Opportunities lost through failure to develop irrigation in central South Dakota
Date
1996-06
Authors
Klostermeyer, William C., author
U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, publisher
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Abstract
In the mid-1980s, several irrigation projects were evaluated and proposed for development as part of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Project. Included as part of the Central South Dakota project was the evaluation of waterfowl enhancement opportunities. During these studies, it was found that waterfowl production is generally limited, even though there may be wetlands available, by an inadequate number of wetlands that maintain water throughout the duck brood rearing season. With proper planning the development of these proposed irrigation projects would have provided the source of water for the increased production of waterfowl. This paper discusses in some detail an evaluation made in association with the Bureau of Reclamation's proposed CENDAK Irrigation Project. Three of six Central South Dakota counties located in the CENDAK Project area were evaluated for the potential to increase wildlife productions. Forty thousand two hundred (40,200) acres of wetlands were identified in these counties as having enhancement potential on the basis of wetland permanency, size, and proximity to planned irrigation canals and the source of water that the project would provide. In conjunction with the irrigation study, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service selected four wetland areas for further evaluations. Changes in duck population were evaluated by a mallard production simulation model. Three different types of management actions were evaluated. The first action, which just provided supplemental water from the irrigation system to existing wetlands, produced an increase in the recruitment rate at up to 660 percent greater than present conditions. Production of young increased up to 28 times over present conditions as a result of supplying supplemental water. The other two Management Action plans required more extensive development but had similar results. Development costs for the three management actions varied depending upon the amount of land in private ownership. The development cost ranged from $86 per wetland acre for supplemental water management to $680 per wetland acre for a more extensive action plan at a wetland that was entirely in private ownership. Federal cost sharing could be available if enhancement was included as part of the Federal Water Project. Similar waterfowl enhancement opportunities are likely to exist in other parts of the Great Plains through better integration of irrigation projects and fish and wildlife enhancement.
Description
Presented at Water for agriculture and wildlife and the environment: win-win opportunities: proceedings from the USCID wetlands seminar on June 27-29, 1996 in Bismarck, North Dakota.