Missouri Department of Conservation

Wetland Improvements Overview

Wetland Water Management Practices
Wetland Habitat Types	Water Control Needed	Draw-Down Dates	Dates of Re-flood	Typical Important Native Plants	Typical Food Plants That Can be Planted
Flooded Timber Flood while dormant only	Drain 100% and vary re-flooding depths annually	January 1 to March 15 vary annually	October 15 to December 1 vary annually	Pin oak; pecan;willow oak, overcup oak, cherrybark oak, ragweed; smartweeds, spanish needles	Japanese millet, pin oak and pecan seedlings, maples, cottonwoods, bottomland timber with understory shrubs
Seasonally Flooded Croplands	Drain 100% and re-flood	In time for spring farming	Start by October 15 or after crop harvest	Pigweed, ragweed, wild millet, foxtail, smartweeds, panic grass, crab grasses, rice grasses, Spanish needles, buckwheat	Corn, grain sorghum, Japanese millet
Marsh Areas Maximum Diversity of Wildlife and Wetland Communities	Mud flats: up to 100% drawdown Emergent Marsh: 50% drawdown of total area	May 1 to July 1	September 1 through November 15	Mud Flats: Wild Millets; yellow nutgrass, smartweeds, rice cutgrass, button bush Emergents: Arrowhead, smartweeds, willows, bulrush, lotus, cattails Submergents: Coontail pondweeds	Japanese millet, transplant native marsh plants
Small Lakes and Farm Ponds Narrow band, edge management	Lower water to expose edge as practical	Early June	Fall rains to refill	Cattails, willows, lotus, sedges, pondweeds, shrubs, bulrushes, smartweeds, wild millet	Japanese millet, transplant native marsh plants
Deep Waters Shorelines of city reservoirs, larger lakes, strip pits, river banks	No water control			Willows, maples, cottonwoods, bottomland timber with understory shrubs	Millets (mud flats), upland grain food plots

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Benefits of Managing Wetland Habitats
Wetland Habitat Types	Animal Life Most Benefited	Some Added Benefits
Flooded Timber Flood while dormant only	Mallard, beaver, wood duck, woodcock, mink, squirrel, raccoon, herons	Substantial waterfowl and raccoon hunting, furbearer harvest, birdwatching, nut harvest, timber harvest
Seasonally Flooded Croplands	Migrant waterfowl, songbirds, shorebirds, jack snipe, rails	Substantial waterfowl hunting, snipe hunting, rail hunting, control of crop pests and weeds
Marsh Areas Maximum Diversity of Wildlife and Wetland Communities	Marsh songbirds, frogs, turtles, raccoon, muskrats, waterfowl, mink, herons, egrets, fish, aquatic insects, shorebirds	Furbearer harvest, moderate waterfowl hunting, moderate fishing, cattle water.
Small Lakes and Farm Ponds Narrow band, edge management	Shorebirds, frogs, fish life, muskrats, upland and marsh songbirds, deer, waterfowl	Fishing, waterfowl hunting, furbearer harvest, swimming , cattle water, irrigation, water supply
Deep Waters Shorelines of city reservoirs, larger lakes, strip pits, river banks	Beaver, muskrats, waterfowl, shorebirds	Fishing, swimming, waterfowl hunting, picnicking, water supply, water sports

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