If you Re-Build it, They will Return!

Wetlands can sustain a huge variety of flora and fauna when managed properly, long term planning in place and people who are willing to get dirty keeping them functional in human landscape. In the Midwest we have lost over 90% of our wetlands for industrial uses, agriculture, and human developments, displacing the plants and animals that depend on these areas both year-round and through migrations (Benson et al. 2018, Bradshaw et al. 2020, Lancaster et al. 2019, Staffen et al. 2019.)

While there are some existing wetlands that we managed not drain or completely destroy with human encroachment, chemical runoff and hydrological engineering changes, the big push over the last 50 years has been to increase the wetland acres across the U.S. (Staffen et al. 2019.)

Wetlands have been drained and removed from the landscape for hundreds of years to make life easier for human industrial development, at the cost of the health of the entire ecosystem. Now we are finding that the management of these fragile systems is not just about planting it, flooding it and letting be, it actually does require an immense amount of planning for long term, extensive and labor intensive all year-round management. Managers need to be looking not just at flooding these areas for hunting season but looking at the timing of draw downs and inundation of water to allow the area to mimic historical moisture levels instead of just what the hunters want (Benson et al. 2018, Bradshaw et al. 2020, Lancaster et al. 2019, Staffen et al. 2019.)

Managing the water levels through out the year along with having deep water pockets to give hibernating herpetofauna a place to survive, is just a start. Planting the correct plants and making sure they are diverse. So many wetland managers are catering to hunt clubs and try to encourage ducks, geese, and swans for the hunters, planting only the feed crops and only managing the water levels for these species. When the wetlands are treated this way, the biodiversity drops severely and we are lacking so many anurans, reptiles, marsh birds and insects that are needed to complete the ecosystem and have a healthy one (Benson et al. 2018, Bradshaw et al. 2020, Lancaster et al. 2019.)

Secretive marsh birds like rails, sora, bitterns and grebes need more emergent, dense vegetation to be allowed to fill in these wetlands to give them security to stay and breed. Having enough contiguous wetlands with enough acreage for these extremely elusive birds, reptiles, and anurans to safely breed in the water sources without excessive flooding, is a tricky balance that the managers need to address (Benson et al. 2018, Bradshaw et al. 2020.)

When the wetlands are properly planned, intensely managed for implementation, and then maintained even after restoration is completed, then the habitats can thrive in support of a much higher biodiversity. The diversity of species and those that can breed in these areas goes up and the habitat is much healthier, serving a greater purpose.

Benson, C. E., Carberry, B., & Langen, T. A. (2018). Public–private partnership wetland restoration programs benefit Species of Greatest Conservation Need and other wetland-associated wildlife. Wetlands Ecology and Management, 26(2), 195-211.

Bradshaw, T. M., Blake-Bradshaw, A. G., Fournier, A. M., Lancaster, J. D., O’Connell, J., Jacques, C. N., ... & Hagy, H. M. (2020). Marsh bird occupancy of wetlands managed for waterfowl in the Midwestern USA. PloS one, 15(2), e0228980.

Lancaster, J. D., Bradshaw, T. M., Hagy, H. M., Yetter, A. P., Hine, C. S., Eicholz, M. W., ... & O'Connell, J. R. (2019). Wetland Management Strategies that Maximize Marsh Bird Use in the Midwest: Final Performance Report: F14AP00485. Illinois Natural History Survey.

Staffen, A., O’Connor, R., Johnson, S.E., Shannon, P.D., Kearns, K., Zine, M., Sheehan, M.,

Fleener, J., Panci, H., Volkening, A. 2019. Climate Adaptation Strategies and Approaches for Conservation and Management of Non-Forested Wetlands. Report NFCH-3. USDA Northern Forests Climate Hub. Houghton, MI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Climate Hubs. 41 p.