I will admit right now that I am pro Ducks Unlimited and anti Delta. But it's for reasons I consider "viable" and I will give a few of them in hopes of hearing some reasons some of you may be pro Delta.

Delta is nearly 10 years older than DU but is a considerably smaller organization. Delta's fundraising lastyear was a little over three million dollars while DU raised an astounding one hundred and ninety two million dollars.

Delta states that they are NOT a conservation organization like DU, but instead are a research organization. That sounds fine until you ask how many research biologist's they have on the payroll and are told NONE! They get most of their information and research information from graduate students. So technically they haven't even gotten any scientific concrete evidence other than a few hypotheticals or studies researched by students?

Delta also insinuates that they are heavily vested in the MS flyway and most of their southern members actually believe the organization is named after and headquartered in the MS River basin? In actuality it is named after a delta in Canada and is a Canadian organization. Yet this year they have budgeted half of their income (the 3million dollars) to come from Louisiana and since the two hurricanes have crippled LA I doubt seriously even 10% of that money will be avaiable now. I understand the regional director of MS and LA can't even be paid gas money to supervise and help local chapters with this falls fundraisers. He is doing everything by telephone. Is this organization ready for such a bleak economic outlook?

Delta also tells local committee members that they can keep 10% of their fundraising dollars for community/environmental work locally. Yet I have a buddy who was in our local committee and they wanted to give the money too scholarships and was prevented by Delta brass and was told where to steer the money! Delta hasn't put one dime "on the ground" in my homestate of TN. But DU has put nearly 5 MILLION dollars in over 500 projects statewide here in TN since their inception.

When asked how many acres Delta has conserved, protected or restored they claim 27 thousand (yes THOUSAND) and yet they are nearly a decade older than DU. Ducks Unlimited has conserved, protected and restored over 11,000,000 (yep MILLION) acres since their inception. From Canada too South America DU has replenshed and even restored prime nesting and breeding grounds for "the duck factory".

Delta wants to dismiss DUs claims that habitat is THE single most important factor in waterfowl production and conservation. Instead Delta came up with the idea of somehow it was predator management that was the key too duck survival. So they spent grant moneys that totaled nearly one quarter of a million dollars in one study area/group where they trapped/killed 25 predators and increased that areas survival rate by about 7%. That's less than natural selection and "good years" survival rates of double digit. In many DU reclamation and preservation areas hatchling survival rates have been as low as mid 30 percentiles too as much as 85%!!! increase in survival rates.

That's just some of the positives I have for DU, now I would like to hear some of the Delta guys weigh in their positives for their organization and why many in the Delta group see it necessary to villify DU?
RA