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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. |