Born to Fly Partnership

We’re excited to announce our newest conservation effort team-up. For several of our upcoming waterfowl drops, we will be working with the Alaska “Born-To-Fly” initiative and directing 20% of all sales from DSD Limited drops and 100% of the proceeds from auctions to their ongoing and future work in this critically important area. This project is the final frontier of waterfowl conservation, securing and protecting key habitat for brood rearing ducks and geese that populate multiple flyways. Waterfowlers from the West Coast to the South eagerly wait for Mallards, Pintails, Wigeons and Green-wingers born on the Yukon Delta in the fall. Specklebellies produced in Alaska create hunting opportunities for hunters in Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana and California just to name a few states.

The Alaska Born-To-Fly Initiative

Alaska is the duck and goose factory of the Pacific Flyway. A third of all ducks harvested in the Pacific Flyway are produced in Alaska, and for some species the number is even higher. Nearly 60% of all green-winged teal harvested in the Pacific Flyway originate in Alaska, with nearly half of all pintail and wigeon produced there as well. Its goose numbers are equally impressive. The entire population of both Pacific White-fronts and Emperor geese nest in the state, with most Pacific Brant found there too. Three of North America’s four subspecies of Cackling Geese also breed exclusively in Alaska. But Alaska’s importance extends beyond the west. Birds banded in the Last Frontier have been recovered in at least 45 states, and each year Alaska also makes a significant contribution to continental waterfowl populations.

The Alaska Initiative is focused on increasing staff capacity for the betterment of waterfowl science and conservation within the state, while working in a collaborative manner amongst private, federal and state partners. By doing so, Initiative efforts will ensure Alaska remains the Duck and Goose Factory of the Pacific Flyway!

At DSD we owe our livelihoods to keeping wild places, like Alaska, wild. We will be highlighting related projects from this initiative with each Limited Series drop. We are thrilled with the opportunity to give back to conservation through the Born-To-Fly initiative!