Waterfowl habitat gets a boost

ASHDOWN — Arkansas Game and Fish Commission biologists increased the food available to wintering waterfowl on Millwood Lake last month with a special air delivery of Japanese millet around 500 acres along the edge of the lake.

Each year Game and Fish works with the Southwest Arkansas Water District and the Little Rock District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to enhance aquatic and terrestrial habitat on Millwood and increase water quality in the lake. The lake is drawn down 2 feet in summer, which dries and compacts much of the sediment in the shallow portion of the lakebed.

“Millwood is a large, shallow bowl, so dropping the water level by 2 feet exposes a lot of mudflats,” said Griffin Park, biologist supervisor at the Hope regional office for Game and Fish. “The vegetation that springs up on those mudflats can be manipulated through further water level changes to create excellent wildlife habitat.”

Annual smartweeds and native millets will begin to sprout on the mudflats from seeds remaining from previous years, but biologists hedge their bets by aerially seeding mudflats on the western end of the main lake while the soil is still wet.

The agency dropped 7,500 pounds of Japanese millet over roughly 500 acres of mudflats in July, Park said.

“The water level dropped a little faster than anticipated, so we had to get everything organized and planted quickly.”

Park said the water level will be held 2 feet low until late August to allow the millet to begin to grow, then the Corps will close the gates to let the water level slowly rise and encourage growth of the smartweeds and millet.

Bass, crappie and other sportfish on Millwood also will benefit from the project. The lowered water level allows the lakebed to dry and compact, which prevents siltation and promotes the hard bottom many species need for spawning. The drawdown also concentrates prey fish and predators together, increasing growth in popular sport fish species.