Why Ducks Unlimited de Mexico Matters to Every Duck Hunter (Ep 802)
You're tuned in to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast. Conserving wetlands, restoring habitat, and working to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow, and forever. From field tested hunting insights to the biggest conservation wins across North America, This is your front row seat to wetlands conservation in action. The DU Podcast is proudly sponsored by Bird Dog Whiskey and Cocktails. Whether you're wrapping up a hunt with your best friend or kicking back with your crew, Bird Dog brings award winning flavor to every moment.
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Mike Brasher:Hey, everyone. Welcome back. I am your host on this episode, Doctor. Brasher, and I'm on location. This is one of those exciting episodes where I get to travel around and meet up with a couple of different people to talk about an important topic.
Mike Brasher:The setting is pretty incredible here. We're looking out a hotel window overlooking this big structure by the name of Kyle Field. So if we got any football fans out there, you'll know that we are in College Station, Texas at the Texas Ducks Unlimited State Convention. And I'm thrilled and honored to be sitting down with a couple of people here that have been volunteering for Ducks Unlimited in this state for multiple decades. We'll let them talk about how exactly how long that is.
Mike Brasher:I'm also joined by a fellow staff member, and I'm gonna make those direct introductions now. First, Rogers Hoyt. Rogers, introduce yourself to people.
Rogers Hoyt:I'm Rogers Hoyt junior. I'm an ag producer from the coast of Texas, mainly dealing with rice and cattle, and I think that probably my true job in life has been being a DU volunteer, and I've been very fortunate to be able to mix that in with a professional career and a love of the outdoors. I have been a volunteer at multiple different levels with DU and have loved every every job I've ever had. There was no such thing as a bad job with with Ducks Unlimited. I've probably pushed in fifty years now.
Rogers Hoyt:I started out as a just a volunteer on a committee. I was in an area chairman on a committee. I was a state chairman for Texas, a board member at large for Ducks Unlimited, a regional vice president, several senior vice president positions along over the years. And in '19 and excuse me. In 2017, I became Ducks Unlimited's forty fourth president and one of the one of the best things I ever got to do.
Rogers Hoyt:And in the meantime, I have served on the DU Canada board as a board member. I've also been a president of Ducks Unlimited Mexico. I I was actually president of Ducks Unlimited Mexico before I was DU president. I had to to step down from the Mexico position to take The US position. And now that I'm through being DUI president and chairman of the board, I'm active again on the DUMAC board, and I currently serve as chairman of that board of directors.
Mike Brasher:You mentioned DUMAC, Ducks Unlimited, to Mexico. That is what we're here to talk about. Each of you being in Texas have very strong sort of geographical connections, and each of you that are that are joining me here are gonna share some of that information. So we'll get to that in in a moment. Next, I wanna ask mister Bill Ansell, who is one of our other guests, to give us a little bit about who you are and your connections to DU.
Bill Ansell:I I began as a volunteer probably in the early eighties when I got out of college. And I I don't know if I went kicking and fighting, but I moved up the ladder. I became treasurer for Texas a few years later. Then I became state chairman for Texas for two years. I became regional vice president for region eight region four actually at the time.
Bill Ansell:And then I took a little hiatus, and I think I did a at large position for a year or two, and then I kinda took a break and got a call that they were gonna create region eight, which was was gonna be anchored by Texas, and they wanted me to be regional vice president for that initial initial venture. And then I ended up being treasurer of DUMAC. I got put on the DUMAC board probably in the early two thousands and I became treasurer sometime after that and then I became president of DUMAC. And I'm a CPA by pray by by trade, so I've been treasurer of everything. And now I'm treasurer of Ducks Unlimited Inc.
Bill Ansell:So which I a job I I enjoy, and I've been doing it for four years. And I'm I've been asked to do it another couple of years, and and I'm ecstatic. So as far as the DUMAC, I mean, that's You
Mike Brasher:have you have a you have a family connection there.
Bill Ansell:I do.
Rogers Hoyt:We'll get into
Bill Ansell:I do. I I have a family connection there, but I I I will tell you that it's a it's a special place in my heart. The the things we do with with what we have is pretty incredible. So we'll get into that more per for sure.
Mike Brasher:Absolutely. Bill and Rod, these these kind of episodes are some of my favorite because I get to talk to the people that are the the the epitome of volunteers. You have devoted so much of your life to supporting an organization that our other guest, Craig and I get to work for as sort of our our careers. And it is truly an honor to to work alongside you, to visit with you, and to hear about your perspective. And I think it's important for a lot of our other volunteers to hear this as well, because the things that you're gonna share, I think they embody as well.
Mike Brasher:That's one of the things that I try to say is that if you are a volunteer serving in whatever capacity you're listening to this, I hope you hear some of the same things that matter to you that you're gonna hear from Bill and Rod. And so we'll offer our thanks to you out there in our listener land. So our other guest, Craig LeShack, he shares an office just about six feet from me back at National Headquarters. Now he's sitting here with me in in College Station. So, Craig, give people an introduction to you.
Mike Brasher:I think you've been on an episode with us before, but you've got a little bit of a different position right now that you're in.
