Pool 1A dike under construction. - FWS photo by Steve Kahl

Pool 1A dike under construction. - FWS photo by Steve Kahl

Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge staff completed rehabilitation of 3,000 feet of dike critical for managing water levels in Pool 1A. 

The dike had been worn to a vertical slope from wave erosion.  Consequently, this slope became overgrown with willows and other trees.  Refuge staff removed all of the trees and repaired the slope to a 4:1 gradient.  Also, a layer of filter fabric was installed and rip rap was added to armor the entire dike length against future impacts and to minimize future maintenance.

Pool 1A is comprised of 315 acres of emergent marsh.  This impoundment provides habitat for breeding marshbirds such as pied-billed grebe, least bittern, and common moorhen.  Hundreds of great egret, great blue heron, and black-crowned night-heron use this wetland for foraging and roosting. 

Further, it provides important stopover habitat for thousands of ducks, geese, and shorebirds in spring and fall migration.  In fact, a peak count of 11,000 mallards was recorded using this pool in October 2006.