Passing Down a Conservation Lifestyle

As far back as Jaxon Lang can remember, there was always a Ducks Unlimited magazine around the family home. His parents, Louise and Andy, were DU members and made sure Jaxon was a Greenwing member. Jaxon’s parents also went out of their way to expose him to the beauty of the Prairie Pothole Region of west-central Minnesota. “In addition to DU banquets and hunting, I was introduced at a young age to a spirit of conservation,” Jaxon says.

While Jaxon was in elementary school, the pothole wetland across the county line from his mother’s family farm was drained. In his seventh grade American Government class, Jaxon had an opportunity to draft a bill to go through a mock legislative process. Jaxon’s bill addressed wetland conservation, including punitive damages for unauthorized drainage and funding for the restoration and maintenance of prairie pothole wetlands.

After college, Jaxon married his high school sweetheart, Allison. Years later, it was Allison’s motivational words “if not you, then who?” that set them both on a path toward a more serious commitment to wetlands and waterfowl conservation. At that time, a DU project at Minnesota’s Lake Christina was the flagship project of DU’s Living Lakes Initiative, and DU Senior Director of Development Adam DeHaan approached the Langs with the opportunity to become DU Diamond Life Sponsors. Recently Jaxon and Allison pledged as DU Legacy Sponsors in support of the Preserve Our Prairies Initiative.

Jaxon and Allison also practice conservation on their Minnesota property. In 2017, at a Pelican Lake Property Owners Association meeting, Greg Lillemon, environmental services administrator for Grant County, spoke about public grant funding that was available to address nutrient runoff issues related to lawns surrounding the lake. Following the meeting, Jaxon inquired about the property he had just purchased, and Greg put him in touch with US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) private lands biologist Shawn Papon. Shawn then referred him to Joe Montonye with the Grant County Soil and Water Conservation District, who helped put a project into motion. That project restored a small wetland on the property, established a conservation easement, and planted wildflowers around their shallow lake, which is now affectionately referred to as Lake Allison.

Jaxon and Allison reconnected with Shawn in 2019 after purchasing a farm. A unique partnership that included the USFWS, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Grant County Soil and Water Conservation District, and USDA Farm Service Agency, along with support from Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever, implemented a project that combined the Conservation Reserve Program with wetland easements and a grassland prairie easement on their property. “The results were phenomenal,” Jaxon explains. “There is a wonderful network of people, groups, and programs available if you have the time and are willing to serve as the hub of the wheel that connects them all. I was able to do that and even make the project ‘pencil out.’”

Jaxon and Allison continue to seek opportunities to make a difference. “We are blessed with the ability to enjoy the land while we are here, and we’re aware that we have the responsibility to pass it on to our kids, Daisy and Mason,” Jaxon says. “It’s not only the land, but the spirit of conservation that we are trying to leave behind. Every two months we make sure Ducks Unlimited magazine is on both our kids’ nightstands. We’re excited about our progress, and with the optimism of a duck hunter, I’m hopeful the best is yet to come.”