Migrating birds to get more food and habitat

The fields adjacent to North Shore State Park off Montana 83 could be up for bid in August if the Fish, Wildlife and Parks commission approves Region 1’s share-cropping plan for the Waterfowl Production Area.

It entails a three-year agreement with a private contractor to farm winter wheat on 89 acres during 2012-13 and a rotation between winter wheat, spring wheat, barley and peas on 72 acres for 2014-15.

FWP released a draft environmental assessment for a two-week public review through July 12. As of Friday FWP wildlife biologist John Vore said he received five comments on the draft EA and all were positive.

The farming would take place on about half of the 160 acres FWP bought a couple years ago as part of an agreement with the Montana Department of Transportation to restore wetland habitat near North Shore State Park.

“We bought it because it’s important to migrating waterfowl,” Vore said. “By 2015 we should have some really nice wetlands out there and the farming should leave some seed.”

Vore estimates 5,000 plus migrating birds used the state park and wildlife management area during the 2012 spring migration. Last year FWP contracted with a farmer who planted barley.

The share-cropping agreement requires the contractor to leave no less than 15 percent of their small-grain crop standing in the fields as food and cover for wildlife.

In addition, an approximately 40-foot buffer strip will be planted with a mixture of four different wheatgrasses to provide dense nesting cover. The strip will adjoin the Montana 83 easement to the north and the neighbor to the west.

The MDT will begin restoring wetland in 2014 as part of the wetland mitigation for installation of the U.S. 93 bypass. The mitigation also includes wetland replacement at Lawrence Park in Kalispell.

Vore said places like the Waterfowl Production Area are an important part of the migration from south to north in the spring and north to south in the fall.

“Most of the ducks that come through (in the spring) are on their way north,” Vore said. “They need these stopover places where they can fuel up.”

Once the public review period is over, the EA will go before the FWP commission, whose next meeting is in August. Vore doesn’t foresee anything holding up the process and is hoping to put the share-cropping out for bid in early August and get seeds in the ground by fall.