Good stuff Landdr !

Thanks,

tweed

You get it back as a credit anyway so ultimately it is free...just a means to motivate people to start doing something instead of just looking at the plan.

I used to work for most of those govt. organizations. I know what you mean...and then some. I thought Sherburne Co. was pretty into working with the small landowners now however since there are so many 10 to 40 ac. parcels due to development.

Meeting with a fella Saturday that is looking at buying some land for options to flood crops on it. He said he wants to be the "poster boy" example for flooding crops and what it can accomplish. I hope the property looks good so we can get some more demonstration sites going.

I should also mention one other item...

Spoke to a fella today about his pond...about 6 acres with a maximum depth of 6 ft. and mucky bottom.

That is ideal! Mucky bottom is required and the water depths will allow rice to develop out to the 36 inch depth and then thin out up to 48 inches of depth.

I asked him about other vegetation was in the pond. He mentioned lilly pads. I asked him about hard stem or soft stem bullrush and described those plants to him...he said he had that as well.

I consider those plants "indicator species" that are often found in the same ponds as wild rice. In other words, if you have those plants, then most likely wild rice will take if you try planting it.

Sounds like he has a very high probability of getting rice to take and I hope he gives it a try. Any way, those are some things to look for when sizing up your pond. Does not mean you have to have those plants...but if they are present, then it tells you it could be very successful for supporting wild rice as well.

Have a safe watefowl opener!

Landdr,
I have seen some of your work and it looks great. Thick rice

You've got me interested..

Will wild rice fair well in a spring fed pond (which is also connected to a stream that flows along side it) that floods every spring because of the river?

I've heard/read that the flooding will destroy its chances, but I think I could definitely turn this area into a waterfowl haven if the conditions were right!

Where can one obtain seeds for planting?

Thanks mudslinger...

My wild rice pond is spring feed and the cool clean water is great for rice. It allows good sunlight to reach the bottom each year for great germination. Keep in mind that my pond is perm and always has around 4 to 5 feet of water in it.

You expressed that your pond "floods every spring". What depth is the pond for most of the year? Does it go dry or does water persist? When the pond floods in the spring, how deep does it get?

Flooding will only hurt the rice if the water level comes up over 36 to 48 inches and then stays deep for a long time. Temperary flooding followed by a draw down can help remove invasive less beneficial plants similar to a dry down and then reflooding.

Some of the MWA chapters have rice available. Send me an email at info@habitatnow.com

Thanks!

I've planted wild rice in most of my ponds and it grows well in a couple and not at all on a couple. This has been a bad year, so dry, not much of a stand.

landdr, your flooding planted crops/millet sounds sweet but the problem I run into on my land is that most of it has been put into CRP or has a wetland easement, meaning no field work allowed. Keep that in mind any of you that are developing ponds etc, if you want to 'manipulate' it, keep it out of goverment programs.

That is very true...the programs can be very restrictive. CRP, RIM, etc. will usually allow you to create wetlands...but not change the water levels. They also restrict you to 5% of the total contract not to exceed 5 ac. for food plots...that can leave you really short on acres. I am running into that problem right now with a landowner who has just about everything in RIM.

However, even with the smaller acres for food, it is still better than not doing anything. You can also probably still do the water management just as long as you pay for the wetland earthwork yourself. If you have the govt. pay for it, then the water level will have to stay. That is how we are approaching the RIM project that I mentioned...the landowner is going to pay for all the earthwork...still in the preliminary aspects of that project however.

Minnesota duck hunters are missing the opportunity on managing flooded crops like they do out east, west and down south. We need more demonstrations projects. My land is all gravel and will not hold water so I am out of luck on that management tool and have focused on wild rice, sago, and shrimp which is working very well.

Landdr; If a person were looking to acquire land that could be used to make a flooded crop hunting situation and put a small cabin on, with budget being the primary consideration (willing to put in work where possible rather than spending money), what would you recommend? Parcel size, type, area of state, etc? Thanks.

Sorry...missed the post...busy duck hunting.

