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MISSISSIPPI WETLAND MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
TALLAHATCHIE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
DAHOMEY NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGEGrenada, Mississippi
ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT
Calendar Year 1990
U .S . Department of the InteriorFish and Wildlife Service
NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM
REVIEW AND APPROVALS
MISSISSIPPI WETAAND MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
TALLAHATCHIE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
DAHOMEY NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGEGrenada, Mississippi
ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT
Calendar Year 1990
P, A // .
Date
Associate Manager Review
Date
l` /Regional Office Approval
Date
0
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INTRODUCTION
The Mississippi Wetland Management District was established inGrenada, Mississippi in 1989, primarily to manage the increasedland base being acquired through the Farmers Home AdministrationWetland Easement program . At that time there were no otherstations in an appropriate geographical location to manage theselands . In 1989 there were 4 recorded easements for a total of1,070 acres . As of 1990 there are 20 easements recorded for atotal of 5,036 acres . The potential exist in Mississippi forapproximately 100 tracts totaling 25,000+ acres . The majority ofthese lands, generally flat, well ditched, poor soil farm landswere originally bottomland hardwood wetlands . The MississippiWetland Management District covers 26 counties in north Mississippiand is approximately 160 miles east to west and 116 miles north tosouth .
In 1990 Dahomey and Tallahatchie National Wildlife Refuges werealso assigned to the district . The Dahomey National WildlifeRefuge in Bolivar County, Mississippi, is primarily a bottomlandhardwood habitat refuge . At present 9,371 acres have been acquiredof which 7,500 acres are forested . The total proposed refuge isapproximately 11,000 acres . The Tallahatchie National WildlifeRefuge in Grenada and Tallahatchie Counties, Mississippi, is alsoa bottomland hardwood habitat refuge which will consist of twounits totaling approximately 15,000 acres . To date 560 acres ofopenland have been acquired and developed into moist soil units .Both refuges are primarily being acquired for wintering waterfowlhabitat and wood duck production areas . Acquisition is presentlyon going .
INTRODUCTION
Pave
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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A. HIGHLIGHTS 1
B . CLIMATIC CONDITIONS2
C . LAND ACQUISITION3
1 . Fee Title 32 . Easements NR3 . Other NR4. Farmers Home Administration Conservation Easement4
D . PLANNING
1 . Master Plan NR2 . Management Plan 53 . Public Participation NR4 . Compliance with Environmental and Cultural Resources55 . Research and Investigations NR6 . Other NR
E . ADMINISTRATION
1 . Personnel 62 . Youth Programs NR3 . Other Manpower Programs NR4 . Volunteer Program NR5 . Funding 76 . Safety 7•7 . Technical Assistance NR8 . Other NP
F. HABITAT MANAGEMENT
1 . General 82 . Wetlands 83 . Forests 84 . Croplands NR5 . Grasslands NR6 . Other Habitats NR7 . Grazing NR8. Haying NR9. Fire Management NR10 . Pest Control NR•11 . Water Rights NR12 . Wilderness and Special Areas NR13 . WPA Easement Monitoring NR
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H . HABITAT MANAGEMENT (Cont .)
14 . Farmers Home Administration Conservation Easements 915 . Private Lands 1016 . Other Easements NR
G. WILDLIFE
1 . Wildlife Diversity 132 . Endangered and/or Threatened Species 133 . Waterfowl 134 . Marsh and Water Birds 145 . Shorebirds, Gulls, Terns and Allied Species146 . Raptors 14
• 7 . Other Migratory Birds 148 . Game Mammals 149 . Marine Mammals NR10 . Other Resident Wildlife NR11 . Fisheries Resources 1512 . Wildlife Propagation and Stocking NR13 . Surplus Animal Disposal NR14 . Scientific Collections NR15 . Animal Control NR16 . Marking and Banding NR17 . Disease Prevention and Control NR
H. PUBLIC USE
1 . General 162 . Outdoor Classrooms - Students NR3 . Outdoor Classrooms - Teachers NR4 . Interpretive Foot Trails NR5 . Interpretive Tour Routes NR6 . Interpretive Exhibits/Demonstrations NR7 . Other Interpretive Programs NR8 . Hunting NR9. Fishing NR10 . Trapping 1611 . Wildlife Observation NR12 . Other Wildlife Oriented Recreation NR13 . Camping NR14 . Picnicking NR15 . Off-Road Vehicling NR16 . Other Non-Wildlife Oriented Recreation NR17 . Law Enforcement 1618 . Cooperating Associations NR19 . Concessions NR
1 .2 .3 .4 .5 .6 .7 .8 .
