MPF Webinar: Not Just for Ducks … Reframing Wetland Conservation

Global challenges like biodiversity loss, food insecurity, and climate change are linked. Wetlands have been reduced and degraded around the world, including wetlands converted within Missouri’s floodplains. Over the past 100 years, wetland conservation has been viewed through a utilitarian lens, focusing primarily on the benefits of species and their associated use, like ducks and waterfowl hunting. However, other cultural connections, world views, and histories valuing wetland species as food, fiber, and medicine have largely been overlooked. Shifting a focus from “just ducks” towards “working water gardens,” may be a means to better integrate cultural histories, diverse food systems, and flood resilience into the future of wetland conservation, thus providing local solutions that also contribute globally. This presentation by Frank Nelson frames a series of future MPF Wetlands Webinars in a series highlighting diverse cultural connections to wetlands, aspects of One Health, social interest, and opportunities in urban and rural settings.

This free webinar, to be held via Zoom, will include a presentation and a live question-and-answer session. The webinar will be recorded, with a link to the recording sent to all registrants and posted to the MPF YouTube channel.

Frank Nelson has worked for the Missouri Department of Conservation for over 20 years with various partners to help advance wetland conservation in Missouri. He has played different roles through strategic planning, research, working with wetland managers, renovating infrastructure, and communicating with the public. He presently serves as a Wetland Ecologist with MDC, and is working to conserve and promote the full spectrum of Missouri’s wetlands, their biodiversity, and the benefits these critical habitats provide people.

Photo of a wetland by Frank Nelson