$440,000 project allows biologists to manage water levels and waterfowl foraging habitat, DU says
Duck hunters on Sherburne Wildlife Management Area will have more acreage available for hunting this fall after a $440,000 wetland restoration project on the South Farm Unit, according to Ducks Unlimited.
Andi Cooper with DU said biologists with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries now have the ability to flood and manage water levels on 347 acres of the WMA after a wet well was installed, levees were created, grading work was completed and thousands of feet of underground pipeline were laid for water delivery.
“Basically, by managing the water levels they can manage the waterfowl foraging habitat,” Cooper said. “They manage the plants that grow there by managing the water levels, because if you draw down the water at certain times a year, certain plants will sprout.
“If you draw it down later, other plants can sprout. So it’s improved the habitat mostly by improving the management capacity.”
Offically named the John Barton Sr. Wetland Restoration Project, it also is the first project in Louisiana to be funded in part by the purchase of DU license plates, she said.
“It’s a great example of a direct benefit to Louisiana folks,” she said.
The completion of the project is being formally dedicated in a ceremony on the South Farm Unit Friday morning, Cooper said.
Located between Baton Rouge and Lafayette, Sherburne WMA is one of the most-used WMAs in the state.
Partners on the project include the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Ducks Unlimited, The Mosaic Company, the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, North American Wetlands Conservation Council, Irene W. and C. B. Pennington Foundation, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Fish and Wildlife Service and Wetlands America Trust, according to DU.
