South Dakota Resident Elected to Ducks Unlimited’s National Board of Directors

Jeff Heidelbauer, of Custer, South Dakota, was elected to Ducks Unlimited Inc.’s national board of directors during the organization’s annual convention in St. Louis.

“The leadership of our board of directors ensures we are fulfilling our mission to conserve, restore and manage wetlands and associated habitats for North America’s waterfowl,” said DU CEO Dale Hall. “Our board members are not paid for their work. They volunteer their time and resources because they feel so strongly about conservation. I welcome each new member and look forward to working with them in the years to come.”

Heidelbauer, the co-owner and operator of a ranch in Custer and a farm in Minnesota, has been a DU volunteer for 38 years. “My father taught me to give back for the enjoyment you get from outdoor activities like waterfowl hunting. I learned early on there was no better organization than Ducks Unlimited for me to focus my ‘give back’ activities,” he said.  “To serve on the DU board of directors is the ultimate honor and a great way to help conservation in the Prairie Pothole Region that I have had the life-long privilege to enjoy.”

A Diamond Sponsor in Perpetuity and a Life Sponsor (Grand Slam), Heidelbauer is a member of the President’s Council and the Platinum Feather Society. Most recently, he served for three years as the South Dakota state chairman and currently is the South Dakota state council chairman. Heidelbauer is also a regional vice president for the seven-state Great Plains Region, which includes South Dakota, and he serves on DU’s National Development Committee.

For a complete list of DU’s volunteer board of directors, please visit www.ducks.org.

Ducks Unlimited

Ducks Unlimited is the world's leader in wetlands and waterfowl conservation. DU got its start in 1937 during the Dust Bowl when North America’s drought-plagued waterfowl populations had plunged to unprecedented lows. Determined not to sit idly by as the continent’s waterfowl dwindled beyond recovery, a small group of sportsmen joined together to form an organization that became known as Ducks Unlimited. Its mission: habitat conservation. Thanks to decades of abiding by that single mission, Ducks Unlimited is now the world’s largest and most effective private waterfowl and wetlands conservation organization. DU is able to multilaterally deliver its work through a series of partnerships with private individuals, landowners, agencies, scientific communities and other entities.