Conservation for a Continent

Richard Lipsey is one of the founding members of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, chapter of Ducks Unlimited, established in 1961. Richard has lived a very full and rewarding life. A former military aide and first lieutenant in the Army, he was part of the team that stood guard during President John F. Kennedy’s autopsy and while the slain president’s body lay in state. An avid hunter, Richard is also a survivor of a close encounter with a polar bear while on a hunt in northern Siberia. He is patriarch of the country's largest independently owned, single-location firearms distributor, aptly named Lipsey’s. Besides his family, his greatest passion is spending time at Oak Grove, a legendary duck hunting lodge in Creole, Louisiana.

(From left to right) Dr. Luke Laborde, Jay Dardenne, Richard Lipsey, and Scott Gunning at the 100-year-old Oak Grove Hunting Club in Creole, Louisiana.

Richard’s father, Joe Lipsey Sr., moved the family from Alabama to Baton Rouge in 1943 to run the family business, Steinberg and Company. Business frequently took them to southwest Louisiana, where Joe became an avid duck hunter. During their hunts, Richard and his family often stayed with friends in Creole, leading them to meet Winn Hawkins, a prominent businessman from Lafayette.

In the 1950s, after a hurricane destroyed the Oak Grove camp, Winn rebuilt it, and in the process Winn and the Lipseys became great friends. Winn was so proud of Joe and Richard for starting the DU chapter in Baton Rouge and leading the way for conservation that he promised them a membership in the club if a spot ever opened.

Joe Lipsey Sr. passed away in 1973 and unfortunately never became a member of Oak Grove. Richard resumed operations of Steinberg’s upon his father's passing. One afternoon, Winn Hawkins walked into the Lafayette Steinberg’s store and mentioned the promise he had made to Richard’s father. That’s when Richard became a member of Oak Grove.

Richard took over operation of Oak Grove in the late 1970s and turned it into what it is today—a lodge full of duck-hunting camaraderie, delicious meals, and a passion for DU. Richard knows the value of supporting DU because he has seen the Oak Grove duck lease benefit from the nearby Creole Marsh, Cameron Prairie, and Rockefeller pump habitat projects.

A leader in conservation in Louisiana, Richard was elected DU state chair in 1981, was honored at the Baton Rouge Sponsor Event in 2016 for his contributions to conservation, helped establish the Dale Hall Endowed Professorship in Waterfowl and Wetlands science at Louisiana State University, supported DU conservation projects in Louisiana and Canada, and received the Golden, Emerald, and Platinum Teal Awards.

Richard encourages everyone to join DU and support their local banquets and DU projects. He believes we must continue to conserve wetlands for waterfowl throughout the continent. As Richard puts it, “It is vital that we provide these resources so that my children, grandchildren, and hopefully, great-grandchildren, and generations to come will get to enjoy the great outdoors and the experiences that I have all of my life.”

Ducks Unlimited recently completed a project to restore management capacity to 4,000 acres of coastal marsh on the East Unit of Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. The 37,000-acre refuge is located on the Texas Gulf Coast just outside the Houston metropolitan area and approximately 33 miles from Galveston. The $1 million Jackson Ditch Project was supported by CenterPoint Energy, the CenterPoint Energy Foundation, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

(From right to left) Tanner Stafford, CenterPoint Energy senior environmental specialist; Matt Bunn, DU managing director of development; Taylor Abshier, DU regional biologist; Gloria Bounds, CenterPoint Energy community relations manager; Andi Cooper, DU director of foundation relations; Alicia Dixon, CenterPoint Energy director of community relations; Theresa Sauls, CenterPoint Energy community relations regional manager; and Kevin Hartke, DU manager of conservation programs.

“Support from corporate partners like CenterPoint Energy is critical for DU’s conservation mission,” said DU Director of Foundation Relations Andi Cooper. “We are proud to work together with partners like USFWS and companies like CenterPoint Energy to implement wetland conservation projects that enhance resilience, outdoor recreation opportunities, and water quality in communities important to the company’s employees and customers.”

Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1963 to provide wintering and migration habitat for ducks and geese. The USFWS manages the coastal marsh for migratory and resident waterfowl, shorebirds, and waterbirds. One of three refuges in the Texas Chenier Plain Wildlife Refuge Complex, it is a designated Globally Important Bird Area, Monarch Waystation, and Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network Site of International Importance.

“We are honored to award this grant for $50,000 to Ducks Unlimited,” said Alicia Dixon, director of community relations for CenterPoint Energy. “We’re proud to invest in the communities we serve by supporting programs that improve quality of life and climate-friendly agricultural practices that provide a host of benefits for wildlife and the environment.”

