Lowcountry outdoors: 2025 SEWE - Garden and Gun / Cocktails and Conservation

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

2025 SEWE - Garden and Gun / Cocktails and Conservation

T. Edward Nickens and Dr. Karen Waldrop with DU

Ducks Unlimited's Chief Conservation Officer Dr. Karen Waldrop was in town from DU HQ in Memphis for Southeastern Wildlife Expo weekend. Garden and Gun magazine hosted her with writer T. Edward Nickens serving as interviewer, speaking to SEWE patrons and members of DU's President's Council donors. Nickens detailed that Waldrop had served with the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission for 17 years prior to joining Ducks Unlimited.

"Science and telemetry is helping us to be able to understand where our ducks are coming from," said Waldrop. "When you add in Citizen Science, such as the federal leg band program, it's clear that waterfowl are some of the most studied birds out there on the landscape. Around 60-percent of North American waterfowl come from the Prairie Pothole region and many of those ducks will show up in South Carolina. Its all about habitat and ducks are really good at coming back again and again to places they like. We call that site fidelity and the ACE Basin is a good example where conservation is helpful to waterfowl."

Tennessee Rainbow Trout Cakes

"For smaller landowners, check on the private land programs administered by the USDA," said Waldrop. "Controlling water levels is important to attracting ducks, plus using tools like a Green Tree Reservoir while working with neighbors towards common goals. Water is the key resource and moist soil management is a good way to go, and if you can control or remove some of the woody vegetation, some of what the ducks want is likely already in the seed bank. This type of work doesn't just benefit ducks since other wildlife will utilize good habitat, and in the bigger picture this management will yield water quality benefits too."