Digging Duck Ponds

[MJR]

My family owns land that is a swampland but does not fill with water enough for ducks. Adjoining our land is public hunting land and there used to be a pond there that I used to take a boat across, now even this year there is no water in it. I am assuming that this is due to the addition of some tile and the dredging of a drainiage creek below the level of the pond. A few years ago we wanted to dig some ponds in our end of the swamp to duck hunt out of. The DNR said that it was a perfect wetland for ducks and that we could not disturb it. Confused by this we did not do anything but now that the public hunting pond has been drianed I am wondering if there is anything that I can do to get either a pond on our property that we would pay for ourselves or if the state would like to dig the public pond deeper than the drainage ditch so the pond would be below the water table and not drain. I cannot assume that the state would do anything with the way they say their budgets are but you never know. Any thoughts or ideas?

[Guest]

I hate to be cynical, but in the Annandale area all it takes to do most anything with wetlands is to be a building developer. I can't believe how casual Wright County seems to be about variances.

[Flash]

MJR,
I would try the Minnesota Waterfowl Association. They can possibly help. They are always looking to add ponds in the state. I don't think they will pay for it, but they could help you get through the hoops associated with government. If you are not familiar with the MWA, maybe I can get you in contact with someone, depending where your land is.
Flash

[WaveWacker]

MJR...Don't know how familiar you are with wetlands/wetland regulations so bear with me if I go over things that you already know.

First off wetlands are categorized by "types" (type 1 thru type 8). Type 1 - Type 5 are mainly seperated by their different hydrologic capcity (amount of water and how long it is there). Type 1 would be the driest areas (usually the ones that are cut for meadow hay). Type 5 being the most open water wetlands and are usually 10' or less in depth.

Type 6-8 relate more to the type of vegetation found in them. 6=shrub swamp, 7=wooded swamp(trees usually tamarrack or cedar), 8=bogs.

With that said...in MN there is the Wetland Conservation Act (WCA, initiated in 1991), which has rules set up for various "activities" in wetlands. Depending on the type of wetland that you have determines the amount of "activity" (excavate, drain, etc.) that you are allowed to do. This is a plain, "in a nut shell" explaination. The best advice I can give to you is to first look in the government pages of a local phone book and contact your local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD). If you can't find them in the phone book call FSA, USDA, NRCS and ask. The ultimate person that you are looking for is your Local Government Unit (LGU). They are the local person that administers the Wetland Conservation Act. They should be able to take a look at the site and let you know what can/can't be done. You should also ask them if there is any possibility of enhancing the wetland. Meaning put up a dyke to impound more water to a controlled level, etc.

Now I heard someone say, "How can Joe over here fill/drain that wetland"? Well, it's like speeding, you may not get caught but then again you may. Secondly WCA doesn't say that you can't fill/drain wetlands, as long as those wetland areas are replaced or "mitigated" for.

As far as for payment for this type of project I would have the mind set that you are going to pay for the work. MWA (at least where I'm from) doesn't nor shouldn't be paying for excavation of ponds. That's not to say that excavated ponds can't benifit wildlife it's just that MWA gets more "bang for their buck" by sticking less money into a dyke construction to impound a larger area then more money to excavate a smaller one.

A lot said. I'll monitor the posts and try to explain things further if there are any questions. Good luck this fall to everyone!!!