1 .2 .3 .4 .
I . EQUIPMENTANDFACILITIES
New Construction 17Rehabilitation NRMajor Maintenance NREquipment Utilization and Replacement 19Communications Systems NRComputer Systems NREnergy Conservation NROther NR
J . OTHERITEMS
Cooperative Programs NROther Economic Uses NRItems of Interest NRCredits 20
K. FEEDBACK
L . INFORMATIONPACKET
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A . HIGHLIGHTS
Early in 1989 the decision was made to open the Mississippi WetlandManagement District (MWMD) . The station was initially staffed inApril with a Manager, Stephen Gard, and Refuge Technician, ThomasHudson . No facilities were available in 1989 so all work wasaccomplished either at home or in the truck . This staff along withMiley and Frank Watson and some borrowed equipment, both from MerrittIsland, FL, set to the task of restoring wetlands . Only one FarmersHome Administration (FmHA) easement was recorded at that time, howeverseveral other lands were being managed through "Caretaker Agreements"with FmHA and private land "Partner Agreements" .
1990 proved to be a very successful year with additional staff,equipment and an office/work center . With two additional temporarystaff and a full time office assistant, restoration totals increasedsignificantly . Many additional properties were conveyed by easementor fee title transfer . The first Tallahatchie National WildlifeRefuge (NWR) and Dahomey National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) lands werebought .
1989Mississippi Wetland Management District established .Installed 11 water control structures/6 units/500 acres .Planted 400 acres hardwoods .Private Lands Projects 4 projects/1400 acres .Total restoration for 1989 over 2300 acres .
1990Installed 19 water control structures/11 units/2160 acres .Planted 1988 acres hardwoods .Private Lands Projects 7 projects/2155 acres .Total restoration for 1990 over 4148 acres .
Since this station was opened only part of 1989 and the staff andfacilities were very limited, an annual narrative was not preparedthat year . As a result, this narrative will cover both 1990 and partof 1989 .
Page 1
H .
CLIMATICCONDITIONS
Climatic conditions could best be described as wet . In 1989construction and planting was severely slowed due to 19+ inches ofrain in June . In 1990 our dikes and water control structures wereseverely tested due to 14+ inches of rain in December .
The weather conditions play an extremely important role in thisstation's operations. Reforestation efforts and construction forrestoration of wetlands both require exact and different weatherconditions . If we get average to high rain fall, we cannot doconstruction in the hydric soils present in this area . Likewise ifit is too wet or too dry reforestation efforts must stop .
