New Ducks Unlimited president sees role as “a promise” for the future

Published 9:39 am Thursday, June 11, 2026

QUINCY — The new president of Ducks Unlimited says his work with the organization is not about a title.

It’s about the mission.

“We just continue to work at whatever position it might be, wherever we’re asked to serve to further our mission to conserve, restore and manage wetlands and associated habitats for North America’s waterfowl,” Rex Schulz said. “That’s why people do it.”

Schulz, a retired Quincy pathologist with three decades of service to Blessing Hospital, was elected this month as the 48th president of the organization that wraps up its fiscal year June 30 with 33,000 volunteers throughout the United States, 825 staff members, and 740,000 members and contributors, including chapters based in Quincy, North Adams County, Pittsfield, and Palmyra..

Perhaps most important, Schulz said, the organization completed a million acres of conservation work for the third year in a row.

“From 1984 to the present, we’ve done 20 million acres of conservation in the United States,” Schulz said. “I’m very proud of that. All DU members, everybody that’s a member in Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, everywhere, should be proud of that achievement.”

Schulz is in the midst of a six-year commitment to serving in the organization’s top leadership roles – two years as first vice president, two as president, and two as board chairman.

It’s work he considers as a promise for the future.

“A promise to fight for every acre of wetland, every flight of migrating waterfowl, and every community that depends on healthy water and wild places,” he said.

“Together, we will honor the legacy of those who came before us by pushing even harder for the future we believe in, one where conservation isn’t just something the members, volunteers, and supporters of Ducks Unlimited do. It’s who we are.”

Schulz found inspiration in the legacy of his grandfathers, Nebraska men who lived and farmed through the Dust Bowl era and understood land stewardship and the responsibility to leave their land better than they found it. More inspiration came from hunting activities with his dad at a friend’s farm near Plymouth.

“Those kinds of things resonated with me,” Schulz said.

So did advice from an attending physician during his residency who stressed the importance of finding a way to give back.

“I enjoyed waterfowling a great deal, so that made sense. I took his advice,” Schulz said. “I thought when I volunteered that I was going to dig in the mud and put up wood duck boxes, hands-on activities. What you find out as a volunteer is one of the biggest responsibilities is to identify fundraising opportunities because the fundraising that you’re part of actually is the fuel that feeds the engine of conservation delivery.”

Schulz started the same way as many DU volunteers – selling raffle tickets, working the front door at a banquet. “It just kind of grew,” Schulz said. “I have been in many leadership roles, on the board since 2008, but I didn’t aspire to be president.”

As president, Schulz expects to travel some 30 weeks out of the year, meeting with members nationwide, serving on the boards of Ducks Unlimited Canada and the Wetlands America Trust, DU’s land trust and foundation arm, and pushing the organization toward its aspiration goals of continuing to reach 1 million acres of conservation a year, growing into a half-billion-dollar business, and boosting the membership to 1 million.

“Our core constituent groups are duck hunters and waterfowlers. We won’t lose focus of that while we look for new opportunities and diversification of revenue streams,” Schulz said.

Schulz also wants to see the organization continue to grow its volunteer base, lean into efficiencies to deliver conservation efforts, and stress what he calls the four F’s for volunteerism – family, financial stability, faith, and fun.

“We do the right things in the right place ultimately for the benefit of waterfowl and the waterfowl species,” he said. “Volunteers are really, really important to this organization and how we accomplish what we’re doing.”

The avid waterfowler, upland bird hunter, and golfer also manages, with his wife Lori, her family’s centennial farm for deer and turkey with an eye toward providing the same opportunities to the next generations, including his son and grandsons.

“We’re really blessed to have them currently,” Schulz said. “I would love to have some impact to ensure that continues into the future.”