Landowner Profile: C. Hager and Sons

Hager family protects key Missouri habitat

Photo of DU Landowners

Just outside the St. Louis city limits, the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers come together to form a region known as the Confluence Floodplain. This area provides vital habiat for millions of migrating waterfowl annually and has an extensive waterfowling tradition. The region is home to more than 100 established duck clubs encompassing more than 36,600 acres, as well as several thousand additional acres of important working agricultural lands that provide critical waterfowl habitat.

Ducks Unlimited is pleased to add the Hager Family to its list of partners working to preserve the magnificent migration area that is the Missouri Confluence. The family placed a DU conservation easement on their property, Raccoon Ranch, granting permanent protection to wetlands and other wildlife habitat in an area that is under siege from urban sprawl.

The voice of a true conservationist, Archie Hager says, "I encourage other landowners and clubs to follow this path of protecting this landscape to ensure that future generations throughout the Mississippi Flyway will be able to enjoy the spectacle of migrating waterfowl provided by Confluence wetlands for years to come."