A detail record of the high, low and precipitation by month is asfollows :
WEATHER
GREENWOOD, MS
CLEVELAND, MS
Page 2
1989 1990 1989 1990
H L PREP H L PREP H L PREP H L PREP
JAN 75 29 8 .64 74 24 5 .79 73 29 7 .79 76 28 6 .80
FEB 79 18 7 .98 77 31 6 .47 74 19 8 .12 76 33 9 .21
MAR 84 29 3 .00 83 30 5 .89 81 29 3 .08 79 31 7 .66
APR 89 28 4 .04 88 31 3 .77 90 30 2 .32 87 37 5 .66
MAY 91 43 10 .48 89 50 4 .50 96 48 9 .08 89 46 4 .91
JUN 93 59 19 .28 98 58 3 .72 96 52 10 .22 102 61 3 .13
JUL 95 66 7 .47 99 60 3 .17 95 65 12 .47 100 59 0 .90
AUG 98 57 1 .54 102 57 0 .14 98 54 0 .33 102 58 1 .91
SEP 95 51 7 .21 102 45 3 .95 96 43 4 .77 99 44 2 .46
OCT 87 32 0 .57 90 33 3 .52 88 31 1 .15 91 34 3 .10
NOV 80 25 3 .14 84 33 4 .53 79 26 4 .13 81 32 4 .58
DEC 69 02 4 .60 78 19 9 .10 71 -1 3 .31 73 15 14 .20
1 . Fee Title
Acquisition of two new refuges, Tallahatchie and Dahomey started in1990 . Each refuge had a single tract bought by private conservationgroups and conveyed to the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) formanagement through management lease agreements .
The first Tallahatchie NWR tract was purchased in February, 1990 byDucks Unlimited . This 560 acre tract, known as the Walker tract, isin the center of the southern acquisition unit . As funds becomeavailable FWS will purchase the tract from Ducks Unlimited . ThenDucks Unlimited will continue acquisition projects in the proposedrefuge with their funds . The entire refuge proposal will beapproximately 15,000 acres in two units .
The Dahomey NWR was started with an initial purchase of 9,315 acresby The Nature Conservancy in March, 1990 . As funds become availableFWS will purchase this tract from The Nature Conservancy . Estimatedtotal acreage in this refuge will be approximately 12,000 acres .
FmHA has transferred significant acreage to the FWS in Mississippithis year . The following chart reflects the tracts and acreagetransferred to FWS within the work area of the Mississippi WetlandManagement District . Numerous other tracts have been recommended forfee title transfer and are being processed at this time .
FmHA Fee Title Transfers
C . LAND ACQUISITION
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NAME NUMBER ACREAGE
1 . Provall 28025 1802 . Provall 28025 803 . Provall 28025 4224 . Robertson 19416 6555 . Savage 71968 596 . Trainor 16401 2517 . Trainor 16401 2608 . Trainor 16401 1029 . Walker 08718 42
10 . Wilkins 71072 1,20311 . James 28290 160
TOTAL 3,414
0
4 . FarmersHome Administration Conservation Easement
Within Mississippi approximately 100 tracts totaling 25,000+ acreshave been recommended for conservation easements . FmHA has recorded9 tracts within the MWMD work area totaling 1,622 acres . Thefollowing chart indicates the tracts and acreage recorded to date .
Page 4
NAME
k'mHA Easements,
ACREAGENUMBER
1 . Hawkins 37109 332 . Kolle 02889 1093 . Saunders 89705 45
. 4 . Upchurch 55348 2505 . Clifton 15239 1006 . Harris 86216 4127 . Harris 86216 408 . Harris 86216 189 . Harris 86216 615
TOTAL 1,622
2 . ManagementPlan
A refuge hunting plan, an environmental assessment and a section 7report were completed and forwarded to the region in order to openDahomey NWR for hunting this year . The plan calls for big game andsmall game hunting . Waterfowl and turkey hunting were not proposeduntil a better estimate of the resource is developed .
4 . Compliance with Environmental and Cultural Resources
Cultural resource assessments were completed on all FmHA propertiesin which construction was planned . Some were completed by NationalPark Service, Farmers Home Administration and the remainders werecompleted through private contractors .
The Corps of Engineers made a field inspection of the constructionwork on the FmHA Harris tract and found all activities to be incompliance with existing regulations and laws .
D . PLANNING
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1 . Personnel
Stephen Gard, Ronnie Stark, Thomas Hudson, Kenneth MillerSWG . A . 1990 .
Nancy WatkinsSWG . B . 1990 .
