Preserving, Restoring and Managing Wetlands

Mississippi Bluffs Ranger District of the Shawnee National Forest has key habitat for migrating waterfowl.

Today, less than 20 percent of the bottomland hardwood forests remain in the lower Mississippi valley. Oakwood Bottoms Greentree Reservoir is a key piece of wetland habitat for migrating and wintering waterfowl at the northern terminus of the valley and provides habitat for an incredible diversity of other animal and plant species.

Oakwood Bottoms is known for its greentree reservoirs and its important Pin Oak acorn production. However, the creation of moist-soil units in the mid 1990's brought even more diversity to Oakwood Bottoms. Since then, we have perfected the management of these units for maximum yield of moist-soil plant seed and maximum usage by wildlife. A moist soil unit is an open area that is manipulated with water to promote natural herbaceous (non-woody) moist-soil plant growth. Moist-soil units, when managed properly, are an essential provider of cover and a variety of food sources, from invertebrates to seeds and vegetation, for migrating waterfowl, wading birds, and shorebirds. These moist soil habitats provide resources that supplement those provided by the greentree reservoirs. The ducks in these pictures are spending some time in the Oakwood Bottoms' moist-soil units in early March. This is the time in their yearly cycle that they are pairing up and feeding on high-protein invertebrates and high-energy seeds; essential resources to get back to their breeding and nesting grounds in good condition for successful clutch production - number of eggs hatched.

The wetland management of Oakwood Bottoms, Big Muddy Wetlands and the Middle Mississippi Floodplain on the Shawnee National Forest provides critical habitat for waterfowl as they make their journey south to their wintering grounds and back north in the spring to their breeding grounds.

Thanks to the efforts of our Shawnee wildlife biologists and technicians, we continue to be successful at preserving, restoring, and managing our thriving wetlands and walk the talk of sustainability.