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Duke Energy Completes $1 Million Commitment to Indiana Conservation

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Duke Energy Completes $1 Million Commitment to Indiana Conservation 2008 CONSERVATION REPORT | GREAT LAKES/ATLANTIC REGIONAL OFFICE DUKE ENERGY COMPLETES $1 MILLION COMMITMENT TO INDIANA CONSERVATION Ducks Unlimited extends a warm thank-you to Duke Energy given to acquiring land located within the acquisition boundary (formerly Cinergy Corp.) for fulfilling a $1 million commitment of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Patoka River to Ducks Unlimited (DU) and habitat conservation in Indiana. National Wildlife Refuge. The amended agreement calls for using This unique partnership began in 1998 when Cinergy Corp. and revenue generated from the sale of reforested properties to the DU entered into a 10-year partnership to reforest cleared floodplain USFWS or other conservation buyers to acquire and reforest ad- forests along major river systems in southern Indiana. Over the life of ditional properties. Since 2004, DU has acquired two properties the partnership, Duke Energy provided $100,000 each year to DU totaling 130 acres of floodplain wetlands, including the fall 2007 to plant a diversity of bottomland hardwood tree seedlings to restore acquisition of the 70-acre Clement tract along the Patoka River. In floodplain wetlands. A $10,000 portion of each annual installment addition to permanently protecting two properties, the accomplish- was used to purchase 100 Duke Energy wildlife sculptures, which ments of this rewarding and successful partnership also include the were auctioned at DU fund-raising banquets in Indiana. planting of 539,000 tree seedlings to reforest more than 1,700 acres of waterfowl habitat. From the start, this program has been a win-win for both organizations. DU restored hundreds of acres of prime waterfowl migration and wood Although DU has received its last payment from Duke Energy, duck-nesting habitat in Indiana, while Duke Energy will receive benefits much work remains within this partnership. In 2008, DU will derived from the atmospheric carbon the planted trees will sequester. reforest 43 acres of the Clement tract and expects to sell the 60-acre Hughes-Brown property (acquired and reforested by DU In 2004, DU and Duke Energy modified and expanded this suc- in 2005–2006) to the USFWS. In addition, DU is searching for cessful partnership to include the fee title acquisition, reforestation additional properties to acquire and reforest in southern Indiana and permanent protection of cleared bottomland properties in the to perpetuate this program. Thanks again to Duke Energy for this floodplains of the Patoka, White and Wabash rivers. Priority was wonderful partnership in Indiana! Oak seedlings planted on the Hughes-Brown property in 2006 through the Duke Energy/Ducks Unlimited conservation partnership. Ducks Unlimited • Great Lakes/Atlantic Regional Office 1 INDIANA HABITAT HAPPENINGS NORTHEAST INDIANA POTHOLE INITIATIVE CONSERVES VITAL WATERFOWL BREEDING HABITAT Since its inception in 2000, the Northeast Indiana Pothole Initia- tive has focused on the restoration of small wetlands and adjacent native grasses on private lands in eight northeast Indiana counties to promote waterfowl production. Initiated by DU, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), this partnership has been successfully restoring critical mallard and blue-winged teal nesting habitat in Allen, DeKalb, Elkhart, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben and Whitley counties. This region in northeast Indiana very much resembles the “Duck Factory” of the Prairie Pothole Region, as it is dotted with countless small wetlands that are surrounded by large expanses of native grasses. These habitats combine to offer high-quality nesting and brooding habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife. Much of this habitat has been cleared and drained to fa- An emergent wetland and adjacent warm season grassland restored in north- cilitate agriculture and other developments, but it remains available east Indiana through the Northeast Indiana Pothole Initiative. for fairly easy and inexpensive restoration. Through this successful program, DU and its conservation partners, which also include and PF. Additionally, Monsanto Company, through the CropLife Pheasants Forever (PF), have restored 203 acres of wetlands and America Program, donated 200 gallons of ROUNDUP® Pro established 918 acres of native grassland nesting habitat. herbicide for native prairie restoration in this region. The value of this herbicide also has been used to leverage NAWCA funds. DU A key accomplishment in 2007 was the successful closeout of a expects to know in March 2008 if the current NAWCA proposal $50,000 grant from the North American Wetlands Conservation will be funded. Act (NAWCA), awarded to DU in 2005 to continue