Duck Creek dedication is Saturday

PUXICO, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and Ducks Unlimited (DU) will hold a celebration and dedication for renovations completed at the Duck Creek Conservation Area (CA). The dedication will be held Oct. 11 at the area's headquarters near Puxico, beginning at 10 a.m.

"This will be a special day to celebrate our wetland restoration efforts at Duck Creek Conservation Area," said Matt Bowyer, MDC's southeast wildlife regional supervisor. "It will also be a special day as we recognize and say thank you to the people who've supported this project and made it possible."

Plaques will be unveiled with names of recent Missouri Ducks Unlimited Greenwing Legacy members, as well as the names of Ducks Unlimited Major donors and others who gave generously to make the wetland restoration project possible as part of the Mingo Basin Partnership. There will also be a tour of recent project activities immediately following the dedication ceremony.

The Golden Anniversary Wetlands Initiative, launched in 2004, is an ambitious partnership to rehabilitate and enhance wetlands at five of MDC's oldest wetland conservation areas. Managers at these areas face an array of challenges as they have reached, or soon will reach, their 50th anniversary. The original infrastructure of these areas has outlived reasonable life expectancy, according to Bowyer. In addition, extreme landscape changes have had unforeseen and devastating effects on certain aspects of these areas. Moreover, the science and art of wetland management and engineering, design, and construction capabilities has drastically evolved from five decades ago.

The Mingo Basin consists of nearly 28,000 acres of historic floodplain on the Mississippi River. Most of the basin is made up of the 21,592-acre Mingo National Wildlife Refuge and the state-owned 6,234 acre Duck Creek Conservation Area.

Early renovation work, what Bowyer called phase one, began in 2009 with sweeping changes in Unit A, the addition of spillways leading into and out of Pool 3 and the installation of a new water-control structure on Ditch 111. Each project was designed to more efficiently move water across the landscape.

Phase two, Bowyer said, included the addition of several fishing docks in Pool 1 and dirt work in the Greenbrier Unit.

By next summer, he said, he hopes the remaining "periphery work" can be completed.

Through all the work, Bowyer said, Ducks Unlimited has played a vital role.

"It's been an excellent partnership," he said. "They've been able to help us purchase a couple pieces of property to shore up our boundaries, and they've been involved with the NAWCA grant process."

According to local Ducks Unlimited SEMO Regional Coordinator Michael Wilburn of Dexter, who works through the local Green Head Chapter of Ducks Unlimited, species including mallards, Northern Pintails, Gadwalls, Northern Shovelers, and both Greenwing and Bluewing Teals are among just a few of the ducks that benefitted the work at Duck Creek.

"The Greenwing Project will ensure sufficient water is available to meet demands of agriculture, wildlife, and fish populations," Wilburn said of the improvements.

Staff from the adjacent Mingo National Wildlife Refuge also helped throughout the process, Bowyer said.

"Mingo has been a huge supporter through the whole process," Bowyer said.