The Lincoln County chapter of Ducks Unlimited, an organization focused on habitat conservation and responsible hunting practices, will have its annual banquet Nov. 5 at the Brookhaven FEMA building at 1154 Beltline Drive.

The banquet will be a fun event even for those who aren’t duck hunters. Doors for the event open at 5:45 p.m., and dinner starts at 6:45 p.m. Tickets for the event will be $45 for single tickets, $75 for couples, $25 for kids, $350 for a bronze sponsor and $1,000 for a corporate sponsor. Tickets can be bought online at www.ducks.org/mississippi/events, and they will also be sold at the door. The event will feature live and silent auctions and a raffle.

The species of duck native to Mississippi is called the wood duck, according to Caleb Covington of Ducks Unlimited. In the late 1800s, wood ducks were nearly wiped out from over hunting.

“Unregulated hunting and destruction of woodland and wetland habitat had caused the wood duck population to decline to alarmingly low levels,” a report from the National Resource Conservation Service said. “By the beginning of the 20th century, wood ducks had virtually disappeared from much of their former range.”

In the 1930s, a group of hunters banded together to form Ducks Unlimited, an organization whose vision is “wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever.”

Thanks in part to the efforts of Ducks Unlimited, along with other efforts of the early 20th century like the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, the population of wood ducks has again become stable, though Ducks Unlimited cautions that it is difficult to accurately estimate their population.

Covington said the Lincoln County chapter of Ducks Unlimited is 100 percent volunteer supported. Its main goal is to raise money and awareness for waterfowl conservation in events like the banquet on Nov. 5.

“Come out and support your local event to raise money for projects that are going on within the state to increase habitat for ducks,” Covington said. “There’s other ways that you could help improve habitat: by responsible hunting practices, purchasing your duck stamps, taking the right measures, using steel shot and being really conservative on what you shoot and your limits. Be observant on what your bag limit is. Respect the game that you’re after.”

Ducks Unlimited is an international organization, according to Covington, that covers birds that migrate from Canada all the way to South America.