WINGS OVER MONTANA Volume 3 May 2009

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WINGS OVER MONTANA Volume 3 May 2009 Editor s Note: As you ll notice this is a different format than what we are used to. We will return to our regular format in the July edition. Thank you.

1 WINGS OVER MONTANA Volume 3 May 2009 Editor s Note: As you ll notice this is a different format than what we are used to. We will return to our regular format in the July edition. Thank you. Saving the Great Plains on Earth Day Ducks Unlimited addresses Congress about saving an endangered ecosystem WASHINGTON April 22, 2009 Ducks Unlimited Executive Vice President Don Young met with senior Senate leaders on Capitol Hill today to highlight the need to incorporate wildlife concerns into climate change legislation especially in the endangered prairie ecosystem. "Waterfowl and wildlife are canaries in the coal mine for climate change. Protecting our endangered habitats is critical to ensure future success not just for wildlife, but people too," said Young. "The prairies are one of the most diverse habitats in the country and are one of the best habitats to capture atmospheric carbon dioxide." Young addressed Senate leadership, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.), Senate Majority Whip Sen. Richard Durbin (Ill.), Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee chair Sen. Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), Sen. Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Sen. Barbara Boxer (Calif.), Sen. Tom Harkin (Iowa) and Sen. Russ Feingold (Wisc.), as well as other senators. Approximately 22 million acres of native grassland prairie remain in the United States, and 3.3 million acres are likely to be lost to development over the next few years. Protection of the prairies has been identified as one solution to combating climate change. Each acre of prairie that is protected stores approximately metric tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the emissions of 6-10 cars. "Native grasslands contain thousands of species of plants and animals, including millions of waterfowl," said Young. "These grasslands also store millions of tons of carbon dioxide, and restoring grassland habitat would continue to capture more." The ducks and geese that are reared on the prairies often called America's "Duck Factory" are an economic engine as well. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reports that Americans spend more than $2 billion every year on hunting and travel associated with waterfowl.

2 From the big Quack.. Spring Time! The ducks and geese migrate back to and through Montana headed towards our wetlands! Kathy and I are fortunate to have Castle Rock Lake right out our back door. When the ice finally breaks up, waterfowl come back with a vengeance. I really feel that Spring has arrived when the pelicans and loons stop in for a short stay. It s fascinating to watch a flock of a hundred pelicans maneuver through the water in unison scooping up whatever fish are on the menu that day. It s equally enchanting to hear the call of a loon while I m walking the dogs in the wee early morning hours. When I hear that I realize that it s only six months till the duck opener! We have plenty of Mallards, Widgeon and Teal buzzing us on those walks too. It s enough to send a shiver up the spine of even a mature waterfowler. Spring time also signals the start of many great fundraising events across the state. So far this year we have been lucky to attend events in Anaconda, Colstrip, Red Lodge, Helena, Glasgow, Hardin, Great Falls, and Lincoln. Plus we slipped in a trip to New Orleans to attend the DU Board and Committee meetings. Are we DU junkies or what? Other events have been held in Butte, Plentywood, Havre, Malta, Gardiner, Libby, and MSU- Bozeman. I d like to thank some of our Senior Volunteers who attended events throughout the State: Linda & Jim Daugherty, Fred & Nora Taylor, Les & Lynn Jones, Jim Moreland, Mike Wendlandt, Ryle, Benke, Neil Severinson, Bruce Posey, Dave Klein, Chet Walsh, and Steve Cunningham. I apologize if I ve missed anybody, but I sometimes suffer Senior Volunteer moments. Sort of like when I can t find my remote (or my drink). So what have I learned so far in the spring time of my tenure as State Chairman? 1. Montana has a very dedicated volunteer base. All of our events have been successful and fun. 2. Montana DU is a national leader in SBA, Project Webfoot, Greenwings, and Feather Society members. 3. Montana has the best Regional Director, Layne Krumwiede, in the USA. Plus we added four more great RDs to assist in our expansion plans. 4. There are DU junkies all across the USA. Heck, we met a few on Bourbon Street and I suffered for a week afterwards! 5. We have a long way to go to reach our goal of zero net loss of wetlands. Now #5 is a bummer, but by capitalizing and expanding on #1-4 we, the DU family, can and will achieve that goal. Thank you for all you DU for the greatest wetlands conservation organization in the world. It has been a pleasure and an honor to gain so many new friends across the state. Finally, please make plans to attend our State Convention and Volunteer Celebration the weekend of August 7-9. The Helena committee is working hard to put on a premier event for all of you, our dedicated Montana Ducks Unlimited family! Steve Christian, Montana State Chairman

Montana Regional Director Chris Logan Chris Logan SBA Regional Coordinator & South Central MT RD 919 Hillcrest Worland WY 82401 307-203-8024 cell 307-347-8877 home clogan@ducks.

