ConfidentialPage 1August 2004

October 2001

Shallow Water Management for Wildlife

This job sheet is to be used in conjunction with NRCS Standard 646, Shallow Water Management for Wildlife. It also provides management guidance for NRCS Standard 644, Wetland Wildlife Management, and CRP practice CP-9, Shallow Water Areas for Wildlife.

Definition

Shallow water management for wildlife involves the management of shallow water on agricultural lands and moist soil areas for wildlife habitat.

Purpose

  • To provide moist soil areas (6-18”) with native vegetation on agricultural fields and shallow open water mud flats (2-4”). Diverse water depths and vegetative conditions are desirable.
  • To provide habitat for reptiles and amphibians and other aquatic species which serve as important prey species for waterfowl, raptors, herons, and other wildlife. Large woody debris such as logs or limbs, strategically placed within the pond area, enhance important habitat features.

Shallow water areas provide feeding and resting areas for migratory, wading, and shore birds, and year round habitat for other wetland dependent species such as furbearers, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. Shallow flooded mud flats are important to migrating shore birds, which probe and feed on aquatic insects and other invertebrates. Moist soil areas with native vegetation provide an abundance of aquatic invertebrates as well as weed seed.

Criteria

Sites must be verified by a qualified person (i.e. soil scientist) to insure that soils have:

  • a water table (in natural conditions) that is at a depth of 1 foot or less;
  • a clay content of at least 25% at depths of 15 to 40 inches.

Additionally sites must have an adequate surface water supply for annual re-flooding.

CRP (CP-9) Management Requirements

This shallow water area must be an average depth of 6 -18 inches and provide a source of water for the majority (26 weeks) of the year. An adequate upland buffer of native vegetation must be established and maintained to protect water quality and provide additional wildlife habitat. The buffer must be a minimum of 20 feet wide and a maximum average of 120 feet.

Moist Soil Management

  • Native plants that become established under a moist soil management have greater nutrient value for waterfowl and do not deteriorate as quickly as row crops when flooded.
  • Moist soil management creates more diverse stands of plant species that in turn attract a greater diversity of wildlife species.
  • Moist soil management increases the population of snails, insects and earthworms that are essential food sources for birds.
  • Moist soil management provides water later into the year, providing wetland feeding and resting habitat for late migrating birds and resident species.


  • The water regime under moist soil management significantly decreases the potential for nutrient runoff from the site.

Specification Sheet

Prepared for: ______Date:______

By: ______

Farm No.: ______Tract No.: ______Field No.: ______

management plan

This management plan can be used for many years once competing vegetation has been eliminated through mowing, disking, burning and water level manipulation; and a diverse community of natural waterfowl food plants has been established.

March 1Remove boards to drain pond area. Disk one third of pond area in strips of 20 to 40 feet wide as soon as the area is dry enough. Annual seed crop may be planted in disked strips at this time, but not required. These strips may not be harvested and shall be left fallow the following two years. No more than one third of the pond area may be planted to an annual seed crop in any one year.

May 1Replace enough boards to bring the water up to the average pond surface elevation. There may be as much as 2 inches of water on the lower elevations of the pond. Maintain this water level throughout the growing season.

July 1Japanese millet may be broadcast, up to 20 pounds per acre, over moist soil areas and mud flats at this time. Japanese millet will typically re-seed for two to four years after establishment.

October 1Replace the remaining boards to flood the rest of the pond area over a three week period, until maximum water level is achieved. Maintain this water level until the March drawdown.

Operation and Maintenance

The objective is to maintain a diversity of shallow water area with no vegetation and areas of early successional vegetation by water level management and rotational disking or burning.

If the above management plan is not used, the impoundment should be dewatered and disked or burned at 2 to 3 year intervals to control the invasion by undesirable plants.

Any use of fertilizers, mechanical treatments, prescribed burning, pesticides and other chemicals to assure the shallow water or moist soil area function shall not compromise the intended purpose. Herbicides should be limited to control of exotic invasive species, such as alligator weed, cocklebur, phragmites, and sesbania. Many agricultural weed seeds are more important than grain crops, which may be grown.

Biological control of undesirable plant species and pests (e.g., using predator or parasitic species) shall be implemented where available and feasible.

Plan Map

If needed, an aerial view or a side view of the pond area, including location of dike, water control structure, and buffers, a north arrow and any other relevant information and any associated practices may be included.

Scale 1” = ______feet. (NA indicates sketch not to scale.)

Additional specifications: ______

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Landowner Certification: I agree to operate and maintain this practice according to the above management plan and specifications.

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Landowner’s signatureDate

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