Pennsylvania Game News - April 2009 - 34

species. On top of that, the Farm Service Agency will pay Peter an annual land rental payment for the next 15 years. In a similar situation, a landowner had some idle land that he wanted to restore to wetlands. After visiting the site, I recommended the Wetland Reserve Program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. This program provides the technical and financial assistance to restore wetlands on areas that were previously drained for agriculture, whether or not they are currently being farmed. Many Wetland Reserve Program wetlands are also eligible for permanent easements that provide significant financial incentives to landowners interested in long-term protection of their restored wetland. Many areas of Pennsylvania that were historically wetlands have been destroyed or drastically modified. This is unfortunate, because wetlands provide flood control, water quality improvement, groundwater recharge, and wildlife habitat. Fortunately, wetlands can be restored. Agricultural production and development have been the dominant reasons for wetland destruction. In agriculture, it was once common to install underground tiles to drain wetlands so they could be farmed. There are mil- lions of feet of drain tile under the land in Pennsylvania. Even dynamite was used routinely until the 1960s to drain wetlands and straighten streams. Wetlands have also been lost to development for housing, roads and other uses. The acreage of wetlands drained in recent years in Pennsylvania has slowed, but drainage is still occurring. The Game Commission works with the US Department of Agriculture, specifically the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Farm Service Agency to restore wetlands on private land. The restoration of a wetland may start with a landowner who wants to enjoy the special landscape. Wetlands are not manicured and tend to have a wild look; they are great places for landowners to enjoy a variety of wildlife oriented activities such as bird watching and hunting. For those who enjoy observing unusual plants, wetlands are a bonanza. An area that was once a wetland but has been converted to other uses can be restored. Your site may look dry, but the soils can tell a different story. The county soil survey may indicate that a site has wetland (hydric) soils. The soil survey is available on the internet at: websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov. Visiting the Natural Resources Conservation Service office for your county can provide detailed information on the soils found on your property. But you don’t have to be a soil scientist to find an old wetland; field observations may also indicate a drained wetland. Look for: wet spots in the field, areas that are wet all spring, tile drain outlets on field edges, ditches, water bubbling out of unusual holes after a heavy rain, or scattered spots of wetCREATING a series of simple potholes in a field disrupts tile drains and alters the water regime, creating wetland habitat diversity. 34 GAME NEWS

http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov

Pennsylvania Game News - April 2009

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