By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
While local groups seeking economic development for Moapa Valley are working hard to bring tourists to the community, another organization is trying to attract a different type of visitor. And, if they are successful, they may add to local tourism as well.
Members of the local chapter of Ducks Unlimited (DU) are developing a concept plan for the first network of private wetlands in southern Nevada to be created here in Moapa Valley.
Last month, local chapter officials hosted Ducks Unlimited biologist John Ranlett on a pre-arranged tour of various private parcels throughout the community. They later met in Overton with several local property owners of those parcels to discuss their findings.
“We are just at the very beginning of this process,” said local DU chapter media spokesman David Grauman. “Right now we just want to get people in the community, who own the land and the water, talking together about the idea.”
The concept is simple enough. The local DU organization would coordinate volunteer efforts to assist landowners in creating wetland areas on their properties. These areas would be designed to meet unique needs of migratory birds. They would be built to provide ideal resting areas, feeding areas, breeding areas and, of course, harvesting areas for migratory waterfowl.
“What we learned from our biologist during his visit is that it doesn’t take much to build a duck pond,” said DU chapter chairman Jerry Swanson.
DU Biologist John Renlett has done a lot of work with government agencies on wetland developments in areas like Pahranagat Wildlife Refuge and similar spots in Nevada and northeastern California. But working on private land usually offers more flexibility than on public lands, he said.
To create a duck pond to accommodate the fall and winter migration, one needs just enough water for birds to float on, and the right plants in a setting where the birds will be able to reach down and grab seeds from the wetland plants to eat, Renlett said.
“Around 2 to 12 inches deep is adequate during fall and winter migration periods,” he said.
What’s more, the ponds don’t have to be full of water year round. Just during the time of year that the birds need it.
To accommodate the spring breeding season, more is needed., Renlett said. The birds need open fields with cover for nesting, like an alfalfa field. They also need a nearby pond where they can resort, once the chicks are born.
“At that time, they need a diet high in protein, so there need to be insects and aquatic invertebrates in the pond,” Renlett said. “That usually requires a little deeper water; like a couple of feet at least; to remain there constantly during that time. That also keeps the cattails and tules growing which provides cover and protection.”
The local DU chapter envisions a community effort in establishing the proposed wetlands in the area. This could include local volunteers to donate time and equipment to do the relatively minor earthwork needed to build the shallow ponds. It would also include Boy Scout troops and other local youth groups coordinating projects to assist in planting the appropriate vegetation in those ponds.
“We would consider these wetlands as a community asset; and so youth and others in the community could help in creating them,” Grauman said. “Eventually, it could open up an avenue where our kids and grandkids will be able to enjoy them. There would be local spaces to watch these birds. And more opportunities to hunt as well.”
Of course, creating prime hunting areas in and around the community is a main motivation for DU to be involved in this effort. But there is much more to it than that, Swanson said.
“As an organization our goals are: conservation first; hunting second,” Swanson said. “So our first thought is just attracting the wildlife to the valley and creating an optimal environment for them to stop here on their migrations.”
The severe drought across western states in recent years has had an impact on the patterns of migratory birds, Swanson said. Many important breeding grounds in California and northern Nevada that used to be wetlands have essentially dried up.
“If the places where they have traditionally gone are dry, the birds will just keep flying until they find water,” Swanson said. “We are fortunate to have water in this valley. So I think it is an opportunity to help in a conservation effort and bring some of those birds to our area.”
Of course, many of those birds would eventually be included in the waterfowl hunting season. But the new wetlands would also attract other migratory birds; some of which might be very rare to our area, Swanson said.
Swanson related a story about a rare species recently found in the Overton Wildlife Management Area that had been originally tagged in Japan. Each year, that bird migrates north into the Arctic regions during summer, and then comes south. But this particular bird had come south on a different route on the globe and ended up here.
“Those kinds of things are really remarkable,” Swanson said. “And with the internet, the word gets out fast when it happens. People who are into birdwatching come from all over the place; they would come here to Moapa Valley to see something like that. And that would also help the local economy.”