implement- ing this important program. DU accepted and administered this The landscape of northeast Indiana is highly conducive to the federal grant on behalf of its partners, the USFWS and IDNR. In restoration and establishment of quality waterfowl habitat and, December 2007, DU submitted a $75,000 Phase II NAWCA pro- through funding sources such as NAWCA and private donations, posal to help fund this program over the next two years. The Phase DU and its partners will continue to work toward the conservation II effort includes matching funds provided by DU, USFWS, IDNR of additional wetland and grassland acres. QUIGGENS AND LEXINGTON COAL COMPANY AcqUISITIONS PROTECT BOTTOMLAND HARdwOODS AT PATOKA RIVER NWR Ducks Unlimited helped the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (US- NWR, and protects habitat for nesting wood ducks, spring-mi- FWS) purchase two properties for inclusion in the Patoka River grating waterfowl and the federally endangered Indiana bat. DU’s National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). The 4-acre Quiggens property contribution to this acquisition was provided through a generous contains quality bottomland hardwood wetland located in the bequest from the William A. Walker Estate. floodplain of the Patoka River. Acquisition of this property filled an important gap in the connectivity of protected lands at the DU also partnered with the USFWS to purchase 357 acres of bottomland hardwood and scrub/shrub wetlands spanning five separate tracts, collectively known as the Lexington Coal Company LLC property. This acquisition helps protect the floodplain of the Patoka River while providing quality habitat for wintering and migrating waterfowl and myriad other wildlife. The purchase of the Lexington Coal Company property was made possible by a bequest to DU from the William A. Walker Estate, the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Southwest Indiana Habitat Ex- pansion North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant. The addition of these properties to the NWR protect quality waterfowl habitat in southern Indiana, strengthen DU’s conserva- tion partnerships in the region and provide more than 360 acres of The 4-acre Quiggens Tract, a forested wetland located in the Patoka River NWR. additional land open to public recreation. 2 www.ducks.org INDIANA HABITAT HAPPENINGS PARTNERSHIPS KEY TO CONSERVATION IN KANKAKEE RIVER BASIN For more than a decade, Ducks Unlimited has been an active member of the Indiana Grand Kankakee Marsh Restoration Proj- ect (IGKMRP). The IGKMRP is a group of conservation organiza- tions and individuals dedicated to the recovery and perpetuation of waterfowl and other wetland wildlife populations by protecting, enhancing and restoring the wetlands and associated ecosystems of Indiana’s Grand Kankakee Marsh. The Grand Kankakee Marsh was once a 500,000-acre wetland complex, encompassing eight counties in northwestern Indiana. The Grand Kankakee Marsh has been drained extensively to promote agricultural activities in the region’s rich and fertile soils. The IGKMRP has been working cooperatively to restore what was once one of the largest freshwater marshes in the United States, The Hog Marsh wetland located at Grand Kankakee Marsh County Park in successfully using several North American Wetlands Conserva- northwestern Indiana. tion Act (NAWCA) grants to fuel the effort. To date, DU and its partners in the IGKMRP have permanently protected nearly 9,000 Grand Kankakee Marsh County Park), Place Trail Marsh (St. acres of wetlands and adjacent uplands, and have restored or en- Joseph County Parks) and Aukiki Wetland Conservation Area. hanced another 9,400 acres of wetlands and native grasses impor- Currently, DU is working with many IGKMRP partners, such as tant to waterfowl during nesting, brood rearing and migration. the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and Lake County Parks Department, to identify and restore additional wetlands in Over time, DU has contributed significant financial resources and the region. As DU moves forward with its mission of waterfowl and wetland conservation expertise to many of the showcase projects wetlands conservation, we continue to form important partnerships completed in the Grand Kankakee Marsh. Notable DU engineer- that will lead to significant habitat conservation for the benefit of ing accomplishments include Goose Lake and Hog Marsh (at wildlife, wetlands and people. KINGSBURY AND WILLOW SLOUGH FISH AND WILDLIFE AREAS Ducks Unlimited and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) have a long history of working together toward a common goal of wetland con- servation. This relationship continues to develop into good projects, as in 2007, when DU joined the IDNR to explore wetland enhancement opportunities at two state-managed wildlife areas. Ducks Unlimited biological and engineering staff assisted
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