Indiana Wetlands Reserve Program

Indiana Wetlands Information

• Map of Project Locations
• Macrotopography Photographs
• Success Story — Muscatatuck River Basin
• New — Largest WRP site in country enrolled in Indiana

Overview

Indiana has 25,000 acres enrolled in WRP and currently a backlog of 69 applications on 4,500 acres. Landowner interest continues to be significantly higher than  available funds. Typically, WRP funds are adequate for about 25% of eligible applications in Indiana.

There was a significant amount of restoration work done in 2000. WRP restoration  typically focuses on tree planting, macrotopography restoration, and shallow water development. Vegetative restorations include the tree planting, direct seeding and some warm season grass plantings. The shallow water restoration has included practices such as macrotopography restoration, ditch plugs, tile breaks, dikes, and water control structures. The restoration work is on-going with landowners providing input on needed restoration practices.

Site before restoration and after

Landowners are interested in WRP for a variety of reasons. Probably the main reason is that they are tired of trying to raise crops on land where they get little or no yield. Many landowners have indicated that their land probably should have not been cleared for cropland and that restored wetlands are the best land use for the property. The easement value and cost share dollars are a definite factor in getting land into the WRP, but money is not necessarily the deciding factor. Many of the landowners have interests in observing wildlife and in hunting and fishing. The Wetland Reserve Program provides an excellent vehicle for owners to develop wetland habitats on their properties.

Benefits

WRP acreage in Indiana provides a variety of ecological benefits. The WRP sites provide wildlife habitat with specific habitat requirements for migratory waterfowl. Many of the restored areas now provide nesting and resting sites for ducks and geese. Landowners have been amazed to see how quickly waterfowl returns and the numbers and diversity of waterfowl that use the restored sites. Several of the WRP sites provide habitat for state and/or federally threatened or endangered species, such as, Indiana Bat, interior least tern, copperbelly water snake, and swamp rabbit. WRP sites are being used for educational and research purposes. Several sites are being used to show school children the plant and animal species that occur in wetlands. In addition, the sites are used to indicate the importance of wetlands to our environment. Many of the WRP sites in Indiana are located in bottom lands and with the restoration of wetlands the sites provide for flood storage along Indiana's river systems.

WRP has allowed landowners to receive an easement payment, which can be used to lessen economic burdens that they are facing in farming. Some landowners have purchased additional farmland with their WRP easement payments. An additional benefit of putting ground in WRP has been that landowners no longer have to worry about planting a crop on land from which they may not get a crop. Restoration work on WRP has provided income for local contractors doing the work. These dollars are in turn used in the local economy. Areas of high concentrations of WRP result from adjacent landowners seeing a neighbor develop WRP sites and subsequently enrolling in the program.

Partnerships

WRP operates in Indiana with a high level of partnership involvement. Partnerships are forming between groups and organizations with a great diversity of backgrounds and purposes. Among others, those partners include, The Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife, Indiana Division of Forestry, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Cinergy (utility company), Quail Unlimited, County Governments, schools, North American Waterfowl Management Plan, private individuals, etc.   These partnerships have provided technical support, easement acquisition and restoration work. In examples of partnership involvement:  Cinergy is providing trees for bottom-land hardwood plantings. This lets NRCS use the money that would have been spent on bottom-land planting on other restoration efforts in the state;  in another, the Nature Conservancy has provided technical assistance, an appraisal and a survey at no cost to NRCS. This also lets NRCS use WRP funds at other sites in the state.

January 24 Update

Indiana Records One of Nation's Largest WRP Easement

Indiana claims one of the Nation's largest Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) easements with the recent signing of a 7,068-acre site in Greene County. This one-landowner easement area, historically known as Goose Pond, was cleared for farming in the late 1800s. The shallow glacial lakebed provides a natural resting site for waterfowl during spring and fall migrations. Several landowners have tried to drain and farm the site with limited success. The current landowner turned to WRP because of increasing difficulties raising crops in wet soil conditions. The dominant silty clay loam soils limit drainage of the property. NRCS personnel are currently evaluating the site to plan the restoration work. Construction should begin this summer, and practices will likely include tile cuts, ditch plugs, water control structures, low-level dikes, tree planting, and warm and cool season grass plantings. The restored site will provide a significant resting and nesting site for a variety of migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, and other wetland dependent species.

Contact

Gerald Roach, 812-752-2269

Last updated: 12/8/00

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