Iowa NAWCAP Project Benefiting Migratory Game Birds
By Lowell Washburn

As the result of a continuing partnership between the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, migrating birds will find new places to feed, rest, and nest in northern Iowa.

Under provisions of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, 725 acres of new wildlife habitat has been added to the state's Eagle Lake II Wetland Complex. Located in Winnebago and Hancock counties, the project will serve as an annex to the original Eagle Lake venture, which included the acquisition of 1,388 acres. The original purchase has resulted in the restoration of more than 400 acres of prairie wetland basins and around 980 acres of permanent grasslands.

According to DNR waterfowl biologist Guy Zenner, the Eagle Lake II complex is included in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan and is located entirely within the 31-county focus area of the plan's Prairie Pothole Joint Venture. The project is in one of the state's top four priority areas containing the highest concentrations of native prairie wetlands.

"The Eagle Lake Complex represents a very significant attempt to preserve and restore migratory bird habitat in Iowa," said Zenner.

"Newly restored potholes and grasslands will provide nesting and brood rearing habitat for mallards, blue-winged teal, wood ducks, pintails, and giant Canada geese. The Eagle Lake WMA has also been used as a release site for ongoing efforts to reintroduce a breeding population of free-flying trumpeter swans. The restoration of additional wetland basins on the Eagle Lake II complex will only enhance the success of the swan project.

Restored basins will also benefit a wide range of nongame wildlife such as shorebirds, egrets, herons, and yellow-headed blackbirds. They will also provide homes for species like Blanding's turtles, which are currently listed in Iowa as species of concern. Of course, the grasslands will also benefit a broad spectrum of bird species including bobolinks, northern harriers, and others," added Zenner.

The Technical Committee of the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture Management Board has recently recognized the need to evaluate the "biological effectiveness" of wetland basins restored on NAWCA projects during the past decade. The Eagle Lake complex has become a site for those investigations.

"The Eagle Lake area has become an important location for continuing scientific studies that will ultimately evaluate the benefits and effectiveness of wetland restoration projects on waterfowl and other migratory bird species," said Zenner. "The Eagle Lake project area has also been the site for a Fish and Wildlife Service-funded study of mallard and nongame bird production and predation on restored wetlands. We conducted our nesting study on basins that were restored as a result of the original Eagle Lake NAWCA project. New restorations that will occur on the Eagle Lake II complex will add greatly to the scope and value of that study."