3 Montana Regional Director Chris Logan Chris Logan SBA Regional Coordinator & South Central MT RD 919 Hillcrest Worland WY cell home I was born and raised in Glasgow, Montana were I graduated from GHS. I left for the big city of Billings and attended Rocky Mountain College where I majored in Business Administration, Football, and Hunting (not necessarily in that order). Later I transferred to and graduated from Valley City State University in North Dakota. One of my summer jobs between the school years took me to Worland, Wyoming. There I met my wife and 20+ yrs later we still call Worland home. We have two wonderful children, Zach 13 and Jordan 7. Before joining Ducks Unlimited as an employee, I worked in the family business. We operated it successfully for fourteen years. Upon its sale I opened and managed my own profitable business for six years. I have been involved in DU since I was a teenager in Glasgow, to my college days in North Dakota, and then again in Wyoming. I have filled many volunteer roles over the years including: Area Chairman, District Chairman, State Package Chairman, and Webmaster. Now I have an opportunity to live my dream as a staff member of the DU Team. I began my DU career as the Regional Coordinator of the Sealed Bid Auction (SBA) program. Now I am excited to have the opportunity to assist my home state of Montana with its growth plans. My hobbies are any outdoor activity with family and friends, leather working, wood working, and cooking (especially waterfowl). My life philosophy is live life to its fullest, have fun doing it, and enjoy every moment including the small ones! As to what my favorite duck is? Well.. I love them all! They all have a certain beauty each to their own and that s what makes each one special.

4 Spring Duck Log Jimbo Robinson Volunteer Services Representative Having trouble recruiting volunteers? Try hosting one of DU s new Recruiting Events! Waterfowl Hunters Party Ducks Unlimited is pleased to offer a Wings of Innovation winning concept called the Waterfowl Hunters Party. The WHP is a party geared towards reaching our core audience of waterfowl hunters and activating them as grassroots volunteers. Currently, only 3.83% of waterfowlers are DU volunteers. The goal is to push that to 10%. There are many things we can do, but the WHP quickly engages the core waterfowl hunter. The WHP has shown to attract waterfowl hunters that have previously not attended a banquet or been members. The allure of hundreds of decoys is too much to resist! Merchandise is ordered according to projected attendance. As a practice, 8 weeks of notice will be needed to support events, but we are willing to work with dedicated chapters to meet their needs for these rushed events. To learn more about the WHP event go to Sportsman Night Out If your located in an area dominated by Sportsmen and not as many duck hunters then the SNO events are geared directly towards you. The SNO events are recruiting events as well and they feature Waterfowl, Deer, Turkey, and Fishing packages. These packages are all pre-packaged with enough gear to allow an individual to be completely prepared to walk into the field or head out on the water. DU also offers many extra items to accommodate these packages that give the serious outdoorsman some opportunities to win some specialized gear. Tips for Completing your Successful Event!! 10 and 30 Day Deadline The first leg of the 10/30 incentive is to submit partial proceeds and event tickets to National Headquarters within 10 days of the event. Partial proceeds usually consist of your credit card transactions. Before dropping your ticket stubs in the 10-day envelope perform a quick runthrough to make sure your committee members are identified and that your sponsors have $250 written in the sponsor box. If you do not have a copy of the batch header go to volunteer resources at and type in the username and password detailed in the left margin of this document. To complete your chapter s qualification for the 10/30 gun incentive please turn in final proceeds and a completed Financial Report to National Headquarters within 30 days after the event. If you do not have a copy of the financial report go to volunteer resources at and type in the username and password detailed in the left margin of this document. Post-Event Merchandise If for some reason you have items that were broken/damaged at the event, please contact me or your RD for procedures on how to replace it. Ducks Unlimited has several options to replace damaged merchandise after an event. We can ship the damaged merchandise directly to the winning bidder, we can ship the merchandise to you to hand to the winning bidder, or we can ship it to the RD in the area for him to deliver. Information needed when handling damaged merchandise post-event includes good descriptions of the damaged item and contact information on who is the winning bidder. Please let me know if the item was sold as is and who to send the replacement to.

Silver Presidential Citation Award won by Malta! Yes that s right, the Malta/Milk River Chapter (MT0026) struck Silver in 2008 by qualifying for a Presidential Citation for the second year in a row.

