Project Profiles - United States

Integrating the Conservation of Birds, Fish, and a People's Culture
by Tracy Hames, Yakama Indian Nation

Some interesting things are happening in the Northwest. The Yakama Nation has been leading the charge to restore ecosystem functions to the anadromous fish-bearing watersheds of eastern Washington.

This effort is unique in that a multi-disciplinary approach to wetland and riparian restoration has been the tool of choice. Single species management activities, so common to many resource agencies in the past, have been set aside to allow for a more normative or native habitat approach to restoration of large floodplain areas.

Located in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan's Intermountain West Joint Venture area, the Lower Yakima Basin Enhancement and Restoration Project was designed specifically to integrate cultural resources, waterfowl, and anadromous fish conservation and to restore natural floodplain dynamics. The basic philosophy guiding the project's implementation is that native waterfowl populations are an important component of a larger, interconnected ecosystem. An understanding of the physical, geographical, and biological processes present in a watershed is essential to site-specific restoration.

Practically speaking, this means that more than just the breeding or wintering needs of waterfowl are addressed in the planning activities. Traditional waterfowl management would create dikes or levees to produce wetland areas for some waterfowl life requisite. In western riparian waterways such as those in the Northwest, this activity is often detrimental to the anadromous fish populations, which are so vital to ecosystem health.

This project has taken the approach of reconnecting wetland areas that have been isolated from their natural floodplains. Natural landscapes and floodplain hydrology allow for some of the best waterfowl production and wintering habitats. Native plants utilized by the Yakama People for traditional purposes are produced, anadromous fish habitat needs are restored, and the properties provide large acreages to pass flood flows.

This project, a small component of the total restoration activities occurring on the Yakama Reservation, restored flow to over 7,000 acres of disconnected floodplain habitat. The Satus Wildlife Area, a 3,500-acre Tribal restoration property, is composed of large oxbow slough habitats that became choked with exotic water lilies due to levee development. Flow management under this project has nearly eliminated the lily infestations and is now promoting native vegetation, such as sago pondweed, which is important to waterfowl. Other activities restored wetland hydrology to floodplain basins that have been dry for decades. Waterfowl response to these actions has been immediate. Waterfowl brood production has increased as has the amount and diversity of wintering ducks.

In addition to the tribal lands previously mentioned, portions of Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge, and the State of Washington's Sunnyside Wildlife Area were also restored under this project. A multi-agency approach such as this, restoring large, contiguous expanses of native floodplain, is the only habitat strategy that will allow the return of lost cultural values, waterfowl populations, and anadromous fish in the Pacific Northwest.

For more information, contact Tracy Hames, Yakama Indian Nation, Wildlife Resource Management, P.O. Box 151, Toppenish, Washington 98948, (509) 865-6262, tracyhames@yakama.com.

Project Partners

A North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant contributed $996,950 toward the Lower Yakima Basin Enhancement and Restoration project. Partner contributions exceeded $2.2 million.

Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
Pheasants Forever
Bonneville Power Administration

Cedar Rapids Area Project Spurred by Rapid Urban Sprawl
by Meredith Gutowski, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The Cedar River and its nearby rapids aren't the only phenomena moving quickly through Iowa's Benton and Linn Counties these days. People are on the move too, and as the Cedar Rapids metropolitan area's 600,000+ population continues to grow, so does its urban boundary. The need to house and service a sprawling human population has meant that surrounding natural areas, particularly wetland ecosystems, are being steadily encroached upon.

Although zoning laws prevent houses from being built directly in the Cedar River floodplain, such development is rapidly engulfing large areas of adjacent upland habitat. This habitat provides critical breeding and nesting cover for the many migratory bird species that follow the river's corridor during migration.

The Cedar River Valley contains numerous types of wetlands that support a wide range of plant and animal species, and provide economically valuable water quality/control services to the public. Much of this land is being converted to other uses, however. Forested bottomland wetlands, in particular, are being cleared, drained, or altered for housing development, agriculture, timber harvest, quarries, and recreational riverside cabins.

Wetland restoration and riverine wetland protection are among the State's top four wetland conservation priorities. According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' (Department) Wetland Protection Plan, the Cedar River ecosystem has the greatest amount of existing and potential wetland resources of all the State's interior rivers. Eager to safeguard this natural treasure, the Department and Linn County Conservation Board began purchasing and protecting portions of the area - but more needed to be done, fast.

In partnership with various State and county agencies, conservation organizations, and private landowners, the Department sought funding from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act's (Act) grants program to conserve wetland habitats along the Cedar River. The grant was awarded and partners started the Cedar River Wildlife Management Ecosystem Project in 1994.

