DU Participates in Fourth Annual Washington Festival
In late May, Ducks Unlimited took part in the fourth annual Floods, Flowers, and Feathers Festival on Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), with the goal of spreading the message of wetlands and waterfowl conservation. A popular event in the Northwest, this festival provides attendees with an opportunity to experience and learn about the unique Channeled Scablands landscape of eastern Washington.
DU once again provided a booth stocked with information and items for young festival attendees, including a decoy-painting station that drew a crowd for the second year in a row. Much of the booth's success was thanks to DU volunteers Joe Ford and Joanne Keller, who spent the weekend staffing the booth and helping the young artists.
"Last year we had 42 decoys and ran out at 1 p.m. This year we closed the place down with kids painting until 3," said DU Regional Biologist Tina Blewett. "I estimate we used about 110 decoys. We have a few left over, but that's only because the festival was ending."
DU has teamed up with Turnbull NWR on several North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) standard grant proposals and on DU's private land easement in Cheney, Washington, through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Fish and Wildlife program.