The years 1930 were challenging period for Americans. It was a time when the Great Depression left many families poor, and farmers attempting to cover their losses and lower value of their crops by expanding the cultivation of areas. The problem was that there was a drought in the Great Plains and Midwest experienced extreme drought during the 1930s. The shortage of water and the increased agricultural pressure ruined fragile prairie grasses, ranging from to the Llano Estacado of Texas to the boreal forests in Canada. Soil topsoil in the Plains which had grown over the millennia drained and blew into the air as far as New York City, where ships in Long Island Sound lay hidden by dirt of the dying prairies thousands of miles far away.
The situation was not much better in Canada. The vast wetlands in Alberta, Manitoba, and other provinces were dug Nebraska Ducks Unlimited to allow the land to be used for cultivation. But the soil under these marshes, which had large amounts of peat, was not suitable for agriculture. The peat dried out and quickly caught fire. Draining marshes also damaged water table of the Canadian prairie. Families that were already dealing with the worst drought Nebraska Ducks Unlimited recent memory, suddenly discovered their water sources dry.
Similar to the wells in those in Canada, the populations of waterfowl were dwindling. Breeding birds saw Nebraska Ducks Unlimited Canadian habitats destroyed, and the waterfowl population sank across the opposite side of their border. This led to the fact that in thNebraska Ducks Unlimited e United States, bird refuges were set up as well as the very first Federal Duck Stamp was issued in 1934. It was the Bureau of Biological Survey, predecessor of the current U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, invested money in habitat improvement initiatives in the United States but could do almost nothing in Canada. In 1936, the season for waterfowl was reduced to 30 days, and the species such as brant, canvasbacks, buffleheads and wood ducks redheads and more were protected. Bait, live Nebraska Ducks Unlimited, and shotguns with a gauge greater than 10 were prohibited. Certain hunters believed that by 1937, hunting for waterfowl would be a complete stop. Some believed that it would be too for the United States to save its waterfowl.
In a fisherman’s lodge on the shores of the Beaverkill River in New York the publisher Joseph Palmer Knapp discussed the decrease in the number of ducks together with Ray E. Benson, director of public relations at the More Game Birds in America Foundation. Alongside Knapp as well as Benson with them were John Huntington, who had established the Game Conservation Institute in New Jersey as well as Arthur Bartley, vice president of Nebraska Ducks Unlimited Game Birds in America and Foundation’s director of field. More Game Birds has helped increase the numbers of birds in the uplands by encouraging farmers to rear and release game birds such as quail or pheasants as well as providing an appropriate habitat for the birds. But, since wild ducks moved and are not domesticated, the strategy More Game Birds used would not be effective in boosting the number of ducks. Instead, the group thought that preserving habitats could be the most effective way of conserving ducks.
The problem, of course, was that, unlike game birds domesticated that were confined in only a small zone throughout their lives waterfowl depended on well-groomed habitats along the migration routes that ran across Canada across Mexico. This meant that the of Biological Survey’s funds could not be used in Mexico. of Biological Survey’s funds were not able to be utilized in Canada because it is the home of thousands of acres of important nesting habitat. Any conservation effort focused on increasing the population of waterfowl requires a global effort.
Knapp suggested that the proposed company be named “Ducks.” Bartley pointed out that Canadian companies must use the word “Limited,” but Knapp disapproved of the term “Ducks, Limited.”
“Dammit,” Knapp said, “we don’t want limited ducks!”
And then Bartley offered “Ducks Unlimited,” and the most important conservation group in the United States was created.