Craig LeShack:Yes. That's right, Mike. I'm currently serving as the interim chief conservation officer for Ducks Unlimited. My other job is the national director of conservation where I function as the DU staff liaison for DUMAC. So I've been doing that for about seven or eight years.
Craig LeShack:So it's I enjoy working with Bill and Raj in that capacity. Been with DU twenty six years. Actually started my career here in Texas and where I've met both Bill and Raj that many years ago. And I'm fortunate now to come back and get to work with them and the rest of the the the DUMAC board of directors and the DUMAC staff on on something that is really quite incredible, and I know we're gonna get into that here in this episode.
Mike Brasher:Yeah. We we are gonna talk about Ducks Unlimited to Mexico. I want to focus largely on on that organization through the lens of our volunteers, our volunteer leaders. We're gonna talk about some of the work we do there, why it's different, how it's different from some of what we do in The States and in Canada. We'll have a little bit of a discussion about the importance of Mexico to continental waterfowl populations.
Mike Brasher:We're gonna have an opportunity later on in a subsequent episode to maybe dig into more of the biology and ecology of of that country and why it's so important, some other aspects of why it's important to waterfowl. But I wanna start by orienting people to Ducks Unlimited to Mexico, when it came about, and we'll probably refer to it throughout this as DUMAC, how it came about, why it's so important within our continental mission. Craig, I want you to take a stab initially at that, and then you guys, Raj and Bill, you again, through your volunteer lens, I wanna ask you to to contribute to that as well. Craig?
Craig LeShack:So when you think about waterfowl, I mean, they're a migratory resource, and they span the continent during some part of their life cycle. And so DU has a continental mission, and both Ducks Unlimited Canada and DUMAC are sister organizations that work towards the same mission. We all have the same mission statement because we know the importance of providing habitat for the birds through each part of their life cycle. And Mexico plays an important part during that wintering and migration period. And it hosts about 20% of the continental population of ducks during some part of the winter and migration period.
Craig LeShack:But for several species, it plays an even more important role. Redheads, Pacific brand, pintails, and especially blue wing teal that 84% of the population winters or migrates into Mexico during the during that time of their life cycle. So it provides some really incredible habitat for for 20% of the population, but in especially for those species that I just mentioned.
Mike Brasher:Raj, your thoughts on that. You know, we have three organizations. They're independent organizations that share a mission. DU Inc. In The States, DU Canada and DUMAC.
Mike Brasher:How do you talk to people when you're when you're telling them when they ask you, because I know you the two of you have been great ambassadors for DUMAC. How do you describe what it is and why it's important?
Rogers Hoyt:Well, the first thing I point out is the birds know no borders. And they're going to go south, and then they're gonna come north. And it it really doesn't matter what country they're over. They have needs everywhere. And the message that I try to get out is is number one, I'll reiterate that the three organizations share the same mission statement.
Rogers Hoyt:And then number two, that it's our job as as volunteers and DU staff, whether you're DU Canada, DU, or DUMAC, it's our job to make sure that mission statement is fulfilled. That's what we're here to do.
Mike Brasher:Bill, did you have any moment in your along your path where you're like, oh, yeah. Obviously, this is important. Like, that that realization along the path that you've taken, understanding the importance of it, like, what is it? Because I I know how I can speak to it from sort of an an academic scientific standpoint, but from through your perspective.
Bill Ansell:So my father-in-law was president of DUMAC when he passed away, and I got on the board. So I was indoctrinated, you know, very very well. I I knew a lot about it. He told me a lot about it. And then a couple years after he passed, I got put on the board.
Bill Ansell:And going to see what we do with what we have, it it was just phenomenal. And I knew from the first board meeting that this is where I really wanted to spend a lot of my time and a lot of a lot of my effort and a lot of my passion. And I would like to pass a a a a a say that, you know, in that continental methodology that we use and the continental conservation concept that is DU, I I'd like to point out that a couple of three years ago, there was a study done by Cornell University, and they pointed out or discovered that over the last fifty years, we've lost almost 3,000,000,000 birds in North America. Not, species specific, but just overall with the exception of waterfowl. So that, to me, it's like third party confirmation that we're doing the right thing.
Mike Brasher:I will say
Bill Ansell:And Mexico's a big part of that.
Mike Brasher:I will say, Bill, it means we're it tells me we're doing something right as an organization when we've got a CPA citing a Cornell study about the loss of 3,000,000,000 birds. I love that. Yeah. That's amazing. And and, yeah, the the other thing in that in that report is that is that waterfowl are the group that is that is doing best among those.
Mike Brasher:Well, yes, we are we're struggling in search.
Bill Ansell:They increased 56% during the same time.
Mike Brasher:Think they over that over that time period as as a result of the continental collaborative, you know, public private partnership and all sorts of key legislation that we we talk about often. And so, yeah, great point to to bring that up. And can we talk about your your father-in-law a little bit and and his his connection to to DUMAC and and Mexico and what motivated him to give so so much? Who was he? Give us kind of
Bill Ansell:that background. So Johnny Walker the third, when when my wife and I got married, he was president of Ducks Unlimited. So, I mean, try to figure out a better father-in-law than that. Right? You almost can't chisel it out of stone.
