Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Missouri
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

The Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) enrolls private lands in conservation easements and seeks to achieve the greatest wetland functions and values, along with optimum wildlife habitat, on every acre enrolled in the program. Restoration activities on WRP sites often focus on improving wildlife habitat that supports hunted species such as migratory waterfowl but it is uncertain how restoration methods affect non-game waterbird communities (Charadriiformes, Gruiformes, Ciconiiformes, and Podicipediformes). The objectives of this project are to quantify vegetation, macroinvertebrate, and avian communities on WRP restorations and evaluate the potential for waterfowl to serve as umbrella taxa for wetland ecosystems.