Trading Shin Guards for Chest Waders—A Wetland Partnership

by Brian Hidden | May 1, 2020 | Land

Three men stand on the edge of a wetland with trees in the background. Two men hold signs that indicate the area was a habitat improvement project, and the land owner is a Ducks Unlimited Habitat Partner.

Glenn Sanders of MVHFA, Mike Sertle of Ducks Unlimited and Brian Hidden of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stand in the shallow water of a recently restored wetland. Photo by Mike Budd/USFWS.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program (PFW) is working with the Mississippi Valley Hunters and Fishermen’s Association (MVHFA) to restore wetlands near Quincy. The PFW program began a partnership with the MVHFA in 2018 with four wetland projects completed to date. Each project fills a distinct recreational niche in the area, with two of the sites providing youth and disabled veterans hunting, and another serving as a wildlife viewing area within Quincy city limits.

Two images. One on the left is a summer day at a park. A soccer field is flooded with water. Trees are in the background. The image on the right is a fall day. The same scene, but the soccer field has been transformed into a wetland. — Before and after photographs of a wetland project restored in conjunction with MVHFA and the Quincy Park District. A soccer field that continually flooded, the soccer team was tired of playing soccer in chest waders and a local water polo team never materialized. Is is now a 23 acre moist-soil wetland with three hydrologically independent units. The area is used by locals for bird watching, and the Quincy school district uses the site as an outdoor classroom. Photo on the left by Mike Fuchs. Photo on the right by Brian Hidden.

The wildlife viewing area inside the Quincy city limits is especially unique. Just a few years ago, this viewing area was used as a soccer field. Unfortunately, periodic flooding made it nearly impossible to maintain the fields, let alone play soccer. When the Quincy Park District threw in the towel on soccer, they began a collaboration with the MVHFA to restore the ground to wetland habitat for wildlife. With the help of the MVHFA, PFW Program, Ducks Unlimited and several other community businesses and citizens, this ground now consists of 23 wetland acres full of ducks, grebes, shorebirds and trumpeter swans.

Four hunters in camouflage gear present their successful harvest while in a duck blind. — A group of wounded warriors after a successful hunt provided by the MVHFA on private land. They will be hunting one of the wetlands the MVHFA restored with the PFW Program for the 2020–2021 waterfowl hunting season. Photo by Glenn Sanders.

These projects have been great for providing recreational and education opportunities for Illinoisans, but they are also important for wetland dependent wildlife species, especially dabbling ducks. Some of these species use Illinois wetlands year-round while others use them as migratory stopover points where they gather food resources and replenish energy reserves. Dabbling ducks, such as mallards, gadwall and blue-winged teal, are just a few of the duck species present in Illinois that will frequent these wetlands. In much of Illinois, dabbling ducks use wetlands as stopover sites to replenish energy reserves to help complete their migration from their northern breeding grounds down to Arkansas or Louisiana, and then back again.

Interestingly, the foods dabbling ducks need changes depending on the season in which they are migrating. In the fall, as the ducks start migrating south, they mostly seek seeds of native grasses and forbs. Some examples are smartweed, beggarticks (a member of the aster family), foxtail grasses and millets. These seeds are high in carbohydrates and aid in building fat reserves that act as fuel to keep ducks healthy and warm over the winter. As the ducks start to head north to the breeding grounds in the spring, their diet changes to be both seed and animal based. They target invertebrates, such as snails, worms, midges and even small fish, that provide protein and essential nutrients and minerals needed for reproduction and egg development. Many studies have shown that ducks that return to the breeding grounds in good physical condition will have larger clutches and are generally more successful in reproduction. That makes having access to flooded wetlands and native food resources along their migratory routes important.

A variety of waterfowl including Canada Geese and Mallard Ducks dabble and swim on a wetland. Tan, brown vegetation is interspersed around the waterfowl. — No longer a flooded soccer field, this site is now home to many species of wetland dependent wildlife. Photo by Brian Hidden.

It is important to stress that partnerships with local landowners, the Quincy Park District, Mississippi Valley Hunters and Fishermen’s Association, Ducks Unlimited and everyone else made these wetland restoration projects possible. Without them, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would not be able to complete such impactful habitat projects. For more information on opportunities to restore native habitat on private or city grounds, contact Brian Hidden at brian_hidden@fws.gov or Mike Budd at Michael_budd@fws.gov.

Brian Hidden is a Private Lands Biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Partners for Fish and Wildlife program. He grew up in Macoupin County and enjoyed hunting, fishing and anything outdoors throughout his childhood. After high school he joined the United States Air Force, traveling the country and world for about 8 years, then finished an undergraduate degree at Oklahoma State University and master’s degree in wildlife biology at the University of Missouri. He returned to Illinois several years and enjoys restoring habitat on his old stomping grounds.