The CenterPoint Energy Foundation strives to be a catalyst in its communities by leveraging everyday opportunities and resources to achieve extraordinary outcomes. That is why the company invests in initiatives that not only improve its stakeholders' lives today, but also build a solid foundation for tomorrow. The foundation focuses on ensuring a high quality of life in the communities served by CenterPoint Energy.

Valero, the world’s largest independent refiner and renewable fuels producer, has committed $100,000 through Ducks Unlimited to the Meraux Foundation/Forty Arpent Canal Terracing Project in Louisiana’s St. Bernard Parish.

Representatives from Valero joined DU staff and volunteers for a check presentation at the project site, where DU and its partners are constructing and planting approximately 30,500 linear feet of earthen terraces, which will convert 200 acres of open water into valuable wildlife habitat.

“Partnering with Ducks Unlimited to help provide coastal restoration is important to Valero,” said Valero Meraux Vice President and General Manager Leslie Sullivan. “This is an example of our commitment to conservation and our efforts to promote biodiversity and protect the environment in areas where we work and live.” This donation marks Valero’s inaugural gift to conservation through Ducks Unlimited.

Project work includes constructing and planting approximately 30,500 linear feet of earthen terraces near Bayou Bienvenue. Marsh restoration and enhancement projects like this help coastal communities by reducing storm surge and flooding during tropical weather events and providing other functions and values such as water-quality improvements and economic benefits. The terraces also reduce wind and wave action, improving nursery habitat for fisheries and easing erosion of adjacent marshes.

“Terraces help restore emergent marsh and protect existing marsh and infrastructure,” said Cassidy Lejeune, DU director of conservation programs for south Louisiana. “This project will convert 200 acres of open water into a mixture of habitat types that are beneficial to fish and wildlife. The terraces will also be a good buffer for erosion for a portion of Chalmette’s flood protection levee system.”

The earthen terraces will be located adjacent to St. Bernard Parish’s Forty Arpent Wetlands Observatory, which is open to public access. The terracing project is currently under construction and can be viewed from the gravel road on the north side of the levee.

Additional project partners include Delacroix Corporation, St. Bernard Parish Government, James M. Cox Foundation, Meraux Foundation, Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, National Wildlife Federation, North American Wetlands Conservation Council, Taurus Properties, Yamaha Marine, and Louisiana Gulf Coast Initiative sponsors.

Ruly Carpenter was dedicated to his family and loved spending time with them in the outdoors. Like many Ducks Unlimited supporters, he believed that a strong family shares experiences in the marshes, streams, and woods.

Ruly was the owner of the Philadelphia Phillies until 1981. With an eye for talent, he felt that if you wanted a championship organization you had to build it. Along with Phillies General Manager Paul Owens and Manager Dallas Green, Ruly built one of the most winning and beloved rosters in baseball history. That roster included the likes of Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, and Pete Rose. In 1980, the team won the franchise’s first World Series.

Family dedication and baseball came together when Ruly’s commitment to take his children fishing crossed paths with the vote to allow a designated hitter in the National League. In fact, it became one of major league baseball’s most enduring stories and the subject of the 2013 ESPN feature Gone Fishin’.

The rule allowing a designated hitter was adopted by major league baseball in 1973, but only for the American League. In 1980, National League team owners were set to vote on bringing the designated hitter to their league. Because he was scheduled to be out of town on a family fishing trip on the day of the vote, Ruly instructed Phillies Vice President Bill Giles to vote for the change. The Pittsburgh Pirates planned to vote the same as the Phillies voted.

There was a turn in the discussions concerning when to start the new rule and, unsure of the impact and unable to reach Ruly, Bill voted to abstain, and the Pirates followed suit. Later, Ruly said, “While I didn’t know that someone was trying to contact me, I do know, reading from my log, exactly how many fish I caught that day with my daughter: six flounder, 12 weakfish, and two croakers. Not a bad day fishing.”

Five teams voted against the proposal, four teams voted in favor, and three abstained. It wasn’t until 2022, as part of a collective bargaining agreement, that designated hitters were permanently allowed in the National League.

Peter MacGaffin, senior flyway vice president for DU and a friend of Ruly and his family, said, “The whole story doesn’t surprise me. Ruly was a great family man, and dedicating time to them is in keeping with the man I grew up with. He was a regular guy, and the Carpenters are great philanthropists, supporting many programs, not just Ducks Unlimited. Many University of Delaware sports programs, the Blue and Gold High School All Stars and the Pilot School, and programs for children with special learning needs were just a few. Ruly was known for his large and vice-like handshake that matched his family’s philanthropic giving.”

