Things are shaping up nicely at the Maple River State Game Area Wetlands Unit this spring!
The last two springs have brought excessive amounts of rain, which caused the Maple River to remain at flood stage well into the late spring/early summer. The Maple River State Game Area Wetlands Unit, located north of St. Johns on U.S. 127, is a designated flood storage area.
“Things are looking pretty good so far this spring. It was pretty dry until we received about 3 inches of rain in early April,” said Chad Fedewa, DNR wildlife biologist for Gratiot, Clinton, Ingham and Shiawassee counties. “That heavy rain flooded some of our crop units, but the river has already receded enough that we should be able to start pumping out water soon.”
“We’re happy to be a couple weeks ahead of where we’ve been the last couple of years,” Fedewa added. “Getting crops planted in a timely manner during the last two years has been challenging, especially within the refuge. This year’s drier conditions, along with new pumps that were recently installed on the area, will help us control water levels, get crops planted and further improve waterfowl hunting conditions for this fall.”
In addition, the north side of Taft Road has seen some positive changes. The local chapter of Pheasants Forever recently received a Wildlife Habitat Grant that funded the clearing of about 60 acres of brush. Over the next year or two, DNR Wildlife Division staff members will be working to prepare those 60 acres to be planted to grass cover and expand the Pheasant Restoration Initiative work.
Chad Krumnauer, wildlife technician at the DNR’s Rose Lake Field Office, has developed a great working relationship with the Grand River Chapter of Michigan Duck Hunters Association (MDHA). MDHA funded the hydro-axing of 30 acres on the north side of Unit C, which cleared willow and other brush. MDHA also helped remove some larger trees by hand that could not be mowed with the hydro-axe.
While the hydro-axe was available, Wildlife Division staffers cleared brush from another 65 acres on the north end of Units D and E, as well as around the ponds on the corner of Crapo and Taft roads.
All the brush-mowing helps us work toward our goal of reclaiming 500-plus acres of quality grass cover, which will benefit pheasants, nesting waterfowl and many other wildlife species.
Chad Krumnauer and wildlife assistant Todd Bashore have been hard at work on these projects. With a little help from Mother Nature, we hope to have the area in good shape for this year’s crop planting. Keep your fingers crossed!
