The central flyway migration corridor v proposal continues our successful efforts to conserve habitat in the bottleneck of the central flyway

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service awarded a $2,207,796 Project Grant under the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund (CFDA 15.623) to Ducks Unlimited Inc.'s Great Plains Regional Office. The grant will fund habitat conservation efforts in the Central Flyway migration corridor in Nebraska, including the Platte River, Rainwater Basin, and Sandhills regions. Key activities include permanent protection of over 20,000 acres of wetland and grassland habitats through conservation easements and land acquisitions, as well as habitat restoration through the removal of invasive Eastern Red Cedar trees. These efforts aim to conserve critical stopover and staging areas for millions of migratory birds traveling along the Central Flyway. The grant period runs from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2028.

This proposal contains a diverse assemblage of habitat projects across multiple landscapes that combine to form one of the most important stopover and spring staging areas in the world. These landscapes include the well known rainwater basin and platte river, in addition to the sandhills, which is one of the largest contiguous grassland wetland complexes remaining on the continent that doubles as both migration and nesting habitat for thousands of waterfowl. The goal of this proposal is to conserve over 20,000 acres of habitat, including over 2,200 acres of wetlands (new and repeat) in these landscapes. The proposal includes easement acquisitions and restorations. All acquisitions will have perpetual benefit, and all restorations will have at least ten years of duration of benefit with over 660 acres of permanent restoration acres (new and repeat).platte river habitat protection project will continue our successful efforts to protect crucial platte river frontage and adjacent wetland habitat to ensure that IT is not converted to incompatible uses to wildlife use. The platte river and its associated wetlands are a key component of what makes nebraska a spring migration staging area for millions of birds. Without these unique braided rivers, IT is doubtful that birds would funnel through this area each spring. The sandhills habitat restoration project will continue efforts to restore potential nesting grasslands by removing eastern red cedar (ERC). ERC encroachment is now the greatest threat to this expansive grassland due to lack of disturbance which would have previously been provided by bison and fire. Thousands of acres will be restored by removal of these invasive shrubs from prairies and adjacent to wetlands. Additionally, the streams that run through the sandhills have been altered negatively in many cases, which prevents them and their adjacent wet meadow from functioning as wetlands. DU will continue its efforts in the rainwater basin while also expanding to the other playa wetland complexes within the project area that face similar threats.