Bill Ansell:But, no, he he he went through president. He he was actually a three year president, one of the one of the few. He was chairman of the board. And then at some particular point, I believe it was I I can't remember who. But a president of Ducks Unlimited said, Johnny, want you to go down to to to Mexico and and see what's going on and let's let's make it better.
Bill Ansell:And so that's exactly what Johnny did. He went down there and he became very kindred with Eduardo Carrera who is our CEO, and they went about to make it better. And it and it's he was as passionate about that part of his DU career as he was any part. So he he was the he was the man that kinda transformed, in my opinion, Mexico, DU Mexico into what it is today.
Mike Brasher:You mentioned Eduardo, and I wanna pause and kinda give recognition to Eduardo Carrera, Gabriela de la Fuente, Jorge Seron, and a host of other staff that work for DUMAC. They do an incredible job. We tried to get some of them to join us here. The travel didn't work out. They had other things going on.
Mike Brasher:We will connect with them on a future episode to hear directly from DUMAC staff that that carry the load on a daily basis for all the work that that happens and and that work with work with you as volunteers. So thank you for mentioning Eduardo and giving me that opportunity. Your support for Mexico, habitat conservation in Mexico, your commitment to DUMAC within that landscape. Does any of that relate to hunting experiences in Mexico? Was that any part of your path, of your motivation?
Mike Brasher:I'm trying to think about, you know, a lot of our audience may be wondering what they're thinking about Mexico, ducks in Mexico, and hunting will be one of the first things they think about. And so was that ever a a big part of either your introduction or along the path for you, Raj?
Rogers Hoyt:Actually, for me, it was not. You know, I lived a good portion of my adult life in close proximity to Mexico. As a rancher, I crossed cattle from Mexico as part of our operation. My wife and I were fortunate enough to spend a lot of recreational time in Mexico, and we both just developed a love for the country. It's, you know, definitely a, a country that's is still developing.
Rogers Hoyt:And but, we just had a fascination with all the different types of habitat in Mexico. And, of course, being a duck hunter and a conservationist and a DU volunteer, I always look at, you know, where I might encounter ducks, but I actually never hunted ducks in Mexico until, I had been on the DUMAC board for probably ten years. And, I'll I'll say the hunting aspect, I know interest lots of people, but it's not what drove me there, and it's not what stimulated my passion. The wildlife resources and the importance of the wintering waterfowl habitat were really what motivated me. I had a somewhat similar situation as Bill did, and I'd like to go back to Johnny Walker.
Rogers Hoyt:Now Bill is certainly family. You know, Johnny was his father-in-law, but Johnny was about as close to family as with me as you could get without having a real relative tie. Johnny was a mentor to me, not only in DU, but a mentor in life. He was, I consider, one of the the, greatest people that ever walked the Earth as far as his commitments to conservation. I do not think I would have ever become a DU president if it had not been for Johnny's guidance and encouragement.
Rogers Hoyt:He saw something in me that I didn't know was there, but he brought it out. And I I'll like I'll share this little anecdote. As Bill said, he was asked to go down to Mexico, look at the operations, see what could be done better, see what could be done more efficiently. And I was on the DU board, and and I hunted with Johnny. And, you know, we had this great relationship.
Rogers Hoyt:And so you're never I was never surprised when the phone rang and it was Johnny. But the phone rings one day, and Johnny says, hey, Raj. He says, we're going to Mexico next Thursday. And I said, oh, we are. And he said, yeah.
Rogers Hoyt:He was including you in the week. In the week. And you knew. And he, I believe it was Gene Henry that was president at the time. Yep.
Rogers Hoyt:I might be mistaken about that, but but Gene had said, look. You know, this if this is important, let's do it right. And would you be the guy that goes down and takes a look? So he says, we're going to Mexico Thursday. And I said, okay.
Rogers Hoyt:I said, why are we going to Mexico Thursday? And he said, well, we're gonna go down there and take a look at stuff, and I need a translator and a bodyguard.
Mike Brasher:Which one were you? Both. Both.
Rogers Hoyt:And I you know, my Spanish is not too terrible, but I always told him, I said, you know, I'm probably gonna be a lot better bodyguard than I am a translator. But, you know, he played fails, you need DUMAC. Right. But, you know, Johnny's influence on me is is like Bill was one of the reasons that Mexico just stuck with me.
Mike Brasher:Yeah. That's an amazing amazing story. I wanna talk about this this is a really cool conversation because, like, you guys know so much more about the history of of DUMAC and some of these really cool stories. So Johnny Walker was a, as you've described, very influential, made very profound contributions to waterfowl conservation in general, left a very significant mark on on DUMAC. He has a society named after him, the John e Walker society.
Mike Brasher:Can you tell a little bit about that? And make a plug for if somebody is motivated to become part of the Johnny Walker Society, how they can do so.
