Coming off a very good duck season it is already time to start thinking about next year and the habitat work we have planned! Following the season while most other clubs are pulling boards I am doing the exact opposite, running pumps! I run my water fairly shallow in my wetlands during the season but as soon as its over I board up the boxes and turn on the pumps. I like to get the water as deep as possible this time of year and keep it deep through the end of April. This allows me to drown out the undesirable weeds that do not produce much feed and manipulate the other species of vegatation that I want. By holding the water deep thru april and then pulling the boards I provide habitat for the wintering ducks making there way back north but also create one hell of a water grass stand! The ducks seem to love water grass and I have been putting out a bumper crop the last few years!!
During this time we also take cuttings to start in our nursery. This year we have expanded the nursery to 2500 pots and have started 2500 willow trees, that will be transplanted into the wetland this fall. By the time september rolls around they'll be some where between 7-10 feet tall and will make a substancial impact on the landscape. I am a firm believer in trees in a wetland and plan to plant another 2500+ trees each year for the next 4 years, probably more!
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