Ducks Unlimited, Inc.

Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Great Lakes / Atlantic Region Division, doing business as Great Lakes Atlantic Regional Office, is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization that serves as a prime federal grant recipient (89% of awards) delivering wetland habitat restoration, water control infrastructure design and construction, coastal ecosystem enhancement, and natural resource conservation planning services to federal wildlife management and conservation agencies across the Great Lakes and Atlantic regions. The organization competes in full-and-open federal grant competitions rather than set-aside categories, with the vast majority of its federal footprint anchored in cooperative agreements and project grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Ducks Unlimited operates as a division of the national parent organization headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and maintains its regional office in Dexter, Michigan. The organization's core capabilities center on wetland ecosystem restoration, including levee rehabilitation and water control structure design and installation; habitat acquisition and conservation easement negotiation; wetland and coastal marsh restoration using nature-based and engineered approaches; invasive species management and native vegetation establishment; hydrologic restoration to support migratory waterfowl and fish species; geospatial wetland mapping and National Wetland Inventory (NWI) updates; and technical assistance to private landowners and government partners on conservation practice implementation. Representative work includes a $198,000 purchase order from USFWS for levee rehabilitation at MD Martin National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland (completed November 2024); a $3.6 million cooperative agreement from NOAA's Habitat Conservation program for Lower Green Bay & Fox River wetland restoration spanning 2025–2029 with up to $19.2 million potential over three years; and a $6.2 million North American Wetlands Conservation Fund project grant for Wisconsin habitat protection and restoration across multiple ecosystem types.

Customer concentration is heavily weighted to the USFWS ecosystem. The top five funding agencies account for 89% of awards, with USFWS Region 3 (covering the Great Lakes basin) anchoring the footprint at 117 awards and $18.1 million combined potential value, followed by USFWS Region 9 (Headquarters, covering eastern United States) at 111 awards, USFWS headquarters at 94 awards, NRCS at 29 awards, and USFWS Region 5 (Northeast) at 22 awards and $3.2 million combined potential value. The concentration reflects Ducks Unlimited's established partnerships with USFWS regional offices for on-the-ground habitat delivery under the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program, Coastal Program, and National Wildlife Refuge System Enhancements cooperative agreements. The organization holds a seat on Indefinite Delivery Contract INF07PC60242 with 52 task orders carrying $6 million combined potential value.

Recent award activity shows growth trajectory: 27 awards in 2022, declining slightly to 23 in 2023, then rising to 40 in 2024 before moderating to 27 in 2025. Twenty-three awards with ultimate completion dates in the next twenty-four months face recompete, representing material renewal pipeline. The organization operates 11% of its federal footprint as a subcontractor, including work under the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation as prime grantee on projects spanning marsh restoration design, water control infrastructure upgrades, and conservation planning across the Delaware Bay, Chesapeake Bay watershed, and Great Lakes regions. Teaming relationships include recurring sub-award work with Pheasants Forever, Inc., on prairie and wetland habitat restoration in Minnesota and Iowa, and with state fish and wildlife agencies (Ohio Division of Wildlife, Michigan Department of Natural Resources) on coastal wetland projects.

The portfolio spans 419 total awards with combined potential value of $22.6 million against combined obligated dollars of $391.7 million, reflecting the organization's role as a prime recipient executing large multi-year cooperative agreements with performance obligations exceeding stated ceiling values. Nineteen distinct federal customer agencies are represented, with NAICS concentration in Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (65 awards) and PSC concentration in Other Environmental Services (39 awards). Ducks Unlimited's primary CFDA programs include USFWS cooperative agreements under the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program (CFDA 15.631), North American Wetlands Conservation Fund (CFDA 15.623), Coastal Program (CFDA 15.630), National Wildlife Refuge System Enhancements (CFDA 15.654), and Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (CFDA 15.658); NRCS programs including Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (CFDA 10.931), Conservation Reserve Program (CFDA 10.069), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (CFDA 10.912), and Soil and Water Conservation (CFDA 10.902); and NOAA's Habitat Conservation program (CFDA 11.463) and National Estuarine Research Reserve Habitat Protection and Restoration (CFDA 11.473).