WSPC06655 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

.Q02~53 . . 11 Several intermittent streams enter the proposed refuge from the north and west. The eastern one-half of the area contains a large number of small lakes and potholes which receive water from surface and subsurface runoff, but during summer the water levels drop and the potholes dry up before water reappears in the fall when the water table again rises. These lands would be developed by improve- ment of natural features to provide about 5,000 acres of shallow ponds and marshes by construction of about 48 mi les of dikes by the contour-dike method which would facilitate efficient water management. Twenty-one miles of ditches would be needed to convey water from one marsh development to another and to provide proper management of water throughout the refuge. In order to improve this area so that it can replace other habitat that would be destroyed, refuge management would be directed toward providing shallow impoundments interspersed with islands and channels. In early spring, on or before April 1, about 5,000 surface acres of marshes and ponds would be required. During May, June, and July, lands would be irrigated and approximately 3,000 acres of ponds and marshes would remain after that time until freezeup, normally about November 30, each year. Proper operation of the refuge requires a controllable water supply. As the inflow is rather erratic, the water supply should be obtained from project wells in an amount equivalent to that which would be obtained from the surface source. It is understood that this would require some additional channelization in the refuge area and some relocation of the well system in Stage 5. It is also recognized that the quality of the inflow is inferior to that from the well field. However, it is believed these items are of minor importance. Water requirements would average 12,500 acre-feet annually of which 8,000 acre-feet would be consumptive use. Should natural runoff not equal 8,000 acre-feet in a given year, the deficit would be repaid during years of high runoff. There would be no use made of runoff down Saguache Creek proper as this channel would be used as a management feature with the runoff water entering it going on through the refuge proper. Refuge lands, particularly buffer zones, would be developed to their maximum production for upland game, shorebirds, and fur animals. This would be accomplished in part through controlled grazing. Ob- noxious plant growth existing on or invading the area would be con- trolled by mechanical or chemical means.