Brakhage Takes Lead in Ducks Unlimited’s Great Lakes and Atlantic Region

David Brakhage has been named the director of operations for Ducks Unlimited’s Great Lakes and Atlantic Region. In his new role, he will oversee all aspects of DU’s work in the region’s 21 states, including habitat conservation, research, engineering and public policy.

“David has been a valued part of DU’s conservation team for more than 15 years, representing us well in a diverse range of venues,” said DU Chief Conservation Officer Paul Schmidt. “He has built relationships and strengthened programs in that time, most recently as the director of conservation programs for DU’s Great Lakes and Atlantic Region.”

Brakhage spent the first half of his conservation career working for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, starting as a waterfowl biologist. He moved to Ducks Unlimited in 1998 and has spent his tenure developing important partnerships with state wildlife agencies and organizations that match well with DU’s waterfowl habitat goals.

“I am really looking forward to this new role with Ducks Unlimited,” Brakhage said. “This region holds important breeding, wintering and migration habitat for waterfowl, as well as significant human resources. As we move into the next era of conservation, it will be important for us to engage stakeholders, providing them with the best science and a road map for efficient and impactful waterfowl habitat restoration and enhancement. Ducks Unlimited has been a leader in conservation for almost 77 years, carried by the hard work of its volunteers and the dedication of those who share its vision.”

Brakhage received a Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia Tech, and a Master of Science degree in Wildlife Ecology and Management from the University of Missouri. He will assume his new position on Dec. 16.

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.