Click on map to enlargeFreeman Lakes Waterfowl Production Area
Location: 1 mile west and 1.5 miles north of Utica, Nebraska
Click on map to enlarge
Size: 188 acres: 146 acres of wetland, 42 acres of upland
Recent Management: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service owns the eastern portion of the wetland, which limits our management opportunities. It is continually plagued with dense stands of bulrush. A remnant portions of old two-track roads and silt were removed from the wetland in 2002. Additional silt was removed in 2003.
The aerial photograph below was taken facing east. The brown color in the photo shows the extent of the dense stand of bulrush covering the wetland.
Dense
stand of bulrush found on Freeman Lakes WPA prior to applying the management
practices of disking and grazing.
Two years of heavy grazing, following disking, set back the bulrush and allowed open areas of native plants to grow. The photo below shows Freeman Lakes wetland after the second year of grazing. Smartweed replaced much of the bulrush, providing food and open water for migratory waterfowl.
Last updated: September 23, 2008
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