In 1961 Ruly joined DU and was a member until his passing in the fall of 2021. Today, Ruly’s wife, Stephanie, continues the family’s commitment to conservation as a DU Benefactor Sponsor.

Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino, a DU Benefactor Sponsor located in Altoona, Iowa, has partnered with DU to provide clean drinking water to more than 500,000 people in the state. A $140,000 grant from Prairie Meadows will fund wetland restoration, improve saturated buffers on farmland, and provide clean drinking water to residents in central Iowa.

(From left to right) Mark Hanson, Dallas County Board of Supervisors; Shane Wolf, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship environmental specialist; Elaine Castelline, Prairie Meadows vice president of finance/CFO; John Swanson, Polk County Water Resources supervisor; Dominic Lawrence, DU senior director of development; Mike Shannon, DU regional biologist; Travis Lautner, Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) agri-business instructor; Sean McMahon, Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance executive director; Ellie Fauteux, DMACC student and Heartland Co-op employee.

The grant will be rolled into the Iowa Systems Approach to Conservation Drainage, a $33 million joint venture led by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) and Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance. IDALS provides technical assistance, education, and conservation outreach programs to farmers working to improve the state’s water quality and soil health. DU works with IDALS to identify and design water-purifying wetlands through agreements with private landowners. These wetlands are strategically located and designed to capture and treat runoff from agricultural fields to reduce nitrogen loads and other toxic chemicals. Landowners voluntarily enroll in this program to establish wetlands on their properties. Each project plan is customized to address unique property attributes such as acreage and soil quality.

Polk County Public Works will take the lead role in building saturated buffers, which are areas of perennial vegetation left between agricultural fields and waterways. As water drains into the buffer, vegetation absorbs water and nutrients. Saturated buffers are popular because they remove little (if any) land from production, require almost no maintenance, and do not affect crop yields when placed properly. Polk County has taken an aggressive approach with saturated buffers, reducing up to 90 percent of nutrient runoff on agricultural lands. In just two years, the county has nearly matched the number of saturated buffers completed in the entire state in the last decade. Work is now expanding into neighboring Dallas, Story, and Boone Counties, where upstream projects will benefit residents of the Des Moines metro area.

The generosity of Prairie Meadows will help DU and its partners deliver three water-quality wetland projects in the North Raccoon River watershed. These projects will positively impact 2,200 acres of the watershed, including a unique 1.8-acre wetland on the Des Moines Area Community College’s Dallas County Farm, located just north of Adel. The farm offers agribusiness students real-world experience and demonstrates how soil and water conservation practices can be integrated into productive row crop farms.

“At Prairie Meadows, we are dedicated to transforming the lives of central Iowans. We are proud to support the work of Ducks Unlimited and their partners,” said Julie Stewart, Prairie Meadows vice president of community relations. “We are also excited to see the impact these wetland projects will have on the people and wildlife here in central Iowa.”

Mark Jenzen can still remember his first duck hunt. It was 1961, and Mark was invited to tag along with his father on a hunt at Polkows Slough, near Springfield, Minnesota. Immediately after seeing the first duck fall from the sky, Mark knew he would be a waterfowler for life. Back then, it wasn’t uncommon to find large wetlands across the southwestern portions of Minnesota. In the late ’60s, many of those wetlands were converted to farm fields. Mark knew that protecting these precious habitats was incredibly important, and that’s what drew him to Ducks Unlimited.

Minnesota’s Jenzen family carries on a legacy of conservation leadership. (From left to right) Mark Jenzen with his daughters, Robyn and Erynn; granddaughter, Eloise; and son, Ethan.

Mark became a public-school teacher and soon he and his wife, Linda, had a family of their own. After meeting DU Regional Director Bill Allen, Mark and four other DU volunteers founded the Lost Marsh Ducks Unlimited chapter and held their first event in 1979. Today, Mark has been the area chair for over 30 years and a Minnesota zone chair for over 20 years.

When did the Jenzens’ children first get involved in DU? It’s anyone’s guess—it’s just that ingrained in their lives. The passion for conservation is there in every one of them. Ethan has served as area chair, zone chair, and as a member of the Minnesota State Committee. Erynn has been zone chair and area co-chair and has served on the public policy and state committees. Robyn has served as area chair, zone chair (in two regions), regional vice chair, state convention chair, special events co-chair, and calendar coordinator and has also served on the public policy and strategic planning committees.

It is important to Mark and his family to protect public lands. If not for these lands, Mark says he couldn’t have pursued his love of bird hunting. The lake that the Lost Marsh DU chapter was named for is now a protected wildlife management area covering 329 acres.

