Ducks Unlimited has announced that conglomerate Cox Enterprises has donated $100 million to the nonprofit's Wetlands America Trust, which oversees 400,000 acres of conservation easements and has conserved nearly a billion acres of North American wetlands.
The gift was made in honor of Jim Kennedy, chairman emeritus of Cox Enterprises and chairman of the James M. Cox Foundation, Arkansas Money and Politics reported.
"Jim's passion for wildlife and wetland conservation is one of his many legacies. It is important to me, our family, and our company that Jim be recognized for his dedication to the environment," Cox Enterprises chairman and CEO Alex Taylor said.
"We thought there was no better way to honor him than by creating a fund committed to serving an organization and cause so near to his heart."
Ducks Unlimited started nearly 90 years ago to conserve, restore, and manage wetlands and other habitats for waterfowl. DU has been involved in a 27,000-acre donation that serves as a home to several endangered species in Florida and a project that partially restored a wetland in Minnesota.
Meanwhile, its land trust focuses on protecting habitats and biodiversity, improving water quality, and protecting against floods and shoreline erosion.
Wetlands are a crucial ecosystem that, along with grasslands, help make up prairies and act as breeding grounds for ducks and geese. They harbor numerous aquatic, terrestrial, and arboreal species; purify drinking water; and mitigate the effects of storms.
Kennedy has volunteered with Ducks Unlimited for over five decades and served on its board of directors. He was the Wetlands America Trust's founding president and, along with the Cox Foundation and related sources, has donated almost $100 million to the nonprofit organization.
"It has always been important to me to leave the world better than I found it, and I was so honored when Alex proposed the idea of creating this fund," Kennedy said. "Ducks Unlimited and Wetlands America Trust are great partners to conserve and restore our prairies for future generations."
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