Wild Rice Project Enters New Phase: Second Year PRogress
Gordon Boivin of the Shiawassee Flats Citizens and Hunters Association
Article from the Fall 2016 issue of The Wildlife Volunteer.
The Michigan Wildlife Conservancy's wild rice restoration project is breaking new ground with the planting of additional research sites in Saginaw County. The planting area has more than doubled in size since 2014 and now includes 24 fenced plots (15 by 15 foot) that will help assess the impacts of geese, muskrats, and carp.
The research areas now include sites on both the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the DNR-managed Shiawassee River State Game Area. Thanks to funding and volunteer work from the Shiawassee Flats Citizens and Hunters Association, the project is yielding important clues about how the unique plant, famed for attractive waterfowl, can best be managed.
“The overall goal is to figure out how wild rice can be introduced where waterfowl, muskrats, and carp are fairly abundant,” said Dr. Patrick Rusz, MWC’s director of wildlife programs. “So far, we have been able to grow wild rice in spring in all kinds of water with differing depths and bottom types. But the plants are intensively browsed by muskrats and geese and are easily uprooted by carp. We need to find practical ways to prevent that.”
The answer that seems to be coming out of the research is to use carefully timed draw-downs that spur wild rice growth and make it difficult for the muskrats, geese, and carp to impact the growth. Wild rice grows first as ribbon-like submersed leaves, then progresses to a critically-important floating-leaf stage. Fairly stable water levels 6-18 inches in depth are helpful until the plant develops somewhat stiff, upright, and broader aerial leaves. At that point, a draw-down that reduces the depth to just a few inches or creates a “mud flat” will nearly eliminate use of the site by geese, muskrats and carp. Geese and muskrats can move around and feed on dry land, but to avoid predators they prefer the protection water provides.
“Our research to date clearly shows that wild rice established in water deeper than about a foot and where there is high goose, muskrat or carp use will not likely develop into tall, self-seeding stands without summer draw-downs,” noted Dr. Rusz. “We could limit wild rice restoration attempt to sites where waterfowl, carp, and muskrats are scarce in spring and summer. However, some of the strongest support for restoring wild rice is in waterfowl concentration areas, and carp and muskrats seem to be in most of those.”
Last year, an area seeded at the National Wildlife Refuge grew a dense stand of wild rice in spring. By June, virtually all of the stems had been browsed by muskrats or geese. Then the water was drawn-down to facilitate dike repairs. Browsing was then greatly reduced and the wild rice stems began to recover. By August there was a dense stand of wild rice with seven-foot stems and plenty of seed heads. In other areas not subject to draw-down, browsing continued and almost all of the wild rice stems were gone or without seed heads by August.
This year, the same area that produced so well in 2015 was not drawn-down. A dense stand developed initially, but browsing continued through the summer and the seed-head density was a fraction of what it was in 2015.
“Our monitoring on other areas also showed that if the draw-down occurs too early, bulrushes, smartweed, nutsedge and other moist soil plants may outcompete the wild rice,” said Dr. Rusz.
The new research areas to be seeded at the State Game Area all have nearly complete water control capability, so the project is entering a new phase in which ideas learned in the first two years of the project can be tested. Draw-downs will be carefully-timed, with cooperation of the DNR, to let the rice get through the floating-leaf stage, yet provide relief from browsing and disturbance by carp.
“One of our key findings was that even if wild rice is initially browsed heavily, it can rebound and later produce lots of seed, said Dr. Rusz. “It can then be re-flooded and be very attractive to feeding waterfowl in the fall. Hopefully, we’ll get more helpful insights during the next three years.”
Photo taken by Dr. Tim Kaufman.
For First Year Progress of the Wild Rice Project, click here.
The Michigan Wildlife Conservancy's wild rice restoration project is breaking new ground with the planting of additional research sites in Saginaw County. The planting area has more than doubled in size since 2014 and now includes 24 fenced plots (15 by 15 foot) that will help assess the impacts of geese, muskrats, and carp.
The research areas now include sites on both the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the DNR-managed Shiawassee River State Game Area. Thanks to funding and volunteer work from the Shiawassee Flats Citizens and Hunters Association, the project is yielding important clues about how the unique plant, famed for attractive waterfowl, can best be managed.
“The overall goal is to figure out how wild rice can be introduced where waterfowl, muskrats, and carp are fairly abundant,” said Dr. Patrick Rusz, MWC’s director of wildlife programs. “So far, we have been able to grow wild rice in spring in all kinds of water with differing depths and bottom types. But the plants are intensively browsed by muskrats and geese and are easily uprooted by carp. We need to find practical ways to prevent that.”
The answer that seems to be coming out of the research is to use carefully timed draw-downs that spur wild rice growth and make it difficult for the muskrats, geese, and carp to impact the growth. Wild rice grows first as ribbon-like submersed leaves, then progresses to a critically-important floating-leaf stage. Fairly stable water levels 6-18 inches in depth are helpful until the plant develops somewhat stiff, upright, and broader aerial leaves. At that point, a draw-down that reduces the depth to just a few inches or creates a “mud flat” will nearly eliminate use of the site by geese, muskrats and carp. Geese and muskrats can move around and feed on dry land, but to avoid predators they prefer the protection water provides.
“Our research to date clearly shows that wild rice established in water deeper than about a foot and where there is high goose, muskrat or carp use will not likely develop into tall, self-seeding stands without summer draw-downs,” noted Dr. Rusz. “We could limit wild rice restoration attempt to sites where waterfowl, carp, and muskrats are scarce in spring and summer. However, some of the strongest support for restoring wild rice is in waterfowl concentration areas, and carp and muskrats seem to be in most of those.”
Last year, an area seeded at the National Wildlife Refuge grew a dense stand of wild rice in spring. By June, virtually all of the stems had been browsed by muskrats or geese. Then the water was drawn-down to facilitate dike repairs. Browsing was then greatly reduced and the wild rice stems began to recover. By August there was a dense stand of wild rice with seven-foot stems and plenty of seed heads. In other areas not subject to draw-down, browsing continued and almost all of the wild rice stems were gone or without seed heads by August.
This year, the same area that produced so well in 2015 was not drawn-down. A dense stand developed initially, but browsing continued through the summer and the seed-head density was a fraction of what it was in 2015.
“Our monitoring on other areas also showed that if the draw-down occurs too early, bulrushes, smartweed, nutsedge and other moist soil plants may outcompete the wild rice,” said Dr. Rusz.
The new research areas to be seeded at the State Game Area all have nearly complete water control capability, so the project is entering a new phase in which ideas learned in the first two years of the project can be tested. Draw-downs will be carefully-timed, with cooperation of the DNR, to let the rice get through the floating-leaf stage, yet provide relief from browsing and disturbance by carp.
“One of our key findings was that even if wild rice is initially browsed heavily, it can rebound and later produce lots of seed, said Dr. Rusz. “It can then be re-flooded and be very attractive to feeding waterfowl in the fall. Hopefully, we’ll get more helpful insights during the next three years.”
Photo taken by Dr. Tim Kaufman.
For First Year Progress of the Wild Rice Project, click here.