Washington Hunter
Well-known member
Published May 10, 2006
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho -- Part of a northern Idaho ranch being converted back into wetland by The Nature Conservancy with the help of Ducks Unlimited is filling with water from this year's good snowpack and attracting waterfowl.
"This is the first year we've had the runoff to start filling the wetland," Steve Grourke, a spokesman for the conservancy chapter based in Coeur d'Alene, told The Spokesman Review. "Last year, it was a weed bed with Canada thistle out in the middle of what was supposed to be water. This year, Mother Nature is helping take care of that."
The Nature Conservancy attempts to preserve plant and animal species by buying land and negotiating easements. Ducks Unlimited's goal is to have plentiful waterfowl by making sure there is enough habitat for them to survive and reproduce.
The Nature Conservancy bought the 2,300-acre Ball Creek Ranch -- now called Ball Creek Ranch Preserve -- for $1.5 million six years ago. Located 12 miles northwest of Bonners Ferry, the preserve has about 4 miles bordering the Kootenai River and includes two tributaries to the river.
About 1,100 acres of the ranch is being leased to the family that had been using it to grow wheat, canola and cattle, while another 500 acres has been set aside for wetland restoration.
In the past, landowners spent as much as $10,000 a year to pump water out of the wetlands. Now, plans are to pump water in.
"It's still not full," said Ivan Lines, the Ducks Unlimited wetlands consultant who managed the restoration. "We have more work to do out there, but this is a vast improvement. There were tons of tundra swans and other waterfowl when I flew over the area (last month)."
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho -- Part of a northern Idaho ranch being converted back into wetland by The Nature Conservancy with the help of Ducks Unlimited is filling with water from this year's good snowpack and attracting waterfowl.
"This is the first year we've had the runoff to start filling the wetland," Steve Grourke, a spokesman for the conservancy chapter based in Coeur d'Alene, told The Spokesman Review. "Last year, it was a weed bed with Canada thistle out in the middle of what was supposed to be water. This year, Mother Nature is helping take care of that."
The Nature Conservancy attempts to preserve plant and animal species by buying land and negotiating easements. Ducks Unlimited's goal is to have plentiful waterfowl by making sure there is enough habitat for them to survive and reproduce.
The Nature Conservancy bought the 2,300-acre Ball Creek Ranch -- now called Ball Creek Ranch Preserve -- for $1.5 million six years ago. Located 12 miles northwest of Bonners Ferry, the preserve has about 4 miles bordering the Kootenai River and includes two tributaries to the river.
About 1,100 acres of the ranch is being leased to the family that had been using it to grow wheat, canola and cattle, while another 500 acres has been set aside for wetland restoration.
In the past, landowners spent as much as $10,000 a year to pump water out of the wetlands. Now, plans are to pump water in.
"It's still not full," said Ivan Lines, the Ducks Unlimited wetlands consultant who managed the restoration. "We have more work to do out there, but this is a vast improvement. There were tons of tundra swans and other waterfowl when I flew over the area (last month)."
