GREAT LAKES / ATLANTIC REGION Indiana 2012 Conservation report • Celebrating DuCks unlimiteD’s 75th anniversary NORTHEAST POTHOLES PROGRAM A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS For more than a decade, the Northeast Potholes Program has been one of Ducks Unlimited’s most successful conservation programs in the state of Indiana. In partnership with many other conservation entities, including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Indiana Department of Natural Resources and Pheasants Forever, DU has successfully restored more than 1,210 acres of native prairie grasslands and 288 acres of emergent, scrub-shrub and forested wetlands through 170 individual projects. The overwhelming majority of these restorations have occurred in Elkhart, LaGrange, Steuben, Kosciusko, Noble, DeKalb, Whitley and Allen counties in northeast Indiana. Due to the widespread success of the Northeast Potholes Program, in 2012 DU and its conservation partners will be expanding the focus area to include St. Joseph, Marshall and Fulton counties. The new 11-county focus area will allow DU and its partners to restore and enhance even more high-quality wetlands and grasslands across northern Indiana. Funding for the Northeast Potholes Program has been provided by DU major sponsors, two North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grants, the NiSource Environmental Challenge Fund, the SportDOG Brand Conservation Fund and conservation partner funds. Upon completion of the most recent NAWCA grant, DU and its partners will apply for a third grant to continue the successful conservation of wetlands and grasslands important to nesting and migrating waterfowl. If the grant is secured, DU and its partners will begin the next phase of Northeast Potholes projects in spring 2013. Northeast Indiana was historically dotted with countless small wetlands surrounded by large expanses of native grasses, combining to offer high-quality nesting and brooding habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife. Much of this habitat has been cleared and drained to facilitate agriculture and other developments but remains available for restoration. In cooperation with conservation-minded private landowners, DU and its partners have been able to return productive wildlife habitat to the landscape. Emergent wetlands and native prairie grasslands restored through the Northeast Potholes Program Ducks Unlimited • Great Lakes/Atlantic Region 1 HABITAT HAppENINGS DU SUPPORTS PATOKA RIVER NWR EXPANSION Ducks Unlimited has been a proud supporter of the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) for nearly two decades and in that time has partnered on numerous occasions with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to protect and restore wetland and upland habitats located within Patoka River NWR. Over the years, DU and the USFWS have acquired thousands of acres of wetlands and uplands and restored and reforested thousands more. In 2011, with funding provided by other conservation partners, DU combined its resources with the USFWS to acquire three additional properties for inclusion in Patoka River NWR. The largest of these acquisitions was the 93-acre Howe Tract, a large forested wetland bordering the Patoka River and containing many of its remnant oxbows. This large complex of emergent, scrub-shrub and forested wetlands provides quality migration and wintering habitat for numerous species of waterfowl and other migratory birds. The other two acquisitions include the 80.5-acre Bryant Tract and 30-acre Loveless Tract. Each of these tracts is composed of a mixture of forested, emergent and scrub-shrub wetlands and former agricultural fields. Following the reforestation of the agricultural fields to bottomland hardwoods, these tracts will provide additional breeding and migration habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife. As part of Patoka River NWR, each of these new acquisition properties is open to public recreation. A bottomland hardwood forested wetland permanently protected at Patoka River NWR PRAIRIE CREEK RESERVOIR ENHANCEMENT COMPLETED Located in Delaware County, Prairie Creek Reservoir provides excellent habitat for a variety of wildlife and fish.However, a 20-acre wetland located southwest of the reservoir had become degraded due to high turbidity and a lack of wetland vegetation. In 2011, a carp-exclusion grate was installed along County Road 461 to prevent invasive common carp from entering the wetland. During spawning season, the carp increase the turbidity of the wetland and uproot plants important to other wildlife and fish species. The carp-exclusion grate was designed to allow other less-destructive fish species to pass through the grate while still maintaining a productive wetland for other wildlife species, including migrating waterfowl. Ducks Unlimited completed this enhancement project in partnership with several conservation entities, including Indiana American Water, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Delaware County Highway Department, Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District, Muncie Parks and Recreation Department, White River Watershed Project, FlatLand Resources, Ball State University and Robert Cooper Audubon Society. A shallow wetland enhanced at Prairie Creek Reservoir by the installation of a carp exclusion grate. 