PAUL SMITHS – Ducks Unlimited probably conjures images of hunters using dogs to grab ducks that have been shot from behind a duck blind on the edge of a remote lake.

But according to the Adirondack Chapter Chairman Ken Kalil, the group is one of the largest wetland conservation groups in the world, if not the largest.

“We’re not just a hunting organization at all,” Kalil said. “Everyone has an interest in clean water.”

Kalil, along with students from Paul Smith’s College, put on an event this past Saturday to raise awareness and money for DU’s efforts in conserving waterfowl habitat. Kalil said they planned on having 130 people, and instead sold about 150 tickets to the dinner, with entertainment and an auction.

“It was a sell-out crowd and then some,” he said. He added that the event also helped to fill out the local chapter’s board and created several new partnerships. But the most important aspect, Kalil said, was the number of younger people who are now set to get involved.

“I was looking for a bunch of students to help me stock fish last spring,” he said, and the event grew out of that initial contact with the college. He said he’d like to see a student chapter start at the college but wanted to see what sort of effort the students put forth on this banquet.

“They worked really hard. They got an idea of how these things start and how they finish,” he said. “This raises money for wetland protection, but ultimately this sets students up to go back in their own communities and be leaders of regular Ducks Unlimited chapters.”

Kalil said in addition to getting college kids involved, the Greenwing group of kids aged 14 and under also benefited. Ducks Unlimited builds duck boxes as well as performing a host of other work activities in wetland areas.

“Whether your a birder or hunter, you go into these wetlands and see the signs of what Ducks Unlimited has done,” Kalil said. He added that Paul Smith’s is part of the St. Lawrence flyway and as such, is a prime place to benefit from the efforts of DU.

For more information, visit DU’s Adirondack Chapter Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ADKDUCH.