 We're in the Prairie Pothole region right now. This is our number one priority area because of the importance for breeding waterfowl. Incredible densities of small shallow wetlands surrounded by grasslands provide the perfect combination to raise over two thirds of all the continent's waterfowl. Right now we're sitting in the heart of Edmunds County, kind of north-central South Dakota, just perfect prairie pothole habitat. We have hundreds of small shallow seasonal wetlands around us. The snow has melted here recently in just the past week or two so all of that runoff has pulled into these basins and pervaded the perfect habitat for birds as they're migrating through on the first end of the migration here and as they start to settle and form breeding territories. We have a unique mix of grasslands in the area that provide the adjacent habitat that ducks need to set up their nests adjacent to these small shallow wetlands. So it's pretty neat you know in this part of South Dakota and the migration doesn't all happen at once you know it staggered out throughout really you know weeks long depending on how the weather progresses you know typically as the as the snow starts to melt we'll see those first the first few birds, canada geese, mallards, and northern pentails really pushing the push in the snow line as the as the spring progresses and as the season goes along more of that snow starts to melt and see just the incredible diversity of species that come through this region. More species of waterfall you get your gadwalls and blueling teal. You see huge concentrations of snow geese that are in this area for a long period of time. A unique mix of habitat that helps these birds as their incredible migration north of the spring. Changes on the landscape that we're most concerned about of course are continued loss of grasslands and wetlands that these species need to survive really. The migration is incredible distances for some of these birds literally you know thousands of miles. We know a blueling teal that were banded here in this area that spend their winter as far down as northern South America and they have to come all the way back here to put their nests in the spring so they need habitat throughout that entire migration corridor in order to refuel if you will to continue to fly those long distances. So really habitat is important in the breeding areas but also wintering areas and everywhere in between. So in this part of the world you know the water cycle is really dynamic. Some winters are wetter than others, some summers are wetter than others and how we manage that water really depends on how we manage our entire landscape. Grasslands that have been converted into crop real agriculture may not retain the water that they used to. Wetlands that have been drained facilitate the flow of water down hill so as we continue to kind of change the landscape we are expediting the flow of that water down hill. Small wetlands become large wetlands, large wetlands become lakes and we really kind of change the dynamic of the water cycle across South Dakota which impacts both the migration, impacts agriculture, impacts our infrastructure at the same time. You have roads that blow out routinely because the water accumulates in our riparian areas much faster and longer than it used to. A big part of what we do is find ways to work with farmers and ranchers to keep those habitats intact on the upper reaches of the watershed. It helps the landscape manage the water when we get heavy rainfall events or heavy snow melt events. It also makes better habitat for all sorts of species of wildlife and birds. In this part of Edmunds County you know much of our grasslands have been converted into row crop agriculture. But there are still fragments remaining. This is a particular project that Ducks Unlimited has been working on in Edmunds County. Approximately 320 acres of really pristine prairie habitat. Lots of wetlands that are still in their natural condition. We are restoring approximately 30 acres of grassland that was being used in row crop agriculture and we are going to protect all of this piece to make sure that we have grasslands and wetlands intact forever and just a small part of the area. Now around us we have a lot of agriculture as well but much of those crop fields still have intact wetland basins. Even though some of the grasslands have been lost those wetlands still have value for wildlife at the same time as you. Drive around the landscape right now in the migration. Those wetlands in crop lands are still very productive for wildlife. Provide food sources in the migration and even help provide during the breeding cycle and the brood season as well. So it's important although they can be difficult to manage in a crop land setting we want to keep those wetlands in crop land intact as well. These ecosystems were designed and evolved with the influence of bison herds across this landscape. If we want to conserve these habitats and improve soil health and have the biodiversity we want to achieve out here we have to be using livestock in these systems and improving rotational grazing systems, incorporating livestock in the cropping systems and really we found a great connection with farmers and ranchers to integrate livestock and improve the conservation value of these resources. South Dakota is really an amazing place and it provides value for a lot of people and there's a lot of entities that are interested in protecting those resources. Ducks Unlimited is one of those but we work with a whole host of other partners in order to get our projects accomplished. The goals are huge nothing that Ducks Unlimited can do on our own so we work with federal agency partners like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service. We work with our state partners at the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks. We work with a lot of other different you know non-government agencies like the Nature Conservancy and Pheasants Forever and Audubon and all of these groups, the Grassland South Dakota Grassland Coalition and the South Dakota Soil Health Coalition. If we want to have an impact across this landscape we have to be working with farmers and ranchers and finding ways that both of us can benefit. Let's find ways to raise food, fiber and fuel but keep our wetlands and grasslands intact at the same time. Let's raise some wildlife and raise money at the same time. So a lot of what these partners do is work collaboratively to find ways to incentivize practices that are good for our natural resources and good for the sustainability of those agricultural systems at the same time. So really we've taken a strong effort to meet them in a way that benefits both sides. If we want to have a landscape scale effect on this region. All of these groups are interested in protecting our resources because we understand what we have is really remarkable and we have to do what we can to protect it and make sure that it stays intact for generations to come.