Friends, family, supporters gather to celebrate restoration project

HORICON, Wisc. – June 22, 2009 –Nearly 100 supporters of wetland conservation gathered recently to celebrate the Chaya Marsh wetland restoration project, part of the Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area in Dodge County. Among those assembled were several Ducks Unlimited (DU) major sponsors, project partners, state representatives and family and friends. This project recognizes their contribution to this project and DU’s conservation efforts across the state.

Several speakers shared the blustery morning stage, including DU representatives Lon Knoedler, Tom Zwicker and John Coluccy. On behalf of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Secretary Matthew Frank and Wildlife Biologist Brenda Kelly spoke regarding the importance of partner organizations working together and the success of Chaya Marsh.

This habitat conservation project was made possible by the Wisconsin DNR, North American Wetlands Conservation Council, Dr. Charles & Shirley Pechous, Jr., M.D., Ted & Grace Bachhuber Foundation, Inc., Marshall & Ilsley Foundation, Inc., Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, and DU with support from over 40 major sponsors.

Following the presentations, the sponsors gathered to unveil a bronze plaque near the southwest entrance commemorating the supporters who made the project possible.

“The 310-acre Chaya Marsh is located in southeast Wisconsin, one of DU’s priority areas for wetlands conservation in the Great Lakes region,” said Jason Hill, DU Wisconsin Regional Biologist. “High densities of breeding mallards and blue winged teal rely on this region. Our goal is to conserve more than 39,000 additional acres in the area in the next five years.”

Horicon Marsh is the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the nation and spans an area of nearly 32,000 acres.

However, mush of this famed marsh is currently degraded due to a number of factors, including sediment and nutrient inputs from the surrounding watershed, carp activity, and the inability to manage water levels. In response to these issues, the 310-acre flowage was completed in 2007 and involved over 12,000 feet of dike construction and installation of five new water control structures. Within this new flowage, these improvements will allow the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to manipulate water levels to control invasive cattail and promote the growth of beneficial wetland plants, which will provide critical habitat for a variety of waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, songbirds, furbearers, amphibians, and reptiles.

The restoration also has given the area new life, opening it up for extensive public use as a favorite destination of waterfowlers and birders alike.

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

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Kristin Schrader 734.623.2000 kschrader@ducks.org