The Extra Mile: Ducks Unlimited

Growing up, Reese Devries ’24 spent a lot of time on the water. His family owned a marina on the James River in the 1960s. As the seasons changed, so did their hobbies.  

“Fishing and being on the boat were kind of a segue into duck hunting,” he said. “Once the summer runs out, we’re switching over and trying to find something new to do on the weekends.” 

After spending time on both federal and state land, he was inspired to preserve the land he loved. Eventually, his family boating trips turned into clean-up efforts.  

“We would go out, and pick up trash, or rebuild blinds,” he said. “We wanted to keep the habitat up for fish, waterfowl, and everything else.”  

Throughout his childhood, Devries spent weekends hunting with his uncle and grandfather, and occasionally attended Ducks Unlimited meetings. During his first year at Virginia Military Institute, he learned that his uncle–dyke (a roommate of his senior mentor) was one of the founding members of VMI’s Ducks Unlimited Club.  

“He asked if any of us wanted to go to the club, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I love Ducks Unlimited,’” he said. “And now here I am — three years later, as a chairman.”  

What is Ducks Unlimited?  

The mission of Ducks Unlimited is to conserve, restore, and manage wetlands and associated habitats for North America’s waterfowl. The VMI Ducks Unlimited Club hosts an annual banquet at the Commonwealth Club in Richmond, which is accomplished by fundraising through a live auction, raffle, donations, and selling tables.  

Last year at the annual banquet the VMI club raised $27,000 for Ducks Unlimited.  

“All of that money goes towards the conservation mission,” said Devries.

“We’re not just a VMI club — we’re also a part of a national organization,” said Devries, who is the cadet in charge of the club. “We get to work with people who have been doing this for 20 to 30 years, as opposed to us, who have only been in the club for three years.”  

With nearly 4,000 Ducks Unlimited chapters across the nation, the VMI Ducks Unlimited Club is making a huge mark.  

“We’ve been recognized as both a silver and an all-American chapter at our National Collegiate Conference,” said Devries. 

The VMI Ducks Unlimited Club works directly with the VMI Alumni Association, the regional director of Ducks Unlimited, and the chairman of the Richmond Ducks Unlimited Chapter, Elliot Warren ’17. With these resources at hand, the VMI club can send out invitations and orchestrate large-scale events.  

Devries shared that the banquet is much greater than a networking event — It’s a chance to connect with likeminded individuals and make lasting relationships.  

“Alumni will come to their reunion, and they’ll recognize me and shake my hand and say, ‘Hey, man, when’s the next Ducks Unlimited banquet?’” he said. “The banquet doesn’t just impact us as a chapter — but the people that get to come and experience it really enjoy it.”  

A club strictly for hunters and fishermen? Nope.  

When it comes to hunting, deer, duck, squirrel, and rabbit are all fair game to Lucas Wood ’24. Growing up in Eastern North Carolina, he started hunting with his dad at a young age. 

Wood, an economics and business major, interned with Ducks Unlimited last summer. After graduating from VMI, he hopes to return to their corporate office. “I’m looking at potentially going back there to work for Ducks Unlimited, or going into agricultural sales,” he said.   

There’s a common misconception about Ducks Unlimited. It’s a conservation group, not a hunting club, according to Wood, the assistant cadet in charge.  

The biggest challenge the organization faces? Convincing hunters to practice conservation.  

“When somebody gets that itch, they want to take people with them,” said Devries. “They want to get other people involved … so they have somebody to go with and Ducks Unlimited is a great place to find people to go with.”  

The group has two main recruiting pools: “people who enjoy hunting and people who are solely there for the conservation efforts,” said Devries.  

For hunters, the organizations’ goal is to educate and inform them.  

“The biggest thing that anybody that’s out hunting can do … is making sure that they’re following all of the regulations,” said Wood.  

While these rules may seem strict to the average person, they are in place for a reason.  

“If they have a limit on how many ducks you can kill, there’s actually a scientist and biologist who figured out that that is the best way that we can grow the population of the waterfowl,” said Wood.  

Ducks Unlimited is open to all cadets, including rats. The club hosts their annual event during the Spring semester and encourages members to take on leadership roles within the club. “It’s really nice having [the rats] come back… and then they can give guidance as 3rd Class cadets,” said Devries. “Then, they can take on a leadership role as a 2nd or 1st Class cadet.”