Nebraskaland

Kostinec said DU's goal is to help the Game and Parks Commission and the USFWS continue their eff orts and restore another 23,000 acres of wetlands by making these types of improvements so more water can be available each spring. "Mother Nature doesn't consistently put moisture across the landscape," he said. "And the pumping budgets for the state and federal agencies have just never kept up. "If we can achieve a $7 million investment goal, the interest that spins off that every year would essentially take care of all pumping needs and alleviate the problem of agencies fi ghting for a budget to do a little bit of pumping here and there each year. And once fully funded, it has the capability of really upgrading the infrastructure and continuing to help pay for restoration eff orts in the region." Proceeds from the Federal Duck Stamp, Nebraska Habitat Stamp and Nebraska Waterfowl Stamp, all required by waterfowl hunters, have been used to purchase land from willing sellers in the Rainwater Basin and restore wetlands since 1962. The Game and Parks Commission owns 35 wildlife management areas in the area, 29 with wells and pumps. The USFWS owns 59 waterfowl production areas, 25 of which have operational wells and two that can capture surface water from canals diverting water from the Platte River. The number of wells used to maintain these areas for wildlife represents .3 percent of the 31,000 registered wells in the Rainwater Basin region. These 95 marshes and a few hundred more found on private land represent only 10 percent of 4,000 permanent and seasonal wetlands ranging from 40 to 1,000 acres in size that once dotted the region. The rest were drained or fi lled and are now farmed, most of them since World War II. Development altered the hydrology of many that remain, with roads, terraces and reuse pits keeping runoff from reaching some wetlands and erosion fi lling others with sediment. Managing what remains, including pumping water when needed, is critical to ensure birds have what they need when they stop, said LaGrange. It also spreads out the birds, reducing the chances for disease outbreaks, such as avian cholera, that have claimed 100,000 birds in a single spring in years past. "Hunters like large concentrations of birds, and for birdwatchers it's an amazing spectacle to see tens of thousands or even a million birds on a given spot," he said. "But if those birds get spread out, you're going to minimize the probability of a large die-off . It's social distancing for birds." LaGrange and Krohn said their agencies are grateful for DU's eff ort and look forward to using the fund to do more for wildlife, hunters and birdwatchers. Judging from the hundreds of thousands of birds that stopped last spring, the birds are grateful, too. N To make a donation to the Rainwater Basin Water Development Fund, contact Terry D. Kostinec, director of development, South Dakota/Nebraska, at 605-760-5791 or tkostinec@ducks.org. Pumping Basics Pumping water into Rainwater Basin wetlands to provide habitat for migratory birds can be benefi cial, but it is not always feasible. Care needs to be taken so neighboring private lands are not aff ected, especially before the crops are harvested. Wetlands in the area aren't always wet. The wet/ dry cycle is natural and promotes the growth of plants that provide seed sources for birds. Wetlands with moist soils are usually the fi rst to be pumped. When clay soils are dry and cracked, much of the pumped water fl ows into the ground and it can take a lot of water just to seal the soil before it can pool. Rainwater or pumped water fl owing though the cracked soils helps recharge groundwater. In the fall, most pumping begins after a killing frost, ensuring plants won't suck up the water and when evaporation rates are lower. Pumping occurs outside the irrigation season, and, in an average year, the amount pumped at all state and federal wetlands combined in spring and fall amounts to what is used to irrigate three sections of farmland. In most cases, only enough water is pumped to fl ood vegetation that ducks and geese like to eat. It is not feasible to pump enough to fl oat a duck boat. A bald eagle carries a dead coot it picked up at Hultine WPA in March. Eagles often follow the waterfowl migration north. August-September 2022 • Nebraskaland 51

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