Bill Ansell:So it came about kind of we were trying to design our major donor program. And, of course, you know, there's none better than Ducks Unlimited. And so we've kinda tried to design it after the President's Council, which President's Council includes anybody that donates over $10,000 in a particular year. And so we've traditionally set our benchmark at 20%, a fifth a fifth of what DUI does. So we started out the a Johnny Walker Society.
Bill Ansell:Actually, we started out at a thousand dollars a year. And then
Mike Brasher:You learned you were leaving money on the table.
Bill Ansell:Well, it wasn't it when I was president, I introduced the concept of doubling it to get it to the 20%. Right? And it was not real popular with some folks, but we had probably two thirds as many members, but a whole lot more money at the end of it. Right? And so now
Mike Brasher:But you're an accountant. You should be able to figure out what the right price point is there.
Bill Ansell:Well, in in a, you know, hindsight. Right? Yep. Anyway, so now we're back up to 225 last year, 27 last year. Our goal this year is is 250, and we think we can make that.
Bill Ansell:But it really all you need to do is if you want to become a a member of the Johnny Walker Society, get with your director of development in your area. Or if if you don't have that person, you can go to the website and and you can donate that way. But generally, we we like to go through the directors of development for DUI because DUI is generous enough to let us use that Salesforce in in in that capacity. And so so we like to respect that because they have relationships with the donors and that kind of thing. So, that's that's my spiel on the Johnny Walker Society.
Bill Ansell:Rod, you got any?
Rogers Hoyt:That's it. I mean, we named it after Johnny. We were looking for a name. We didn't wanna call it president's council because Ducks Unlimited Inc. Already uses that.
Rogers Hoyt:And we wanted to we wanted people to know it was the same same type of program, but that it was a different program. At a board meeting, I don't remember who it was. Somebody said, we we need name this after Johnny Walker, and I think that was the fastest unanimous vote we ever had. But as Bill says, $2,000 a year, we would love to have you do that. And, you know, our budget in Mexico is not anything like the budget for DUC or DUMAC.
Rogers Hoyt:It's much smaller, but we run it on a very efficient basis, and that $2,000 will do a lot of good in Mexico. So come one, come all.
Mike Brasher:Yeah. And and that money is used much the same way major gifts and donations and other revenue coming into private revenue coming into DUMAC in The States worked where we use that money to we leverage it to to attract additional sources of funding, some of which comes from the US government through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. So it is a very efficient and very effective way of making important contribution to wetland conservation at a truly continental scale. I have my wife and I have been a member of the Johnny Walker Society in the past.
Bill Ansell:Thank you.
Mike Brasher:We're working towards our our grand slam life sponsorship thing, wanting to support all three of the of the companies, and that's a very rewarding thing. I will also say if you're listening to this, another way to make that connection, if you don't have a director of development, if you don't know who it is, you can either go to the website or you can send an email to dupodcast@ducks.org, and we can connect you with the right person, dupodcast@ducks.org. We're gonna take a break right now, and then when we come back, I wanna talk a little about how the work we do in Mexico is different in some ways from what we do in in The US and Canada, the type of projects, the things that we focus on. I think that's a phenomenal story there there of of why it's important to have different organizations, why it's important to have staff on the ground connecting with the people and the places where we're delivering that conservation. We've got a few other discussion topics about the Johnnie Walker Center in Celestoon and some of the work that we do there.
Mike Brasher:So we got a lot more to cover here, folks. So stay with us. We'll be right back.
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Mike Brasher:Hey, everyone. Welcome back. I am sitting here with Rogers Hoyt, Craig Leschak, and Bill Anselt. We're going to continue our discussion about DUMAC (Ep Craig, I want to go to you. Our mission as an organization is we conserve, restore, and manage wetlands and associated habitats for North America's waterfowl.
Mike Brasher:Then the this important little sentence that accompanies that, these habitats also benefit other wildlife and people. And DUMAC in Mexico is an outstanding example of that. We can we can point out all sorts of examples in The US and and Canada, but the social benefits of the work that we do in Mexico take on an entirely different level of meaning, partly, Raj, because of what you said in terms of still largely a developing nation in many respects. The pressures they face, the things they think about are different. So talk about a little of that, Craig, and feel free to pull from examples of different projects, different locations, and things that we've done there.
Craig LeShack:Sure. No. You're right, Mike. The the nature of being a developing country, you know, introduces things in the conservation world that we just don't deal with here or in Canada. Right?
Craig LeShack:So there is some overlap in terms of the types of restoration projects we do. Right? They do the same types of infrastructure, water control structures, levees. Right? So there's overlap there.
Craig LeShack:But some of the work they do benefits people directly, but also benefits waterfowl. And I'll give you an example. So Lake Kwetzeeyo is an area where DUMAC has been very, influential and very, you know, involved with working with people there. And it's to install toilets, dry toilets. And you might think, well, why you know, what what's well, you know, these are in areas that don't have sewers.
Craig LeShack:They don't have sewer systems. And that runoff goes straight into Lake Quitsayo. And Lake Quitsayo is an incredibly important wintering waterfowl habitat. But because of the impacts on water quality, that then decreases the food base for waterfowl. And so by putting in dry toilets, they are reducing the amount of runoff into the lake and improving the water quality so that there is better waterfowl habitat.