E . ADMINISTRATION
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1 . Stephen Gard, Project Leader, GS-12, 3/89, PFT .2 . Thomas Hudson, Refuge Technician, GS-8, 3/89, PFT .3 . Nancy Watkins, Office Assistant, GS-5, 12/90, PFT .4 . Kenneth Miller, Tractor Operator, WG-6, 4/90, Temp .5 . Ronnie Stark, Equipment Operator, WG-8, 5/90, Temp .
1990 saw a considerable increase in our staff . Two temporaryoperators were brought on board for wetland restoration work and anoffice assistant was hired .
5 . Funding
With the rapid growth of our land base and area of responsibility,funding levels have been appropriate for the staffing levels .However, as staff and the land base increase, additional funding willbecome necessary .
Funding Levels
6 . Safety
The impact of injuries is very significant to a small station andclearly demonstrates the need for safety in everything we do .
In March of 1990, Thomas Hudson was severely injured while working ona tractor backhoe . At that time we were a two man station, whichmeant we often worked alone and in situations where help was notreadily available . As a result of this injury the employee has hadtwo major surgeries and was generally disabled for about six months .
Additionally, one temporary employee filed a claim for an injury whichlater proved not to be job related .
With the significant loss of time, cost to the government andresulting permanent partial disability, it clearly demonstrates howimportant it is that safety be first and foremost in everything we do .With the addition of staff and central working facility, monthlysafety meetings have begun and hopefully our safety record willimprove .
1120 1230 1261 1262 1920 8421 8441 TOTALFY 91 282 .1 63 149 73 .5 8 --- --- 575 .6FY 90 295 .7 88 120 .9 22 .1 --- 30 --- 556 .7FY 89 71 .5 15 .8 54 .7 --- 33 .2 34 .2 209 .4
Permanent, TotalFull-Time Part-Time, Temporary Z
FY 91 3 0 2 5FY 90 2 0 2 4FY 89 2 0 0 2
1 . General
Being a new station and with most properties being acquired this year,annual habitat inventories have not been made . Most of the landstransferred from FmHA are agricultural lands which were previouslybottomland hardwood forest . These wetlands were cleared during thelast twenty years in anticipation of higher land values . As landprices began to fall, most of the land reverted to governmentownership . These properties are generally poor soils, well ditchedand have not been farmed for two to five years . Present habitatconditions on most are poor at best . An initial conceptual managementplan is being developed for each of these properties .
Additionally, the lands purchased for Dahomey NWR initially appearto have been heavily cut over during the last twenty years . Althoughforest still remain, considerable forest management will be needed inthe future .
2 . Wetlands
The 560 acre tract in Tallahatchie NWR is a previously cleared anddrained wetland . Initial development on this tract was a jointproject between Fish and Wildlife Service and Ducks Unlimited underthe Ducks Unlimited MARSH Program . The entire tract has beendeveloped into three large moist soil units . One existing well hasbeen rehabilitated and is presently used to pump water into all units .
3 . Forests
Where our initial conceptual management plans have indicatedreforestation, we have started replanting with direct seeding ofacorns . Most have not been planted long enough to determine thegermination or quality of stand . The chart at the end of this sectionindicates the properties and number of acres planted to date .
F . HABITATMANAGEMENT
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Tractor and modified planter used for acorn planting .SWG . C . 1990 .
14 . Farmers HomeAdministration Conservation Easements
As previously described the vast majority of FmHA easement and feetitle transfer lands are severely degraded wetlands . Our initialapproach has been to develop a very general conceptual managementplan . Where possible, existing drainage ditches are plugged torestore the natural hydrology . In areas where this is not possibledue to adjacent landowner flooding problems, development of moist soilunits are used to restore wetland characteristics . The chart at theend of this section also indicates the FmHA tract and wetlandrestoration accomplished .
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Smartweed growth in the first moist soil unit on the W .L . Harriseasement . SWG . D . 1990 .
