Recent Progress: Increase

Because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) stopped collecting black duck population data in 2016, progress toward this outcome is based on acres of viable wetland habitat for wintering black ducks. Wetlands that have been created, restored or enhanced to support wintering black duck populations are reported annually through the Habitat Tracker, Changes in wetland acreage are calculated from a 2017 baseline.

Since 2017, acres of wetland habitat that have been created, restored or enhanced to support wintering black ducks have increased. Specifically, 470 acres of black duck-suitable wetlands have been created, 2,995 acres restored and 27,457 acres enhanced.

Outlook: Off Course

The Black Duck Decision Support Tool, developed by the Atlantic Coast Joint Venture in 2017, estimated that an additional 151,272 acres of primarily high-quality tidal marsh habitat are needed to support a wintering population of 100,000 black ducks. Progress toward this target has been insufficient, with only 4.08% of the wetland creation and restoration goal and 18.3% of the wetland enhancement and preservation goal achieved. The outlook for achieving the Black Duck Outcome is off course, as progress does not support meeting the outcome by 2025. 

Gains and Enhancements in Black Duck-suitable Wetland Habitat (Cumulative) (2017-2024) ^‍‍

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Black duck-suitable wetland habitat has increased by 30,795 acres since 2017. This net gain reflects wetland creation, restoration and enhancement projects, as well as the loss of wetlands to impervious and extractive land uses. These land uses, which include urban development, agriculture, the construction of roads and the dredging of aquatic habitat, drive wetland loss by preventing water infiltration and removing soil and vegetation.  Since 2014, an estimated 127.5 acres of black duck-suitable wetland habitat have been lost due to this type of land use.

Once the most abundant dabbling duck in eastern North America, the American black duck has seen a population decline due to changes in land use and the loss of food and habitat, especially tidal wetlands. The mid-Atlantic region (which includes the Chesapeake Bay) supports the largest population of wintering black ducks in eastern North America. The 100,000-bird target is based on the USFWS North American Waterfowl Management Plan, which aims for a continental black duck breeding population of 640,000 birds. Preserving habitat in the Bay watershed is critical for the species’ long-term sustainability. Restoring black duck-suitable habitat will also benefit other waterfowl that winter in the region.

Scientific partners use land-change models and sea-level rise projections to forecast potential black duck habitat loss and make decisions about habitat restoration, enhancement and protection. Researchers and natural resource managers have found that the size of wetland patches is important to black ducks, with larger patches being more beneficial. Habitat connectivity should therefore be prioritized, as accessibility to forested and other wetland habitats and underwater grass beds will be crucial for the success of black ducks.

Learn About Factors Influencing Progress

To achieve the Black Duck Outcome, participating partners have committed to:

• Restoring historic black duck breeding and wintering habitats.
• Enhancing and managing black duck habitats by restoring riparian buffers, underwater grass beds, or converted wetlands; managing open marshes and wetland water levels; controlling beavers, exotic and invasive species; and performing prescribed burns.
• Protecting black duck habitats through conservation easements or other land protection mechanisms.
• Reviewing and streamlining regulatory legislation, enforcement and permitting processes.

Monitoring and assessing progress toward the outcome are based on wetland conservation data. The Chesapeake Bay Program measures acres of wetland habitat restored, enhanced and protected, as reported by watershed jurisdictions, through the Habitat Tracker. Jurisdictions also complete mid-winter waterfowl surveys, which provide indices of black duck and other waterfowl's use of available habitat.

As part of the Chesapeake Bay Program's partnership-wide implementation of adaptive management, progress toward this outcome was reviewed and discussed by the Management Board in December 2023. 

Download Management Strategy (.pdf)

Chesapeake Bay Program partners have committed to taking a series of specific actions that will support the management approaches listed above.

Ongoing

• Reviewing regulations and permitting processes for wetland protection, restoration, and management to streamline the planning and implementation of conservation actions.
• Restoring tidal wetland hydrology and key habitats, such as submerged aquatic vegetation, wetlands, marshland, and riparian buffers, on black duck wintering, migrating, and breeding grounds.
• Supporting partner efforts to improve water level management on managed wetlands by replacing compromised water control structures and repairing leaking levees.
• Restoring submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) or converted wetlands, managing open marshes (e.g., converting non-tidal waters back to salt marsh), and restoring and managing riparian buffers.
• Implementing long-term protection measures, such as conservation easements, cooperative agreements, or leases, to secure key black duck habitats.
• Monitoring predator management programs that benefit wintering or breeding black duck populations.
• Assessing the impacts of hybridization and disease transmission from captive-bred released waterfowl.
• Maintaining engagement and communication with local officials. 

Recently Completed

2024

• The Black Duck Action Team merged with the Wetlands Workgroup and expanded its focus to include all marsh-related waterbirds.

2021

• USGS created a Habitat Vulnerability Assessment tool to estimate food availability across five main wetland cover types used by overwintering American Black Ducks: subtidal, freshwater, high marsh, low marsh, and mudflat. Bioenergetics models, simplified into energetic demand and supply, informed the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP). By analyzing the difference between supply and demand, conservation planning can be directed to determine "what, where, and how much" habitat is needed to achieve the target carrying capacity.

Learn About Logic & Action Plan

The Vital Habitats Goal Implementation Team leads the effort to achieve this outcome. It works in partnership with the Healthy Watersheds Goal Implementation Team.

Participating partners include:

• Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Division of Fish and Wildlife (State of Delaware)
• University of Delaware (State of Delaware)
• Maryland Department of Natural Resources (State of Maryland)
• University of Massachusetts Northeast Climate Science Center, Landscape Ecology Lab and Department of Environmental Conservation (State of Massachusetts)
• Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (Commonwealth of Virginia)
• Virginia Institute of Marine Science (Commonwealth of Virginia)
• Department of Energy and Environment (District of Columbia)
• Chesapeake Bay Commission
• Atlantic Coast Joint Venture (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
• Black Duck Joint Venture (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
• National Wildlife Refuge System (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
• Natural Resources Conservation Service (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• U.S. Geological Survey
• Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (Chesapeake Bay Program Local Government Advisory Committee)
• Ducks Unlimited