Page 39 - Mar/Apr 2022 Outdoor Okahoma Magazine

By Jena Donnell, Communication and Education Specialist A wetland unit’s plant community can provide ducks
and other birds with three fundamental components in
For many duck hunters, the tail end of winter marks the winter: structure to loaf in and hide behind; food in
the time of year when waders, decoys and other gear will the form of ripened seeds; and when the standing vege-
go back into storage. But for wetland managers, the end tation is mowed and flooded, food in the form of inverte-
of one season simply marks the start of the next. brates that feed on the flooded vegetation.
“There’s not much of an off-season in wetland man- In order to have that structure and food available
agement,” said David Banta, Wildlife Technician at the during next year’s duck season, Banta and many other
Wildlife Department’s Love Valley Wildlife Management wetland managers begin scheduling slow late-win-
Area near Thackerville. ter water drawdowns that will expose mudflats and
The ducks — and the duck hunters — attracted to the encourage the germination of beneficial flowering
area’s Wetland Development Units are the result of six plants such as annual smartweeds and beggarticks in
months or more of muddy boots, scheduled flooding the early spring.
events and drawdowns, unpredictable rainfall and flood- The timing of these drawdowns can create differ-
ing, plant identification and management, and much more. ent plant responses; earlier drawdowns can trigger
“I have to look at the wetland units with a different the germination of more flowering plants, while later
eye than the average duck hunter,” Banta said. “When drawdowns can trigger the germination of more wet-
duck hunters wade out on opening morning to set their land grasses that also produce a high volume of ben-
decoys, they’re focused on the birds they may see. The eficial seeds.
vegetation we’ve spent the entire growing season man- The “right” timing can vary across regions of the state,
aging has died back and is mostly underwater and out of the manager’s plant preferences, and even with the cur-
sight. But it’s still playing a vital role in their hunt.” rent year’s weather conditions.
mICHAEL BErGIn/ODWC

Water control structures allow wetland managers to quickly flood or drain a unit to achieve the desired plant response.

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