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A group of landowners listen to Curt Vossen, President of Richardson International as he speaks about the Sustainable Land Use Centres at Kelburn Farm and at Yorkton, Sask. and Virden, Man.
Neil Downey, Chairman of the Board, DUC and Curt Vossen, President of Richardson International were on hand for the official launch of the Sustainable Land Use Centre at Kelburn Farm.
Richardson Foundation funds Sustainable Land Use Centres 
$1 million donation to DUC supports new extension sites for landowners
Oak Hammock Marsh, Man., June 25, 2009 —The Richardson Foundation recently presented Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) with a major donation of $1 million in support of DUC’s conservation programs. Part of this gift will be used to outfit two sites in Manitoba and one in Saskatchewan with a variety of Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs). These BMPs will demonstrate how profitable business ventures like commercial agriculture and resource extraction can be complementary with maintaining healthy habitats for wildlife and people.
BMPs are on-farm practices that help producers mitigate risks to the environment while allowing them to achieve their economic goals.
“This is a very important partnership. Our organizations have a long history of working together for the common goal of conserving wetlands and associated habitats,” said Neil Downey, Chairman of the Board for DUC. “We’re delighted that our partnership will continue to create healthy prairie landscapes for the benefit of both waterfowl and the people who live there.”
The three sites are at Kelburn Farm south of Winnipeg and in the Virden, Man. and Yorkton, Sask. areas. The Kelburn and Yorkton sites are provided by Richardson International Limited while the Virden site is located at a Tundra Oil & Gas Limited drilling site. Both are subsidiaries of James Richardson & Sons, Limited companies.
“Sharing these practical BMPs with farm landowners and others so they can adopt them in their own operations is critical if Canada is to develop its resources sustainably, while at the same time conserving its wetlands and other natural features,” said Bob Grant, DUC’s Manitoba manager of operations.“ Wetlands not only provide feeding and nesting sites for waterfowl and many other species, they also reduce the impacts of floods and droughts, filter water and store greenhouse gases that can otherwise add to climate change.”
“We are very pleased to be a part of this rural partnership,” said Curt Vossen, Richardson International President. “Aside from our financial support for the conservation work being done, we are even more proud of the fact that personnel from our companies will be actively involved in environmental stewardship through a true working partnership with Ducks Unlimited Canada.”
The agricultural Sustainable Land Use Centre sites in Yorkton and Kelburn will serve to demonstrate to primary producers and the agronomists who advise them how to improve their own environmental stewardship. Those farmers who are seeking solutions to environmental deficiencies on their farms can visit a Land Use Centre to observe tangible demonstrations of how good environmental stewardship practices can be applied on their farms. In addition, those not directly connected to agriculture will be exposed to food sources and how agricultural production systems contribute to a healthy environment.
The oil and gas extraction site near Virden will serve to demonstrate how the environment can be preserved while developing natural resources. Landowners in the area will better understand how habitat protection tools such as Conservation Agreements can benefit their operation without foregoing their opportunities to capitalize on oil and gas reserves located on their property.
Aside from the Sustainable Land Use Centres, Richardson International’s contribution also supports a Conservation Easement program in DUC’s priority areas of western Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan that will protect thousands of at-risk wetlands and associated uplands in perpetuity. As well, Richardson International is supporting a research project about understanding social and economic constraints to the adoption of conservation practices and policies by governments and landowners, to help DUC and other groups determine how landowners and policy-makers can best adopt environmentally sustainable practices.
For more information, contact:
Karli Reimer, k_reimer@ducks.ca
National Communications Coordinator
Ducks Unlimited Canada
Tel: (204) 467-3279
Jean-Marc Ruest, jean-marc.ruest@richardson.ca
Vice President, Corporate Affairs and General Counsel
Richardson International Limited
Phone: 204-934-5488
