2019 DU TV Episode 3 from DucksUnlimited on Vimeo.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – -(AmmoLand.com)- This week on Ducks Unlimited TV shotgun shooting segment contributor and co-host Phil Bourjaily travels to Indiana to the famed Kankakee Marsh to hunt ducks with dedicated DU volunteers.
This episode chronicles an annual hunt recognizing Ducks Unlimited leadership in the community. The hunt is hosted by the Kankakee Marsh Hunt Club, adjacent to the Kankakee Fish and Wildlife Area, home to thousands of migrating ducks and geese.
This area was once so large it was called the Everglades of the north. The Grand Kankakee Marsh was the biggest inland wetland in the United States, covering more than 500,000 acres. Aggressive drainage of the marsh after the Civil War turned much of the land into agricultural fields.
Ducks Unlimited actively restores and conserves the remaining marsh, but it can never return to its former glory. DU Regional Director for northern Indiana Josh Hall explains DU’s efforts.
“The projects we do, at Kankakee, Willow Slough, Grand Kankakee Marsh and LaSalle, can never recreate what we once had but we can do our best to try,” Hall said.
Landowner Jeff Dunifon is a dedicated DU volunteer and land steward. He works hard to hold waterfowl in the area. Lifelong conservationists, he and his club members decided that attending other banquets wasn’t enough, so they formed their own DU chapter.
“We do one event a year and try to keep it very simple,” Jeff said. “This year we had a picnic here with a band and raised $48,000 for the ducks.”
DU TV airs Mondays at 1:00 a.m., Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m., Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. (all times Eastern) on the Pursuit Channel. All episodes, plus bonus content and classic episodes, can be found at www.ducks.org/dutv.
DU TV is sponsored by Browning Arms, Browning Ammunition, Drake Waterfowl Systems, Plano Synergy and Zink Calls, Higdon Outdoors, Purina Pro Plan, Mossy Oak Camo, Mossy Oak Properties, Mossy Oak Biologic, Mossy Oak Nativ Nurseries and SecureIt Intelligent Firearms Storage.
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 14 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.