Fighting Bayou is one of America’s finest duck hunting clubs, located 17 miles northeast of Greenwood. It is part of a major flyway for migrating ducks and geese. Its wetlands, some of which are created by flooded rice fields, are a favorite stop for wintering waterfowl.
“We became involved in the farming business because the ducks on this property were extraordinary,” stated Billy Van Devender, a club member. Working and operating a farm was a lot of work, but Van Devender and the other members enjoyed caring for the property and hunting ducks on cool winter days.
In 1997, the club applied for the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), now called Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE). Although the stewardship has been a blessing for migrating birds each winter, the program’s value to ducks and geese could be improved.
Fighting Bayou members recognized that this land would be a good candidate for the WRP (now called Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE)). The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) can pay Mississippi landowners for a perpetual conservation easement. WRP participants receive technical and financial assistance for habitat restoration and improvement projects. The club enrolled 2,895.1 acres of soybean land in the WRP.
NRCS and the landowner are required to agree on a management plan for WRP property (now called Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE)). Fighting Bayou’s plan divides the property into shallow wetlands, green tree reservoirs, and bottomland hardwood forests. Financial assistance from the WRP paid for reforestation and wetland restoration.
“We’re excited that we can keep the property as long as we want without putting more money into it. Without the WRP (now called Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE)), we would not have as good of habitat,” explains Van Devender.
Success Stories
Read through the stories of 12 landowners and the success that the conservation easements had.