How To

“Duck Wings” in Louisiana
by Chad Courville, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., and Doug Miller, Sweet Lake Land & Oil Company, Inc.

Louisiana has the highest coastal wetlands loss rate of any state in the Nation—1,500 square miles have disappeared over the past seven decades. Coastal marshes have been deteriorating since the advent of man-made navigation channels, which have changed the natural water-flow patterns of the landscape. These channels have allowed saltwater to intrude into marsh areas, where the high saline concentrations have killed the vegetation, leaving large areas of open water.

The wave action that is generated across these large open areas continues to erode shorelines and to stir up bottom sediments, which reduce water clarity. Consequently, production of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), the foundation of the marsh food chain and essential forage for resident and migratory waterfowl, is limited.

The 1986 North American Waterfowl Management Plan identified Gulf of Mexico coastal habitats, from Texas to the westernmost part of the Florida panhandle, as one of its high priority areas in which to conserve wetlands to help achieve its continental waterfowl population goals. Though known primarily for its winter concentrations of migratory birds, the Gulf Coast also is the year-round home for about 600,000 mottled ducks and contains important breeding habitat for fulvous and black-bellied whistling-ducks.

A partnership developed to restore and reestablish the vegetation vital to the well-being of these birds on land owned by Sweet Lake Land & Oil Company, Inc., Miami Corporation, and Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge. A $1 million North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant and partner contributions of $3 million got the ball rolling.

Partners adopted and adapted a relatively new technology: terrace construction. Using a marsh-buggy excavator, bay-bottom soils were molded into 1,000-foot-long terraces, having 40-foot-wide bases and 10-foot-wide tops emerging approximately 18 to 24 inches above mean-high tide. Each terrace was laid in a “duck-wing” pattern, or zig-zag row formation, approximately 500 feet apart.

To ensure the terrace’s longevity, plugs of smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) were planted at the water’s edge to bind the soil. The result has been a reduction in wind/wave action from almost any direction, an improvement in water clarity, and an increase in SAV production. As the terrace tops fill in with vegetation, they provide suitable nesting sites for resident wildlife, such as mottled ducks and American alligators. By augmenting the “edge effect” in the marsh and by creating borrow areas to obtain terrace materials, excellent fish habitat resulted.

Originally, the partners had planned to construct 12 miles of terraces, but the partnership grew, and they instead constructed 27 miles. To keep the momentum going, partners plan to seek additional support for more terrace construction.

Landowners in coastal Louisiana have a tremendous responsibility laid before them: preserve a national treasure. The road ahead of them may be long, but working in a partnership makes the trip doable. In restoring their coastal marshes, they will be benefitting not only themselves but also all those throughout the Mississippi and Central Flyways who play host to Louisiana’s wintering waterfowl in other seasons of the year.

For more information, contact Chad Courville, Regional Biologist, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., 646 Cajundome Boulevard, Suite 180, Lafayette, Louisiana 70506, (337) 291-3068, ccourville@ducks.org, or Doug Miller, Wildlife Operations Manager, Sweet Lake Land & Oil Company, Inc., 358 Chalkley Road, Bell City, Louisiana 70630, (337) 598-2376, dmiller@sweetlake.com.

Louisiana Coastal Restoration Project Partners

Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
Sweet Lake Land & Oil Company, Inc.
Miami Corporation
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Cameron Parish Police Jury
Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry

We Got Our Bootheel Wet
by Scott Crumpecker, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Missouri’s Bootheel Region lies at the uppermost reaches of the Mississippi River Delta. Prior to settlement, this area was predominately covered by hardwood swamp. With the development of drainage districts, the area experienced a rapid transition early in the 20th century: a natural mecca for waterfowl and other wildlife became an area that continues to be intensively farmed.

The Missouri Department of Conservation, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Ducks Unlimited, Inc., decided to form a partnership and initiate the Missouri Bootheel Partners Program to establish a network of seasonal wetlands on private lands. We encouraged farmers to consider post-harvest cropfield flooding and helped them to understand how this nontraditional agricultural/conservation practice in Missouri benefits their farming operations, the land, and wintering waterfowl.

Achieving the program’s goal relied on the domino effect. The farmer benefits because flooded cropfields inhibit weed growth and accelerate stubble decomposition, which leads to reduced tillage and herbicide usage, which, in turn, promotes minimum and no-till farming practices. The dominoes keep falling because no-till practices reduce soil erosion, which allows sediments and nutrients to remain on the fields and not find their way into streams and rivers. The added bonus is that waterfowl use the flooded fields to consume waste grain and weed seed, assisting in the control of undesirable species during the growing season and reducing the need for herbicides. It’s a process in which farmers, the environment, and wildlife all win.

The Bootheel Partners Program provides farmers with water-control structures and, in some instances, pipes to manage water levels. Participation in the program is voluntary, but when landowners receive water-control structures, they are asked to sign an agreement. Landowners signing on the line agree to install the materials at their own expense, to seasonally flood fields for a period of 10 years using rainwater catchment, and to allow site inspections by one of the partnership’s representatives. While program participants were encouraged to use a more dependable means of flooding their impoundment, they were not required to do so. Landowners have to maintain water in the impoundment after harvest through March 1.

With the help of a $50,000 North American Wetlands Conservation Act Small Grant, the partners and the 84 landowners who participated in the program successfully completed 238 projects within 2 years, putting 8,043 acres of seasonal wetland habitat on the ground when wintering waterfowl need it.

For more information, contact Scott Crumpecker, Biologist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, 18450 Ridgeview Lane, Dexter, Missouri 63841, (573) 624-7402 extension 5, scott.crumpecker@mo.usda.gov, www.nrcs.usda.gov/bootheel1.html.