Delta Waterfowl and Mossy Oak® team up for waterfowl research

Delta Waterfowl and Mossy Oak® team up for waterfowl research

BISMARCK, ND - Delta Waterfowl is pleased to announce a new partnership with Mossy Oak to support Delta’s decades-long commitment to waterfowl research on behalf of North American waterfowlers.

For the first time this spring, Mossy Oak has donated grant money to bolster Delta’s ongoing predator-management research in North Dakota by Louisiana State University student Matt Pieron, who is seeking his Ph.D.

For the last two years, Pieron has been using Delta’s numerous predator-reduction blocks in North Dakota to test for density dependence in ducks, a natural force that scientists say tends to regulate population size. In short, Pieron’s work will test for the effects of duck density on duck production.

“Mossy Oak is proud to not only support this important waterfowl conservation issue, but also to support Matt as he expands his knowledge and education regarding something so important to waterfowl hunters and outdoorsmen in general,” said Bill Sugg, President of Mossy Oak. “Delta Waterfowl’s work is extremely valuable and we’re thrilled to be associated with such an upstanding organization.”

An Ohio native, Pieron received his undergraduate degree from Mount Union College and his master’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University. An avid waterfowler, Pieron says he is fulfilling a lifelong dream conducting research on the all-important prairie breeding grounds. He is working closely with Delta Scientific Director Frank Rohwer.

“There’s no better place to conduct waterfowl research than in the duck factory,” says Pieron. “I couldn’t be happier.”

Delta Waterfowl has been managing predators in North Dakota since the early 1990s, in targeted areas where duck breeding densities are highest. This year Delta has expanded its predator-management research program into South Dakota and Saskatchewan. Countless studies have demonstrated that predator control is a cost-effective management tool to offset nest failures and supplement existing habitat.

“I’m extremely excited about our new partnership with Mossy Oak,” says Delta Senior Vice President John Devney. “Mossy Oak’s donation will go a long way towards our understanding of duck breeding ecology. Matt’s research is very important, and Mossy Oak deserves credit for stepping up to the plate.”

For more information:
John Devney, Sr. Vice President
Delta Waterfowl
701-222-8857