New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and partners recently completed construction on a wetland enhancement project at Lakeview Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in the town of Ellisburg, Jefferson County.
It’s hoped the project will improve spawning and nursery habitat for fish such as northern pike, as well as new breeding habitats for waterfowl and declining bird species like the state-endangered black tern.
Additionally, the work enhances recreational opportunities at the WMA, including waterfowl hunting, bird watching, sport fishing, and kayaking. Public access restrictions due to construction at the WMA are now lifted.
DEC and partners, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Great Lakes Commission (GLC), National Audubon Society’s Great Lakes and New York programs, and Ducks Unlimited (DU), supported the wetland enhancement project — known as channeling and potholing — on the 3,461-acre WMA. This technique improves hydrology, water depths, open water areas, and habitat connectivity.
Lakeview WMA is located along the eastern shoreline of Lake Ontario, the WMA is part of the largest natural freshwater barrier beach system in New York.
The area’s diverse habitat includes open fields, shrub lands, woodlands, wetlands, and a natural barrier beach.
Lakeview WMA is open to the public year-round, but public use restrictions apply to the sensitive barrier beach system.
Due in part to artificial manipulation of water levels, altered habitat at Lakeview WMA became less diverse, with increasing stands and mats of dense cattails and encroachment of invasive species.
Funding for the project was provided by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the NOAA and GLC Regional Partnership.
Photo of Lakeview WMA wetlands courtesy of Brian Gottfried, Ducks Unlimited.