5 Silver Presidential Citation Award won by Malta! Yes that s right, the Malta/Milk River Chapter (MT0026) struck Silver in 2008 by qualifying for a Presidential Citation for the second year in a row. Only 25 chapters across the nation qualified for this award. That puts Malta in the top 1% of all committees in the USA! Congratulations go out to the entire Malta Chapter led by Kathy Tribby and Ken Wiederrick. Bronze Presidential Citation Award Winners Montana also had four chapters qualify for the Bronze Citation Award. There were only 180 chapters (the top 5%) that qualified nationwide in Our Bronze Chapters are: Glasgow/Missouri Milk River (MT0022) Ken Jansa, Chairman Wolf Point (MT0027) Jerald Petersen & Gary Johnson, Co-Chairs Colstrip (MT0038) Steve Christian, Chairman Lincoln/Blackfoot River (MT0061) Renee & Ernie Lundberg, Co-Chairs Presidential Citations are awarded to chapters based on calendar year accomplishments. Each chapter that qualifies is awarded a banner to be displayed at the next year s event. Criteria for the Presidential Citation: Chapters must have a minimum of $5,000 of Grassroots Income 50 adult event members Increase in Grassroots Chapter Income by 5% Increase in adult event members by 5% A Net/Net to Gross ratio of 60% Meet the 10/30 criteria (event tickets sent within 10 days of the event, and the financial sheet and balance of proceeds were received within 30 days) Montana had two chapters fail to achieve a Bronze Award simply because they failed to meet the 10/30 requirements. Presidential Citation Award Levels are: Bronze Qualify for 1 year Silver Qualify 2 consecutive years Gold Qualify 3 or more consecutive years The entire Montana Ducks Unlimited family would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of our Presidential Citation Award Winners for a job well done!

6 To purchase tickets call: Layne Krumwiede at

7 Making it Possible: President Lewis Recognizes Helena, Bozeman, and Billings as Top 100 Grassroots Income Chapters The President's Top 100 are among Ducks Unlimited elite chapters throughout the nation. Every year, this list is reserved for the 100 chapters that raise the most grassroots dollars for DU's habitat conservation work. "DU volunteers have historically gone above and beyond and these chapters exemplify our grassroots system," said Bruce Lewis, president of Ducks Unlimited. "Volunteers within these chapters are this organization's foundation and their passion for conservation is what fuels their hard work." To become a President's Top 100 chapter, a chapter must raise at least $53,000 of grassroots contributions within one year. "These chapters are showing that the future of waterfowl populations and wetlands that filter our drinking water are important to them and their communities," Lewis said. "The more money we raise, the more habitat we can conserve and the closer we are to preserving our waterfowl hunting heritage. I would like to personally thank all our top 100 chapters for their achievement and look forward to seeing them among our elite chapters next year." Helena (Edie & Jerry Halford, Co-Chairs) ranked as #15 in the entire USA! Gallatin-Madison, Bozeman (Daren Nordhagen, Chairman) came in as #29 Yellowstone County, Billings (Mike Wendlandt, Chairman) was #58 Confirmed Upcoming Montana Events Chapter Name Type of Day of Event Misc Event Event Week Date Comment Contact National DU Convention Misc Saturday 05/23/09 May DU Website Wolf Point/Poplar SNO Wednesday 05/27/09 Jerald J. Petersen Lewistown Dinner Saturday 06/13/09 Tim Hartford Gallatin-Madison - Jason Baker Misc Friday 06/19/09 Dog Training Bozeman State Convention Dinner Saturday 08/08/09 Aug 7-9 Steve Christian Bitterroot Valley Dinner Dinner Saturday 09/12/09 Scott Johnson Upper Missouri - Townsend Dinner Saturday 09/19/09 Ernie Nunn

