Earlier this summer, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) opened an impromptu comment period that stood to impact waterfowl breeding habitat in the Prairie Potholes, AKA The Duck Factory. The public comment was specifically about “drain tile setbacks,” which are related to easements conserving small wetlands in the region that were purchased with funds from the Federal Duck Stamp.
Those drain tile setbacks essentially are regulations to prevent farmers who’ve received easement payments from intentionally draining those wetlands. Doing so would have negated the money that waterfowl hunters dedicated specifically to preserving the critical breeding habitat, and the threat garnered significant uproar in the waterfowling world, with conservation groups and hunting brands encouraging folks to make their voices heard on the issue during the comment period.
And we did. In a big way. According to the Federal Register, 219,431 comments were submitted during the two-week span, with the overwhelming majority against degrading the wetland protections.
The large-scale comment effort paid off. On August 14, the USFWS announced that it would heed the desires of the commenters. “The USFWS thanks the more than 200,000 commenters who responded to the request for information on the process for calculating setbacks for the drain tiles around the wetland easements,” read the proclamation. “Our administration is dedicated to protecting both the wetland easements purchased by the USFWS that are necessary to protect our conservation heritage as well as the private landowners’ use of their lands outside the easement boundaries. At this time, no further action is planned as we review the information received.”
Conservation groups are celebrating the outcome. “You did it. We did it. You made your voice heard, and they listened,” said CEO of Ducks Unlimited Adam Putnam in a social media post. “Your voices, our industry partners, and the grassroots action have made this success possible. Thank you for taking the time to be great citizens, to be great waterfowlers, and to protect the Prairie Potholes today, tomorrow, and forever.”