Ducks Unlimited Canada secures East Meadows – Manitoba’s largest ever conservation land purchase

Stonewall, Manitoba — August 11, 2026 — Conservation nonprofit Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) has completed the largest conservation land purchase in Manitoba’s history with the acquisition of East Meadows, a sprawling tract of coastal marsh, wetlands and grassland habitats. DUC will steward the 8,167-acre (3,108-hectare) property on Lake Manitoba’s Marshy Point. 

The purchase marks a once-in-a-generation achievement in wetland conservation — protecting a place where waterfowl science, community tradition and conservation history converge.  At approximately $9 million, the acquisition was funded through significant gifts from public and private donors, s, contributions through the North American Wetland Conservation Act and the Government of Canada’s Natural Heritage Conservation Program.  

“This property is a living legacy where generations of people and wildlife have been connected through the land,” said Pat O’Connor, Chair of Ducks Unlimited Canada’s Board of Directors. “This project celebrates Manitoba’s conservation roots and secures a future for the wetlands, grasslands and across one of Canada’s most storied natural landscapes.” 

A landmark for conservation 

Situated 80 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, the newly named Kennedy Field Station at East Meadows encompasses a mosaic of wetlands, uplands and tallgrass prairie, including over 800 acres of DUC’s historic Marshy Point wetland project. The site lies within a globally recognized Important Bird Area (IBA), supporting up to 43 breeding duck pairs per square mile and sustaining western grebes, trumpeter swans, lesser yellow legs, least bittern, Franklin’s gulls, pelicans, herons, bobolinks and other species that rely on its freshwater marshes and meadows.

“This project represents an incredible opportunity for landscape-level conservation and a major step toward sustaining Manitoba’s wetlands for waterfowl, wildlife and communities alike,” said Pat Kehoe, DUC’s acting Chief Executive Officer. “It delivers on our strategic plan to conserve and restore healthy, sustainable landscapes that support biodiversity, climate resilience and water management.”
 
A legacy built over generations  

Kitson Vincent is the most recent steward of this land, which has a rich history. The property was a former muskrat ranch that was purchased in 1944 by Winnipeg businessman William A. Murphy, who passed it to his son-in-law Peter Curry, Vincent’s uncle. Vincent was passionate about keeping this property intact and generously supported the land transfer to DUC. The property is widely renowned as the cradle of one of Canada’s greatest wildlife recoveries — the reintroduction of the Giant Canada Goose, once thought extinct. It is also a cornerstone of waterfowl science. For more than half a century, graduate researchers and scientists from across North America have studied here, exploring the breeding ecology of gadwalls, mallards and shovellers — a tradition that continues under DUC’s stewardship “I am so proud to be able to see this legacy of science and conservation continue under Ducks Unlimited Canada,” said Kitson Vincent. “Knowing this land will be conserved in perpetuity and serve as a place of science, education, and recreation for the local community is really important to our family.”

The nearby community of Lundar celebrates its connection through the annual All Canada Goose Shoot and an 18-foot Canada Goose statue, designed and built by long-time ranch manager Lawrence King — a symbol of local pride and conservation success. 

Learn more about this project’s history: https://www.ducks.ca/stories/wetland-restoration/east-meadows-ranch/  

Watch the complete virtual announcement event here:  https://www.crowdcast.io/c/fwf6801kgs9t 

About Ducks Unlimited Canada  

Ducks Unlimited Canada is the country’s largest land conservancy and a leader in wetland conservation. A registered charity, DUC uses sound science and partners with government, industry, non-profit organizations, Indigenous Peoples and landowners to conserve wetlands that are critical to waterfowl, wildlife and the environment. To learn more about DUC’s innovative environmental solutions and services, visit www.ducks.ca. 

The Natural Heritage Conservation Program 

The Government of Canada’s Natural Heritage Conservation Program (NHCP) is a unique partnership that supports the creation and recognition of protected and conserved areas through the acquisition of private land and private interest in land. To date, the Government of Canada has invested $500 million in the program, which has been matched with more than $1 billion in contributions raised by Nature Conservancy of Canada, Ducks Unlimited Canada and the country’s land trust community leading to the protection and conservation of over 860,000 hectares (2 million acres) of ecologically sensitive lands.