Walker previously managed conservation in prairie states

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Ducks Unlimited has named Johann Walker as the next director of operations for DU’s 7-state Great Plains Region.

"Johann has a passion for and a deep commitment to wetlands and grasslands in the United States Great Plains,” said Ducks Unlimited Chief Conservation Officer Karen Waldrop. “DU’s Great Plains Region carries out conservation programs in seven states that include some of the most important nesting and migration habitat on the continent. We are pleased to have Johann leading the charge.”

Walker joined Ducks Unlimited in 2004 as a research biologist at the Great Plains Regional Office in Bismarck, N.D.

He managed and directed the science and planning team for Ducks Unlimited’s Great Plains Region from 2010 to 2013, leading and publishing research on habitat relationships of breeding waterfowl, land-use change, and conservation strategy.

Walker also managed and directed the conservation programs team in the Dakotas and Montana that conserved 824,000 acres of wetland and grassland habitat in the Prairie Pothole Region and Northern Great Plains from 2013 to 2020.

"Johann's commitment to Ducks Unlimited's conservation mission is evident to anyone who knows him," said DU CEO Adam Putnam. "We are pleased he will be leading DU’s conservation programs in the Great Plains where upwards of 50 percent of the continent’s waterfowl nest in the Prairie Pothole Region states of Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.”

Walker received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana and his master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He grew up in Minnesota and Montana and is an avid outdoorsman. He is a member of the National Conservation Leadership Institute.

"I’m honored to be selected for this role,” Walker said. “My love for the Great Plains runs deep. Nothing could be more professionally fulfilling to me than working alongside our tremendous team of volunteers, staff and partners to make a brighter future for people, waterfowl and wetlands in this vital landscape.”

Walker will assume his new position on April 1 and will continue working out of DU's Great Plains Regional Office in Bismarck, N.D.

For more information visit www.ducks.org. Follow DU’s newest Twitter feed – @DUNews1937 – to get the most up-to-date news from Ducks Unlimited.

About Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving North America's continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 14.5 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. For more information on our work, visit www.ducks.org.

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