Outreach & Preservation: We have completed the process of protecting 117 acres with a conservation easement with the USDA Wetland Reserve Program. This will insure that the area remains a wetland and includes a management goal of enhancing natural life habitat of the site. The easement was purchased and funds are available for improvements. The site includes all the streams, riparian areas and flood plains on the farm. All the 30 acre flood plain is now converted to constructed wetlands.
Wetlands & Streams: We have constructed another 30 acres of wetlands in order to continue our experiments with farming wetlands which is not permitted in WRP site at this time. The 8 plus inches of rain through Nov 20 has fallen very gently and the streams are just beginning to flow enough to fill the frog ponds along the riparian area.. The channelized stream now splits into a meandering stream channel that was constructed this summer to experiment with controlled flows to provide fish refuge during flood events. An adjustable gate will reduce velocity in the new channel. The older straight channel had become choked with cattails mint and willows and observable fish activity had declined. The dozer was used to make a series of debris and clay dams which created a series of pools and raised the channel water level substantially. From past observation, Nutria move into pools and cut out cattails creating open water which increased the fish activity. Seasonal streams provide spawning and refuge habitat for many forms of aquatic life. The new stream channel will run through a more open wetland prairie while the old channel will be shaded with trees and shrubs to observe aquatic activity and water temperatures in the different environments.
Cropland: About 30 acres will be planted in the new wetlands this spring. These are not in the WRP protected site. Past experience has demonstrated increased production of spring planted crops in seasonal wetlands that can be drained early enough to work the soil. The new wetlands will only get runoff from the Farm.