New wetland

C

captaincoot

Banned
I went to the FSA today to check out enrollment in the crp program:) I'm thinking of putting 8-10 acres in. Pay seems really good said $200+ an acre easy:D What do you guys think? It will be a four/ five acre slough with a buffer strip around it. Will it help wildlife or be a waste of time?
 
captaincoot said:
I went to the FSA today to check out enrollment in the crp program:) I'm thinking of putting 8-10 acres in. Pay seems really good said $200+ an acre easy:D What do you guys think? It will be a four/ five acre slough with a buffer strip around it. Will it help wildlife or be a waste of time?
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I'd say put it in. Not only will it be good for wildlife but it may also help improve water quality and reduce erosion.
 
Been too long since I worked with the federal programs for private land. I'm confused, is it CRP or WRP? It's benefit will be somewhat dependant upon what other habitat is around and what species you want to benefit. Here, if we were managing just for upland game, we would not build wetlands in close proximity as they really attract predators. If you're into multi-use, then it may well fit into your scheme. Wetlands can be beneficial to pheasants, but their proximity to other habitats that may produce predators may influence how beneficial or detrimental they end up being. If you're a duck, goose, rail, or deer hunter, then it's a no brainer. If you build a small wetland in close proximity to a larger or better one, again the benefit may be marginal. So, again, it has to be measured in the totality of it's proximity to other habitats or to whether you already have access to those same habitats. If it provides you with opportunities that you wouldn't otherwise have, then getting paid to have it is a really good deal!!! My son would vote yes on a wetland:)
 
Coot, great plan do it. We all know Iowa is pheasant country all you need is the habitat. Oh! and a little predator control.:)
 
Tell you the truth PD i'm not sure what program is called. I'm sure it's wrp but i like to combine them into the same catagery. After looking last night I would have to make it bigger to get the right combination of high/low ground to do it right. I'm thinking 15 acres. Should be a waterfowl magnet not many ponds around here. I would like to have enough high ground for the pheasant I'm thinking 10 acres would be a good start 320 acres of grass within a mile of it plus river.
 
Is the area used well by waterfowl? Is you design going to be more of a pond or a marsh? The marsh will be much more attractive to waterfowl and take less water to fill. A pond is better for fish than waterfowl. For dabblind ducks, you don't need any water over 18 inches in depth. The forage plants that attract them and the habitat conditions they like are provided by that. Food will be in short supply if you make it more of a pond design. It will be cheaper to manage, because the deep water precludes invasives like trees and cattails, but little is actually available to hold waterfowl. It's all about food. If you have no food, they will only stop by. If you pressure them with no food, they'll leave. If the food is there, they will want to stay. Further, you have to move more dirt to make a pond than you do to make a marsh. Aaaaaaannnndddddd, the marsh will be more beneficial to pheasants.
 
Captaincoot, small areas can be surprisingly productive, especially if there are larger blocks of cover reasonably nearby. A friend has 6 acres of grass adjacent to a small farm grove. There also is a 16 acre patch and a 20 acre patch in the same mile section half a mile away, all the remaining land is in row crops, but there are 200 acres of permanent grasslands one mile away. Last year we took 15 roosters off the 6 acre piece. We have hunting access to the 20 acre plot and took about 30 roosters off it last year. In 2007 the people that have the 16 acre plot took 12 roosters off it on opening weekend. One evening near the end of the 2007 season we counted 130 birds flying from the 16 acre plot to the 20 acre plot. All three plots have wetlands in them.
 
It will be 1-2 deep at the most so I guess it would be a marsh. I call any thing that has water a pond it's a farmer thing. One 8 inch tile goes to it plug that and the area holds water should be a good marsh. They said you can control depth of water so I should be able to stay at the perfect depth for marsh. I have a 7000 acre waterfowl refuge 2 miles away so a marsh with food in it should be fair hunting. Hope I can figure out how to manage it right to get food they want. Pheasant should go to it they've always been back there until the snow flys or I take my hunting strips of corn out.
 
Talk to the refuge manager. He can help you with management. You can go either with moist-soil management or plant something like Japanese millet in July.
 
If it pays annual rent then it is not WRP which is a easement program (lump sum payment to sign it up for life kind of thing).

Mostly likely a CP-37 Duck Nesting which allows you to enroll up to 10 acres in upland habitat for every acre of wetland in program. 10/1 ratio. Could also be CP-21 Rpairian buff which allows you to enroll up to 160' filter strip around edge of wetland. Most programs require pluggin anything that previously drained the wetland. Orrrrrr, I now suspect it is CP 27/28 Farmable wetlands. Same as CP-37 only pays you on the wetland acres and is ony 4/1 ration on upland to wetland acres. All are good programs. I don't care for WRP.
 
Went for my meeting today to see if my crp plan would work. The programs called farmable wetlands pilot crp program. Only problem is I can't decide on how big it should be:( My plan was 10.3acres, they had two plans 19 and 12.4 acres. Pay was really good I thought 225 an acre how many acres do you guys think I should put in?
 
I'd go bigger! More attractive to geese and more room for pheasants. Plus, you can do more types of management with the more room. Management costs money, so that has to figure in as well. The larger size would allow more than one blind to be used at the same time if you have family or friends that will want to hunt as well.
 
Prairie Drifter said:
I'd go bigger! More attractive to geese and more room for pheasants. Plus, you can do more types of management with the more room. Management costs money, so that has to figure in as well. The larger size would allow more than one blind to be used at the same time if you have family or friends that will want to hunt as well.
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i agree with him coot bigger for family!!!!:10sign:
 
the pond keeps getting bigger. govt is going to pay the coot well. i hear he is going to have the best coot sanctuary ever made:D
 
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