Rebuilding Migration Habitat in the Rainwater Basin
During 2004 the restoration on 415 acres of DU’s 1,280 acres in the Rainwater Basin was completed. In February of 2005, this labor bore fruit as thousands of pintails and other waterfowl descended on the restored wetlands in DU’s Verona Complex.
The second phase of restoration was begun when we closed on another 30-year WRP easement with the NRCS returning $318,000 to the revolving fund to help continue towards our goal of restoring and permanently protecting 12,000 acres in the Rainwater Basin. When complete, this initiative will add a diverse complex of small to medium-sized wetlands that will compliment the large wetlands in public ownership and better sustain the millions of waterfowl that migrate through this landscape each spring.
In addition to the work on DU owned properties, we assisted the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission on the restoration and protection of an additional 449 acres on their Wildlife Management Areas in the Rainwater Basin. With the recently secured $850,000 land protection grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust and progress with major gift fundraising the future is bright for restoring the historic wetland diversity of the Rainwater Basin.