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**V' ^ <br />' CONSTRUCTION GUIDELINES <br />« • <br />1. PERMITS. Wetlands are proteacd by several laws, <br />and a permit may be required for your projea. Four <br />government agencies r^tdate wedands, and should be <br />contacted if you will be working in an existing wet­ <br />land. These agencies are: U.S. Army Corps of Engi­ <br />neers, USDA - Agricultural Subilization and Conser ­ <br />vation Service (ASCS), the DNR Division of Waters, <br />and your city or county zoning office or local water­ <br />shed district. Phone numbers for the first 3 agencies <br />are given at the end of this brochure; check your local <br />directory for the number of your local office. <br />2. DEPTH AND SLOPES. Waterfowl need shallow <br />water. ^Tien filled with water, your dugout should be <br />no more than 5 teet deep. In mid-summer, much of <br />your dugout should be less than 3 feet in depth. \ our <br />pond should generally have the following depths <br />when it is full (as in spring): <br />Water Depth <br />Pet, of Pond <br />at this Depth Likelv Result • <br />0 to 1 foot 5 to 15 Cattails/emcrgent <br />vegetation, usually <br />dry by July. <br />1 to 3 feet 40 to 70 Mixed emergent <br />vegetation and <br />open water, dry in <br />drought. <br />3 to 5 feet 25 to 40 Mostly open <br />water, drv in <br />0 <br />severe drought. <br />W <br />If you are constructing a dugout in cattail-choked <br />wetlands, you will not be able to achieve the above <br />depths. In these cases, the slopes of your dugout will <br />have to be fairly steep. This is okay as these dugouts <br />will function mostly as territorial sites, and may not be <br />heavily used for feeding. Maximum depth still should <br />not c.xceed 5 feet. In mineral soils, steep slopes prohibit <br />growth of desirable vegetation, encourage erosion, and <br />reduce waterfowl use. As much as possible, grade the <br />slopes of your basin at a 3:1 (steep) to 10:1 (flat) ratio. <br />Flatter slopes arc better, which is not the same as a flat <br />bottom. <br />Figure 1. Topographic diagram of a good basin design; <br />this design emphasizes shallow slopes and depths (each line <br />represents one foot of depth), and good shorelinefeatures. <br />Adjacent uplands are seeded to native grasses. <br />A pond bottom with variable depths (i.e., an undulat­ <br />ing bottom) is very'desirable. This allows an intersper- <br />sion of vegetation and open water which is very <br />attractive to waterfowl. Some biologists prefer to <br />construct dugouts witli one deep side to ensure water <br />availability and allow' for viewing of waterfowl. Figure <br />1 shows an example of a good basin design from the <br />perspective of slopes and depths. <br />3. SIZE. Waterfowl use all sizes of wetland, but <br />usually, bigger is better. In building your pond for <br />waterfowl you should consider a minimum size of <br />2500 square feet (equal to a square with 50 foot long <br />sides). Larger, irrcg^arly shaped ponds arc preferred, <br />howcN ’cr costs get quite high. <br />4. SHORELINE FEATURES. A pond with a shore ­ <br />line which is irregular, and has many points and bays, <br />is more attractive to waterfowl than a dugout with a <br />straight shoreline. Plan your dugout to have as much <br />shoreline as possible, as in figure 1. <br />J