The first step to improve waterfowl habitat in the Brainerd area was made this summer when the DNR surveyed 17 lakes in the Lower Dean Lake Watershed.
In the coming years the DNR plans to survey every lake in the 218 watersheds in Crow Wing County and the lower half of Cass County. That's 1,302 lakes, and the goal is to survey 30 to 40 lakes per year. In a partnership with Ducks Unlimited, the DNR presently manages 30 area lakes for waterfowl.
"We want to double that number in the next few years," said Gary Drotts, DNR area wildlife manager. "But we can't just throw a dart at a map. We need to survey each lake, find out what it's like and then determine the best management strategy."
This summer's surveys were conducted by Mike Loss, DNR wildlife technician, with help from Nathan Thom, a student intern. Depending on lake size, each survey took from four to six hours to complete (minus paperwork time). Loss and Thom counted the numbers and species of waterfowl on each lake, monitored the water for depth, clarity and vegetation and determined what the bottom consisted of. A GPS grid was set over each lake and random waypoints were chosen to get a representative sampling of each lake's characteristics.
"A lot of these lakes had never been surveyed," Loss said, "so we didn't know what we were getting into. Some we can't do anything with because they're surrounded by private land. But we had to find that out."
Lakes that don't have an inlet or outlet are harder to manage because "we can't get anything in or out," Drotts added.
When the surveys are finished the DNR will have a lake classification system for waterfowl similar to its classification system for fish.
Said Drotts: "A lake like Gull, which is highly developed and has mostly 'dock' ducks, would have a different classification than Lower Dean, where we counted almost 500 ducks two weeks ago. When all 218 watersheds are surveyed we'll set a high, medium or low priority for waterfowl. Then in the next few years we'll concentrate our work in the high priority watersheds."
A "high priority" watershed would have an abundance of lakes with wild rice, an important food and cover source for both locally grown and migrating waterfowl. But Loss added that even lakes without wild rice have potential for waterfowl.
"Every lake can be managed in some way," Loss said. "It might be putting up wood duck boxes or removing a beaver dam."
Indeed, beavers are public enemy No. 1 when it comes to waterfowl habitat. Though water backed up behind a dam creates habitat, the high water damages emerging rice plants and eventually turns the water stagnant. The DNR and DU began trapping beavers several years ago and will continue to do so.
The Brainerd area is fortunate, Drotts said, in that the DNR's shallow lakes program is headquartered here, allowing local wildlife staff to get a head start in surveying our shallow lakes. Another plus is a lack of intensive agriculture, which has contributed to degraded water elsewhere in Minnesota.
VINCE MEYER can be reached at vince.meyer@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5862Brainerd Dispatch
