ALABAMA WATERFOWL ASSOCIATION, INC. and FROST WATERFOWL TRUST
present
Mallard Restoration Program
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Trailer arrives from Frost Waterfowl! Minutes later a rat snake claims our first victim! Greg Vinyard, Dani Davis, and Boy Scout Troop 73 from New Hope get to work.
Release Information
500 Mallards - Lawrence County -
by Double Head Resort
200 Mallards - Lawrence County - by Alabama Wildlife Federation
50 Mallards - Madison County (Hampton Cove)
200 Mallards - Jackson County (Mallard Place)
1000 Mallards - Madison, Limestone and Jackson - by Alabama Waterfowl Association
50 Mallards - Montgomery County
Thanks so much for all the volunteers and especially BSA New Hope Troop
#73 and leader Greg Vinyard.
Guest speaker Mr. Jim Hills of Frost Waterfowl Trust of Georgetown, South Carolina
Alabama's mallard population will immediately increase June 16th, 2001 when AWA and volunteers are geared up to band and release 2,000 Frost Waterfowl Trust mallards to continue AWA's Mallard Restoration Project.
The Hampton Cove Garden Club is participating and has donated to this project, the club will obtain fifty of the banded mallards. The New Hope Boy Scouts of America's Troop #73 placed 10 woodduck nesting boxes on one of the lakes at Hampton Cove, and will be the ones banding and releasing the mallards, for Hampton Cove Garden Club. The Hampton Cove area is a unique habitat that connects to the Flint River bottoms in East Madison County . This is an opportunity for the people of this community to show they care about wildlife and nature. Also, a chapter of the Alabama Wildlife Federation is participating in AWA's Mallard Restoration Project and will receive 200 ducks for a restoration project in Lawrence County.
It is recommended that if you do participate in a mallard restoration project you follow AWA's guidelines to comply with all federal regulations.
AWA is working a joint band reporting system with Frost Waterfowl Trust on this year's band a web site address www.bandreturns.com which will be on each band. You can report on line and check where the AWA ducks are harvested on the web. You will be able find out where your duck was release by the banding codes. Also, a phone number will be on each band.
AWA is also working with Mr. David Melton of Tunica, Mississippi, founder of Bibleonbands.org, who has furnished AWA with 500 bands at no cost to AWA. AWA was given the first bands that starts with Genesis 1 Verse 1 and follows the rest of Genesis for 500 verses. David's goal is to band a duck with every verse in the Bible. This is quite an ambitious undertaking. Report your Bible band at www.bibleonbands.org
This project not only increase the duck population, harvest and bird watching opportunity in our state, it provides an incentive for people to create habitat which is North America's over-wintering area for migratory birds. This will be a benefit to all that live in the Tennessee River Valley and all across central U.S. AWA has had band reports from 13 different state and 3 Canada Providence's. Many acres of land are being developed for waterfowl hunting and watching opportunities from this program, this also benefits tourism and our local economy. It has been well documented, that recruitment from AWA's past mallards releases has been observed. This is one of the reasons waterfowl hunting is the only type of hunting in Alabama with an increase in participation.
AWA just sent Mr. Flint Riordan of Montgomery to train with Frost Waterfowl Trust and visit South Carolina Waterfowl Association's projects to start AWA's Mallards Restoration Projects in South Alabama. For more information on how you can get involved with this innovative Mallards Restoration Project please contact AWA.
South Carolina Waterfowl Association has a mallard program with Frost Mallards, check out their program
http://www.scwa.org