Why Moist-soil Management for Waterfowl?

Waterfowl hunter: We need more flooded corn!

Waterfowl hunter: Because if we don’t have corn, we don’t have ducks!

Waterfowl hunter: Historically. Why does that matter?

Conversations with this general theme play out regularly between biologists or habitat managers and waterfowl hunters looking to maximize their hunting success. Both sides have valid arguments; flooded agricultural crops can certainly attract targets (ducks) for hunters. However, managers’ and biologists’ obligations are not only to provide opportunity for hunters, but also to provide the best habitat possible for the resource.

Illinois has lost more than 90 percent of its historic wetlands. Those remaining wetlands need to be managed to maximize their value, not only for ducks and hunters, but for other wetland dependent wildlife, water quality and flood retention. It is hard to argue that drying wetlands out for at least 6 to 7 months each year in order to grow corn is maximizing a wetland’s value, when nearly 11 million acres of corn were planted in Illinois in 2017. Corn provides habitat for only a small number of waterfowl species for the small amount of time when it is flooded.

Alternatively, moist-soil managed wetlands, those where water levels are slowly drawn down during summer, where annual “weedy” plants that produce copious quantities of seeds grow up on the exposed mudflats and are flooded in fall, provide a diversity of habitat for a variety of waterfowl and shorebirds during draw-down, and even grassland birds during the summer growing season. Moist-soil plant seeds are more nutritious than planted crops, providing essential nutrients and amino acids that crops don’t have. Additionally, state, regional and national waterfowl and other wildlife conservation plans set goals for habitat availability. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources must work to meet these goals, and none of them are calling for more cropland or flooded agricultural crops.

This isn’t to argue that the needs of other resources should be placed above the needs of waterfowl hunters. After all, much of the funding to support these wetlands and managers come from excise taxes on sporting goods and license sales. Moist-soil management provides us with a tool to meet all these goals for waterfowl, waterfowl hunters, other wetland wildlife, water quality and flood storage.

Many hunters believe that migration patterns are changing, and harvest and waterfowl surveys during fall and winter seem to support this. Mallards are arriving later in fall, offering less opportunity to hunters. Meanwhile, gadwall and green-winged teal, other commonly harvested species in Illinois, have maintained their migration timing and have near record high populations. Moist-soil managed wetlands attract a broader diversity of waterfowl, including gadwall and green-wings. Managing to attract these species during early- and mid-migration periods can increase total harvest at hunted areas, provide more opportunity and more successful hunts. More ducks lead to more harvested ducks. More harvested ducks lead to happy hunters.

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Randy Smith is the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Wetland Wildlife Program Manager.