Craig LeShack:So that's a a great example of doing something for people, but the goal is to benefit waterfowl. And they've done wastewater treatment plants for smaller towns too. Right? So they they've got this sort of what I term community based approach and and and that's an that's some that are very much focused on the habitat piece. They have educational programs like teaching the teachers where they found it's most effective to teach the teachers about wetlands and the importance of wetlands conservation rather than going into the schools and teaching the kids because you could only do so much of that.
Craig LeShack:But if you're teaching the teachers, it's sort of that multiplier effect. Right? You teach 20 teachers and they're out now teaching all those students. And they also have landowner workshops where they're they're working with landowners on different solutions for agriculture and and making them aware of of different things that benefit the landowners. But, again, it's all towards water quality, which ultimately benefits waterfowl.
Craig LeShack:And I know, you know, the last one is is this reserver program, and I know there'll be more discussion about that. But that's one where they're directly, you know, educating conservationists beyond Mexico on the importance of waterfowl and wetlands conservation with the hope of those people going back to their countries to improve the quality of habitat.
Mike Brasher:You know, even one of the one of the things that stood out to me my first time ever visited the Johnny Walker Center, and we toured some of the estuary there adjacent to it, and visited some of the project sites. One of which was hydrologic restoration, reintroducing water flow into an estuary, similar in concept to a lot of what we do in coastal areas of of The US and and Canada. But the way that work was done, it blew my mind because it doesn't happen with heavy machinery. They employ individuals from the local community with shovels. Right?
Bill Ansell:Yep. And five gallon buckets.
Mike Brasher:And five gallon buckets to reestablish these canals through through the mud, essentially, to to bring, yeah, those flows back into those areas that have been isolated. It's pretty cool to see. Raj and and Bill, Raj, it has to be really that has to be a pretty fascinating aspect of it to you as as well. And and also given what you said that you you fell in love with Mexico, I'm sure you have a unique perspective on this where, yeah, it's important to the birds, but for a country that you love so much, that's an added benefit to the work. Right?
Rogers Hoyt:Definitely an added benefit. It not only does it employ the local people and help with their way of life financially, but probably more importantly, it gives them ownership in the work that we do. It's amazing. You go to some of these communities and talk to them about DUMAC. It is their organization also.
Mike Brasher:Yeah.
Rogers Hoyt:And, you you know, we've looked at it. Yeah. You you can hire a aquatic track hoe and go through a mangrove restoration site and dig ditches and, you know, yeah, that's all well and good, but those people don't develop that ownership, and I think that's incredibly important.
Bill Ansell:One interesting thing is that right down from the Johnny Walker Center, we have a multiphase project, but it's a fishing area. Right? And and the and the husbands or the men are all fishing, so the women did all the digging and the shoveling and all that kind of stuff. I thought that was pretty amazing, and and they they took ownership just like you said. And another time, I was going down the the boardwalk out to to see the mangrove work that we were doing, and here comes a couple of guys carrying boards.
Bill Ansell:And I asked Eduardo. I said, who's that? He goes, I don't know. He goes, I'm just they're just taking care of it. I said
Mike Brasher:No way.
Bill Ansell:Fantastic. Yeah.
Mike Brasher:That's amazing.
Bill Ansell:I got no idea.
Rogers Hoyt:The community the community realizes the the good that has been done there. No one has to tell them that, hey. There's some work to do. They evaluate it. They see it.
Rogers Hoyt:Hey. Yeah. We need to keep this up, and they they do it on their own.
Mike Brasher:Yeah. You know, I would I would offer that's another sort of motivation and reason why people may wanna get involved with with DUMAC and the John Walker Society. Because, yeah, any anything that you donate through any of our Ducks Unlimited organizations is important and and has an impact. But if you're if you're kinda thinking about wanting to provide a stronger humanitarian benefits, you might even say, to some of the work that we do, there's probably there probably aren't many better examples than the work that we do in Mexico. So so give that some thought, folks.
Mike Brasher:I wish we had time to talk about all the important waterfowl habitats in Mexico. We don't. That's a conversation for a different different day, but, you know, they're different there's lots of of important areas on the West Coast Of Mexico. Greg, you mentioned Brant, also very important for pintails, lots of diverse habitats in that in that landscape, East Coast Of Of Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, then the in the the the Central And Northern Highlands and the interior portion of Mexico, vast grasslands, agricultural landscapes, ranching landscapes. Very important for for Mexican ducks.
Mike Brasher:The Laguna Madre De Tamaulipas is super critical for for redheads. Yeah. We'll get into that conversation on a future episode. Lots of really cool things to talk about there. Let's talk about the Johnny Walker Center in Celestoon and how that how that came about.
Mike Brasher:What is it? So Johnny Walker was it the research and teaching facility? Is that Training. Training training center. How did that come about?
Mike Brasher:Then we'll have an opportunity to talk about the reserve program and and some of what what happens through it.
