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Ducks Unlimited • Great Lakes/Atlantic Region 1
DU AWARDED $1 MILLION GRANT FOR SWAN LAKE NATIONAL WILDLIFE
REFUGEDucks Unlimited was recently awarded a $1 million North
American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant to
facilitatewetland conservation habitat within the Lower Grand River
Basin of north-central Missouri. Activities identified in this
grant will specifically target Missouri’s Swan Lake National
Wildlife Refuge (NWR). As a result of this funding opportunity and
a dedicated partnership, we will be able to protect and restore
some of the region’s most productive habitat for the benefit of
waterfowl and other migratory birds.
Swan Lake NWR is the core component of a wetland complex within
the Lower Grand River Basin of north-central Missouri that includes
over 22,000 acres of state and federal lands and 16,000 acres of
privately owned United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) easement properties. Together, these
wetlands and associated uplands provide vital habitat for migrating
waterfowl, shorebirds, and many other wetland dependent species,
representing some of the most premier wetland habitat in the
Midwest. Habitat restoration in this region provides a national
showcase of what is possible for landscape/wetland restoration when
local, state, and federal government and nongovernment partners
work together.
This project will affect 1,890 acres of habitat on Swan Lake
NWR. This includes restoration of 780 acres (487 acres of wetlands
and 293 acres of native grasslands) and enhancement of 1,110 acres
of existing wetlands (918 acres in South Pool and 192 acres in
M-15). See map of proposed NAWCA work at Swan Lake NWR for further
details.
Ducks Unlimited partnered with private donors, the Missouri
Department of Conservation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
to receive NAWCA funds. Project partners committed approximately
$2.14 million in matching funds to the $1 million from NAWCA. Work
on the refuge is expected to begin summer 2014, and weather
dependant on-the-ground construction would be completed summer
2015.
MISSOURIS TAT E C O N S E R VAT I O N R E P O R T 2014
PART OF THE BIG RIVERS INITIATIVE
Proposed NAWCA Work at Swan Lake NWR. Ducks Resting in Swan Lake
Moist Soil.
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www.ducks.org2
S U P P O R T I N G T H E V I S I O N
CONFLUENCE FOCUS AREA – “AMERICA’S FLOODPLAIN”MISSOURI TARGET
AREA: ST. LOUIS, ST. CHARLES, LINCOLN AND PIKE COUNTIESAt the
Confluence of the Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri Rivers is
North America’s greatest floodplain. Carrying waters from over half
of the United States landscape, this region serves vital ecological
functions such as storage and purification of floodwaters, and
provides critically important migration habitat to over 250 species
of waterfowl, wading birds and neo-tropical migrant songbirds.
Today however, the ability of “America’s Floodplain” to serve
these vital ecological functions is at great risk. Approximately
90% of the historic wetland habitat base has been altered by man’s
activities. Modern agriculture has utilized the naturally fertile
flood plain to feed a growing world population while a locally
sprawling urban population views the flood plain as expansion zones
for factories, homes, airports and shopping malls.
Acknowledging the importance of this area to our mission, in
2003 Ducks Unlimited (DU) established the “Confluence Focus Area”
(CFA) as one of DU’s priority Conservation Regions. In an effort to
protect, restore and enhance the remaining floodplain and its
ecological values DU and conservation partners are working to
combine resources with those of other private, government, and
non-government conservation entities to find win-win strategies for
floodplain conservation. The Missouri portion of the CFA is
generally described as the floodplain of the Mississippi and
Missouri Rivers located in Pike, Lincoln, St. Charles and St. Louis
counties containing approximately 292K floodplain acres.
Historically this floodplain contained numerous wetlands and
associated backwater areas with marshes and wet prairies on the
poorly drained soils and bottomland hardwood forest on the
better-drained sites. Today, a series of locks and dams on the
Mississippi and channelization of the Missouri River for barge
navigation have drastically altered the hydrology in the region.
The main bottoms have been converted to cropland and although many
of the islands are still timbered, they are now covered with
low-value trees, such as willow, cottonwood and hackberry. The
remnant oak-dominated forests were killed by submergence in the
flood of 1993. The CFA contains approximately 43K acres of State
and Federal public land in addition to over 31K acres of privately
managed wetlands and duck clubs.
More than any other event, the great flood of 1993 has defined
the realities and functional limits of the Missouri portion of the
CFA. More than 1K flood protection levees failed, 70K buildings
were damaged, and 50 people lost their lives. Estimated damages
totaled over $12 billion, with $3 billion worth of damages
occurring in Missouri.
Despite the flood of 1993, development of the Confluence
floodplain remains the greatest threat to this important ecological
resource. Since 1993 approximately 4K acres of floodplain have been
converted to commercial buildings, factories, and shopping malls.
The vast majority of these acres were under floodwaters just 20
years ago. Commercial and residential projects underway, or in
planning stages, threaten to convert 14K additional acres in St.
Louis, St. Charles, and Lincoln counties alone.
