USGS - science for a changing world

Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

  Home About NPWRC Our Science Staff Employment Contacts Common Questions About the Site

Prairie Basin Wetlands of the Dakotas:
A Community Profile

Chapter 5 -- Human Uses and Impacts

5.5 -- Prospects for the Future

The importance of prairie potholes to North American migratory bird populations is widely recognized (U.S. Department of the Interior and Environment Canada 1986). Recognition of prairie wetland values and the forces contributing to their degradation and destruction has resulted in several remedial actions being taken in recent years. Among the most important has been the incorporation of stringent mitigation measures into Federal water projects in the Dakotas to replace wetland habitat lost during project construction (Krapu and Duebbert 1989). Replacement of wetland habitat lost through restoration on a 1:1 basis with habitat of an ecologically equivalent type, as has been done in the reformulated Garrison Diversion Unit, reflects the growing concern of the Federal Government toward prairie wetland loss and the need for replacement when destruction occurs. Other recent measures of importance to prairie wetland conservation in the Dakotas include the Emergency Wetland Resources Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-645), which assures continued funding of wetlands preservation through migratory waterfowl hunting stamp sales and other means, and the Swampbuster provision of the 1985 Farm Bill (H.R. 2100) which sets substantial monetary penalties for agricultural producers who drain wetlands and plant to annual crops after December 23, 1985. The latter action, a marked departure from past Federal agricultural policies, will, if strictly enforced, add a significant new tool for reducing drainage of prairie wetlands. This law is potentially effective in the Dakotas because most agricultural producers there rely upon Government price supports and other Federal subsidies for a significant part of their annual farm income (Heimlich and Langner 1986).

The greatest challenge to maintaining a productive wetland base in the Dakotas is presented in the Central Lowlands. There, in many locations, an extensive wetland base remains, in part because of perpetual easements obtained by FWS, but much habitat continues to be degraded and/or drained by large cereal-grain farming operations. The Swampbuster provision may help to slow wetland drainage, but additional measures are needed to more fully protect watersheds and provide nesting cover for waterfowl and other wildlife. Expansion of Federal land retirement programs such as Waterbank and the CRP are needed to reduce pressures to drain or degrade wetland habitats. There is also a substantial land base currently in private ownership in the Dakotas that offers limited economic returns to private landowners, but makes or could make a major contribution to national and international migratory bird habitat requirements. The gradual transfer of habitat management rights on a substantial part of these lands through purchase in fee title and/or the taking of conservation easements is essential for the long-term wellbeing of waterfowl and other migratory birds that are dependent on prairie wetlands during part of their life cycles.

A cooperative agreement between the United States and Canada, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (U.S. Department of the Interior and Environment Canada 1986), represents the foremost effort currently underway to rebuild North American waterfowl populations. The plan seeks to restore populations to 1970-79 levels.

The plan is continental in scope, with major elements proposed for the Prairie Pothole Region. One goal is to protect and improve 445,000 ha of additional waterfowl habitat in the midcontinent region. a substantial part of that habitat could come from the Dakotas through perpetual easements on wetlands and grasslands and through acquisition in fee title. Other important elements include financial incentives to landowners to manage lands to produce waterfowl and through more intensive management of existing publicly owned lands.

Previous Section -- Wetland Management and Restoration
Return to Contents
Next Section -- References

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

Take Pride in America logo USA.gov logo U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/wetlands/basinwet/chap5e.htm
Page Contact Information: Webmaster
Page Last Modified: Saturday, 02-Feb-2013 06:56:00 EST
Menlo Park, CA [caww54]