ALEXANDRIA, La., August 1, 2007 – New strategy will improve waterfowl habitat on Catahoula Lake in LaSalle and Rapides Parishes, Louisiana. Ducks Unlimited and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologists, with the help of CropLife America member companies, have identified an environmentally safe herbicide application strategy. Results of a trial herbicide application on Catahoula Lake indicates broader usage will significantly reduce undesirable plants.

Woody plant encroachment on Catahoula Lake that herbicide treatments will reduce and improve wildlife habitat especially for waterfowl.

 
“With this herbicide application strategy we can control the invasion of woody plants such as water elm, black willow and swamp privet,” said DU Manager of Conservation Programs Jasper Lament. “By reducing the presence of woody plants on Catahoula Lake we can improve the growth of aquatic and emergent vegetation which will provide better habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds and other wildlife as well as improve recreational opportunities.”

The project partners initiated herbicide trials in the summer of 2005. Technical advice and assistance was provided by BASF, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont, Louisiana State University AgCenter and local professional herbicide applicators. CropLife America members Dow AgroSciences and DuPont generously donated herbicides used in the trial mixtures. LDWF staff applied the herbicide and monitored plant growth for the following year. The herbicide mixture and application technique that was most successful at controlling woody plants will be applied to larger sections of the dry lakebed this summer. Plans are to treat approximately 600 acres of the lakebed this year, before it is flooded in the fall.

“Ducks Unlimited’s efforts to secure donations of herbicides gave us the opportunity to cost-effectively pursue alternative methods to control growth of woody plants on the lakebed. We hope this strategy will last longer than our current bush-hogging efforts,” said Robert Helm, waterfowl study leader for the LDWF.  “We greatly appreciate Ducks Unlimited’s support in our shared mission to maintain and enhance the wetland habitat conditions at Catahoula Lake. We also appreciate Ducks Unlimited’s purchase of additional herbicides to help with the first year of large-scale application.”
 
Dow AgroSciences, DuPont and DU donated over $70,000 worth of herbicides to this project. DU staff developed vegetation maps of Catahoula Lake to track the effects of the herbicide application and record vegetation changes over time. LDWF managers use information from these maps to efficiently target herbicide application and to help make habitat management decisions.

“Ducks Unlimited and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries are working as a team to restore waterfowl habitat on Catahoula Lake,” said Jerry Holden, DU director of conservation programs for Louisiana. “We realized we needed to step up our efforts to control the woody plant growth on the lake. Catahoula Lake is vital to large numbers of North American waterfowl and by partnering with LDWF, we combined our efforts to justifiably improve waterfowl habitat on the lake.”

Catahoula Lake is a 30,000 acre shallow lake that is cooperatively managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and LDWF. The Lake is recognized by the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international importance and is nationally known as critical habitat for pintails and canvasbacks. Historically, this lake provided habitat for as many as 500,000 waterfowl and 20 species of shorebirds. Over time, the lake has become overrun with woody plants that have diminished its value to wildlife, but with the help of DU and LDWF the lake will regain its esteem.

CropLife America and Ducks Unlimited, Inc. are partners in the Wildlife Conservation-Technology Initiative. The objective of this five year initiative is to expand the involvement of crop technology used for the restoration and management of habitat for the benefit of North American waterfowl. Established in 1933, CropLife America represents the developers, manufacturers, formulators and distributors of plant science solutions for agriculture and pest management in the United States.

With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization with more than 12 million acres conserved. The United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands - nature’s most productive ecosystem - and continues to lose more than 80,000 wetland acres each year.

Contact: Jennifer Kross
(601) 206-5449
jkross@ducks.org