by: Chris Young SJ-R.com
With repairs to some critical levees completed recently, the refuge may someday return to its potential and shelter tens of thousands of ducks and geese.
“I’d say there are about 3,000,” Jallas says, peering through binoculars at Canada geese, mallards, pintails, gadwall and a few teal. “But there used to be 50,000.”
The Barkhausen Refuge is part of the Sanganois State Fish and Wildlife Area, a popular public waterfowl-hunting area sandwiched between the Sangamon and Illinois rivers that straddles Cass and Mason counties.
Interior of finished Barkhausen Levee
Part of the refuge is open for hunting, while other portions, such as the Barkhausen Refuge, are set aside as rest areas.
Jallas, the site superintendent for the Sanganois, says the Barkhausen Refuge once was one of the top waterfowl rest areas in the state.
Then the Sangamon River crashed the party.
The river breached the Barkhausen Levee in 2002, and it has stood open to the river ever since.
The levee has been broken and fixed multiple times. Since the most recent break in 2002, the breach widened to 180 feet and churning water created a deep hole. Sand and silt poured in.
Before the Sangamon River was channelized and straightened 60 years ago, the river passed through Sanganois, breaking into a braided channel. But those many, narrow channels tended to clog with downed trees and dam up the Sangamon, flooding nearby farm fields.
When the Sangamon smashed through the Barkhausen Levee, it flowed through the site over the old course. With the Sangamon out of control, site personnel had an almost impossible time managing water levels.
With modern rivers channelized and dammed for navigation, wetlands have to be manipulated by means of levees and pumps to mimic historic wet and dry cycles.
Wetlands have to dry out for a time to foster growth of annual plants that provide food for migrating waterfowl. Improperly timed floods can wipe out a whole summer’s growth.
The project to repair the Barkhausen and White’s levees that protect the refuge and the rest of the site cost $2.9 million.
One part of the project was to repair the hole in the BarkhausenHe says the Friends of Sanganois group was vigilant in its effort to get the levee fixed.
Bo Arnold, president of Friends of Sanganois, says the members never gave up.
“It is really a bipartisan project politically, and a bipartisan project with public and private ground hunters coming together,” he says. “Everybody understands Sanganois is in a central location.
“This collaborative effort has worked really well,” Arnold says. “They should take a good hard look at how this worked. It just paid off.”
Jallas says Tim Hickman of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources was instrumental in guiding the process to fruition.
When the Barkhausen Levee was open to the river, the Sangamon often flowed over the site’s roads and punished its interior levees.
“The repairs have already significantly — and I mean significantly — reduced the flooding in the heart of the Sanganois,” Jallas says.
During the past three wet years, water could be found flowing across roads eight months of the year, he says.
“This has literally stopped the Sangamon River from cutting us off from the rest of our site,” Jallas says.
While driving around the Sanganois’ levees Wednesday, Jallas points out features of Illinois bottomland forests that are protected by the levees — features that are all but gone today.
Bottomland hardwoods such as pin oaks still persist at Sanganois.
“This is my favorite spot on the whole Sanganois,” he says, gesturing out the window. “The pin oaks are strung out all through here. You can see hundreds of yards without invasive weeds blocking the view.”
Jallas says he and his staff observed wood ducks walking through the woods devouring acorns this year.
“They looked like a flock of chickens, climbing over each other to get acorns,” he says. “It was something to see.”
The sun lit up the wings of ducks landing near the White’s Levee on Wednesday. Against the backdrop of the timber, they looked from a distance like big snowflakes settling to the ground.
Like the pin oaks, Jallas doesn’t want to see the ducks disappear.
“We’ve lost the flights of ducks, geese and swans that staged here,” he says. “The goal here is to bring them back.”
New pumps paid for with duck stamp dollars
Waterfowl hunters are helping the Sanganois do a better job managing waterfowl habitat, thanks to stamps purchased as part of their hunting license.
Two new Caterpillar diesel engines will power pumps that bring water from the Sangamon River to duck habitat are awaiting installation.
They were purchased with about $200,000 provided by Illinois Duck Stamp funds.
Site superintendent Doug Jallas of the Sanganois State Fish and Wildlife Area says the pumps are sorely needed.
“They will provide water for the Barkhausen and Marion Refuges and public hunting areas like the Baker, walk-in and Low Country units,” Jallas says.
Managing for waterfowl requires wetlands to dry out in summer so plants can grow and produce seeds favored by migrating ducks.
In the fall, managers flood these areas to give ducks access to the food.
“This is how we will get our water to the duck habitat in the fall,” Jallas says of the role the pumps will play.
He says duck stamp dollars are dedicated 100 percent to pay for projects.
“These are very, very well-spent dollars.”
courtesy of SJ-R, Prairiestateoutdoors.com
