{"id":3776,"date":"2024-08-30T06:39:40","date_gmt":"2024-08-30T11:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atomiccoffee.com\/WWA\/?p=3776"},"modified":"2024-09-18T06:51:13","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T11:51:13","slug":"wwas-first-public-lands-project-completed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atomiccoffee.com\/WWA\/wwas-first-public-lands-project-completed\/","title":{"rendered":"WWA\u2019s First Public Lands Project Completed"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mark<\/a>Navarino Wildlife Area<\/h3>\n

By Mark Pfost, Public Lands Ecologist \u2013 mpfost@wisducks.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association\u2019s September, 2024 Newsletter<\/a>\u00a0edition.<\/em><\/p>\n

In early 2023, WWA and the Wisconsin DNR entered into an agreement in which WWA ecologists search out opportunities and carry out wetland restorations on DNR lands, creating WWA’s Public Lands Program. In late July, WWA completed its first\u00a0 project on the south side of Navarino State Wildlife Area.<\/p>\n

In May of 2023, Navarino property manager \u201cJaqi\u201d Christopher showed me a ditch she thought could be plugged to restore a drained wetland. The 1,500\u2019 ditch was dug sometime between 1938 and 1983 and the adjacent drained lands were farmed. Eventually, sometime after DNR acquisition, the farm fields were restored to prairie habitat. The ditch, however, remained a tangle, overgrown with trees and shrubs.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The finished ditch plug<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Surveys, designs, and permit approvals were completed by the end of 2023 and construction started in late July. Trees and vegetation were cleared as needed and a ditch plug, 150\u2019 long, was built. Material for the plug was \u201cscraped\u201d from nearby, which created a small wetland.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The scrape<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s important to keep in mind that the ditch plug and the scrape are not the actual wetland restoration. The restored wetland is actually the fourteen-or-so acres to the west of the plug that will no longer be drained. Trees, including already imperiled ash, will die as water levels increase and the area will become more open. As with all habitat restorations, it will take time before the effects are readily visible.<\/p>\n

Check out this video of the Navarino project:<\/p>\n