high-density development – affording landscapes better protection than could be accomplished through outright purchase. The survival of ducks and geese depends on healthy and adequate breeding, migration and wintering habitat throughout North America. These major habitats differ geographically but are linked biologically. As a result, without sufficient breeding grounds in the North, abundant habitat along all flyways, and wintering habitat in the South, duck populations would decline. Across the prairies of the Missouri Coteau, through our Grasslands for Tomorrow and Rescue the Duck Factory initiatives, DU has an ambitious goal of protecting 2 million acres of the best-of-the-best remaining waterfowl breeding habitat in the U.S. Prairie Pothole Region. Most of this protection will be secured using perpetual wetland and grassland easements purchased from willing landowners. Each spring, the skies of the Platte River and Rainwater Basin still flood with waterfowl, but the wetlands systems upon which these birds depend are at risk. Increased demand for water, wetland degradation from sedimentation and invasive plant species, and continued drainage of wetlands threatens this vulnerable bastion of migration habitat. Because of its enormous importance to migrating waterfowl and shorebirds, DU is also working to secure donated and purchased easements in Nebraska’s Rainwater Basin and throughout the Platte River corridor. Across the South, Ducks Unlimited is working with farmers, duck clubs and plantation owners to protect important wintering habitat – from the forested wetlands of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley to the ACE Basin of South Carolina. Primarily through donated easements, critical waterfowl habitat is protected from development while the landowner retains the right to use the land for farming and outdoor recreation. Conservation easements are one of the most popular conservation tools to protect landscapes across the nation because they efficiently extend conservation dollars further than could be accomplished by the outright purchase of land. Of the almost 13 million acres protected by Ducks Unlimited, more than 358,000 acres have been protected through conservation easements. Ducks Unlimited has assisted other U.S. land trusts and public agencies in securing conservation easements on more than 860,000 additional acres—primarily in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the prairies of North and South Dakota.If you are interested in learning more about conservation easements, please contact Jamie Brown, Director of Land Protection: 901-758-3787 or jbrown@ducks.org.

“One of the smartest decisions I ever made out here.” That’s how North Dakota rancher Allen Erickson describes his choice to sell two permanent easements to Ducks Unlimited on his grassland. DU works with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to permanently protect grassland and wetlands on private lands with easements. Support from Major Sponsors to DU’s Rescue the Duck Factory make easements like Allen’s possible. One of his easements covered mostly pasture land. With the payment from the second easement, the Powers Lake landowner converted a durum wheat field to grass and alfalfa. “I got tired of just breaking even on the durum,” Erickson said. “Now the grass gets better every year. The alfalfa yields like crazy.” The converted field has helped Erickson better manage his grazing rotation. He puts his cattle in the alfalfa/grass field in early spring, allowing his native prairie to be grazed later, when it’s ready. Later, he moves the cow-calf pairs onto the native grass pasture so the alfalfa and grass mixture can grow high enough to be hayed, which is allowed after the nesting season nears completion. “It’s really improved my operation,” he said. “It works fantastically.” Erickson ranches with three of his sons. One son, Brandon, also sold an easement to DU. The recently married Brandon says the easement helped him establish his own ranching operation. Like his father’s, Brandon’s grassland easement included native prairie and former cropland he converted to grass and alfalfa, which he uses for hay. “It worked out pretty good for Dad, and since I’m normally short on hay, I thought it would work for me as well,” he said. Both father and son are outdoorsmen and like the fact they’re creating and protecting habitat. Brandon says the deer use his new field of grass for bedding. Allen has become a disciple of sorts for DU’s grassland easement program. “I’ve told a bunch of folks and now they’re in the program,” he said. The senior Erickson says he wants ranching to be his legacy for his sons. The easement helps make that happen and ensures there will be grass for cattle and wildlife on this land forever.

EASEMENT WORKS FOR ND RANCHERS -

AND THE DUCKS

8 • Ducks Unlimited

One Waterfowl Way; Memphis TN 38120

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Hunting and conservation are family traditions for Saf and Betty Peacock. While growing up in Illinois, Saf spent much of his leisure time outdoors, exploring and

hunting ducks along the Mississippi River, west of his home in Monmouth, Illinois. His father, Sheller, instilled a strong sense of responsibility in his son, taking Saf along on his many duck hunts. Sheller was one of DU’s early members and passed his love of the sport and DU along to Saf. Today, the Peacock family boasts a 74-year tradition of membership in Ducks Unlimited. “I remember peddling stamps with ducks on them to my friends in grade school,” Peacock recalls. Income from these stamps was one of the first fund-raising ventures for DU. Today Saf is a trustee emeritus of Wetlands America Trust, a group of philanthropists and business leaders who believe strongly in the conservation ethic inspired by DU. His wife, Betty, is also very involved with wetlands conservation. An avid hunter and dedicated conservationist, Betty alone transformed 150 acres of farmland on family land into feed plots and timber specifically for wildlife habitat. Saf is a active member of the Crane Lake Game Preserve, a 3,000-acre hunting club on the Illinois River for almost 50 years. Saf and Betty also own and operate, in partnership with a local farmer, 660 acres of wetland and timber property along the Sangamon River near Crane Lake. In the late 1990s, the Peacocks asked their friend and noted waterfowl biologist the late Frank Belrose what they could do that would most benefit the ducks. His answer was to purchase and preserve duck habitat in the wetlands and grasslands in North Dakota. They did exactly that, playing a key role in several large acquisitions in Sheridan County, North Dakota, and in 2002, gifting 160 acres there to Ducks Unlimited, conserving the pristine nature of the property in perpetuity. Gold Legacy Sponsors and Emerald Feather Society members, Saf and Betty have a true love for the work that DU does and they have shown their tremendous support over the years. The strength of any organization always is found in its members and volunteer leaders—people just like Saf and Betty Peacock.

DONOR PROFILE: SAF AND BETTY PEACOCK

Saf and Betty Peacock

SOUTHERN REGION

FL, GA, NC, SCBrett Baker(843) 377-0667

KS, MO, OKJohnny Belz(601) 206-5432

AL, KY, TNChris Cole(601) 206-5446

AR, LA, MSChad Manlove(601) 206-5442

TXSean Stone(832) 465-7836

GREAT LAKES/ATLANTIC REGION

IL, IN, MI, OH, WITodd Bishop(734) 623-2000

CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, vTMatt Fenoff(518) 872-2002

DC, W. MD, vA, WvChip Heaps(410) 399-4093

DE, E. MD, NJ, PAPhil Poux(410) 224-6620

GREAT PLAINS REGION

MT, ND, SD, WYDave Afton(701) 355-3525

CO, NMKirk Davidson(303) 927-1949

IA, MN, NEAdam DeHaan(763) 688-0519

IA, MN, NERon Stromstad(952) 236-0638

WESTERN REGION

AZ, CA, Nv, UTRebecca O'Connor(916) 852-2000

AK, HI, ID, OR, WASteve Schmitt(360) 885-2011

DU DIRECTORS OF DEvELOPMENT