15 . PrivateLands,
Our private lands program, "Partners For Waterfowl Tomorrow", has beenvery well accepted and successful in habitat restoration and providingwinter waterfowl areas . The restoration and reforestation activitiesare generally the same as described for FmHA properties . The chartat the end of this section also indicates the private land acreage andtype of work activities .
I aQ+
_! . .wr.rartir -I"L%-., • •`~aWlalrF:h7
Page 11
Typical water control structure installed on private lands projects .SWG . E . 1990 .
Page 12HABITAT MANAGEMENT
NAME R,F,P' ACREAGE WCS2 DIKES REFORESTATION YEAR
Tallahatchie R 560 3 1m 1990Dahomey R 9,315 - --- 1990Harris F 1,085 5 3m 1990James F 160 2 --- 1989Pennington F 772 6 1m 1989Riley F 100 1 .25m 50A 1989Wilkins F 1,023 2 1m 800A 1990Lindsey F 391 1 60A 1990Clifton F 100 - --- 1990•Walker F 42
--1990
Upchurch F 250 -- 1990Robertson F 665 --- 1990Hawkin F 33 --- 1990Kolle F 109 1990Provall F 682 -- --- 1990Savage F 59 1990Trainor F 1,231 --- 1990Gillion F 246 --- 1990Holcomb F 40 --- 1989Ray F 12 -- 1990Willow Brake P 1,500 3 1m --- 1990Weir P 240 - 240A 1989Oliver P 80 2 .25m 60A 1989Strawbridge P 98 - 98A 1990Allendale P 242 242A 1990Cooke P 40 1 .25m 40A 1990
• Edwards P 140 1 .25m 140A 1990Glen Oaks P 20 1 1990Hoop P 50 1 .25m 40A 1990Jenkins P 40 40A 1990Rushing P 125 1 125A 1990Spear P 40 40A 1990Marascalco P 60 60A 1990Lott P 40 40A 1990Goodwin P 1,400 - --- 1991Hunt P 350 1991Dunlap P 400 - 1991Delta Wing P 1,200 1991Winchester P 1,600 - 1991
1 R - Refuge
2
F -P -
FarmersPrivate
Home Administration
Water Control Structures
1 . WildlifeDiversity
The Tallahatchie NWR, Dahomey NWR and most of the FmHA tracts lie inthe Mississippi River Delta . These areas are rich in biologicaldiversity and are home for a myriad of wildlife species . However, dueto the vast amount of conversion to crop land during the last twentyyears, these areas represent islands of habitat in a vast agriculturalarea .
Our restoration and enhancement of wetlands are all aimed atincreasing both the amount and diversity of habitat available in thisarea. Hopefully, through this approach wildlife diversity andpopulations will increase .
2 . EndangeredandThreatenedSpecies
Within our geographical work area endangered and threatened speciesare rare due to the lack of habitat resulting from agriculturalconversion . Endangered or unique species reported are the bald eagle,peregrine falcon, osprey and wood stork . Prior to extensivesettlement by white men this area also provided habitat for theFlorida panther, black bear, and red wolf .
3 . Waterfowl
With the significance of the Lower Mississippi Valley to winteringwaterfowl and the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, most ofour efforts have been toward restoring and enhancing wetlands forwaterfowl . Mallard, gadwall, teal, pintail, hooded merganser and woodducks all seem to be responding well to the newly created wetlands andmoist soil units . It is anticipated that the restoration and creationof this new habitat throughout the Lower Mississippi Valley willsignificantly contribute to increase waterfowl numbers in the futureand all other birds .
G . WILDLIFE
Page 13
Waterfowl use on the W .L . Harris easement .SWG . F . 1990 .
4 . Marsh and Water Birds
See Sections 1 and 3 .
5 . Shorebirds, Gulls, Terns, and Allied Species
See Sections 1 and 3 .
6 . gaptors
See Sections 1 and 3 .
