Waterfowl now have one more mile of backwater slough habitat available to them on the South Platte River near Paxton, thanks to the recent completion of the Perlinger project. Ducks Unlimited Regional Engineer Mitch Messmer designed the project, taking advantage of existing, old river "scars" within the Platte River floodplain.

Extensive changes within the Platte River watershed have greatly altered the natural flooding cycles. Floods like the one experienced during 2009 are now a rare occurrence on the river. Historically, such a flood would have been an annual occurrence. The natural flood processes served a valuable purpose for waterfowl habitat. Flooding removed excessive woody vegetation from the riverbed, maintaining sandbar habitat, open channels and backwater sloughs within a floodplain that often exceeded one mile in width.

Today, in the absence of such frequent flooding, trees and other invasive species have chocked the river floodplain. The river channel has lost 80 percent of its natural width. Backwater sloughs and side channels are dry and non-functional.

Messmer focused his wetland restoration plan on the old channels. By removing accumulated sands and gravels from within the old channels, DU reconnected the former wetlands to the shallow groundwater found beneath the sand. This practice essentially restores a functional "backwater" slough, providing benefits to not only waterfowl, but also many other species of fish and wildlife that rely on Platte River floodplain habitats. The Platte River and its associated wetland habitats provide important migration and wintering habitat to millions of waterfowl.

Partners in this project included the Nebraska Environmental Trust, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, North American Wetlands Conservation Council and the landowners.