Nebraskaland

healthy, they're going to reproduce better, which is going to lead to a better fall fl ight," said LaGrange, noting the fund may allow the Game and Parks Commission to continue to pump more in the spring. The USFWS also pumps water on some of its wetlands in the fall, beginning early enough on some to provide water during the early teal season in September, and continuing after the growing season to provide water during the regular duck season in October and November. Krohn said they may be able to do more fall pumping with the help of the water fund. Fall pumping can help ensure conditions will be better in the spring, as it can take a substantial amount of water to fi ll the dry, cracked clay soils and seal the base of the wetlands. Combined with the frost layer that develops in moist soils when cold temperatures arrive, these marshes can more readily capture and hold runoff from melting snow or rain or pumped water longer than a bone-dry wetland come spring. "Our No. 1 priority, the whole reason the district is here, is for supporting spring migration," Krohn said. "But we pump a lot in the fall as well, focusing on public use and areas that we are planning to manage for our spring pumping." Pumping in the spring comes in stages. The USFWS pumps larger marshes fi rst. These areas are attractive to the massive fl ocks of snow geese, some of the fi rst migrants to arrive and fi rst to leave in the spring. It then pumps shallower wetlands with abundant seed sources for the pintails, mallards, white- fronted geese and other waterfowl that arrive later. Krohn said snow geese can deplete these food sources if they are pumped too early. Later pumping also ensures favorable conditions for shorebirds that arrive in April and May. "That's the benefi t of pumping later," Krohn said. "We're supporting the entire length of the migration instead of just one aspect of it." During the past 15 years, the Game and Parks Commission, with the assistance of DU and other conservation partners, has added or improved wells, pumps and power sources and installed underground pipelines to effi ciently deliver water from wells on high ground to the wetlands below on 18 wildlife areas in the basins. It has also completed restoration projects on 22 areas, removing sediment and fi lling pits. And in some instances where the Game and Parks Commission owned only a portion of a wetland, it has purchased property from willing sellers to bring more of the wetland into public ownership, making it possible to pump more water without fl ooding a neighbor. The USFWS has done the same during the past 10 years, drilling new wells on seven areas and replacing pumps on two, as well as adding pipelines and doing other restoration work. But Krohn said it has a big backlog of projects awaiting funding, including replacing or repairing 35 of its 63 wells that are inoperable. Green-winged teal drakes follow a lone hen on a courtship fl ight around Eckhardt WPA in Clay County, another wetland that was pumped to provide habitat for migratory birds in the spring of 2022. 50 Nebraskaland • August-September 2022

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