# cattle grazing on waterfowl production area



## hunterboy (Dec 5, 2004)

I have been hunting the same are of nodak for 11 years now and there is one federal wpa that a farmer always has cattle on in the summer completely destroying the nesting area for ducks and pheasants!! Whats the deal how does he get away with this??


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## hwdeuce (Apr 6, 2010)

U should report that 
That isn't rite


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## torf (Mar 11, 2002)

I've wondered about this myself. Two seperate WPA's i used to like to hit in the earlier part of the season had standing corn almost right up to the water. I don't know how the laws apply, as its unharvested crop.


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## Nick Roehl (Mar 7, 2002)

Some of them probably went out of WPA and they just didn't take the signs down. You see that a lot up here with PLOTS as well. 
I don't see a huge problem with cattle grazing it as most of it is hayed these days anyways and grows back for the birds to nest in. What does suck is if the cattle are in there during hunting season when we want to hunt it.


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## hunterboy (Dec 5, 2004)

No there are cattle in it all through the spring and summer destroying the cover the all of a sudden come fall they are gone! And its still a wpa the just put up new signs and fence a few years ago!!!


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## Old Hunter (Mar 8, 2002)

Grazing is allowed on WPA's The cattle are allowed to graze for a certain time period. I have seen some that are grazed to the point of being barren. There are a few that run too many cattle or go past the end date.


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## hunterboy (Dec 5, 2004)

Dosent that defeat the whole purpose of a WPA?? So the farmer gets to use land that he dosent own or rent or pay taxes on for something it was never intended for??


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## indsport (Aug 29, 2003)

Contact your local USFWS wetland management district office for information. It is probable that grazing or cropping is being used to reduce invasive species and weeds on the location and it is scheduled for reseeding to native grass and forbs in the future.


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## shaug (Mar 28, 2011)

Hey indsport,

Maybe you missed it but over in Hot Topics I asked you a question. Some time ago you said you worked with Plainsman. Where and when was that?


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Shaug hot topics is where your question belongs. Don't bring a dog fight to open form. Hot topics is there for a reason, and the reason is to keep things like this from all other forms.

I don't know why the WPA is grazed. WPA's are federally owned and do not go out like CRP. The only reason I can think of is they want to remove excess vegetative litter without using fire, or they have some type of grazing study going. Call the U S Fish and Wildlife Service office in the area and ask them. Grazing is often a good management tool if the people given the permit will follow the rules.


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## the professor (Oct 13, 2006)

Grazing is used as a tool, much like controlled burns, to restore native growth and reduce invasive plant species. All the information about the program is available by browsing the usfws website. Grazing is usually the method chosen when prescribed burns cannot be accomplished due to too wet conditions, proximity to buildings, or back log for the fire crews.


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## Duckslayer100 (Apr 7, 2004)

If it is a tool, why are some WPA's grazed continually year after year? I know one such WPA that we frequent every year that has been grazed to the dirt since at least 2002. As a standard management practice, I could see this being plausible if it occured once every few years, much like proscribed burns. But just like you do not burn the same piece of CRP every year, you should not be grazing it every year, right?


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## the professor (Oct 13, 2006)

Duckslayer100 said:


> If it is a tool, why are some WPA's grazed continually year after year? I know one such WPA that we frequent every year that has been grazed to the dirt since at least 2002. As a standard management practice, I could see this being plausible if it occured once every few years, much like proscribed burns. But just like you do not burn the same piece of CRP every year, you should not be grazing it every year, right?


I would call the regional FWS wetland management district and ask them why there is cattle on the property year after year. The most I've seen cattle on a WPA was 2 summers in a row, but that was for a "new" WPA that had cover crop over the grass the first year.


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