ALABAMA WATERFOWL ASSOCIATION, INC. (AWA)^TM1346 COUNTY ROAD #11SCOTTSBORO, ALABAMA 35768
�������� �� PHONE 256 259-2969�
[email protected]http://www.alabamawaterfowl.org

AWA will band and have pick-up day Saturday July 11, 2009 at Caney Creek Farm. We will start banding at 8:30 AM. Come and pickup your ducks, between 8:30 AM and 11 AM on that day.

This year we will have the Don Weir Memorial Bands on 300 ducks that will be released near where the late Don Weir liked to spend most of his time outdoors in Jackson County Alabama.  Don was a prominent attorney in Huntsville and played football under the legendary Paul (Bear) Bryant at the University of Alabama. �We are very sorry to lose an avid conservationist such as Don.  This is a great loss for the fraternity of waterfowlers and other outdoor enthusiast.   Don will be missed by his family and friends, but through this release his name will live on with the banded mallards and some will reproduce carrying on the celebration of Don�s life.�  Quote from Jerry Davis, Founder and CEO of the Alabama Waterfowl Association. 

 Alabama�s mallard duck population will rise by 1,800 when AWA releases that number of 4 week old wild mallard ducks.   This will mark another successful mallard release that AWA has conducted in Alabama since 1988.  Recruitment is taking place, because it is not uncommon to see broods of wild mallards, especially in the Tennessee River Valley of Alabama. Several volunteers will come to the AWA Mallard Rearing Facility near North Sauty Waterfowl Refuge and help catch, band and release the mallards. For more information and directions check the AWA web site at http://www.alabamawaterfowl.org or call AWA at  256.259.2969. 

 
 AWA is the Alabama distributor for Frost Waterfowl Trust mallards. Only mother nature can raise a duck better than these ducks. Great care is given to keep human imprinting from taming the wild genetics of these mallards. Automatic feeders, lights for a mother�s warmth and electronic environmental controls ensure these ducks are reared to the highest standards and suitable for release in the wild.   After thousands of band reports and interviews with sportsmen that have harvested these mallards in 16 different states and three Canadian Providence�s,  AWA has proved this wild mallard release project is a viable waterfowl enhancement project, and over 82 percent of the mallards are harvested within 50 miles of their release site.  
 

This mallard project is funded through private donations from a program called Mallard Restoration Project (MRP).  This is where private landowners pledge a donation to AWA�s mallard project and in return agree to furnish these ducks a suitable habitat until the ducks decide to fly away. AWA band data indicates that the mallard harvest has increased tremendously in duck release counties because of the MRP commitment to conservation with his donation and participation in AWA�s MRP program.  .   

�Directly increases in harvest opportunity. It is well known that if you increase harvest opportunity the private sector will be inspired to develop and conserve habitat to enjoy watching and hunting waterfowl.� 

�         Decoys over-flying migrating waterfowl to enjoy the lush habitat of the TRV.

 �         The mallard release and yearly recruitment has increased watching and hunting opportunity, this increases tourism in Alabama, adding to the state and local economy. 

�         The band data� that AWA �has collected is forwarded to the ADCNR and has shown that the state of Indiana�s Coal Reclamation projects are where many of the ducks that frequent the TRV of Alabama stage to replenish their diet and strength to continue their journey south.