Click on map to enlargeAtlanta Waterfowl Production Area
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IMPORTANT! On October 27, two whooping cranes were observed in Phelps County. The birds will be monitored daily and Waterfowl Production Areas may be closed without notice to protect the birds from public disturbance. Whooping cranes are an endangered species and it is illegal to disturb or harass these birds in any manner, including hunting of game species. Whooping cranes found in close proximity to a Waterfowl Production Area will cause that area to be closed until the birds have migrated on. Closed areas will be posted with bright orange signs designating the closure. |
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Recent Management: Atlanta contains a large wetland basin which requires a large runoff event to provide adequate water for migratory waterfowl. For this reason, the basin is dry in many low-moisture years. The property contains one well, which is unable to provide enough water (in relation to cost) to create suitable open water.
In recent years, a couple of management practices have been done to improve the basins use by waterfowl. In the mid-1990's, a low-level dike with a water control structure was built to separate the northern portion from the rest of the wetland. The wetland receives most of it s runoff from the north. The diked area allows at least a portion of the basin to fill in low or marginal precipitation years.
Intense grazing has also been done on the wetland reduce the amount of vegetation, primarily reed canarygrass. The grazing allows even a couple of inches of water to become accessible to waterfowl. 68 acres of low diversity grassland (northeast corner) were inter-seeded with a high diversity seed mix. The response of the interseeding has been very good. The grazing has also helped to re-establish a prairie dog town along the north boundary of the property. Prairie dog hunting is prohibited.
The upland has numerous volunteer trees scattered throughout the property. In 2002, trees were removed on approximately 85 acres. The photo below shows the trees that were scattered throughout the property. See our tree removal section for a more detailed explanation of this practice. In 2003 and 2004, the brush piles were burned along with the upland over most of the area.
160 acres in the northeast corner of the property was fenced in 2004 to allow livestock grazing to reduce the amount of invasive Kentucky bluegrass and smooth brome. A low number of animals were stocked on the area in the early spring. The animals focused on the invasive cool season grasses (Kentucky bluegrass and smooth brome). As the season progressed they clipped any new growth on the invasive grasses and under-grazed the native warm season grasses.
The photo below was taken in October, 2001 looking south-southwest. The water control structure was open, allowing runoff to fill the central portion of the wetland. The predominately white area (open water) in the photo is the area that was grazed earlier in the year.
Photo below shows Atlanta WPA in June 2005, the photo is taken from the opposite corner (looking east-northeast) as the photo above. Note the number of fewer trees in the interior of the property.
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Last updated: October 27, 2009
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