Aside from a cadre of concerned waterfowl hunters and other bird enthusiasts, few knew of the looming catastrophe. Its success story could and should have been better told.Īt the same time, those wetlands that had not been protected were dwindling, particularly the temporary and seasonal wetlands that are most important to the continent’s birds. Fish and Wildlife Service, scientists, a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, and other experts in communications.Īfter more than two years of research, the team reached an astonishing conclusion: if anything, the significant accomplishments of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act in prairie Canada had been underreported. The project team included distinguished conservationists from across the nation, including former leaders of state natural resource agencies or branches of the U.S. 1 on the 25 most important and threatened waterfowl habitats on the continent.In 2016, the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation began an unprecedented review of the funds sent to Canada’s prairies under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act in hopes of identifying potential improvements to the system, ensuring that it could be held up as a model of effective conservation and efficient government spending.

Ducks Unlimited names the Prairie Wetlands Region No. Millions of birds who once nested there have vanished. Unfortunately, there is not a big push by residents of the five states to save them, as agricultural interests continue to swallow the land. Potter compares these prairie breeding grounds to the importance of the Amazon in South America. And as the birds got comfortable, we’d go inches away.” A beautiful, photo-rich companion book to the internationally distributed IMAX film of the same name, Wings Over Water celebrates the prairie wetlands of North America and the birds that live and breed in this critical habitat. Wings For Wetlands LLC, foreword by Michael Keaton. “We had to acclimate the birds to our presence. The Vital Magic of North America’s Prairie Wetlands. “They’d start 10 feet away from the birds,” Potter said. Cinematographers on the ground get closeups. Drones follow flying birds up close as they traverse vast territories. The cinematography is so jaw dropping that sometimes it doesn’t seem real. We’re trying to do that for prairie wetlands with today’s technology.” “Ansel Adams’ photography awakened the world to the West. “We think this movie will transform the way conversation is communicated,” Potter said. This movie brings that idea to a mainstream audience.

Lake Forest’s Charlie Potter, executive producer of the film and president and CEO of the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation, notes that the ecological significance for birds and other species of the wetlands remains unequaled in North America. Aside from wildlife, some 50 million people rely on this ecosystem for clean water. The joint venture of the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation, Ducks Unlimited and the National Audubon Society is aimed at alerting the world that these prairie wetlands need to be protected. Charlie Potter (right) gets together with rock star Huey Lewis during a Wings Over Water event.

Wings Over Water by Wings for Wetlands