From Facebook

By Gordon Anderson | gordon@rantnc.com

In 2022, one of Chuck McDonald’s friends approached him about beginning a local chapter of Ducks Unlimited, the nationwide nonprofit that works to preserve wetlands and other waterfowl habitats. Now, it’s one of the fastest-growing volunteer organizations in Lee County.

McDonald had first gone duck hunting as a teenager growing up in western Harnett County, and quickly fell in love with the sport. The suggestion in 2022 to start a local DU chapter seemed more than in line with that lifelong love, he said – particularly as times have changed.

“It was really awesome back (in high school),” McDonald explained. “Now, we’ve lost a lot of habitat, and we don’t really have cold winters like we used to. It’s different now. Several years ago my son got to the age where I could take him. I’d been out of it for a while, but he fell in love with it, and I fell back in love with it.”

At the outset, the Lee County chapter of Ducks Unlimited had just two members. Just three years later, they’re up to 25 active members and hosting annual fundraising events that draw well in excess of 200.

The primary activity those events fund locally is the construction of nesting boxes for wood ducks in the area. Those boxes and cones which repel predators – built by students at Lee County High School and Grace Christian – help ducks in the area to raise their young in safety, have been placed all over the region since the inception of the chapter. Other funds go to Ducks Unlimited’s national office, where they help conservation efforts across the country.

“There are all kinds of wetland conservation programs, and (the ducks’) main nesting grounds aren’t here,” McDonald said. “We do our part by doing the wood duck boxes, and they do their part in the Great Lakes and Canada to give them a place to have their babies.”

One of the organization’s two marquee events happened last week, when Lee County Ducks Unlimited hosted its spring banquet at the John B Gathering Place in Broadway. The organization also holds an oyster roast in the fall.

But funds go beyond conservation, especially locally. The organization gave a $1,000 scholarship to a member of Lee County High School’s shooting team, with which it has been heavily involved (Lee County Ducks Unlimited also has involvement with shooting teams at Grace and Southern Lee). That youth involvement is especially close to McDonald’s heart.

“We like to teach about conservation and wildlife,” he said. “I want kids to understand there’s a lot more to wildlife than just killing. And there’s a lot of kids out there without father figures, and our outreach programs can help with that. I’ve had several people reach out.”

McDonald said even those without hunting experience but who are interested in giving it a try (“just show up, come to the meetings, and you can learn everything you need to know,” he said) should get in touch, because involvement might kick off a new passion.

“I haven’t met a person who’s gone duck hunting who didn’t love it,” he continued.

Meanwhile, Lee County Ducks Unlimited continues to grow. In 2024, the organization finished in first place in North Carolina for single event attendance, showing 6100 percent growth over the previous year, and contributed enough money to conserve 180 acres of wetlands.

“We’re just about to outgrow the John B Gathering Place, and when that happens, we’ll just have to find someplace bigger,” he said. “We’ve come a long way and we just want the community and all the businesses who have helped us out to know how much we appreciate them. It gets better and better every year.”

Find Lee County Ducks Unlimited on Facebook and Instagram, or contact McDonald at (919) 352-2034. Memberships cost $35.