Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge Projects
Ducks Unlimited continues our strong partnership with the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge by working on a number of projects to restore native wetland and riparian habitats and improve both the water management capabilities and the efficiency of water use at the refuge. Past habitat restoration has included work to remove non-native salt cedar followed by planting native vegetation. Water management projects have included analyzing water conveyance and control systems and preparing a water delivery master plan. Major water conveyance system upgrades, which have benefited more than 17,000 acres of habitat at the refuge, have improved capabilities in water delivery and distribution. Construction projects have included cleaning and increasing the capacity of several miles of existing ditches, excavating several miles of new ditches, installing siphons, replacing water control structures and constructing a weir. Also, these conservation efforts resulted in the installation of water measurement equipment that measures water use and inflow to determine the amount of water needed to adequately support refuge wetland habitats.