WASHINGTON — A public comment period for a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule change concerning ducks ends at midnight tonight.
For years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has followed what is known as a “no impact” policy for wetlands enrolled in conservation easements in the Prairie Pothole Region.
A proposed rule change would allow the Fish and Wildlife Service to recalculate drain tile setbacks near federally protected wetland easements in the region, which includes parts of Iowa and Minnesota.
Half of America’s wild duck population is born and raised in the Prairie Pothole Region. Those ducks typically migrate along the Mississippi Flyway and Central Flyway to Arkansas.
The proposed change concerns water levels in the Iowa and Minnesota area and could affect duck breeding habitat.
