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<br />Managing Water <br /> <br />The management of a wetland usually <br />means controlling the amount of water on <br />a wetland and the skilled manipulation of <br />that water. Various techniques have been <br />developed to manipulate water. The <br />methods usually involve diking, pumping, <br />dredging, or control of flows. When these <br />techniques are properly used they can <br />create a beautiful, natural-appearing wet- <br />land. If they are used improperly and with <br />no understanding of the consequences of <br />their use you may end up accidently <br />destroying many of the values that you <br />wanted to enhance. In most States, there <br />are land managers who are skilled in wet- <br />lands manipulation. If you decide to initi- <br />ate any of the forms of wetland <br />management described on the next few <br />pages you should discuss your manage- <br />ment goals and plans with one of these <br />skilled managers. A small amount of time <br />invested in proper planning before you <br />begin could save you thousands of dollars <br />and mean the difference between sucess <br />or failure in your management plan. <br />Manipulating water levels in a marsh <br />is one of the best management tools we <br /> <br />have. Such manipulation attempts to sim- <br />ulate natural cycles to produce desirable <br />stands of wetland plants. When water is <br />removed from a marsh, many seeds ger- <br />minate to produce stands of plants that <br />cannot germinate during periods of high <br />water. As these plants grow older, they <br />can tolerate certain amounts of water. <br />The marsh manager takes advantage of <br />this and gradually refloods the marsh to <br />create a desirable interspersion or mixing <br />of plants and water. <br />The process of removing water from <br />a marsh, allowing plant germination, and <br />reflooding is termed "drawdown" by wet- <br />land managers. Drawdowns usually result <br />in an improvement in soil fertility by <br />increased availability of plant nutrients <br />and aeration of the waterlogged soil. This <br />is an important step in rejuvenating the <br />marsh. <br />Drawdowns can encourage the ger- <br />mination and establishment of a large <br />number of emergent plants, such as bul- <br />rushes, cattails, and various grasses. <br />Short-term drawdowns of a few weeks <br />will encourage herbaceous plants, while <br /> <br /> <br />18 <br />