WASHINGTON, D.C. - Dec. 15, 2016 - Ducks Unlimited (DU), a leader in wetlands and waterfowl conservation, looks forward to working with Rep. Ryan Zinke (MT), who was nominated today by President-elect Trump to serve as Secretary of the Interior.

"We are pleased to see a hunter and conservationist nominated to the top public lands position and look forward to working with Rep. Zinke on issues of critical importance to conservation," said Dale Hall CEO of Ducks Unlimited.

Zinke came to Congress in January 2014 after a 23-year career with the U.S. Navy. In 2008, he was elected as a state Senator, where he led the chamber's Education and Cultural Resources Committee. During his tenure in Congress he has served as a member of the House Natural Resources Committee and has been a strong advocate of keeping public lands open to public use, as well as funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, an important conservation program.

One of DU's highest priorities when working with the Department of the Interior (DOI) is continued administration of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA). Since its inception in 1989, grants from NAWCA have totaled more than $1.4 billion and have leveraged $2.9 billion in non-federal contributions from partners, impacting more than 33.4 million acres. These contributions have far exceeded the match requirements, allowing for the successful implementation of wetland habitat conservation projects across North America.

In the most recent fiscal year (FY16), Congress appropriated $35.145 million to NAWCA, a million-dollar increase from the DOI budgeted numbers. DOI has always been very supportive of this popular and bipartisan-supported program and DU would encourage the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to continue requesting robust appropriations from Congress for NAWCA.

Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving North America's continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 13.8 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. For more information on our work, visit www.ducks.org.

Media Contact:
Tucker Nelson
(202) 347-1530
tnelson@ducks.org