This acquisition-focused project began while the area was still recovering from the floods of 1993. Many landowners, especially those with riverside cabins, were eager to sell their land. Likewise, owners of flood-damaged crop fields were interested in any activities that would restore their land and ensure its future protection. Despite this enthusiasm, acquiring or securing easements on 1,550 acres of land, as was originally intended, proved difficult in the grant's 2-year time frame.

After 5 years of encountering and maneuvering around a series of obstacles, partners were able to place nine parcels of land into public ownership, insuring their long-term protection. Of the 848 acres of habitat acquired, partners restored 35 acres of wetlands and 10 acres of uplands. They also enhanced 300 acres of wetlands and 501 acres of uplands. These habitat accomplishments were achieved with $145,863 in Act grant funds and $503,287 in partner contributions.

Project lands support 103 bird species, three Federally threatened and seven State-listed endangered or threatened plant species, and many fish and other wildlife species. The wetlands also provide the public with recreational and educational activities and water quality and control services. Thanks to project partners, the new phenomena now moving rapidly through the Cedar Rapids area are the many benefits of conservation to wildlife and people.

For more information, contact Jim Zohrer at Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Wallace State Office Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319, (515) 281-4815, Jim.Zohrer@dnr.state.ia.us.

Cedar River Wildlife Management Ecosystem Project Partners

Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Linn County Conservation Board
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Pheasants Forever, Inc.
Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation
Hawkeye Waterfowlers
Dan Diem
Linn County Soil and Water Conservation District
Sierra Club
Iowa Wildlife Federation

Piecing Together a Landscape Quilt
by Tim Gruenwald, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Patchwork quilting is a time honored tradition in Wisconsin. Piecing together fabric scraps to create beautiful patterns and something more useful than the sum of its parts takes a great deal of skill and no small amount of patience.

The partners of the Southeast Wisconsin Coastal Habitat Project have taken the art of quilt-making to a new level. Over the past 4 years, they have been acquiring remnants of wetland and grassland habitats, restoring and enhancing them, and piecing them together with agricultural lands to create a patchwork of habitats that blankets 13 counties along Lake Michigan's coastline.

The project location is in one of the fastest developing areas in the State. Past development in the project area has negatively affected the quality of the lake's water and its associated habitats. The situation is serious: the International Joint Commission for the Great Lakes' Water Quality Board designated Wisconsin's Green Bay as one of four Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes system because of pollutant discharge and toxic sediments. Further development would likely compound the problem.

No matter how degraded the habitats and polluted the waters, birds still need a place to nest and to stop and rest during migration. As it has been for centuries, the lake's shoreline and open waters are important feeding and resting habitat for hundreds of thousands of migrating waterfowl. In rough weather, waterfowl and other migratory birds find shelter on the lake 's wetlands and inland habitats. At least 38 nongame bird species can be spotted in the coastal habitats, such as American bittern, short-eared owl, northern harrier, red knot, veery, and Virginia rail. The Karner blue butterfly, giant carrion beetle, and piping plover are among the seven Federally listed threatened or endangered species also found in the lake's shoreline habitats.

The need for these habitats is great. The disappearance of wetlands from the landscape causes wetland-dependent wildlife to crowd into progressively smaller areas, and the loss of wetland functions adds to the degradation of water quality in the lake and it's watersheds.

Recognizing the need, project partners moved into action. Using a $1.2 million North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant, plus $2.5 million in partner funds, they acquired 2,060 acres of wetlands and associated uplands through fee-title (1,970 acres) and conservation easement (90 acres). They also restored 1,516 acres of drained or degraded temporary, seasonal, semi-permanent, and permanent wetlands and enhanced 2,437 acres of grasslands.

The protected and restored coastal wetlands and uplands will serve as protective buffers that will abate flood waters and improve the lake's water quality by reducing erosion and nonpoint pollution.

Restoration and enhancement activities took place on both public and private lands. Acquired lands held by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be open to the public for recreational uses.

You won't be able to see the beautiful natural patchwork created by the project's partners unless you are flying into Green Bay. That lacking, it should give you some pleasure to know they have created something useful not only for wildlife but also for people.

For more information, contact Tim Gruenwald, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, (608) 264-6137, grunet@dnr.state.wi.us.

Southeast Wisconsin Coastal Habitat Project Partners

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Wisconsin Department Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
Pheasants Forever
The Nature Conservancy
Wisconsin Electric Power Company