Jessica Call and Briana Lawrence, both graduate students in IU's School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA), logged a combined 330 volunteer hours evaluating PFW projects in 18 Indiana counties from June 24 through August 18, 2003. A total of 48 projects were reviewed, including 32 wetland restoration sites, eight bottomland hardwood reforestation projects and eight prairie restoration sites. All sites were assessed using several criteria to determine if the projects were serving their intended purpose, including hydrology restoration, plant community establishment, wildlife use and landowner satisfaction.

Thirty-four sites (71 percent) fully met the management goals and objectives of the original habitat development plan. An additional eight sites (17 percent) were considered successful, but had recommendations for further improvements. Six sites (12 percent) failed to meet the management goals and were considered unsuccessful.

All six of the unsuccessful projects were wetland restoration sites, five of which were unsuccessful due to an inability to hold sufficient water, mostly a result of either muskrat damage to levees or to possible drainage tiles that had not been broken or fully plugged. Staff from the Indiana Private Lands Office have been following up on these projects to determine potential remedies. The sites that received recommendations for further improvements mainly had problems stemming from the presence of invasive plant species (e.g. cattails, reed canary grass), muskrat damage or a lack of plant diversity. At a number of sites, muskrat damage caused the water level to be less than desired, although a functional wetland was still intact.

Overall, 82 percent of landowners indicated that they were still satisfied with their PFW projects, and many commented favorably on the level of wildlife use their sites were receiving. These findings show that the PFW program continues to achieve success both in developing habitat for federal trust resources as well as in building positive relationships with private landowners.

A total of 48 restored sites were reviewed and biological information was collected on wetland hydrology, plant communities and wildlife observations. Discussions were held with landowners regarding their satisfaction of the projects and the level of use by various wildlife species.