Bill Ansell:So they were building a bridge from the mainland to the island and they were building an earthen bridge which was going to halt the ebb and flow of the hydrology, which was gonna kill the mangrove. And so Eduardo went down to the to Celestun and and talked to the mayor and told him what the issue was and and that we needed to not do that. And so they the last part of the bridge, I left open. I mean, it it's the it it allows freshwater to come out, saltwater to come in, so it it's the right combination for for mangroves. And he also said, you know, the benefit of ecotourism would be incredible for you guys.
Bill Ansell:And so they have moved from strictly fishing, and now they have flamingo observation tours which are
Mike Brasher:Amazing.
Bill Ansell:Amazing. I mean, you know, there's boats going out every 20. Right? So it it's really been an economic boon for for the for for the town and and the people. So that was recognized and Rod said a little while ago that they deeded the the property where they had put the spoils to to Ducks Unlimited, DUMACo, and so we built the facility on that.
Bill Ansell:So it's I don't remember what year that was, but I'll turn it over to Raj, and you kinda know the history better than I. So
Rogers Hoyt:Well, I believe you've pretty well summed it up, Bill. The first buildings there were kinda Spartan, but they served their purpose. And one of their primary purposes is was to serve as as the location for our reserve program that was training in international professionals, not only just Mexicans, but Central America, South America, Caribbean nations. And through the the generosity of many US and Canada, the personal donors that believed in the Mexican mission. We have had the opportunity to upgrade the facility considerably over the years, and it is real it's a jewel now.
Rogers Hoyt:It's something that we can all be very proud of. It's a great laboratory. There's modern rooms, bathrooms, full kitchen facilities. It it's a it's a great place for for training. It's a great place for students doing research, which we have quite a bit of as particularly students coming from United States that they may have a six month research project or maybe maybe it's a year.
Rogers Hoyt:So
Mike Brasher:I think there been some classes from LSU that have gone down and and maybe had a a week there or something.
Rogers Hoyt:LSU University of Texas. Okay. Yeah.
Mike Brasher:Good deal.
Rogers Hoyt:And and the we'd like the audience to know that the facility is available. Now you have to go through the steps to you know, your university would need to explain what they're going to be re the researcher doing and all that. And there's a cost in it. You know, we charge for that. But
Mike Brasher:If anybody's interested in learning more about that, again, you can reach out to DU Podcast at Ducks dot org. That message will get to the right person, and and we can we can hook you up with what you need to know.
Rogers Hoyt:One of the things that we do there that is really beneficial to our mission is we hold mangrove experiences there. Some of the mangrove experiences are for for for potential donors. They come down. We show them mangrove ecology, but we also teach them about waterfowl in general in Mexico. But it's not just limited to individual donors.
Rogers Hoyt:We had one last year for AFWA members.
Mike Brasher:Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
Rogers Hoyt:And and we train DU people at at our Mangrove experiences. We have development staff, conservation staff that come. It it can be a busy place.
Craig LeShack:And and and all of it while they employ local folks to help
Rogers Hoyt:That's right.
Craig LeShack:Cook in the kitchen. So it's it's just, again, that community
Bill Ansell:It's it's incredible once you get somebody down there and they drink the Kool Aid. I mean, it really opens your eyes to what we're doing down there and what we're doing it with.
Mike Brasher:Raj, I know you brought some some notes to talk about what we've the the level of impact that we've had through Reserva, the number of people that have come through there. You have some of those to share just to kinda give people an idea of you know, we're not talking about just one or two, you know, or or a dozen. This is significant.
Rogers Hoyt:Yep. We've been we've been running our Reserver program for thirty five years now. We try to do two sessions per year, 16 students per session, and it's a sixty two day program. It's designed for professionals, but it doesn't matter if they're governmental or nongovernmental. We do we do both.
Rogers Hoyt:About over the years, about 29% have been from Mexico, about 42 from South America, around 19% from Central America, and 10% from The Caribbean. We've had 23 countries represented. And one of the really interesting things is about every five years, we will survey to see how we're doing. What did we do right? What do we do wrong?
Rogers Hoyt:What are you doing with what you took away from it? And over the years, we found out that a lot of times, 30 something biologists that came in from a South American country, twenty years later, he's the head of their wildlife department. Wow. And and we helped shape, his his way of thinking. So it's it's very gratifying to know that we're having a nice footprint on all of Latin America.
Mike Brasher:Craig, do we do we have any staff that participate in any of the reserve or program? Do we have any of the volunteers that participate or that that go occasionally? I'm not as familiar with the mechanics of exactly of of how that works.
Craig LeShack:Not in Reserva that I'm aware of. I know they teach it in Spanish.
Mike Brasher:Okay.
Craig LeShack:Right? So it's done in Spanish, but they do have local Mexican university professors that will attend to teach some of that. We do have conservation staff that participate in some of the mangrove experiences. Now I I go there to help teach some of the some of the sessions in that. So we do have some conservation staff involved on on the mangrove experience side.
Mike Brasher:Is there a way for if somebody is interested in the mangrove experience, learning more about that, how would they same thing, contact us at the DU Podcast, or is there
Rogers Hoyt:Or or contact their DOD. Their DOD. If they if they already have a relationship with a director of development through Ducks Unlimited, that would be great. If they don't, then the email does your podcast.
