Fish and Wildlife Habitat

Boyer Chute NWR provides fish and wildlife habitat that will enrich the entire river ecosystem. Areas along the chute were planted with trees and shrubs native to the area to re-create riverine habitat conditions. From 1993 to the present, many areas were seeded with native prairie grasses and forbs. Amid fallow corn crop stubble, 9,100 plants representing 44 species of native trees, shrubs, and vines were planted in random and curving rows to simulate natural growth.

 

Due to channelization of the river, wetland drainage, and conversion of river bottom floodplain areas to agricultural, industrial, and municipal uses, the navigable stretch of the Missouri River floodplain has lost over 500,000 acres of important fish and wildlife habitat. Boyer Chute NWR was established to recover quality fish and wildlife habitat in and along the Missouri River.

 

Concurrent with the chute restoration project, areas adjacent to the chute were planted with trees and shrubs native to the area to re-create riparian habitat conditions. Amid fallow corn crop stubble, 9,100 plants representing 44 species of native trees, shrubs, and vines were planted in random and curving rows to simulate national growth. Now, the floodplain forest grows freely along the chute. This  provides places for birds to roost and nest, especially raptors, wood ducks, and kingfishers. It allows beaver, raccoon, opossum, and other mammals to prosper and furnishes the seclusion along the water needed by herons, waterfowl, and other wildlife. It also supplies critical breeding habitat and a nursery for sport fish species.

 

Upland restoration has been ongoing since 1993 with the objective of emulating historic vegetative regimes. It is reasonable to assume that the floodplain contained a mixture of riparian forest and vast expanses of grassland. To that end, much of the refuge "uplands" have been seeded to native prairie grasses and forbs. Although the initial cost per acres to restore these grasslands is very high, the life of these seedlings endures into perpetuity. Upland restoration provides critical habitat for  grassland-dependant migratory  species such as bobolinks and dickcissels. In spite of the relatively small current acreage of the refuge, resident wildlife species such as turkeys, white-tailed deer, and ring-necked pheasants have increased exponentially.

 

Wetland restoration, other than the chute, began in 2000 with the objective of emulating historic hydrologic regimes. As tracts of land are acquired, old river scars and associated wetlands are being restored by removing layers of silt or constructing low level dikes. Once the hydrology is restored, seeds that have been lying dormant for many  years germinate and repopulate the wetlands. Palustrine wetlands such as these are extremely dynamic in function and provide habitat for a whole suite of species that do not necessarily depend on wetlands for survival.