Of course getting in the flyway is always optimum. But at this time that practically means out of state. Since out of state licenses may get costly along with travel...it may be best to just look in-state.

In Minnesota there are some great options. If you got a field in western MN or even southern MN with some depressional areas or drained areas that can be flooded, that would be a good option. Land down south will cost more than land out west or even up north.

One of the cheapest options for land would probably be up north. There are several abandoned rice fields for sale...currently dry and often in grass or volunteering brush. These used to be operating rice patties and duck magnets. With some work, these may be operational again for you to plant millet, corn, bean or even rice for fall flooding. I heard someone say these properties are going to $300 to $600 per acre. I see an issue that they will freeze up faster since they are further up north...but just add more water!

I think SW and S Central MN have some of the best opportunities due to the lay of the land, the fly-way and a little longer season due to a little warmer. Issue is the price of land.

Due to the price of land, it may be more cost effective to find a farmer that will take a thousand bucks and let you flood an area after he is done harvesting. Really...who is going around leasing crop fields? Some goose hunters but that is about it so you might have an easy opening. You will spend A LOT more than a thousand bucks on taxes if you own your own piece of land so maybe just lease a nice field that can be flooded.

If anyone has a field and would like some ideas, send me the township, range and section number and I will send a map back with a soils overlay with some areas and options to look at. It would be nice to get some demonstration sites going in Minnesota on this type of management...bring the ducks back!

Thanks for the question.

how well would this work just south of the iron range? have a lot of beaver ponds(some shallow, some deep, solid bottom, mushy bottom) would be very interested.

landdr - can you turn me on to some of this land going for $3-600 per acre? not sure if pm's work here you can shoot me an e-mail shawn@fowlnation.com

Shnelson...just do an internet search for land for sale near or around Red Lake or some of the towns near by and you might be able to find out what is for sale and what price. It is not good land by any means and probably no income opps...but could be good duck hunting with the right plan. It used to be...maybe build it and they will come.

Airdiver...the beaver ponds have their risks. Usually these ponds are great for wild rice...but beaver and muskrats like to eat wild rice as well. So if the pond is small, you probably couldn't get enough rice started to survive the grazing. If the pond is large, then you may be able to plant enough rice that a good amount will withstand the depredation and set out more seed. Mucky bottom with 12 to 36 inches of water depth would be prefered. Sago is another good option to consider in the water. Another option is to plant Mallard Millet along the water edges and mudflats in late spring or early summer...again plant enough of it to sustain depredation. What would really be great...if there was a damed up area where you could release the water in the spring and keep the water off for planting Mallard Millet...then keep the water off to allow the millet to grow...and then dam it up again to flood the millet out once the seed has hardened and it is close to duck season. That would be a honey hole!!! There are a few ways to keep the water off and then flood it out again. One other option if you can draw the water off but can not keep it off through the growing season is to plant "domestic" rice when the water is off (starts it growing) and then the flooding will keep it growing.

Very interesting stuff!

A guy up in Deer River did the wild rice deal for some years. He did well on geese and just Ok on ducks. For what it cost him I don't know if he did much better than primo public.I think the Horse and Hunt Club had some Wild Rice set up in the Aitkin area. I don't know how that worked out for them.
I think flooded short corn with open spots in an area like W. MN would work the best. It's amazing what they do in other states (IL. MO.) with food plots. Some of those places it's like they're baiting them but so long as they don't knock the crop down they're still legal.

That is correct...as long as they don't knock it down, chop it or manipulate it some other way...they can still hunt over it. It is no different than a deer food plot or pheasant food plot.

If you get wild rice or sago started, it can keep coming back year after year...which then the cost is only for the first planting. I have one 15 ac. pond established with rice and another 10 ac. pond that has sago established. Some years the sago pulls in more ducks and some years the wild rice does...but usually the wild rice pulls in more. Bottom line is that I see a lot more ducks than others in my immediate area...always an opportunity to shoot a limit where they will only get one or two ducks.

Looks like some good weather moving in again to push some ducks down. Looking forward to some more big northern ducks!