7 . Other Migratory Birds
See Sections 1 and 3 .
8 . Game Mammals
The rich bottomland habitat supports deer, fox and grey squirrels,swamp and cottontail rabbits, coyote, raccoon, mink, beaver, otter,muskrat, nutria, grey and red foxes, and opossum . However, many ofthe tracts are abandon farm land and are just beginning to supportdeer, rabbits, coyote, foxes, etc .
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11 . Fishery Resources
Fishery resources are limited to the small tributaries of the BoguePhalia such as Belman Bayou, Bayou Stokes, and Stillwater Bayou onDahomey NWR . These are small streams that support a very limitedfishery. Common species include green sunfish, bullhead catfish, andgar . Hopefully, the restoration of the wetlands will contribute toincreased water quality and fisheries in the future .
Page 15
1 . General
With the wide variety of restrictions and public use options allowedon FmHA properties, it would be extremely difficult to describe orestimate in detail this type of activity .
Dahomey and Tallahatchie NWR's are both just being acquired andneither have been opened to public use activities at this time .
10 . Trappinq
Trapping activities have been limited to selective beaver controlaround water control structures. During the past year twelve beaverswere trapped on various FmHA easements .
17 . haw Enforcement,
Law enforcement activities revolved around waterfowl hunting andtrespassing problems . However, due to employee injuries total lawenforcement activities were limited . No significant violations weredetected this year, although many law enforcement problems are evidentfrom our bi-weekly survey of properties .
H . PUBLIC USE
Page 16
1 . NewConstruction
The most significant construction during the last year and a half hasbeen the development of 14+ moist soil units . This construction wasaccomplished using borrowed equipment and operators from severalrefuges. The projects involved over 8+ miles of dike work and 30water control structures . The restoration chart in section F . HabitatManagement indicates the area and acres involved .
I . EQUIPMENTANDFACILITIES
Page 17
Excavator borrowed from the Mississippi Sandhill Crane NWR buildinga dike on the W .L . Harris easement . SWG . G . 1990 .
Although not as significant from a waterfowl standpoint, but just asimportant was the construction of a new office and shop facility . Forthe last two years this operation worked out of employee's residencesand the back of trucks . At one time we had equipment stored at fivedifferent locations and two separate temporary offices . This facilitywas completed through a GSA contract whereby the FWS will lease backthe facilities for ten years .
New facility beginning .SWG . H . 1990 .
New facility completed .SWG . I . 1990 .
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Page 19
4 . Equipment Utilization and Replacement
Being a new two man station with limited funding meant very littleif any equipment was available initially . FY 89 did include enoughfunding to purchase a medium size farm tractor, used planter and twopickup trucks . This along with a lot of borrowed equipment andmanpower initiated the start of our restoration activities .
FY 90 was extremely good to us in that approximately $250,000 wasmade available for equipment purchases . With the vast amount ofrestoration opportunities available in our work area, adequate andavailable when needed equipment was a must . As a result of thisfunding we were able to order a truck-tractor and lowboy, rubber tirebackhoe, bull dozer and small excavator . Hopefully, it will arrivein time for the FY 91 construction season .
Some of our restoration funds were also used to purchase a one-tontruck and gooseneck trailer . This unit is extremely useful in movingsmall dozers and tractors into many of the FmHA tracts where a lowboycan not travel . The entire unit cost less than $25,000 and in manycases could solve the transportation problems of smaller refuges whichcannot afford or justify a truck-tractor and lowboy .
One ton truck and gooseneck trailer .SWG . J. 1990 .
4 . Credits
This report was written by Stephen W . Gard and typed by Nancy Watkins .All photographs were taken by Stephen W . Gard in 1990 .
J . OTHERITEMS
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JMISSISSIPPIJ
1F^ ,
0
Mississippi Wetland Mgn . District
* - Office ~•/1 •
• - Refuge Lands
FmHA Properties so,".,• - Private Land Projects (ti,