8 Join the Montana DU Team! Volunteer (some more)! It's a great way to have fun, meet new people and support Montana DU's critical waterfowl habitat conservation work. Your Montana DU State Committee is looking for local volunteers who want to step up to the next level. We are in the process of developing a new strategic plan to expand MT DU. We are actively looking for more District and Zone Chairmen. Also Sponsor and Art Chairs. We will find a place for you to assist MT DU as we strive to be #1 in the country. As the heart and soul of Montana Ducks Unlimited, dedicated volunteers across our state manage and coordinate more than 50 local fund-raising events, energize college campuses (MSU & UM), and raise political awareness! Whether it's securing sponsorships, contacting government officials, or putting together the State Convention, Montana DU volunteers annually generate more than 500,000 dollars and over 7500 memberships, the lifeblood of our mission. Join your State Committee of DU volunteers and become a Leader in Wetlands Conservation! Contact: Layne Krumwiede at or lkrumwiede@ducks.org Steve Christian at or sjchristian@pplweb.com Montana Ducks Unlimited State Committee Members State Chairman Steve Christian, sjchristian@pplweb.com Major Gift Chairman Neil Severinson, neil.severinson@yahoo.com State Greenwing Chairman Jim Moreland, jim@floortraderofbillings.net State Treasurer Randy Schmoldt, rlschmoldt@aol.com State Art Chairman Western District Chairman Dave Klein, djklein@hotmail.com East District Chair Chet Walsh, cfcwalsh@nemontel.net North Central District Chair Steve Cunningham, slcstir@yahoo.com NorthCentral Zone Chair Corey Loecker, coloecker@yahoo.com Western District Chair Dave Klein, DJKlein@hotmail.com North East District Chair Chet Walsh Southern District Chair South Central Zone Chair South Central District Chair

9 Les Jones, State WebMaster Steve Anderson, State Newsletter, Recruitment Chair/State Chair Elect Steve Christian, Regional Vice President Bruce Posey, State Sponsor Chairman Bud Barron, State Package Committee Kathy Christian, Eric Pierce, Jim Moreland, John Farley (looking for 2 women) Conservation Board Nora & Fred Taylor, fntaylor@earthlink.net Major Donor Chairman Jim Daugherty, jdaugherty@windturbinetools.com Bud Barron, vanhb@qwest.net (west MT) Michael Wendlandt, mg@apexcompanies.com (east MT) Montana DU Committees MT-002 Missoula Terry Porter, tandjporter@aol.com MT-003 Butte Quinn McCarthy, quinn.mccarthy@northwestern.com MT-004 Helena Edie and Jerry Hallford, ediehallford@bresnan.net, jhallford@m-m.net MT-005 Great Falls Tom McElroy, tomducks@yahoo.com MT-006 Yellowstone/Billings Michael Wendlandt, mc@apexcompanies.com MT-007 Gallatin-Madison/Bozeman MT-008 Livingston MT-009 Glendive Kyle Robinson, griffno24@hotmail.com MT-010 Kalispell Tom Greiner, tom.greiner@mannmortgage.com MT-011 Central Montana/Lewistown Tim Hartford, printmgr@lewistownnews.com MT-012 Miles City MT-013 Havre James Bachini, MT-014 Plentywood Cindy WIlson, challes32@yahoo.com MT-015 Medicine Lake Josh Johnson, joshjoh@nemontel.net

10 MT-016 Three Rivers/Dillon MT-017 Nine Pipe/Ronan MT-018 Bighorn/Hardin Rodney Bollinger, Silas Counts III, MT-019 Cut Bank/Shelby MT-020 Deer Lodge John Skibsrud, MT-021 Sidney Stacey McNally, , MT-022 Missouri/Glasgow Ken Jansa, MT-023 Forsyth Doug Martins, , MT-025 North Valley/Whitefish MT-026 Milk River/Malta Kathy Tribby, Ken Wiederrick MT-027 Poplar/Wolf Point Jerald J. Petersen, MT-028 Laurel MT-032 Ravalli County/Hamilton Bill Reed, , MT-033 Upper Missouri/Townsend Ernie Nunn, MT-036 Kootenai Valley/Libby Jon Jeresek, , MT-038 Colstrip Steve Christian, MT-042 Mission Valley/Polson Chip Kurzenbaum, MT-043 White Sulphur Springs Donny Babcock, MT-044 Sanders County Nate Hall, MT-047 Madison River/Ennis MT-053 Bitteroot/ Stevensville Scott Johnson, MT-055 Anaconda Mike McLean, MT-056 Carbon County/Red Lodge Steve Thuesen, , MT-058 Bigfork Mark Manders, MT-059 Gardiner Eric Robinson, MT-060 Big Sky Kevin Barton,

11 MT-061 Blackfoot River/Lincoln Ernie & Renee Lundberg, MT-062 Roosevelt County/Froid Art Ryder, MT-063 Scobey Richard Kerstein, MT-064 Fort Benton Barb & Bob Thomas, MT-065 Bitterroot Valley Greenwing Jon and Sue Miller, MT-066 University of Montana, Missoula Ryle Benke, MT-070 Valley Wide Sponsor, Florence Dave Klein, MT-071 Montana State University Kjel Olson,

Do you have an interest in politics and public policy?

Do you have an interest in politics and public policy? By Bob Sanders Did you know that state and federal conservation programs provide funding for over 70% of Ducks Unlimited s work in Montana? Programs