2 www.ducks.org HABITAT HAppENINGS DU AND PARTNERS CONTINUE BOTTOMLAND CONSERVATION As part of an ongoing conservation partnership between the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Duke Energy and Ducks Unlimited, 30 acres of bottomland forest were restored and 8 acres of emergent wetlands were enhanced on the Cousert Tract at Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). Following the purchase of the 32-acre tract in 2010, Duke, USFWS and DU planted 12,500 hardwood seedlings to begin reforestation. Through the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, the USFWS enhanced an additional 8 acres of wetlands by removing field drain tile and installing small earthen levees. These enhancements will provide new seasonal wetlands on the property for waterfowl and other wildlife. In 2012, DU will transfer ownership of the Cousert Tract to the USFWS for inclusion in Patoka River NWR and re-invest those funds in other land-protection efforts in the area. CONSTRUCTION BEGINS AT DEEP RIVER HEADWATERS In fall 2011, after nearly a decade of planning due to delays in securing state-level clearances and project funding, construction began on the Deep River Headwaters wetlands restoration project. Located at the Lake County Parks Department’s (LCP) 260-acre Beaver Dam Wetland Conservation Area, this 90-acre project involves the restoration of three individual wetland units through the creation of earthen levees, removal of field drain tile and installation of a water control structure. Ducks Unlimited provided the engineering design and construction management services for the project, with funding provided by LCP and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. An additional 100 acres of native warm-season prairie grasslands and oak savannah interspersed among the three wetlands will also be restored by LCP. Upon completion, this project area will contain a splendid 190-acre complex of emergent, scrub-shrub and forested wetlands and native prairie. The benefits for breeding and migrating waterfowl and other wildlife, including A drained wetland basin which is being restored at Beaver Dam Wetland federal and state endangered species, are expected to Conservation Area be immediate and widespread. FIELD B RESTORATION COMPLETE In spring 2009, Ducks Unlimited and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources identified a new wetlands restoration opportunity at Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area. Referred to as Field B, this wetland basin was drained with ditches, field tiles and culverts to facilitate row-crop agriculture. DU, in partnership with the IDNR, National Wild Turkey Federation and Duke Energy, removed the culverts and installed a water control structure at the site. The IDNR will utilize the restored wetland as a managed waterfowl impoundment, with a mixture of moist-soil vegetation, emergent wetland and some flooded grain for the benefit of migrating and wintering waterfowl and other wildlife. To assist in the completion of this project, DU and its partners were awarded a North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant to augment partner funds. Utilizing these funds, the IDNR finished the construction on this project in summer 2011. The newly completed project will provide an additional 200 acres of wetland habitat and increased waterfowl hunting opportunities at Goose Pond. Ducks, geese, and sandhill cranes using the Field B wetland the first year following its restoration. Ducks Unlimited • Great Lakes/Atlantic Region 3 HABITAT HAppENINGS CROPLIFE AMERICA ENHANCEMENTS UNDERWAY Through Ducks Unlimited’s former CropLife America Program, DU partnered with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources on a multi-year project to enhance approximately 250 acres of waterfowl habitat at Kankakee Fish and Wildlife Area (FWA), and with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to enhance approximately 120 acres of waterfowl habitat at Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). Thanks to two separate gifts from Dow AgroSciences through the CropLife America Program, 300 gallons of Rodeo herbicide were donated to the IDNR and 75 gallons of Crossbow herbicide were donated to the USFWS for woody invasive and herbaceous weed control in the two management areas.