The Ducks Unlimited Disgrace

[nikegundog]

Ducks Unlimited terminates long time columnist, over an article about a wealthy donor.

As many of you know, I have been a regular contributor to Ducks Unlimited magazine for nearly twenty years, serving as their Field Editor and writing the back page column in every issue. Not any more.

In October, 2015 I wrote a piece for Outside Bozeman magazine about the long Montana legal battle to secure and maintain public access to the Ruby River in accordance with the state's stream access law. (Read the article.) To summarize a complex issue for those unfamiliar with the case, wealthy Atlanta businessman James Cox Kennedy engaged in extensive litigation to prevent such access, only to be denied repeatedly in court due to the efforts of the Montana Public Land and Water Access Association. While the article was not complimentary to Kennedy, no one has challenged the accuracy of the reporting.

James Cox Kennedy is a major financial contributor to Ducks Unlimited. On November 9, a Ducks Unlimited functionary informed me that my position with the magazine was terminated because of Cox's displeasure with the article.

Several points deserve emphasis. The Ruby River article had nothing whatsoever to do with ducks or Ducks Unlimited (DU hereafter). The article did strongly support the rights of hunters and other outdoor recreationists to enjoy land and water to which they are entitled to access, and DU is a hunters' organization. By terminating me for no reason related to my work for the magazine and the organization, DU has essentially taken the position that wealthy donors matter more than the outdoor recreationists they purport to represent.

As an outdoorsman and conservationist who supports the North American Model and the Public Trust Doctrine, I find DU's action reprehensible. As a journalist, I find it chilling. Wildlife advocates today face ever increasing pressures to abandon these principles in favor of the commercialization of our public resources, largely from wealthy individuals like James Cox Kennedy. If every journalist reporting on these issues faces this kind of vindictive retribution, the future of wildlife and wildlife habitat--not to mention the hunters and anglers of ordinary means who form the backbone of groups like DU--is bleak indeed.

This issue is not about me or my professional relationship with Ducks Unlimited magazine. It is about integrity and the future of wildlife in America. If you share my concerns--especially if you are a DU member--I encourage you to contact the organization (http://www.ducks.org attn: Dale Hall, or email Matt Young, Editor of the DU magazine), express your opinion, and take whatever further action you might consider appropriate.

http://www.tradbow.com/public/Ducks-Pol ... -Money.cfm

[Mountaineer]

This issue has been making the rounds and speaks poorly of DU and where their protective interests lie.

I would tho disagree...the issue is also about Mr. Thomas.
He has, over Time, been one of the published folks where trust resides.
When such a respected figure gets the gig for reasons as low shelf as DU reached.....it is sad.
Whether the poor handling of the matter by DU cognescienti is the limit to DU's mistakes, I doubt.

Many of us will be considering other options for waterfowl support...trust no longer sits under a DU cap.

[Makintrax73]

DU has essentially taken the position that wealthy donors matter more than the outdoor recreationists they purport to represent.

Well that's sad, but I can't say I'm surprised, and I doubt the author was surprised either unless he was very naïve.

My guess is the executives at DU care more about their nice fat paychecks than they do about ducks. Hard to make it otherwise.

[Sniper John]

This will backfire on James Cox Kennedy as it only brought more attention to himself and what he is up to.

[33Scout]

This is sad! I will buy no more from this brand!!