New $100 million gift could help save North America’s prairie wetlands

ATLANTA – From the Grand Canyon to the vast wilderness of Denali National Park, the United States and Canada have no shortage of awe-inspiring landscapes.

To Jim Kennedy, the former chairman of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises and current chairman of the James M. Cox Foundation, a vast, little-known area in the two countries’ heartland stacks up with the best of them: the Prairie Pothole Region.

But like so many of Earth’s other wild places, this critical habitat is at risk, mostly due to human activity. Now, Kennedy – who has supported a wide array of conservation causes over the years – hopes a major new gift of support can help restore and preserve the ecosystem for future generations.

In May, Cox Enterprises donated $100 million to the wetland and waterfowl conservation nonprofit Ducks Unlimited. The donation is the largest single charitable contribution to Ducks Unlimited in the organization’s nearly 90-year history.

Cox Chairman and CEO Alex Taylor made the gift announcement at the Ducks Unlimited annual meeting in May. It was made in Kennedy’s name and will go to the Wetlands America Trust, which is managed by Ducks Unlimited to preserve North American prairies. In addition to highlighting Cox’s focus on biodiversity, Taylor said the gift is a tribute to Kennedy’s 50 years of giving and volunteering for the organization.

“This has been a focus of Jim’s life since I can remember,” said Taylor. “There’s no more fitting way to pay tribute to someone who led our family business to new heights over more than 30 years than to support the protection of prairie potholes, which are an American treasure that mean very much to him.”

Cox Enterprises is one of the nation’s largest privately owned companies and the parent of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox has also been a major supporter of Ducks Unlimited for years and the family foundation has supported numerous other environmental organizations.

Roughly the size of Texas, the Prairie Pothole Region is a network of wetlands that spans parts of the Dakotas, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana and southern Canada. The area’s trademark “potholes” – shallow lakes, seasonal ponds and marshes – were left behind as glaciers retreated from the area roughly 10,000 years ago.

Today, the landscape still serves as critical breeding and feeding grounds for several duck species, including Mallard, Gadwall, Blue-winged Teal and Northern Pintail. Dozens of other birds, including the federally endangered whooping crane – of which only 536 are thought to be remaining – also depend on the potholes during their migrations. Several of these species migrate South and some can be found in Georgia.

The wetland plants found across the region also help filter water and protect surrounding communities from flooding.

From the ground, the potholes appear to be individual ponds. It’s from the air that the ecosystem they are part of comes into focus, Kennedy said in an interview.

“When you fly over it, it’s like these little pearls that you can see when the sun is just right,” said Kennedy, who has volunteered with Ducks Unlimited for more than 50 years. “It’s a wonderful area and a great nursery for all sorts of animals.”

But like many other wetlands, the Prairie Pothole Region faces grave threats. Roughly 90% of the landscape is privately owned by ranchers, farmers and other landowners. Over hundreds of years, many of the lakes and ponds have been filled or drained to support agriculture and development.

Adam Putnam, the CEO of Ducks Unlimited, said the money will have a “transformational” impact on the organization’s conservation and restoration efforts.

Ducks Unlimited traces its roots the Dust Bowl era.

The organization, as it is known today, was founded in 1937 by sportsmen who feared what the epic drought was doing to waterfowl populations. Much of its mission focuses on wetlands and habitat preservation and wildlife management. The group supports sustainable hunting and says the majority of its members are hunters.

Putnam said the $100 million donation from Cox is “all headed straight to the prairies, where its impact on our communities can be the strongest.”

The funding will boost the organization’s conservation efforts by 25% over the next several years, Putnam said, with the goal of protecting more than 100,000 acres of remaining grasslands and wetlands.

The group said it plans to focus its efforts on preserving wetlands in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana, plus the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Putnam said potholes in these areas are the most productive breeding grounds for waterfowl and birds, but also face the greatest pressure to convert to agriculture.

To keep those lands wild, Ducks Unlimited says it will aim to secure long-term voluntary agreements with farmers and ranchers. The group said it offers one-time payments to farmers, in exchange for the landowner placing their property into a conservation easement that permanently protects wetlands and grasslands on the site.

Putnam said successful agreements protect critical wetlands from destruction, while also providing participating farmers an influx of capital and the ability to maintain an “ecologically and economically sustainable operation.”

Kennedy, an avid duck hunter, said he feels fortunate to have the opportunity to try to protect the ecosystem and animals he holds dear.

“It’s like supporting the opera or the symphony,” Kennedy said. “The really great supporters do it … because they’re passionate about it, and I have this passion for the environment and for waterfowl.”