Field Notes: Progress at Pelican

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently teamed up with the Wright County Board of Commissioners, Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, and the DNR to purchase 290 acres on the shore of Pelican Lake near St. Michael in Wright County.

Rising water levels have diminished waterfowl habitat on the large, shallow lake. The newly purchased parcel provides prime duck nesting habitat, as well as more public land in this rapidly developing exurban area.

The Wright County board bought the land from a private landowner who chose to sell at public auction. Then the USFWS used federal migratory waterfowl stamp dollars to purchase the land from the board. Local conservation groups agreed to pay any associated sale costs, such as auction fees. The DNR helped coordinate all of the partners.

"I think it's fantastic," said Donald Soderlund Jr., who has hunted ducks on Pelican Lake for nearly 50 years. (See "Big Lakes, Empty Skies," Sept.-Oct. 2003.) "This is the type of lake that should be preserved and protected from development."

In addition to a mile and a half of shoreline, the parcel has a small oak-basswood forest, two drained wetlands, and about 150 acres of cropland that will be converted to grassland.

"Acquiring this parcel won't solve Pelican's main problem, which is rising water levels caused by excessive rainfall and manmade changes in the watershed," said Scott Glup, director of the USFWS Litchfield Wetland Management District. "But it is a step in the right direction. We will restore wetlands on the property to filter runoff and improve water quality. Also, we'll restore native grasses to provide nesting cover and help dampen erosion along the shoreline."

The USFWS will manage the Pelican Lake land as a waterfowl production area. It will likely be open to public hunting and recreation in the fall of 2005, after crops have been harvested and the land reseeded. The land will be closed to motorized vehicles. With this purchase, the USFWS now manages more than 920 acres adjacent to on Pelican Lake.

For more information, call the USFWS, 320-693-2849.

Jason Abraham