Ryan Kopseng

Ryan Kopseng loves a mighty tornado. The bigger the better. Give him a whirling dervish 500 strong. A thousand thrills him even more.

Ten thousand? Bring it on.

Kopseng will take as many dark clouds of migrating mallards as the windswept Dakota prairie can send his way.

The Bismarck, North Dakota, outdoorsman enjoys pursuing a wide range of game from wild sheep to deer to fish. But the spectacle of a massive spin of greenheads cutting through frigid autumn winds fuels his primary hunting obsession.

"I just love hunting late-season mallards," Kopseng said, his voice tinged with excitement. "There's nothing better than mallards in a field."

Kopseng, the executive vice president of United Energy Corporation, has lived his entire life in North Dakota.

"Duck hunting is part of the culture here," he said. "I've duck hunted as long as I can remember. When I was in first grade, I'd stare out the classroom windows in the fall watching migrating geese and wish I was hunting. Now at age 48, I stare out my office windows when the ducks and geese are migrating wishing I was out hunting."

Philanthropy is an important part of Kopseng's life as a passionate duck hunter, and his values align with Delta Waterfowl's Duck Production programs.

"I've shot enough ducks in my life where, frankly, I should give back and pay it forward for the future," Kopseng said. "Delta has the right cause that mirrors what I want. I want more ducks. Delta is working for all of us to have more ducks."

In a chance meeting through his kid's involvement in youth hockey, Kopseng met Scott Terning, Delta's vice president of events. While watching their kids skate and shoot pucks, talk turned to duck hunting. Before long, Kopseng and Terning were hunting mallards in fields together.

After encouragement from Terning, Kopseng jumped at the opportunity to visit Delta's Minnedosa Research Station during the duck nesting season, where he watched students conducting field research and observed mallards occupying Hen Houses in southwestern Manitoba. The trip confirmed for Kopseng that his donations to Delta are a smart investment.

"I'm a business guy. How do you create more mallards that come by my hunting spot in November? Data shows that most of the mallards where I hunt come from the parklands of Saskatchewan. So, if I want more mallards, I should invest in Delta Hen Houses in Saskatchewan. When I write the check, it'll cause more ducks to fly by my blind. I want to preserve the great mallard tornados in the north."

As a father, Kopseng also wants to ensure his children and their kids have abundant ducks and great places to hunt them, too.

"I've been involved in some pretty wicked (great) duck hunting my whole life, and I love duck hunting, so I want to preserve it for myself and for future generations," he said.

In addition to contributing as a major donor to Delta, Kopseng has been developing what he calls a "passion project" on 13 acres along the Missouri River. He's created three impoundments and plants millet annually to help attract ducks. It's working well to draw wood ducks and teal early, while those late-season mallards he cherishes pile in later, especially when the nearby shallow potholes freeze.

It's all part of Kopseng's evolution as a duck hunter.

"When you're a kid, you want to kill as many ducks as you can," he said. "Stage 2 is, ‘Let's try to just shoot green heads today.' Stage 3—where I'm at now—is to create habitat to attract ducks. Some people buy a Corvette for their midlife crisis, but I built duck ponds for mine."

Brian MacGregor, a development director for Delta, appreciates Kopseng's enthusiasm for hunting and his contributions to Delta's Duck Production programs.

"Ryan Kopseng supports what Delta is doing to produce more ducks through Predator Management and Hen Houses," MacGregor said. "He's setting a perfect example of how a generous donor helps ducks and duck hunters throughout North America."

As another autumn approaches and Kopseng looks longingly out his office window for any hint of a migration, he knows his investment has added whistling wings to the fall flight.

"I believe in Delta's programs," he said. "I know they're working."—Paul Wait