Winter Flooding Successful in the Bootheel of Missouri
Scott Crumpecker, USDA-NRCS
The Missouri Bootheel Partners Program - Cropland Flooding Program has had great success in the Missouri Bootheel. The Partnership includes: Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Missouri Department of Conservation, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and area landowners. The program offers technical assistance and some materials needed to implement winter flooding on cropfields. The goal is to show how a non traditional conservation practice can benefit the landowner, the environment, and migratory waterfowl and wetland dependent species.
Flooded cropfields can be reestablished as habitat critical for wintering waterfowl. The landowner can benefit by recreational opportunities associated with the practice. In addition, winter flooding restricts weed growth, enabling farmers to implement management strategies such as minimum and no-till. Farmers growing rice can complement their operations by installing water control structures that aid in managing water levels in the growing season. Waterfowl are also rice consumers. Red rice consumed by ducks and geese is not viable after passing through their digestive system.
Presently the Partnership has provided approximately 250 water control structures on over 90 different landowners in eight Southeast Missouri counties. The Partnership has expended over $135,000 to Bootheel landowners in direct farm inputs. A total of 28,000 acres has been assessed for seasonal habitat development and 11,500 have been enrolled in the program, since the program's inception in 1997. Approximately 90% of the participants are rice farmers.
The goal of the project is to have 20,000 acres seasonally flooded by 2003. In addition to the habitat benefit, a biologist has been employed by NRCS to assist landowners with the program and to encourage post harvest flooding.
Farms in the following counties are eligible to participate: Butler, Cape Girardeau, Dunklin, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Ripley, Scott, Stoddard, and Wayne. Landowners or operators interested in the program can contact their local Soil and Water Conservation District and NRCS office or Scott Crumpecker, NRCS Biologist, at 624-7403 ext. 136. You may also find more on the internet at: http://www.mo.nrcs.usda.gov/bootheel1.html.