Field and Stream Magazine
"Hero of Conservation"
Scott Jasion
 

Harford County DU member and Maryland Wood Duck Initiative volunteer extraordinaire Scott Jasion of Fallston, Maryland has been named a “Hero of Conservation” by Field & Stream magazine.  

Each month Field & Stream magazine profiles three Heroes of Conservation. Heroes who are featured, beginning with the November 2007 issue, are all eligible for the grand prize -- a new 2008 Toyota Tundra Doublecab. Prizes will be awarded at a gala event in September 2008.

Scott, who the August 2008 issue of Field and Stream referred to as a “Warrior for Woodies,” will receive a $1,000 grant from Toyota for his wood duck box program.  And, he may be among six finalists, one of whom wins that new truck, with the remaining five to be awarded $5,000 grants for their conservation program.   

Scott is actively involved in the Harford County Wood Duck Project and the Maryland Wood Duck Initiative, building, installing, gathering statistics, and maintaining 80 Wood Duck nesting boxes.

After being nominated for Conservationist of the year by Chip Heaps, Senior Regional Director for Maryland Ducks Unlimited, Scott completed a questionnaire about his wood duck program, part of which we’ll share with you in Scott’s own words.

Are you a Sportsman? If so, what do you like to hunt and fish for?
Yes, I’m an avid waterfowl and upland bird hunter, and I also shoot sporting clays regularly in the off season.

Conservation Project Information:
Project Title: Harford County Wood Duck Initiative
Location: Harford County, Maryland, primarily in the Days Cove area of the Gunpowder Falls State Park, but also Deer Creek, and the Susquehanna River.  A new project is beginning in Rock Hall in Kent County, as well.

Species Involved: Wood Ducks, but also working toward better quail, turkey and deer habitat at the Rock Hall location.

Date of completion: Ongoing project. The wood duck project began in 1997 with 12 duck boxes and has improved and expanded ever since to over 80 boxes (20 new one’s this year). The maintenance and monitoring of the duck boxes is ever ongoing.

Goal: I consider life to be “put and take”. I like to take a few birds each year, and I feel it my obligation to “put” bunches back!

What were the problems in your area that made this conservation project necessary?  This was an opportunity to improve the wood duck population in local areas near some public hunting.

How did you get the project started?
In 1997 an Eagle Scout candidate contacted me, as the area chairman for my local Ducks Unlimited chapter, to help him with his Eagle Scout project. The scout needed help with duck box plans, and also was seeking donations of lumber, supplies, and labor for his project.  He had already secured a suitable habitat in the Days Cove area of Gunpowder Falls State Park in Harford County through the assistance of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. 

After the boxes were constructed and installed, I saw the need to go back each spring to clean and maintain those boxes, which led to a desire to expand that program.  The Harford County Chapter of Ducks Unlimited adopted the program and each year, I and several others, have monitored the boxes for egg production, tracked hatches, improved predator protection, and installed new duck boxes in additional locations.

How did you accomplish the project’s goals?
Initially, I thought that installing a few boxes would be “good enough”. The following spring, a few DU volunteers went out with me to check those boxes, clean them out, and maintain the boxes with wood chips for fresh nesting material.  While cleaning them, we could easily see that egg fragments were present, but really had no idea as to the quantity of eggs or hatches. We simply cleaned and prepared for the next season.  Since that time, I became aware of another Duck Box project being executed by Cliff Brown of the Maryland Wood Duck Initiative. Cliff has been involved in studying box programs and was beginning to establish some “best practices”. I met up with Cliff, toured a project he was overseeing, and discussed how to get a better handle on what was happening on my project. 

Since then, our activity has significantly increased and includes much more than simply installing a few boxes. We prepare boxes for nesting by early March, then monitor them in April, again in May, and again in June.  This monitoring allows us to identify the number eggs laid, count hatches, learn about “dump nests” (where multiple hens lay in the same box and often abandon them), and to actually determine when snake and raccoon predation was occurring.  

Originally, the boxes were installed where they were easily accessible and most were installed with 2 boxes to a post.  We learned that a high percentage of these clustered boxes resulted in dumping activity.  Experimenting with installing a single box to a pole, versus double boxes, and spacing the boxes further apart, we found fewer eggs laid, but a higher hatch count.  It seemed counter intuitive, but turned out that a lower box density actually meant more ducks hatched.  Over the next several years, we expanded the program, replaced all the double boxes with singles, and spread the poles out over a much larger area.

Tell us why you’re involved in conservation work. 
My conservation involvement began as a teenager joining Ducks Unlimited and has blossomed into a lifelong passion. As a young waterfowler, I experienced phenomenal goose hunting, only to be followed by a complete ban on migrant goose hunting in Maryland.  As an adult, I got involved in a local chapter of DU as a volunteer to learn how I could help.  I have held many volunteer positions in DU including area, zone, and district chairman and becoming a DU Life Sponsor.

These experiences grew into a passion and a life philosophy of  “put and take.” I like to take a few birds each year, and I feel it my responsibility to “put” bunches back!  I’m actively involved in the Harford County Wood Duck Project and the Maryland Wood Duck Initiative, building, installing, gathering statistics, and maintaining 80 Wood Duck nesting boxes. Over the course of 10 years, I’ve learned more about best practices and have seen an increase in ducks hatched through these efforts.

In 2007 I realized a lifelong dream of owning property to develop into suitable wildlife habitat.  My vision for this 85 acre parcel in Rock Hall MD is to maximize habitat in the fields, marsh, woods, and two shallow water impoundments.  Longer term, I hope to develop a venue to inspire young people to embrace the importance of conservation as they experience the joy of hunting.  Improvements are already underway. The property has been placed in a conservation easement to preserve it in perpetuity. 

In my years of hunting, I’ve witnessed the value of conservation efforts and have found my niche to contribute.  As a passionate hunter, I feel that in order to “take a few,” I ought to be “putting a lot.”  As DU says…More Habitat on the ground…means More Birds in the Air.

-Scott Jasion

 Photos (top to bottom):

• (l to r) Harford County DU Members: Jamie Baker, Scott Jasion, Jason Schlosser, and Ron Jasion.

• (l to r) Harford County DU members Ron Jasion, Jason Schlosser and Scott Jasion are surely our most intrepid volunteers to date! This crazy crew had scheduled to go out on Sunday, Feb. 25th to do some duck box maintenance in Days Cove ....and they did!

• Scott Jasion (on the right) during Upper Bay Greenwing Youth Day, a Ducks Unlimited youth event, June 7, 2008.

• Upper Bay Greenwing Youth Day, a Ducks Unlimited youth event, June 7, 2008.

• Wood Duck Nest Boxes completed during Upper Bay Greenwing Youth Day