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WETLAND MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
Burleigh/Kidder County Wetland Management District Maps                           
      Emmons County Wetland Management District Map
photo of a pair of blue-winged teal in wetland by Refuge StaffLong Lake Wetland Management District (WMD) encompasses three counties in south-central North Dakota; an area famed for its wealth of waterfowl-producing potholes and native prairie grasslands. Headquarters for the WMD is located in the Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) office near Moffit, North Dakota, which is about 35 miles southeast of Bismarck. Topographical landforms of the area include Missouri Coteau and Missouri River Slope. Precipitation averages just under 16 inches per year. Approximately 68 percent of the land in the three county area remains virgin sod - native mixed-grass prairie. The dominant land use is cattle grazing. The Coteau wetlands found in the northeastern portion of the WMD are classic prairie potholes of various sizes and types that are prime duck production habitat. photo of white cattle grazing with cattle egrets on WMD by Refuge StaffThese areas, when wet, are very productive. Soils in this area are generally deep and quite productive. Due to the rolling nature of the landscape on the Coteau, a lot of the land is also characterized as highly erodible. Conversely, many of the wetlands on Missouri River Slope portion of the WMD are large semi-permanent and permanent alkali wetlands. There are 21 wetland sites on the Missouri River Slope that have a history of periodic avian botulism outbreaks. These areas occasionally present localized problems for significant numbers of migratory birds. Soils on the Missouri River Slope are characteristically shallow with high proportions of sand and gravel. Much of the land is highly erodible. Since 1985, substantial land acreage in the three county area that was once farmed has been retired to Conservation Reserve Program grasslands. The program has assisted in restoring waterfowl populations for many species in the WMD which exceed the highest level ever recorded since surveys began.
 
The three county Long Lake WMD consists of:
  Waterfowl Production Areas - 77 WPAs totaling 21,789 acres
  FmHA Easements - 16 easement contracts totaling 3,713 acres
  Wetland Easements - 1006 easement contracts covering 100,176 wetland acres
  Grass Easements - 25 grassland easement contracts protecting 7,174 acres of native prairie
  Two Satellite Fee Refuges    
    Slade NWR - 3,000 acres
    Florence Lake NWR - 1,888 acres including 132 acres of meandered lake
  Six Easement Refuges  
    Canfield Lake - 313 acres; 3 fee acres, 310 easement acres
    Appert Lake - 908 acres; all easement acres
    Hutchinson - 479 acres; all easement acres
    Lake George - 3,119 acres; 29 fee acres, 3,090 easement acres
    Springwater - 640 acres; all easement acres
    Sunburst - 328 acres; all easement acres
  One Wildlife Development Area
    East Lost Lake, totaling 794 acres (Bureau of Reclamation mitigation tract for impacts of Garrison Diversion)
 
photo of sandhill cranes flying on WMD by Refuge StaffThe Long Lake WMD habitats are comprised of Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs), satellite refuges, Wildlife Development Areas (WDAs), wetland and grassland easements, and private lands agreements. WPAs are fee title lands purchased under authority of the Small Wetlands Acquisition Program, funded with Duck Stamp dollars. Wetland easements are purchased with the same authorities and funds; however, the property ownership remains private, with the rights and interests of the wetland basins and their protection in perpetuity purchased by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Grass easements are, for the most part, purchased under the authority and funding of the Land and Water Conservation Act. FmHA easements became a part of the refuge system through a conveyance of deeded conservation restrictions on specific properties authorized under authority contained in the Consolidated Farmers Home Administration Act of 1961.
 
Satellite and easement refuges are refuges established under Executive Order and managed under authority of the National Wildlife Refuge Administration Act and all other authorities established by legislation pertaining to the National Wildlife Refuge System. Easement refuges and easement portions within, and in combination with fee title refuges, remain in private and/or other public entity ownership, with authority conveyed to the Fish and Wildlife Service to establish refuge protection and to maintain and control water on those lands through the easement purchased on said property.
 
photo of East Lost Lake Wildlife Development Area by Refuge StaffThe 794 acre East Lost Lake Wildlife Development Area (WDA) (bought and developed by the Bureau of Reclamation)(BOR) and transferred to the FWS for management as a mitigation obligation of Garrison Diversion in northern Burleigh County is also managed by the Long Lake NWR office. East Lost Lake WDA has been developed to offset habitat losses resulting from Garrison Diversion Unit project-related impacts. The BOR transferred this 794 acre tract to the FWS on January 1, 1991. Mitigation for project-related impacts is obtained on an acre-for-acre basis by replacing habitat losses with ecologically equivalent lands as determined by (1) type of wildlife use (for wetlands and contiguous uplands) and (2) equivalent vegetative cover for woodland and uplands. The FWS manages this unit as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System under the National Migratory Bird Program. Staff direct management efforts toward the production and maintenance of migratory birds, particularly waterfowl.
 
Administration of the WMD also involves enhancement of private lands for wildlife through cooperative agreements with private landowners and monitoring and reporting private land violations of federal conservation regulations and laws.

Approved goals for the WMD are listed below:
 
· Conserve, restore, and enhance federally listed endangered species and the habitats upon which they depend.

· Provide life requirements of waterfowl and other migratory birds occurring naturally in this portion of the Prairie Pothole Region.

· Provide life requirements of resident wildlife species.

· Provide a wide range of opportunities for compatible wildlife/wetlands oriented recreation, interpretation, and education.

· Foster conditions under which prehistoric and historic resources can exist in harmony with the FWS mission.

· Preserve and enhance the overall environmental quality, wild character, and natural beauty of the Long Lake WMD.
 
 

Please direct questions and comments to:

Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
12000 353rd St. SE
Moffit, North Dakota 58560-9704
Phone: 701-387-4397
E-mail: longlake@fws.gov