By Peter Zielger, WWA Project Director
Winter restoration work on one of the projects WWA completed this past year.
WWA wrapped up the year by finishing off a project on the 23rd of December in Green Lake County. We had just enough frost to hold a machine on the surface and to get the project completed prior to it getting even more unseasonably warm for December. We wrapped up a good year with getting more habitat on the ground, but that means we need to start looking forward to next year. A few projects are getting going, but WWA is always interested in getting more projects to look to so we can maximize our resources for the benefit of waterfowl and all wetland dependent wildlife. If you think you might have a viable restoration project you’d like us to look at, fill out our project application.
Although November was cold, December has been mild and there have been plenty of waterfowl still around in my area. With the lack of snow and ample food, as many crops were just getting harvested prior to the holidays, they have no reason to leave. On my holiday drive to visit family, I noticed many fields with new and open sheet water which were waterfowl magnets. We have gone through two very wet years in Wisconsin and our shallow water tables are extremely high. I read that Wisconsin had its wettest year on record this past year, and I’m sure anyone who spends time in and around our state’s wetlands noticed we barely got much of our seasonal drying which typically occurs in the late summer months.
These are trends which typically come and go on decades-long cycles, so although we have great wetland resources for waterfowl now, there is no guarantee they well be there down the road. By restoring what we can we can, we ensure that many of these wetlands will be available in the future and are not just by-products of “wet years”. This is why our work is so important. Our best connection to getting projects is our members and readers like you.