 HUMPHREY
– Ask any duck hunter in America where the best waterfowl hunting is
located and more often than not you'll hear Bayou Meto in eastern
Arkansas. Halowell Reservoir on Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area
draws ducks to an area that’s famous for wintering waterfowl.
But Halowell’s habitat quality has declined over the years. That’s why
the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission plans to restore the area to good
health.
Bayou Meto WMA, which covers 32,000 acres, was designated in the late
1940s. It’s mostly bottomland hardwood trees with agricultural crops on
Wrape Plantation and moist-soil habitat – essential for waterfowl – on
Halowell Reservoir. Last year’s multi-agency irrigation project on
864,000 acres of the Bayou Meto watershed was a step toward healthier
habitat for all wildlife.
The renovation of Halowell Reservoir is another step. Although plans are
not final, several improvements will be made. Mechanisms to control
water will be built, drains will be updated and management techniques
will be honed to enhance habitat. Already the AGFC has planted
cultivated barnyard grass, a moist-soil plant found across Arkansas, on
the 620-acre waterfowl rest area. Rich plants such as this can feed
large concentrations of hungry wintering waterfowl.
 A
fall flight of more than 100 million birds from a breeding population of
62 million is the North American Waterfowl Management Plan’s goal. The
Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture seeks a wintering population of
8.6 million ducks and 1 million geese. Arkansas’ goal is 2.9 million
ducks and 263,000 geese. The AGFC manages 6,350 acres of moist-soil
habitat on 19 WMAs.
All these birds require high-quality habitat, although land managers
must balance crop quality and cost. Halowell’s renovation will find that
balance, and wildlife and hunters will benefit. Improved habitat will
produce healthy birds that will return to northern breeding grounds to
increase the population. Of course, hunters will enjoy concentrated
birds near a healthy rest area.
The AGFC currently manages approximately 6,350 acres of moist-soil
habitat on 19 WMAs in six regions. Habitat quality varies between each
WMA and among each unit depending on circumstances specific to each
site. The AGFC is currently looking for ways to improve management
capabilities on all of its moist-soil units. |