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Ducks Unlimited Receives Honors for Accomplishments With GIS Technology

Organization is Among the First Nonprofits to Receive the Prestigious Award

Memphis, TN

July 8, 2003—Ducks Unlimited (DU) will be honored on July 10, 2003, with a Special Achievement in GIS award from Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), the world leader in geographic information system (GIS) software. Selected from more than 100,000 organizations worldwide, winners of this award have displayed extraordinary use of GIS technology. ESRI will honor these organizations at the Twenty-third Annual ESRI International User Conference in San Diego, California, among thousands of GIS professionals.

http://www.ducks.org/news/GISAward.asp
DU of the future: Using new GIS technologies, such as this image of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, assists DU with conservation planning.

“The outstanding work of the Special Achievement award winners is inspirational,” said Jack Dangermond, ESRI president. “These organizations have embraced GIS technology and used it to bring real benefits to the people they serve.”

A GIS is a computer-based mapping tool that takes information from a database about a location, such as streets, buildings, water features, and terrain, and turns it into visual layers. The ability to see geographic features on a map gives users a better understanding of a particular location, enabling planners, analysts, and others to make informed decisions about their communities.

DU is being recognized for utilizing GIS technologies to better enhance and improve its conservation mission. Chris Baker, GIS manager for DU in Memphis, TN, was thrilled to learn the news, “This is a great honor for the GIS department at DU and a source of pride. It also puts our efforts in the National and International spotlight as a leading edge organization.”

“This honor highlights to the world how DU is pioneering the latest technologies to deliver one of the most effective conservation programs,” said Don Young, DU’s executive vice president. He added, “ESRI is a global leader in the spatial data arena and thus their recognition of DU is truly of significance given their large and diverse client base.”

The DU GIS team uses this technology as the "eyes and ears" for the organization’s science-based conservation planning. GIS permits DU to quantify and qualify waterfowl habitat, do important analyses, and design eco-spatial models to prioritize different types of restoration work over tens of millions of acres at a time.

For more information contact: Bob Benson, Manager of Media Relations at 901-758-3859, [e-mail], or Nikki Snowhite, ESRI Marketing Communications at 909-793-2853, ext. 2194, [e-mail].

Contact: Bob Benson
Phone : [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest wetlands and waterfowl conservation organization. Since its founding in 1937, DU has raised more than $1.7 billion to conserve nearly 11 million acres of critical wildlife habitat across North America. For more information: www.ducks.org.

For more than 30 years, ESRI has been the leading developer of GIS software with more than 300,000 clients worldwide. ESRI software is used in all 200 of the largest cities in the United States and in more than 60 percent of counties and municipalities nationwide. Headquartered in California, ESRI has regional offices throughout the United States, international distributors in more than 90 countries, and more than 1,500 business partners. ESRI's goal is to develop comprehensive tools that enable users to efficiently manage, use, and serve geographic information to make a difference in the world around them. ESRI also provides consulting, implementation, and technical support services. ESRI can be found on the Web at http://www.esri.com