RIDGELAND, Miss. - Aug. 20, 2020 - Dr. Scott Manley received an inaugural Ducks Unlimited (DU) Excellence in Conservation Award for his work on the Rice Stewardship Partnership.

For the first time in its 83-year history DU distributed their Excellence in Conservation Awards. DU's Conservation Programs Committee (CPC) created the awards to recognize outstanding conservation accomplishments and the DU staff who made them possible.

Any extraordinary accomplishment that supports DU's conservation mission of filling the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever is eligible for recognition. The inaugural 2020 awards were announced Aug. 20, during the CPC summer meeting.

"These awards were created to support morale, help maintain a high level of motivation and convey the gratitude of DU supporters and volunteers by recognizing truly exceptional conservation professionals," said CPC Chair Dr. Christine Thomas. "The awards recognize particularly outstanding conservation achievements by individuals who are part of the staff of Ducks Unlimited."

In just six years of on-the-ground implementation, the Rice Stewardship Partnership has achieved 600,000 acres of conservation impact on ricelands across the three most critical wintering areas for waterfowl.

"I would like to thank the conservation programs committee for recognition of the Rice Stewardship partnership," said Manley. "This is a partnership that is a great example of what I'd like to see in the future for Ducks Unlimited."

The Rice Stewardship Partnership was formed in 2013 with an agreement between USA Rice and DU. The program serves rice growers across six states and three of DU's conservation regions. The program is funded by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Walmart Foundation, the Mosaic Company Foundation, Nestle Purina PetCare, Chevron USA, Entergy, Freeport-McMoran Foundation, Irene W. and C.B Pennington Foundation, RiceTec, BASF, American Rice, Inc.-Riviana Foods, Inc, Joe W. and Dorothy Doresett Brown Foundation, Delta Plastics, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Corteva Agriscience, Wells Fargo, Farmers Rice Milling Company, Horizon Ag, Turner's Creek and Bombay Hook Farms, MacDon Industries and Ricelands Foods.

Click here for a complete list of 2020 Ducks Unlimited Excellence in Conservation Award winners.

"Ducks Unlimited has the greatest team of conservation professionals in the world," DU CEO Adam Putnam said. "These Excellence in Conservation Awards recognize the members of Team DU who are the boots on the ground. Their daily efforts fuel our mission to fill the skies with waterfowl."

For more information visit www.ducks.org. Follow DU's newest Twitter feed - @DUNews1937 - to get the most up-to-date news from Ducks Unlimited.

About Ducks Unlimited
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 almost 15 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:

Emily Austin

(601) 206-5438
eaustin@ducks.org