Ducks Unlimited and partners use NAWCA funds to restore management capabilities to Willow Slough
PORT ARTHUR, Texas, Nov. 27, 2006 – Ducks Unlimited helped restore more than 2,200 acres of significant freshwater marsh along the upper Texas Gulf Coast. Wetland managers can now regulate water levels, control undesirable vegetation and promote the growth of wetland plants beneficial to waterfowl and other wildlife.
“The Willow Slough project contributes to the long-term health of the Texas Gulf Coast ecosystem and the McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge,” said Ducks Unlimited Biologist Eric Lindstrom.
Historically, Willow Slough provided wintering and staging habitat for thousands of waterfowl including ring-necked ducks, scaup, gadwall, northern shovelers and blue-winged teal. Over time, hydrology alteration in the marsh reduced the amount of submerged aquatic vegetation and allowed undesirable plants, such as maiden cane and willow, to dominate the slough.
Ducks Unlimited partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Jefferson County Drainage District to restore hydrology and increase capabilities to eliminate invasive vegetation. Partners installed a spillway and a water control structure that facilitate water removal and allow additional management activities that improve the marsh value to waterfowl.
Two private landowners in east Texas and a North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant provided additional funding for this project.
In Washington, D.C., DU governmental affairs staff works with Congress in support of annual funding for NAWCA. To date, NAWCA has helped fund 38 wetland projects on over 99,000 acres in Texas. Since 1990, NAWCA funding of $17.1 million stimulated partners including private landowners, corporations and Texas governments to contribute over $36.2 million to conserve wildlife habitat in the state.
Hunting opportunities are available on McFaddin NWR. Portions of the refuge are open to hunters free of charge while other areas require a use fee. Hunters can access approximately 25,600 acres by foot or by boat.
For more information on NAWCA, go to www.ducks.org/nawca
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 80,000 wetland acres each year.
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Contact:
Jennifer Kross
(601) 956-1936