| Waterfowl Updates | A waterfowl survey was conducted on 9/11/25 and a few Teal and Wood Ducks were observed. Not many birds in the area yet.
ATTENTION WATERFOWL HUNTERS - LEGAL SHOOTING LIGHT IS FROM 3O MINUTES BEFORE SUNRISE TO SUNSET. *DON'T FORGET TO CHECK-IN / CHECK-OUT HERE, https://ksoutdoors.com/checkin using your licensing login credentials. Mallard Migration Rank = 0 (0 = no mallards 10 = peak migration)
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| Lake level | 2.27 Feet Above Conservation Pool |
| Habitat conditions | Mild flooding in the spring, followed by a dry spell for the bulk of the middle of the summer allowed for a great amount of pool work and supplemental food such as Japanese Millet and Sorghum strips being planted in multiple wetlands. Rains in the later half of the summer encouraged good native moist soil vegetation and helped with the vegetation planted as well.
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| Comments | Habitat Condition Rating (HCR): 1-10; 1-Poor habitat, 5-quality habitat, 10-Exceptional habitat Reminder: Gas powered boats are only allowed on the River, Lake, Sunset Ridge, Kyle East and West and Rucker wetland pools. Electric powered boats are allowed in all marsh pools. Kyle: No pumping has began yet at Kyle. West unit has a fair amount of water but launching of larger boats would likely not be possible yet. East Unit remains mostly empty. Utilized a drone to spray most of the invasive River Bulrush in the East unit of Kyle, but no mechanical manipulation was done due to wet conditions throughout the summer. HCR-5 West River: A significant amount of the upper and lower unit of West River as disked and planted to Japanese Millet with some sorghum strips throughout. In the lower unit, we utilized a drone to spray most of the invasive River Bulrush on the West side of the drainage ditch which did promote some growth of native moist soil vegetation underneath as the rush died down. Some pumping has been done and is continuing in the upper unit of West River for Teal season. HCR-8 Upper Ferguson: This wetland grew mostly native smartweed and has little water currently. The water control structure is currently removed and a new one is expected to be here to install in the next couple months or so. The refuge is closed Oct 1st thru Jan 15th to ALL Activity HCR-6. Lassiter: Water was held all year in both the East and West Unit of Lassiter which led to a large amount of perennial vegetation growth making the wetland fairly thick in the early season. Little open water is available until some of the vegetation starts to die down this fall/winter. Full pool. HCR-5 Northwest: This unit was mostly planted to corn and is awaiting harvest. No pumping will occur until after October 1 due to water right restrictions. The area not planted to corn was mostly disked and planted to Japanese Millet with sorghum strips in it as well. HCR-7 Headquarters: Corn was planted in this marsh and we will not collect water until after corn is harvested. HCR-7 Mitigation: Unit was drawn down this year to improve the access trail and mow down some of the thick perennial vegetation and trees that started to develop. No water collected yet. HCR-7 Hayward: Unit was drawn down and large portions of it disked and planted to Japanese Millet with some native moist soil vegetation response as well. No water collected yet. HCR-8 Reichart: Water was held in the NW Unit of Reichart and is near full now with marginal wetland vegetation because of holding water all summer. The rest of Reichart has no water with Corn on the NE end and native moist soil vegetation throughout the rest of the marsh. HCR-8. Zebra Mussels have been confirmed in the lake. Be sure to dry boats and equipment before moving to other waters. Please remember to fill out the permit with accurate information. THIS INFORMATION IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE CURRENT AND FUTURE MANAGEMENT OF THE AREA. FILL OUT ONLY YOUR INDIVIDUAL HARVEST EFFORTS, i.e., NOT A GROUP HARVEST TOTAL. |
