Powell Marsh Management Overview

Location and Size

Powell Marsh Wildlife Area lies within the boundaries of the NHAL State Forest and consists of 4,303 acres. It is located 3 miles south of Manitowish Waters and 10 miles north of Lac du Flambeau in Vilas and Iron Counties. To the south, the Lac du Flambeau Band of Chippewa Indians owns about 8,000 acres of the marsh habitat. Several cranberry producers also own land adjacent to the marsh.

History

Powell Marsh developed into the open wetland system it is today through a series of wildfires that burned off upland, woody vegetation. The fires resulted in new growth sprouting up, which attracted large flocks of geese. Powell Marsh is within the Mississippi Valley flyway, and sportsmen quickly recognized the potential of attracting geese to the area. They petitioned the Wisconsin Conservation Commission to establish a goose management project on the marsh. In 1955 the Powell Marsh Wildlife Area was officially created in order to produce more geese for hunters. In 1956 the state purchased 3,123 acres. For many years the state leased lands from the Lac du Flambeau tribe in order to manage the entire marsh habitat. This lease was discontinued in the early 1980's.

Statutory Designation

By state statute, the primary purpose of a wildlife area is to provide "areas in which any citizen may hunt, trap or fish." Other recreational activities can be accommodated where they are compatible and don't detract from this primary objective. Funding from the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (also known as the Pittman-Robertson Act) was used on the marsh. Lands acquired and managed with these funds are to be used for wildlife restoration, acquisition and improvement of wildlife habitat.

Water Resources

Lakes within the boundaries of the property include Homestead Lake, Sherman Lake and an unnamed 6-acre lake. The wildlife area also borders Little Trout and Bolin Lakes. The lakes within the area are relatively dark, shallow, infertile and prone to winterkill. Fishing pressure on Sherman and Homestead Lakes is light. The flowages, too, are very shallow and subject to winterkill, so no sport fishery exists. There are some minnows present and the public harvests a limited amount for bait.

Past Management

The Powell Marsh Wildlife Area was one of the first attempts in North America to manage an extensive northern sedge leatherleaf bog for geese. Early management efforts attempted to duplicate the conditions that historically had resulted from sporadic wildfires. A system of ditches and dikes was constructed to allow for goose browse production by means of water level control, fire and agriculture.

From 1957 through 1974 a decoy flock of 50-150 Canada geese was maintained to attract migrating geese. Initially it was successful, but goose numbers dropped off after some years. Over time, the DNR determined that the numbers of geese using Powell Marsh were limited by a number of factors including:

• the amount of food available
• the natural succession of woody vegetation within the marsh
• the dark, shallow water was not optimal for waterfowl
• migration patterns had shifted westward

Beginning in 1966, ducks were baited in and banded. During the late 1960's, 1500-4000 ducks used the bait site annually. Duck use declined steadily until the banding attempts were discontinued in the late 1970's.

Although Powell Marsh is not as productive as other wildlife areas in the state, it does provide significant, local wildlife-based recreation, particularly goose and waterfowl hunting.

During the time of the 1980 master plan the boundary lines of the wildlife area changed somewhat. Ownership of some upland forests within the wildlife area was changed over to state forest, some state forest land was changed over to the wildlife area, and some private lands were acquired. Construction of an additional flowage was proposed but never completed.

Current Management

The wildlife area is not managed as intensely as it was in the past because manpower and budgets have been substantially reduced over the years.

Management on the property since 1980 has consisted of a variety of techniques to improve wildlife habitat and enhance recreational use of available resources, with emphasis on activities relating to waterfowl and sharp-tail grouse. Management techniques that are used include controlling water levels, prescribed burning, mowing and limited farming. An 1800-acre wildlife refuge is maintained to provide wildlife protection from hunting and other disturbances. Entry into this posted area is restricted from September 1 to December 31. Impoundments are flooded in spring to enhance waterfowl nesting habitat. The flooded impoundments are maintained during the summer for brood production and rearing, and in fall for migrating waterfowl. Flowages and ditches provide habitat for furbearers and excellent trapping opportunities. Prescribed burns are conducted during the fall in an effort to suppress woody vegetation and keep the marsh open. Some years, due to weather conditions, prescribed burns are not conducted. In previous years, about 90-110 acres were planted with winter rye and 150-200 acres were mowed annually. Currently, about 39 acres of winter rye are planted for fall migrating geese, and only the dikes and roads are mowed.

Numbers of geese visiting the marsh in the fall vary depending on farming results, fall migration patterns and whether any burns were conducted. New green growth that occurs after mowing or burning attracts migrating geese, and this periodic vegetative disturbance also provides excellent opportunities for raspberry and blueberry picking.

In an effort to restore or establish a breeding population of giant Canada geese in the vicinity of the Powell Marsh Wildlife Area, 25-50 young geese from Green Bay have been released over each of the past 3 years, both on the state land and on the neighboring tribal lands. In July 1998, DNR biologists released 59 geese, equipped with numbered collars, on the marsh. These collars will enable biologists to track the return rates of the released geese. It is suspected that the hunting mortality is high on these young geese.

Powell Marsh is to be a future release site for Canada geese from urban areas of the state where high populations of geese have become a problem. Between 200-500 young birds will be released on the wildlife area each year.