Wetland Enhancement in the Big Woods

SLW is committed to improving habitat in our area. We have also done many youth events to get kids involved in outdoor recreation. Although we have had to start a new club after the Minnesota Waterfowl Association dissolved, we have a core group of volunteers eager to put more habitat on the ground. We are nearing completion of a CPL grant for wetland restorations on a newly acquired WMA in Le Sueur County. This LSOHC grant will allow our conservation group to expand our habitat enhancement activities to a larger scale.

This grant will enhance 43 acres of small to midsize wetlands.

The small wetlands on existing WMAs will be enhanced by removing sediment and invasive reed canary grass along with ditch plugs constructed in drainage ways. Once construction is done wetland seeding will take place to establish beneficial native plants and fend off invasive species. The small wetlands on existing WMAs were often overlooked for restoration when originally purchased, now that there is a better understanding of their ecological importance. This helps maximize the productivity of our limited public lands for both game and nongame species.

The midsized wetlands to be enhanced under this grant application are typically 5-15 acres in size and were restored when the parcels were originally purchased in the 70s and 80s. At that time it was common practice to build an embankment with whatever material was close. This reduced cost and worked for several decades. After several repeated 50 and 100 year rain events the embankments have deteriorated. This combined with burrowing rodent activity has caused all or portions of the embankments to erode away. This has led to partially or fully draining the wetland basins. To remedy the situation new embankments will be designed with engineered fill, wave berms or rodent walls will be installed, and spillways designed to safely pass high intensity storms so they are durable and long lasting.