Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Nov 08/02) - Inuvik donned their best dress and opened their wallets wide to raise over $60,000 for habitat conservation last weekend.

Auctioneer Pierre Tremblay takes a seat while auctioning off this chair during the Ducks Unlimited banquet held in Inuvik last Saturday. More than $60,000 was generated through the auction, raffles and ticket sales. - Terry Halifax/NNSL photo

The 16th annual Ducks Unlimited banquet sold out again this year and chair Michael Fabijan said it was one of the best yet.

"It's a deadly year," Fabijan said, adding that before expenses the dinner, auction and raffles raised over $61,000.

Part of the success of this year's event was the donation of many more prizes.

"We had more donations community donations and the folks were just awesome," he said.

The top tier prizes of muskox sweater, leather jacket and the trip to Mexico were donated, as were many of the auction items.

Gary Stewart, manager of conversation programs, said the money raised will stay in the region and go towards an ongoing project in the Delta.

Stewart said the primary vision of DU is to ensure the habitat is preserved and with more development happening here, he said it's become more of a concern with the organization.

"We want to ensure that our wetland habitat and water birds are sustained at an historic level forever," Stewart said.

Ducks Unlimited is halfway through a four-year conservation project in Inuvik.

"Because no one knew much about wetland habitat in the Mackenzie Valley or water bird populations, we're in the information gathering stage," he said.

Using satellite mapping, detailed water bird inventories, gathering baseline information on water chemistry and gathering traditional knowledge, they will provide a comprehensive study and share this new information with local people and industry to preserve the habitat.

"It will help First Nation communities to protect key areas, work with industry to help them do a better job of sustainable development," Stewart said. "Our name is Ducks Unlimited, but really, wetland habitat is our focus."

Bruce MacDonald, NWT manager for Ducks Unlimited said the Inuvik dinner is the most successful of each of the six dinners held annually in the North.

"This is one of about 800 events that are held across the country each year and they contribute significantly towards our conservation vision," MacDonald said.

Across the country the dinners raise about $15 million, which helps to leverage other monies to matching funds for huge conservation projects.

Eric Butterworth, senior biologist with Ducks Unlimited, covers the boreal forest from the Ontario/Manitoba border to the Yukon/Alaska border.

"It's over three million square kilometres," Butterworth said. "We have nine projects going on in that area.

Butterworth said there are between 12 and 14 million water fowl and 23 species in the boreal forest.

"It's the second highest breeding area for water fowl on the continent," he said.