Wild Rice Seeding 2018

Project: Wild Rice
County: Oneida, Vilas
Project Start Date: 10/01/2018
Project End Date: 10/31/2018

Wild Rice. Photo credit: Jennifer West, Three Lakes School District

By Peter Ziegler, WWA Project Director

We have had some great fall weather with waterfowl migration in full force and, in some instances, even a bit ahead of schedule. I talked with a local hunter in the northern part of the state who had one of those “hunts”. One minute is all it took for two individuals to limit out on Ringnecks. For those who have experienced a large, hundred-plus ringneck flock, you know the excitement they can provide; not only the noise that they create bombing around, but also the quick flyers that make for an exciting hunt as they pile into the spread. These particular hunters were hunting a wild rice bed. Wild rice is known to be a great migratory forage food and is very attractive to waterfowl.

WWA completed a wild rice restoration planting this past October, once again engaging the local Three Lakes, Global Science class.

WWA Project Director Peter Zielger speaks to the group before Wild Rice seeding. Photo credit: Jennifer West, Three Lakes School District

Thanks to their help, we were able to seed 150 pounds of locally harvested rice to try to reestablish an historic rice bed. The seeding efforts went really smoothly after having worked with this group in the past, and kudos to Honey Rock Camp (A Wheaten College affiliated camp) for providing the canoes for the students to help make this happen.

Students paddling out for Wild Rice seeding. Photo credit: Jennifer West, Three Lakes School District

We will be looking for more wild rice sites in the Eagle River, Three Lakes and Rhinelander areas, so if you have ideas let me know so we can do the background work for viability, historical presence (not mandatory), locations for access and proper notification of landowner(s) (many of the sites end up being within the national forest).