Mike Brasher:Yeah. We'll we'll get it to the right right folks. I wanna start wrapping up here in a moment. I wanna ask you, each of you, your some of the more memorable and rewarding experiences that you had and that you anticipate continuing to have. Anything before we get to that, is there anything that we wanna make sure we we cover?
Mike Brasher:Any other other other high points? Like I said, we'll have an opportunity in the future to discuss the Well the critters.
Bill Ansell:I'd like to point something out. Mhmm. We've talked about what we do and and how much we get done. We have, at any given time, between twenty eight and thirty two employees. We have about a three and a half to four million dollar budget.
Bill Ansell:And so I don't think that you could find anywhere on the planet something more efficient than what we do. We're about 97% efficient. Efficient. The rest, you know, the 3% admin and that kind of stuff is it's negligible, obviously. I just wanted to point that out because, you know, what we would really like to get to is three to four to five times that amount of money so we can do more and make a bigger impact in Mexico because it's it's needed.
Bill Ansell:It's necessary. We we need to we need to step up our game. So that and that's what that's what our strategic plan is is gonna look like.
Craig LeShack:And I've I've gotten to enjoy and to learn from the staff there, Eduardo and Gabriel and the rest, and it's just it's opened my eyes to just thinking about different ways to do programs and and just their professionalism. They're well regarded in in some aspects. DUMAC is, like, the authority on waterfowl in in Mexico. Often the federal government will turn to them for information. Right?
Craig LeShack:They don't have the structure like we do with with the Fish and Wildlife Service and state wildlife agencies, and all the infrastructure we have in in The US for around the waterfowl management enterprise. And in Mexico, it's it's DUMAC. They're they are the authorities on on waterfowl. So they're you know, they do wintering waterfowl surveys. Right?
Craig LeShack:They do national wetland inventories. And these are things that, you know, the federal and state governments handle in The US, but in Mexico, it's it's very much DUMAC.
Bill Ansell:Satellite technology Yep. That that we that we put on a website, and anybody can use it if they need it. Yep.
Mike Brasher:Wetland classification.
Bill Ansell:Yeah. Exactly.
Mike Brasher:Yep. The DUMAC has led the led the way in in on that project.
Rogers Hoyt:Shorebird inventory. Yes. And the digital change Right. Detection work that we do is it is the ultimate word in Mexico. I mean, we do it better than anyone.
Rogers Hoyt:And and as Bill said, it's available for everyone. We do it because it it guides our work, but when the Mexican government needs it, it's there for them too.
Mike Brasher:And the work is crucial for the birds. It
Rogers Hoyt:is. Absolutely.
Mike Brasher:There is no place in North America more important for wintering blue wing teal than Mexico. There is no place in North America more important than wintering Pacific bran. Pintails, white fronts, snow geese, redheads, shovelers, widget. All go there for a reason. They go there in substantial numbers.
Mike Brasher:What did you say?
Bill Ansell:Pintails.
Mike Brasher:Okay. I thought I said pintails.
Bill Ansell:Maybe you did.
Mike Brasher:It was worth saying again.
Bill Ansell:Pintails. Exactly. Let's call
Mike Brasher:them sprigs sprigs this time. It it is important to those birds. They tell us that by going there. And and if if the only thing that you're interested in is the birds, there's a reason in itself to support the work that we do in Mexico. I wanna wrap up with asking you Craig, I'll start with you.
Mike Brasher:You've worked with with staff there, and you've touched on some of this. But some of the and you've done a lot of things in your your career with with Ducks Unlimited, and you'll continue to do a lot a lot of things. But you've worked closely with Eduardo, Gabriela, and the and the staff there. How rewarding what are some of the more notable things, like, in your mind that comes from that relationship and and from from the work that the role that you play to help DUMAC.
Craig LeShack:Yeah. It's been you know, there's two moments I think of in my DU career. The first time I got up to the Prairies, right, as a waterfowl biologist mainly in the Southeast, First time I went to the Prairies was like, wow. This is like, you understand, this is the duck factory you've been reading about and studying about. And then the time I went down to Mexico for that first mangrove experience, this thing, okay, not everything operates like we're used to in The US.
Craig LeShack:And the way that they're tackling these problems and the efficiency and the professionalism and then just getting to know the passion that they have, Eduardo and Gabriel and the rest of staff have is just really inspirational. And I'm learning stuff all the time, and it's great that I get to talk to them and help help them think about problems and and and help solve some of these problems. So it's been incredibly rewarding for me as a as a professional and educational for me.
Mike Brasher:I wanna go to you guys here in a minute, but I will say I I really encourage people to to get involved, find ways to get involved in helping support our work in Mexico. Mexico, Raj, as you said, is a beautiful country, beautiful people. The food is amazing. The ecosystems are incredible. Visit if you have an opportunity.
Mike Brasher:Support Wetland Conservation if you care about birds and the people that depend on on those systems. And I'll give a shout out to Maggie Williams, who's a a social media sort of personality who has been to Mexico here recently, doing some hunting, but also doing some other things. Maggie has done an excellent job sort of shining a spotlight on the beautiful people, the beautiful landscapes of Mexico. And so check that out as well. That's she's been a a great ambassador for for the importance of that country and and the wetlands and and all the wildlife that it has.
