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<br />CONSTRUCTION GUIDELINES
<br />
<br />1. PERMITS. Wedands are protected by several laws,
<br />and a permit may be required for your project. Four
<br />government agencies regulate wedands, and should be
<br />contacted if you will be working in an existing wet-
<br />land. These agencies are: U.S. Army Corps ofEngi-
<br />neers, USDA - Agricultural Stabilization 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 />
<br />2. DEPTH AND SLOPES. Waterfowl need shallow
<br />water. When filled with water, your dugout should be
<br />no more than 5 feet deep. In mid-summer, much of
<br />your dugout should be less than 3 feet in, depth. Your
<br />pond should generally have the following depths
<br />when it is full (as in spring):
<br />
<br />PCt. of Pond
<br />Water Depth at this Depth Likely Result
<br />
<br />o to 1 foot
<br />
<br />5to15
<br />
<br />Cattails! emergent
<br />vegetation, usually
<br />drv bv Julv.
<br />,. .
<br />
<br />1 to 3 teet
<br />
<br />40 to 70
<br />
<br />Mixed emergent
<br />vegetation and
<br />open water, dry in
<br />drought.
<br />
<br />3 to 5 feet
<br />
<br />25 to 40
<br />
<br />Mosdyopen
<br />water, dry in
<br />severe drought.
<br />
<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 mosdy as territorial sites, and may not be
<br />heavily used for feeding. Maximum depth stili should
<br />not exceed 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 are better, which is not the same as a flat
<br />bottom.
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<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 shoreline features.
<br />Adjacent uplands are seeded to native grasses.
<br />
<br />.
<br />
<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 with one deep side to ensure water
<br />availability and allow for viewing ofwaterfowl. Figure
<br />1 shows an example of a good basin design ftom the
<br />perspective of slopes and depths.
<br />
<br />3. SIZE. Waterfowl use all sizes of wedand, 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, irregularly shaped ponds are preferred,
<br />however costs get quite high.
<br />
<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 />
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