SCOTTSVILLE, Ky., Mar. 14, 2006 – Ducks Unlimited (DU) and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) partnered to restore 45 acres of spring-fed emergent marsh along Barren River Lake. The Calvert Springs Wetlands Restoration Project was completed on the Barren River Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Allen County, Ky., which is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
The USACE assisted with construction permitting and the KDFWR contributed funding and will manage the property to provide quality wetlands for migrating and wintering waterfowl. DU also contributed funds for this project using grassroots monies raised in Kentucky.
“Calvert Springs is a unique area that supports waterfowl during winter when other open water areas are frozen,” said DU Regional Biologist Tim Willis. “The water in this restored wetland is less susceptible to freezing, because the springs supply water at a consistent 58 degrees Fahrenheit.”
Barren River WMA supports wetland-dependent wildlife as well as provides public recreation opportunities. Waterfowl hunters come from as far as Elizabethtown, Somerset and Russellville for a chance to hunt the productive wetlands here. Restored wetlands will support migrating and wintering mallards, green-winged teal, northern shovelers and gadwall.
A dedication ceremony was held on Mar. 2 to celebrate the successful completion of this restoration project and to acknowledge DU’s former Kentucky State Chairman Leo Pitt, and Second District Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Tom Baker for organizing and developing the project.
“We are excited to see a portion of the conservation dollars raised in Kentucky used to complete a local restoration project,” remarked Pitt. “It is important to provide migration and wintering habitat for ducks in Kentucky, so they are healthy and equipped to survive and reproduce when they arrive on the prairies of Canada and the Dakotas.”
Restoration included construction of 1,200 feet of levee and installation of three water-control structures to create two wetland units with water management capabilities. The KDFWR will manage the area for wetlands vegetation, seasonally flooded bottomland hardwoods and flooded agricultural crops to supplement natural wildlife foods.
Restoration activities will continue on Barren River WMA through 2007. Phase two of the Calvert Springs project will involve construction of two additional wetland units along Long Creek.
With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization. The United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands - nature’s most productive ecosystem - and continues to lose more than 100,000 wetland acres each year.
Look for Ducks Unlimited on the World Wide Web at www.ducks.org. Tune into The World of Ducks Unlimited Radio Network, and starting again in July, watch Ducks Unlimited Television on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN).
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