CATTAILS

birddude

birddude

Well-known member
Maybe a dumb question, but why is there still cattail draws in the Dakotas? Is it because they can't be drained because there is no place to drain them? Soil composition? Literally everything here is now field tiled. High ground, low ground. If it's farmed it's tiled! Also, if anyone knows, is it not dangerous to divert all that water from the aquifers and into the gulf? You can walk down any ditch or creek here and see drainpipes. It just doesn't feel wright to me.
 
A friend from Minnesota has stated S.D. ag is 50 years behind Minn. He has been saying that for 30 years.

High land prices drive tiling and ours weren't that high until recently.

Tiling is wrong in my opinion but I understand a farmers point of view and how they believe they are improving their land/value.
 
birddude said:
Maybe a dumb question, but why is there still cattail draws in the Dakotas? Is it because they can't be drained because there is no place to drain them? Soil composition? Literally everything here is now field tiled. High ground, low ground. If it's farmed it's tiled! Also, if anyone knows, is it not dangerous to divert all that water from the aquifers and into the gulf? You can walk down any ditch or creek here and see drainpipes. It just doesn't feel wright to me.
Click to expand...
What do you mean cattail draws? Are you talking wetlands?
 
3car said:
What do you mean cattail draws? Are you talking wetlands?
Click to expand...
Yes I assume wetlands. I'm just wondering why they haven't been drained. There hasn't been many here for decades. Laws have been passed to save them on state and federal land but it's really too little to late for some species, like the rails. I've only seen one in the last 20 years.
 
birddude said:
Yes I assume wetlands. I'm just wondering why they haven't been drained. There hasn't been many here for decades. Laws have been passed to save them on state and federal land but it's really too little to late for some species, like the rails. I've only seen one in the last 20 years.
Click to expand...
I would say the biggest reason is the USFWS easement program. The USFWS has been actively protecting wetlands on private land since the 60's. That footprint is pretty big now east of the Missouri River in ND and SD. And like Weimdogman said we are always a little behind on technology too.
 
Just a thought: the farm and real estate lobbies make much more generous donations to political campaigns than the wildlife and nature conservation organizations.

Politics is cash-investment driven, irrespective of the politicians' public statements.

It is still a bitter truth for me.

Be well.
 
To answer your question, is that SD's remaining wetlands are either protected/exist on public land, occur in its own basin (meaning that there isn't anywhere to send the water to), or the farmer hasn't gotten around to it.

Drain tile can be done responsibly, moving water from one place on a property to another to allow the producer access to more tillable acres, while sometimes creating a new wetland. Sadly, tiling is usually done by sending that water down the line, making it someone else's problem.
 
There can be a number of practical production reasons why a property has/ has not been tiled. For example, there needs to be someplace to drain it to, hopefully with enough "fall' in elevation for the drainage to work. Soil type makes a difference. In eastern Indiana you can run into old lake bed Hoytville-Nappanee heavy, tight soils that need to be systematically tiled every 40' or so to get the crop yield needed. In other places, the quality of soil is not good enough to get the yield "kick" needed in order for the tiling to pay. Farmers typically use plastic, not clay tile like they used to and the cost for the ditching and tiling has gone up drastically per linear foot. And, once you drain your field, the water goes to another stream/river/whatever and has THAT been cleaned and will it drain, or will the water back up?
Government restrictions on draining wetlands has been a big issue for decades. There is a nationwide political debate raging right now about government control of water rights which would negatively impact commercial and agricultural business. It is a complicated issue with more than one legitimate point of view---but for farmers who depend on adequate drainage for their livelihood, the issue is beyond critical.
 

National Wetlands Inventory

fwsprimary.wim.usgs.gov fwsprimary.wim.usgs.gov
Check the box by the FWS Managed Lands. 99% of the colored areas are under easement in the Dakotas east of the Missouri River. The other 1% is Fee Title actually owned by the FWS as a WPA or NWR.
 
Last edited:
We have been dry for so long in this part of N.W. IA, that the cattail marshes are drying up on their own. Late last fall I noticed a couple of different patches that had been mowed, then disked. They didn't take the entire patch, but they really cut down on the habitat that was there. Sad to see, but you really can't blame the farmer.
 
Lefty76 said:
We have been dry for so long in this part of N.W. IA, that the cattail marshes are drying up on their own. Late last fall I noticed a couple of different patches that had been mowed, then disked. They didn't take the entire patch, but they really cut down on the habitat that was there. Sad to see, but you really can't blame the farmer.
Click to expand...
One great thing about cattail sloughs that have been disced under , just add water and they come right back!
 
Well, drain tile is being done rather quickly in NE South Dakota. So our landscape is changing. The only rule for a land owner to put in drain tile is to go to the NRCS and make sure a documented wetland isn't drained. No approval process and no documentation of who's land has been tiled. Now politicians would love to document what land is tiled with the intent to tax it at a higher rate due to the ground being more productive. If the county makes you get a permit, well then that would make the county the approving authority and if the water floods out the neighbor they would then be able to sue the county. So there is no way counties want to be the approving authority. Many of our non documented wet lands will be going away and there are a lot of them. Property owners don't make money on wet spots so they will tile. We have a 20 acre wetland that is up to four foot deep during the wet years. We put the remaining 130 acres into CRP, but the 20 acres didn't qualify because its wet so no income off those acres. In other words the program gets 150 acres for the price of 130. I understand farmers trying to make every acre count, its a business but... The disappearing fence rows, wet lands and lots of fall tillage sure is hard on the wildlife to stay around.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top