Mike Brasher:Who wants to go first among the the two of you? Share some of the most rewarding things for with your experience.
Bill Ansell:You know, it it it's really hard to it's really hard to identify particular ones. I mean, it it just been a wonderful experience all the way around. I will say that when I was president, I had the honor and opportunity. Eduardo told me that they were having the fiftieth reserve graduating class. And I said, well, I'm coming.
Bill Ansell:I said, I'm coming. And he said, okay. And when I got down there, you know, there were people from Cuba. There were state, federal, local, political, politicians, or or diplomats or whatever you wanna call them. There were people from universities all over.
Bill Ansell:And when Eduardo walked in, it was like the Mexican Elvis. He was the rock star. And I couldn't understand it because it was in Spanish, but but you but you could tell that what they were taught.
Mike Brasher:Did you have your translator there?
Bill Ansell:And they all they and they all took a turn. You know? I mean, it's like, this is a two hour presentation, but it was it was incredible. And the other thing I wanna say is that we have a picture and it's been in in our annual report, other things, where there's a family sitting standing there next to a dry toilet, smiles. They probably never seen a toilet much less used one.
Bill Ansell:So that kind of joy that we can bring to to to folks and still help the ducks, that make that gives me a a warm fuzzy.
Mike Brasher:Raj.
Rogers Hoyt:So I've been very fortunate to see some great things in nature while I've been in Mexico. I love birds. I'm not necessarily a birder. I don't have a life list, but I do have the book of birds of Mexico and South America, and I take it with me every time I go. So I've seen some neat things.
Rogers Hoyt:And one of the probably the neatest top of my list was my first trip to Mexico with Johnny Walker. I was not aware at the time that the importance of the Selicune Estuary to the Caribbean population of flamingos. Eduardo said, we're gonna go look at the flamingos, and I thought, well, great. I I'd love to see some flamingos. And so we get on a boat, start up the estuary, run it at a pretty good clip up there.
Rogers Hoyt:And, you know, you've gone a mile or so, and you're kinda looking at the horizon, and the horizon's kinda changing color a little bit. And the further you go, the more pink there gets to the that horizon. And all of a sudden, you're in amongst fifteen, twenty thousand flamingos. I've never seen anything like that. I came back home and I told my wife, Camille, I said, next time I go, you've got to go with me.
Rogers Hoyt:And fortunately, we went back pretty quick after that. We have both become flamingo addicts. But the point I'm making is those habitats will go away if we don't do the right thing, and I would hate to think that someday there's somebody who goes up that estuary and doesn't see pink on the horizon. And those same habitats that those flamingos depend on, all those blue winged teal depend on, it's the same situation on the Pacific Coast, Those eelgrass beds, it's what those black bran depend on. We could just go through the litany of of of what's important to North American waterfowl.
Rogers Hoyt:We have to do what's necessary to make sure that that is there forever. And I would just ask the audience, please support Ducks Unlimited in a continental manner. I would like for you to give to DU Canada. I would like for you to give to DU Inc. I would especially like for you to give to Ducks Unlimited in Mexico.
Rogers Hoyt:Bill laid it out very good. You know, we're a small budget. We wanna increase it three or four times. We know that if we do that, the work that's sitting in front of us that would get done is vitally important, and we need your help. The Ducks need your help, and thank you for supporting Ducks Unlimited in every fashion.
Mike Brasher:Guys, this has been a phenomenal conversation about a very important need. Raj, you laid it out perfectly. Encourage folks to get involved. Bill, Raj, thank you so much for your volunteerism, for indoctrinating your family, your friends, other people that you've come into contact with on the importance of this work, the the wonderful country that is Mexico, and the importance of the work that we do there. Craig, obviously, thank you for the work that you do as a staff liaison with DUMAC.
Mike Brasher:And if any of our listeners are already supporters of DUMAC, thank you for what you do. If you're interested in in becoming a supporter, dupodcast@ducks.org. We can put you in touch with the right person if you don't already know who it is. Thank you, guys.
Bill Ansell:Thank you so much for
Rogers Hoyt:being here.
Bill Ansell:Thank you. Thank you very much.
Mike Brasher:A very special thanks to our guest on today's episode, Rogers Hoyt, Bill Ansel, and Craig Leschak. We greatly appreciate, all the work that they have done throughout their lives in supporting DUMAC, Ducks Unlimited, and Ducks Unlimited Canada. We thank our producer, Chris Isaac, for the great work he does, and we thank you, the listener, for supporting wetlands and waterfowl conservation.
VO:That's a wrap for today's episode of the Ducks Unlimited Podcast brought to you by Bird Dog Whiskey and Cocktails. From post hunt unwinds to celebrations back at camp, Bird Dog delivers award winning flavor to every moment. Enjoy responsibly. Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe, and check out ducks.org/du podcast for more science, and all things waterfowl. Guest opinions are their own and don't necessarily reflect those of Ducks Unlimited.
VO:Until next time, stay fired up, stay focused, and stay tuned to the ducks.
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