Waterfowl Identification Guide Comprehensive Conservation Plan Phone: 218-8474431 |
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Land management in the Detroit Lakes Wetland Management District focuses on diverse habitats. Waterfowl depend upon wetlands for feeding, resting, and brood rearing. Equally important, however, are areas of adjacent grassland vegetation. Upland grasses are the preferred nesting habitat for many species of waterfowl and other ground nesting birds, like prairie chickens and songbirds. |
The variety of habitats within the Detroit Lakes District promotes a diversity and abundance of wildlife that change with the seasons. The western portion of the District is part of the Red River Prairie subsection of the Northern Tallgrass Prairie. The dominant landscape here consists of the large, flat, lake plain of Glacial Lake Agassiz where wet prairies were once an important habitat before the prairies were converted to agricultural use. The Agassiz beach ridges run north-south through the center of this area. These beach ridges contain gravelly soils, and have not been plowed up for agricultural use. This area contains a significant proportion of the state's remaining prairie acres, and unique wildlife species such as prairie chickens, Poweshiek skippers, and marbled godwits can still be found here.
As you move east, over the beach ridge, you transition into the hardwood hills. This area runs through the heart of the Mississippi River flyway, and contains numerous lakes, and "prairie pothole" type wetlands. Before European settlement of the area, vegetation here included maple-basswood forests interspersed with oak savanna, tallgrass prairie, and oak forest. Currently much of this area is farmed. While over 90% of the prairie potholes found here have been drained for agricultural development, the remaining prairie pothole wetlands provide important habitat for waterfowl and shorebirds. Numerous waterfowl species can be found here, along with other marsh birds, bald eagles, and prairie songbirds.
Moving north you reach the southern extent of the Aspen Parklands (an area that stretches north and west into Canada, and is a transition zone between the eastern forests and the prairie). This area contains large complexes of wetlands, aspen and brush prairie with dry prairie on the beach ridges. Gray wolves, sandhill cranes, and American bittern are some of the wildlife found here that make this area unique.
Over 287 species of birds have been observed, and about 150 species nest within the District. Many pairs of bald eagles and ospreys nest in the District. This avian diversity is complemented by at least 40 species of mammals and 25 species of reptiles and amphibians.
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Land management on the District's nearly 45,000 acres focuses on the restoration, enhancement, and maintenance of wetlands and associated grasslands for the benefit of waterfowl and other migratory birds. Tools and techniques used include wetland restoration, manipulation of water levels, seeding and re-establishment of prairie grasses and flowers, prescribed fire, waterfowl nesting structures, tree and brush removal, managed grazing. |
Management Tools
