The Southern Regional Office (SRO), located in Ridgeland, MS was established in 1990 to protect and restore wetlands and other wildlife habitat in the southeastern United States. Today, the SRO carries out conservation programs in 15 southern states that include some of the most important wintering habitat on the continent. More than one million acres of waterfowl habitat has been conserved from Kansas south to Texas, east to Florida, and north to the Carolinas.
Two-thirds of North America's waterfowl spend the winter in DU's Southern Region. Ducks and geese depend on wintering habitat in southern latitudes to feed, rest, and build vital energy reserves. Many species form breeding pair-bonds before beginning their arduous journeys to northern breeding areas. Research has shown that the quality of habitat on the wintering grounds affects winter survival rates and the condition of birds returning north. Better wintering habitat may lead to a more productive nesting season and more ducks flying south again in the fall... (more)
Highest Priority Habitat Areas
Gulf Coastal Prairie | Mississippi Alluvial Valley
States Within the Southern Region
Alabama | Arkansas | Florida | Georgia | Kansas
Kentucky | Louisiana | Mississippi | Missouri | North Carolina
Oklahoma | South Carolina | Tennessee | New Mexico | Texas
Director's Message
Curtis Hopkins
April 2008
Spring has arrived and birds are returning to their breeding grounds. This year they will find more fields prepared for corn in the US Prairie Pothole Region which means less grass for nesting. Expiring CRP acres are coming under the plow, and native prairie is being converted to agriculture at alarming rates. Already, we have lost acreage equal to a three-mile swath of wildlife habitat from the southern border of North Dakota to Canada. That’s how many CRP grassland acres were lost in just North Dakota this past fall. Agricultural policy is critical to ensuring that waterfowl continue to be a part of our present and future. During an average year, more than 2 million ducks are produced on CRP ground.
By the time you read this, the Business Plan that will guide the Southern Region for the next 5 years will be complete. Expanding our science in support of our public policy will be important to our success – today, tomorrow, and in the future. Over the next 5 years, we are planning to conserve more than 250,000 acres in the 15 southern states and secure almost $10 million for the breeding grounds through major gift fundraising and state grants programs. We will produce an executive summary for your quick review. For those desiring more detail, please contact me directly. (more)