LITTLE ROCK, March 12, 2008 – Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area is considered the Mecca of public waterfowl hunting and the crown jewel of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s WMA system. Each fall and winter, thousands of wintering ducks flock to the flooded green timber and adjacent moist-soil areas to provide some of the best public duck hunting in the world.

Thanks to a recent North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant, Bayou Meto WMA will soon feature enhanced habitat for wintering waterfowl and other migratory birds.

On Wednesday, the federal Migratory Bird Conservation Commission awarded a $909,138 grant for habitat enhancement at Halowell Reservoir at Bayou Meto WMA. The grant also covers a habitat enhancement project at White River National Wildlife Refuge.

Ducks Unlimited submitted the grant proposal on behalf of AGFC, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and numerous other partners, including private citizens and local businesses. Other partners are the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Audubon Arkansas and the Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce.

AGFC will oversee future management of the 586-acre Halowell project, while the Fish and Wildlife Service will manage the White River NWR habitat covered by the grant. Ducks Unlimited will be responsible for construction on both wetland enhancement projects.

 “Until recently, Halowell had never been actively managed as a moist-soil unit,” said Richard Johnson, AGFC wetlands program coordinator. “Moist soil management is a lot like farming – the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. This grant will improve management efficiency and enable us to actively manage this area and create more food for ducks and other migratory birds.”

Plans for the enhancement project call for Halowell’s west and central units to be divided into two units each, for a total of four units. The reservoir’s east unit will be used as a storage compartment for surface water. Other enhancements include the installation of a tailwater recovery system and water-transfer canals that will allow each unit to be flooded and drained independently.

 “Basically, we’re setting up Halowell as a small-scale farm to grow beneficial plants for waterfowl,” Johnson said.

Although Halowell is a waterfowl rest area that isn’t open to hunting, adjacent areas of Bayou Meto WMA that are open for hunting stand to benefit from the improvements.

 “Ducks don’t just sit on one area and never move,” said Luke Naylor, AGFC waterfowl program coordinator. “They’re going to get up and move into the timber to loaf and feed. Improving habitat at Halowell Reservoir should also be beneficial to duck hunters in Bayou Meto WMA.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to use part of the grant to establish a moist-soil management unit on White River NWR.

Johnson said the projects will increase and enhance waterfowl habitat in one of the Mississippi Flyway’s most important wintering areas, help Arkansas meet its habitat goals under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, and help attract ducks and other migratory birds to the state.

Partners in the grant proposal put up about $200,000 cash in matching funds as part of the proposal and another $1.9 million of in-kind contributions for other recent wetland enhancement work.

 “One of the great things about these NAWCA grants is that there’s not a lot of out-of-pocket expense,” Johnson said.

Enacted by Congress in 1989, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act provides grants to organizations for wetland conservation and wetland-associated birds. It is funded by fines, penalties and forfeitures collected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

The total appropriation for fiscal year 2008 is $40.3 million, with half of the funding going to U.S. projects, 45 percent to Canada and 5 percent to Mexico. There is a $1 million cap on all grants.

Grants are reviewed by the North American Wetlands Conservation Council, a nine-member panel established by the act. The Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, a seven-member panel that includes Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, has final funding authority for the grants.

This article reprinted with the permission of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. To subscribe to the AGFC Arkansas Outdoors ENEWSLETTER, Fishing Report, or Waterfowl Report, click here.