With the majority of land in the CFA privately owned, efforts to
achieve focus area goals are dependent on the collective efforts
and accomplishments of Federal, State and local private land
programs. While conservation partners are utilizing numerous
programs, long-term conservation easements including the Wetland
Reserve Program (WRP), and/or donated/purchased DU conservation
easements are among the best tools for preserving long-term
conservation values of the CFA. With over 31K acres of privately
managed duck clubs and hundreds of thousands of acres in
agriculture production within the CFA, emphasis is needed on
helping all willing landowners understand the importance of the
Confluence and the variety of programs available to insure
long-term floodplain protection.
From a MO DU specific accomplishment standpoint, to date DU
holds 26 Conservation Easements in the Missouri Portion of the CFA
for a total of 8,154 acres. These 26 Conservation Easements have
generated nearly $38M in Conservation Easement Value (CEV) which
has been made available as match to secure additional grant dollars
for delivering additional wetland habitat acres. For example, DU
and conservation partners in Missouri have used a portion of this
CEV as match to secure 9 standard ($1M apiece) NAWCA grants which
have enhanced/restored an additional 23K acres of wetland habitat,
mostly on public lands in Missouri.
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Ducks Unlimited • Great Lakes/Atlantic Region 3
MEET YOUR MISSOURI CONSERVATION STAFF
8 Projects Completed
718 Acres Conserved
83 Acres Protected via Conservation Easements
15,214 Acres of Technical Assistance
$432,070 Invested
2013ACCOMPLISHMENTS
C O N S E R V A T I O N S U M M A R Y
DUCKS UNLIMITEDP R O J E C T S
Completed to date Completed in 2013
Note: Project points may represent more than one project.
Mark FlaspohlerManager of Conservation Programs – IA, KY and
MO20004 S. Hartsburg Hills RoadHartsburg, MO 65039
Contact:Phone: (573) [email protected]
Kerry G. Scott P.E.Regional Engineer – KY and MO3923 Viola
ViewJefferson City, MO 65101
Contact:Phone: (573) [email protected]
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www.ducks.org4
MISSOURI AGRICULTURE WETLANDS “CONSERVATION PARTNERS
DEMONSTRATING THE COMPATIBILITY OF WETLANDS AND AGRICULTURE”In
Missouri 93% of the original wetland habitat base has been lost and
an estimated 87% of that wetland loss occurred during the 1950’s
thru the 1970s. In many locations across the state, modern
engineering has tamed the once-existing swamps and marshes and
converted the rich alluvial floodplains of the Missouri and
Mississippi Rivers into highly productive farmland.
Today agriculture plays a vital role in sustaining Missouri’s
social and economic well-being. If Missouri is to be successful in
restoring wetland functions and values to our great floodplains we
will need to do so in partnership with Missouri Agriculture.
The Missouri Agriculture Wetland Initiative (MAWI) is a
cooperative partnership between Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural
Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Missouri Department of
Conservation (MDC), United States Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS), Ducks Unlimited (DU), Missouri Audubon and Missouri
landowners to integrate wetlands into agricultural operations.
MAWI originated as, and continues to be a good marketing,
outreach and education effort directed at bringing awareness to
Missouri producers and landowners regarding the important role
wetlands play in regards to overall soil, water quality and
wildlife conservation, and the multitude of practices currently
available that can make a positive difference in their farming and
conservation bottom line.
In 2004 DU, in partnership with MDC, NRCS and FSA, was granted
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approval to provide
additional financial support to landowners interested in
“Enhancing” their CP-23 design to allow for the seasonal
flooding
of adjoining cropland. The additional cost of the “Enhancement,”
which usually entails additional earth work and/or larger water
control structures, is provided by a cooperative agreement between
DU and MDC and pays 100% of the “Enhancement,” costs up to a
maximum amount of $10,000 per hydrologic site. The landowner must
agree to pay for additional costs after the $10,000 limit and sign
a cooperative wetland habitat development agreement with DU. To
date, on-the-ground delivery of this program has been implemented
primarily by the NRCS/MDC Wetland Teams located in the Chillicothe
and Fulton Missouri USDA Offices.
MAWI has been reasonably successful in demonstrating the
compatibility that exists between wetlands and agriculture.
Presently, the partnership agreement has completed 25 separate
projects on private lands and has restored the wetland function and
values on 733 acres of moist soil wetlands and has provided
flooding potential to an additional 1,031 acres of row crops.
The MAWI Agreement was modified in 2013 to incorporate MAWI
Phase III, specifically to focus on a continuation of restoring
wetlands in collaboration with the USFWS and MDC to address wetland
dependent wildlife needs in Missouri. MAWI Phase III builds on a
landscape-scale focus for other important historic wetland areas
designated by the USFWS Partner for Fish and Wildlife Program’s
2013-2017 Strategic Plan, Conservation Opportunity Areas associated
with the Missouri Comprehensive Wildlife Strategy (State Wildlife
Action Plan) and DU’s Big Rivers Initiative to address wetland
habitat needs along large river systems in Missouri.
F R I E N D S O F D U C K S U N L I M I T E D
Ducks Unlimited conserves, restores
and manages wetlands and associated habitats for
North America’s waterfowl. These habitats also
benefit other wildlife and people.1220 Eisenhower Place, Ann
Arbor, MI 48108
734.623.2000 • 734.623.2035 (Fax)
MAWI Project Field Survey