Ducks Unlimited has been conserving habitat in the Big Bend area of the Platte River in Nebraska for years. The river and its associated wetlands provide tremendous waterfowl habitat and ecosystem services to the region, and the Big Bend stretch of the river is home to the largest sandhill crane roost in the world. Longtime DU board member and Wetlands America Trust Trustee Doug Frey knows this area well. Originally from Nebraska, Doug has a strong interest in ensuring that the region’s wetlands are here and healthy for future generations.

Thanks in part to generous support from the Doug and Allison Frey Foundation, 165 acres along the Central Platte River will be protected in perpetuity.

“My mother suffered from a rare disorder that left her unable to walk,” Doug said. “We would regularly take car rides to check the crops and the countryside. Watching the spring migration became the highlight of the year for her.” During the migration, trips to see the cranes became a daily event for Doug and his mother.

DU has completed dozens of restoration and enhancement projects to improve wetland habitat along the Platte. In addition, DU holds conservation easements along the river and has facilitated acquisitions and easements on key parcels for partners including Nebraska Game and Parks, Audubon-Rowe Sanctuary, Prairie Plains Resource Institute, and Crane Trust over the last decade.

A unique opportunity arose to protect another key parcel, and Crane Trust requested DU’s assistance in acquiring the tract, which would complement nearby lands that were already protected. The 165-acre property, which is located just south of Grand Island, includes river frontage, sloughs, and wet meadow habitats that are heavily used by cranes and other waterbirds. There are habitat improvement opportunities, and the area provides additional space for Crane Trust to graze their substantial bison herd.

The acquisition opportunity was on a compressed timeline, with half of the funding already secured but soon to expire. When presented with the chance to support habitat protection in the area, Doug and his wife, Allison, did not hesitate. Ensuring wild, open spaces are available for generations to enjoy is a hallmark of the Douglas and Allison Frey Foundation. Their past gifts have supported wetland conservation efforts in Nebraska’s Rainwater Basin, Canada’s Boreal Forest, the US Prairie Pothole Region, and Texas.

“We know there are mental and physical benefits from the relationship between man and nature,” Doug said. “The Frey family knows these benefits are particularly strong between people and cranes. I remember Mother saying, ‘When I watch them dance and fly and hear their call, I’m no longer bound to this earth. My spirit is free of this crippled body.’”

Every fall you can find Deb and Bill Ebert at the Warren County, Ohio, Ducks Unlimited dinner. Deb, who works the door, is a principal scientist at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati. Bill owns and operates William J. Ebert Trucking LLC but still finds time to serve on DU’s board of directors, assist with policy work, and serve as regional vice president in region 6.

Bill’s DU volunteer career began in New York, where he helped revitalize the Chenango County chapter. He eventually became chapter chair, district chair, and zone chair. When Deb and Bill moved to Ohio 25 years ago, they continued to play an active role with DU. Since then, Bill has held many positions in Ohio DU leadership, including state chair.

The Eberts give their time, talent, and treasure as Diamond Grand Slam and Heritage Sponsors. They have also included DU in their estate plan by joining the Feather Society at the Emerald level. "A planned gift like Bill and Deb’s will help DU continue our vital conservation mission and work for years to come," said Sarah McCallum, senior director of gift planning for DU's Great Lakes Region.

The Eberts set up a joint survivorship annuity that will eventually pass to DU. Working with their life insurance agent, they transferred ownership of a new joint survivorship policy, naming DU as the owner and beneficiary. They make yearly, tax-deductible premium payments to DU, and in this way the Eberts are leveraging a much larger gift.

What is joint survivorship life insurance? Survivorship life insurance covers two people on a single policy. These policies are also known as second-to-die joint life insurance and pay a benefit once both policy holders have passed on. Survivorship life insurance is typically less expensive than having two separate permanent policies and affords DU members a wonderful way to leverage a much larger gift during their lifetime.

“My mission is to bolster the Feather Society," Bill says. "It is simply a good investment, for us and for the ducks. You can have heart and desire, but without long-term funding, DU's work on the ground can’t be accomplished.”

$3 Billion for Conservation

ANOTHER MILESTONE

Conservation For a Continent is built on five priorities:

Breeding Landscape Conservation

Migration and Wintering Landscape Conservation

Conservation Research and Education

Wetlands Forever

Conservation Legacy

Mission Supporters

Richard Lipsey

CenterPoint Energy Foundation

Valero

Ruly Carpenter

Prairie Meadows

Maryland Society

Jenzen Family

Gail Johnson

Frey Foundation

Eberts Family

Conservation For A Continent builds on the success of past campaigns:

See our work

Support the Mission