Tennessee Wood Duck Box Program

Across North America, putting up wood duck boxes is a traditional way to help increase waterfowl populations.

An outstanding example of a wood duck box program is ongoing in Tennessee. During 2011, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, in partnership with Delta Waterfowl and the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been donating and installing and install wood duck boxes on lands where NRCS or districts have installed wildlife benefitting conservation practices.

Recently, more than 200 boxes built by Williamson County Boy and Cub scouts were distributed to Middle Tennessee landowners at an event at the NRCS Area II office in Murfreesboro. The Nashville chapter of Delta Waterfowl supplied materials and coordinated the construction.

The landowners who accept the donated boxes are only asked to respond once a year to Delta Waterfowl either via email or mail request regarding whether there appears to have been a wood duck nest in the box during the year. This will provide Delta Waterfowl with valuable habitat information that could be correlated to the success of the project.

Boxes are located in areas along streams and rivers that are in WRP easements and riparian buffer zones established through EQIP, CRP, CSP woodlands or stream corridors.

source: TWRA