Winous Point: 150 Years of Waterfowling and Conservation

Founded in 1856 on the shores of Lake Erie's Sandusky Bay, Winous Point Shooting Club is the oldest continuously operated duck hunting club in America. It has, in that respect, seen a lot of history. Among its early members were Jay Cooke, chief financier of the Union during the Civil War; John Hay, secretary to Abraham Lincoln and secretary of state under three U.S. presidents; Charles F. Brush, a pioneer in the commercial development of electricity; and many other notable historical figures.
Each of these men forged separate legacies in industry, science, and government. But together, as sportsmen, they helped build a legacy of habitat and wildlife conservation that has been even longer lasting, and continues to have a greater positive impact on the life of the nation.

Winous Point: 150 Years of Waterfowling and Conservation tells the story of the birth and growth not only of an Ohio duck hunting club, but of the modern wetland conservation movement. From its founding by amateur naturalists with a hunger for collecting, categorizing, and understanding the region's flora and fauna to its battles over market hunting, spring shooting, baiting, and more, Winous has made history in its own right.

It was the first duck hunting club in the nation to ban spring shooting of waterfowl, the first to appoint a wildlife biologist to manage its 5,000-acre property, and the first to launch major wetland research and educational programs to advance the study of wetland and waterfowl management. More recently, it became the first hunting club to establish a nonprofit land conservancy, which it did on the cusp of its 150th anniversary, securing its precious wetlands-and its legacy-for generations to come.

Deluxe clamshell edition also available.

Tod Sedgwick and members of his family have been members of Winous Point for well over a century. Mr. Sedgwick is a member of the board of directors of Wetlands America Trust, the conservation affiliate of Ducks Unlimited, and is on the national council of the Land Trust Alliance. He is also editor and publisher of The Bird Hunting Report, a monthly newsletter for hunters who travel. He grew up in Cleveland and hunted at Winous with his father, Ellery Sedgwick Jr., for many years. He is currently serving as U.S. ambassador to the Slovak Republic.

Roy W. Kroll managed Winous Point operations for 25 years, from 1983 to 2008. A certified wildlife biologist since 1984, his research on marsh management and restoration, wetland wildlife ecology, and historical trends of Lake Erie marshes appears in scientific and technical journals and books. He's also had some pretty good duck dogs and bird dogs. A native of Youngstown, Ohio, he is now Manager of Conservation Programs at Ducks Unlimited's Great Lakes and Atlantic Regional Office in Ann Arbor, Michigan.